Priorslee Lake: 05:50 –09:05
The Flash: 09:10 – 10:00
13.0°C > 14.0°C: Very low cloud with mist and drizzle. Lifted somewhat and even a few bright spells. Initially calm; light NW breeze later. Moderate visibility, poor in drizzle.
Sunrise: 07:00 BST
Priorslee Lake: 05:50 – 09:00
(230th visit of the year)
Bird notes from today:
An 07:10 ‘football’ field count gave me 86 Black-headed Gulls, 13 Wood Pigeons, nine Magpies and 63 Pied Wagtails. Darker mornings means more disturbance from dog-walkers while I am doing the count. Many Pied Wagtails were moving about more than usual and some seemed to be already flying off. There may have been rather more than I have logged.
Other notes:
- Encouraged by their parents, most (all?) of the Mute Swan cygnets were trying their wings today and propelling themselves across the water with much splashing about. I am sure it won’t be long now before they achieve lift-off.
- A drake Gadwall was my first of the season here.
- A few immature large gulls stopped off early before a small group of 25, mainly adult, large gulls arrived at c.08:45. There was no obvious movement overhead as there had been all last week.
- A Tawny Owl was giving its wavering call inside the Teece Drive gate at 06:00. Judging by the commotion from Jays and Blackbirds later they had found its roost site.
- What is probably the same lost Racing Pigeon was seen on the roof of the academy again today.
Bird totals:
Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
***for most of the time only birds flying directly overhead were visible due to mist and low cloud***
- 9 Canada Geese (2 groups outbound)
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 8 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID
- 65 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 17 Jackdaws
- 31 Rooks
- 3 Starlings
Hirundines etc. noted
None
Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 4 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 3 (2♂) Mallard
- 10 (3♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 8 adult + 2 immatures + 9 juvenile (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes again
- 6 Moorhens (ages?)
- 112 Coots
- >85 Black-headed Gulls
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: just four of these first-winter birds
- 3 Herring Gulls: only one of these first-winter birds
- unidentified large gull: too dark to ID
- 1 Kingfisher
On the lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 1 ground beetle species, perhaps Pterostichus nigrita
- 1 unidentified spider.
Even fewer later sightings:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
Today’s unidentified spider.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:10 – 10:00
(218th visit of the year)
Notes from here:
- Just 3 Canada Geese and the noisy feral goose present when I arrived: very big groups of geese arriving thereafter with almost all the 180+ Greylag Geese arriving together.
- In addition to the family party of Greylag x Canada Geese there were three other ‘mixed’ geese.
- Low number of Tufted Duck.
- The 10 brownhead Goosanders were all resting on or preening alongside the island and refused to be dislodged by the arriving geese.
and
- 1 cranefly, possibly Rhipidia maculata, high up a lamp pole
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestman on the usual lamp pole with ...
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman on the same pole
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 6 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws again
- 2 Pied Wagtails
Hirundines etc. noted.
None
Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 1 (0) Chiffchaff
Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans as ever
- >180 Greylag Geese
- 8 Greylag x Canada / Feral Geese
- >170 Canada Geese
- 39 (22♂) Mallard
- 16 (6♂) Tufted Duck only
- 10 (0♂) Goosanders
- 2 Great Crested Grebes still
- 5 Moorhens
- 18 Coots
- 5 Black-headed Gulls: none of these first-winter birds
- 1 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........