11 Dec 19

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool [in that order]

Priorslee Lake:  07:00 – 09:25
The Flash:  09:30 – 10:05
Trench Lock Pool:  10:30 – 10:40 // 11:20 – 11:35
Trench Middle Pool:  10:45 – 11:15

3.0°C > 7.0°C:  A clear start with clouds building and a light shower before I was complete at Trench. Light / moderate S wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:11 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  07:00 – 09:25

(282nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Once more all five cygnets were in reasonable proximity to the adult Mute Swans.
- Just one drake Pochard: others perhaps relocated to The Flash.
- Three Cormorants flew together from the NE with two stopping and the third flying on.
- An additional Great Crested Grebe: two birds together in the NW area for the first time for some weeks.
- No gulls roosted. The first Black-headed Gulls arrived at c.07:15. They had started to depart before arrival complete and it was then still quite dark, making an accurate count difficult.
- At least 200 Wood Pigeons were seen in trees to the E of Castle Farm Way.
- In addition to the Jackdaws logged flying over 11 birds appeared in the same tree that some of the Magpies use as a post-roost look-out. The Jackdaws nearly took my head off when they left! Whether these popped up from a roost or just paused on their dispersal flight is unclear. The main group passed a full 20 minutes earlier than in yesterday’s gloomy conditions.
- Five Chaffinches seen in trees in various locations. A good count these days.
- The only two Reed Buntings seen leaving the W end roost did so at 07:35 – much earlier than usual. At least three more heard calling later. These had not left by 08:10. A fourth heard calling along the S side c.08:25.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 1 Cormorant
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Stock Dove
- 30 Wood Pigeons
- c.366 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks
- 1 Redwing

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake:
- 54 Magpies
- 1 Redwing
- 2 Reed Buntings

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 73 (44♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants: arrived together
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Little Grebes
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 130 Coots
- >550 Black-headed Gulls
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 4 Herring Gulls: 1 adult; 1 2nd winter; 2 first-winters#

Lamp poles pre-dawn revealed:
- 1 female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)
- 1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis): a different pole from yesterday

Elsewhere:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Cormorants must have quite ‘sticky’ feet to avoid sliding off!

A Common Buzzard sitting on one of the lamps in Teece Drive. My books say the breast of juveniles is ‘streaked’ and that of adults is ‘finely barred’. So it is clearly not a juvenile but the barring is not exactly fine. The bird was paying attention looking this way and ....

... that. Note this bird appears to shows a dark eye. Most photos on the web show adults with brown eyes and black pupils. I (over-)enlarged this photo and indeed could just see that, though the pupil is somewhat enlarged, no doubt because of the low light level.

You would not want to tangle with those talons would you?

Nearly overlooked this female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) at the very top of a lamp pole. The spurs visible on the hind legs are perhaps the best way to identify this species on a view like this – the extent of the vestigial wing is hard to discern.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:30 – 10:05

(267th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- The Mute Swans flew around once more.
- So where are all the geese this year? And why?
- Five of the Goosanders seen departing later – I was too far away to check their sex.
- Back to three Great Crested Grebe.
- A male Sparrowhawk shot low across the water without anyone other than me apparently noticing.
- The Redwings flew low over without calling and I only glimpsed them as they disappeared over trees making my total ‘a best estimate’.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- c.25 Redwings

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese again
- 31 (19♂) Mallard
- 9 (8♂) Pochard
- 27 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 (6♂) Goosander
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 13 Coots
- 57 Black-headed Gulls

No other sightings

The pair of adult Mute Swans comes in to land. The cob (male) in front with the more pronounced knob at the base of its bill. It has a yellow Darvic ring (from Staffordshire). We cannot see the pen’s ring here but it is green and she was therefore ringed in Worcestershire. All Shropshire-ringed birds have blue Darvic rings. He has a much brighter bill than she does – the testosterone rising already? (The third swan was just behind these two)

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  10:30 – 10:40 // 11:20 – 11:35

(52nd visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- nothing remarkable

Birds noted flying over / near here [other than local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws]:
- 2 Redwings again

Counts from the water:
- 1 Mute Swan as ever
- 194 Canada Geese
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 2 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 (4♂) Goosander
- 2 Little Grebes
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 7 Coots again
- 23 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull: all adults; all departed
- 1 Herring Gull: adult; departed

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  10:45 – 11:15

(52nd visit of the year)

Hooray: the footpath along the N side embankment is open! One of the workman told me they may have to close it again for a while in the Spring – too wet to finish things off. With the workmen still tidying up it was not quite back to ‘normal’.

The workmen did tell me that the Black-headed Gull roost is operational again. They confirmed that the birds arrive very late – quite dusk before there are any big numbers arriving.

Notes from here:
- Mute Swan back once more. The ‘resident’ two adults [7JLE and 7JLL] giving half-hearted chase to two unringed cygnets – not their off-spring.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
None

Counts from the water:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 10 Greylag Geese
- 22 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral Goose-type still
- 21 (14♂) Mallard
- 19 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- [no Goosanders]
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 1 Great Crested Grebe again
- 16 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- 71 Black-headed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

Note:
Here are a few images from RSPB Burton Mere taken Mon 9 Dec 19. Click Here.

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

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
Scaup imm/fem
4 Yellow-legged Gull
(Gary Crowder)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Yellow-legged Gull
8 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 duck Gadwall
3 Goosander
4 Teal
1 Wigeon
1 Redshank
8 Pochard.
55 Tufted Ducks 
1 Water Rail
172 Coots.
4 Great Black-backed Gulls . 
36 Redwings
42 Fieldfares
453 Jackdaws
64 Rooks
(John Isherwood/Roger Clay/Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
35 Mute Swans
1 drake Wigeon
1 duck Goldeneye
2 drake Shoveler
40 Tufted Duck
1 Common Gull
6 Herring Gull
163 Lesser Black-backed Gull
128 Black-headed Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
165 Coot
Lesser Black-backed Gull with a Dark Blue ring with Orange [red] numbers 567. This bird bred in Germany. 
(Martin Grant/Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Adult Caspian Gull
(Tom Lowe)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black necked Grebe
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Cormorants
18 Pochard
56 Tufted Ducks
27 Robins
23 Blackbirds
3 Fieldfares
2 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Water Rail
750 Black-headed Gulls
1000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Little Grebes
5 Great Crested Grebes
15 Pochard
27 Tufted Duck
2 Redpolls
25 Siskins
15 Pied Wagtails
2 Redwings
32 Fieldfares
5 Reed Buntings
13 Robins
18 Blackbirds
11 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)