29 Nov 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash [not in that order]

Priorslee Lake:  13:50 – 14:50
The Flash:  12:30 – 13:40

4.0°C > 5.0°C:  Cloudless and sunny. Light NNW wind. Very good visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:55 GMT]

Priorslee Lake:  13:50 – 14:50

(273rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Four cygnets (blue Darvic rings 7JSI, 7JSL, 7JSN and 7JSP) with the Mute Swan adults. The other cygnet again well apart.
- Second pair of Gadwall now.
- I am logging the immature Herring Gulls as ‘Herring Gull-types’: I am sure there are some Yellow-legged Gulls amongst them but they were mostly too far away for me to be able to safely separate them.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 1 Common Buzzard

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans (see notes)
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 52 (24♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant: departed
- 2 Little Grebes
- 7 Great Crested Grebes again
- 8 Moorhens
- 133 Coots
- >150 Black-headed Gulls
- >150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: mostly adults; some arriving all the while
- 7 (near) adult Herring Gulls
- >30 immature Herring Gull-types: mostly first-winters

A Common Buzzard takes a look at me as it sails past.

A male Pied Wagtail against a grassy background.

Here showing its other side.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  12:30 – 13:40

(259th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- why so (relatively) few duck Mallard today?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash.
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: second? year

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 7 Canada Geese
- 35 (22♂) Mallard
- 9 (8♂) Pochard
- 22 (9♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 (1♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 6 Moorhen
- 13 Coots again
- 72 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 first-winter Herring Gull-types
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: both adults again
- 1 Kingfisher

Other things:
- on a lamp pole in squirrel alley
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
- on the Ivy bank
        - 5 wasps, likely all Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
        - 7 Spot Ladybirds (Coccinella 7-punctata)
        - very many flies of at least five species
- elsewhere
        - 1 Grey Squirrel

Food in the offing the other side of the lake and this duck Mallard noisily takes off ....

 ... with another ...

... and they move in to formation ...

... and head-off.

A fine-looking drake Pochard. Has a rather soggy-looking head from continual diving. This seems to have left so much water on its head and neck that it is reflecting the sun – I am sure there was no white plumage-flecking.

A drake and two brownhead Goosanders in the sun.

An adult winter Black-headed Gull lands next to a first-winter bird, illustrating the adult’s winter-plumage wing-pattern. Note the difference in bill colour between the two ages.

Another adult winter Black-headed Gull – note the legs of adults are as red as their bills.

And this is what the wings of a first-winter Black-headed Gull look like

What I think is a second-winter Herring Gull approaches – second-winter because there is extensive pale at the base of the bill.

And here is what I think is the same bird on the water. Extensive grey on the mantle.

And again.

And yet again – note especially that as the head is turned the size and shape of bill appears very different.

Here is our second-winter Herring Gull behind a first-winter Herring Gull – this younger bird shows much less grey on the mantle and a blacker bill.

Here is our second-winter Herring Gull compared with a first-winter Black-headed Gull

And again, the second-winter Herring Gull with an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull (this bird with less head-streaking than usual). A duck Pochard in the foreground.

A ‘record shot’ as the Kingfisher scoots away.

One of today’s two 7 Spot Ladybirds (Coccinella 7-punctata) (and my thumbnail).

One of today’s Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris). Surprisingly hairy and also rather late in the year. Has managed to ride out the long spell of dull and wet weather.

And another Common Wasp. Here on Ivy that is well past its best for extraction of nectar.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
6 Gadwall
2 Pochard
2 Teal
1 Shoveler
Shelduck
1 Yellow-legged Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(JW Reeves / John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Goldeneye
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
33 Tufted Ducks
144 Coots
Woodcock
216 Black-headed Gulls
c.480 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
47 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
c.950 Wood Pigeons
16 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
c.560 Jackdaws
81 Rooks
11 Siskins
3 Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood)

2010
Madeley
3 Waxwings
(Pete Nickless)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Drake Pintail
(Martin & Ian Grant)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
28 Pochard
54 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
>1450 Black-headed Gulls
331 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
278 Wood Pigeons
35 Robins
27 Blackbirds
69 Fieldfares
7 Song Thrushes
13 Redwings
1 Siskin
8 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes again
2 Wigeon
2 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
223 Coot
A drake Shoveler
7+ Cormorants
8000 Black-headed Gulls
3500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
7 Herring Gulls
25 Golden Plover
14 Fieldfares
8 Redwings
13 Sky Larks
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)