3 Dec 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:30 –09:25
The Flash:  09:30 – 10:35

4.0°C > 2.0°C > 5.0°C:  Clear with surprisingly little in the way of frost. Light and variable wind. Mainly very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:01 GMT

My first attempt at returning to normal early visits.

Priorslee Lake:  06:30 –09:25

(275th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- All five Mute Swan cygnets present: one keeping away from its siblings as usual.
- By 06:50 when I had finished checking the lamps there were c.650 gulls on the water (c.150 Black-headed Gulls; the rest large gulls). I presume these birds had roosted here – it is several years since there was a regular roost. At least 200 more Black-headed Gulls arrived from the W, their usual direction (perhaps those seen roosting at The Flash last evening?)
- All the large gulls left by 07:45. Because I was looking against the light it was impossible to specifically identify these birds, though they were clearly mainly Lesser Black-backs with a smaller number of Herrings. What else might have been amongst them .... (probably nothing!)?
- One Magpie was seen flying very, very high S and seemed to be nothing to do with the local birds.
- A disappointing Starling roost. I had been told about a ‘small murmuration’ a few weeks ago. Just 11 crept out.
- While waiting for the calling Reed Buntings to depart a group of nine small birds left from a slightly different area. These seemed smaller with a more ‘bouncy’ flight. I had not heard any finch calls by this stage and I am unsure what they might have been.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 1 Greylag Goose: outbound
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Feral Pigeons (1 group)
- 13 Wood Pigeons only
- 1 Magpie
- 108 Jackdaws
- 4 Rooks
- 5 Fieldfares (2 groups)
- 1 Redwing
- 1 Linnet
- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake:
- 23 Magpies (partial count)
- 11 Starlings
- 1 Redwing
- 4 Reed Buntings
- 9 unidentified birds (see notes)

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 Canada Geese: departed
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall
- 12 (8♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) Shoveler: departed
- 3 (3♂) Pochard
- 55 (33♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron
- 4 Little Grebes
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail
- 10 Moorhens
- 128 Coots
- >350 Black-headed Gulls (see notes)
- >500 large gulls: roosted and not specifically identified
- 33 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: arrived later
- 11 Herring Gulls: arrived later

Lamp poles pre-dawn revealed:
- 2 Winter Moths (Operophtera brumata)
- 2 Mottled Umber moths (Erranis defoliaria)
- 1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 1 Common Stretch-spider (Tetragnatha extensa)
- 1 other unidentified spider

Later sightings:
- unidentified fungus

Still rather dark when I took this photo of one of the two drake Shovelers present early-on.

And here seen in better light.

Better than my usual efforts at this always rather shy species: a female Goosander – no white between the bill and the eye rules out immature.

A ‘classic’ first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull with no hint of pale on the upper side of the inner primaries and a jet-black bill. Note too the strong underwing markings.

A second-winter Herring Gull. Rather over-exposed but note the way the rather messy tail-band blends in to the white upper-tail. Note too the black-band across the whole of the bill – a rather larger bill than usual on this individual. Tip of the bill pale, base of the bill browner in tone.

The unidentified fungus found this morning.

A view of another part of this large cluster of fruiting bodies.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:30 – 10:35

(261st visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- Two Canada Geese flew off as I arrived. A few minutes later two flew in – same? If so only four logged.
- Nine of the Tufted Duck seemed to fly in.
- A Song Thrush in sporadic but lusty song. My first Song Thrush here since 25 July!
- At least three Redwings in the trees alongside squirrel alley.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 3 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Raven

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 6? Canada Geese (see notes)
- 42 (25♂) Mallard
- 5 (4♂) Pochard
- 66 (37♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 Grey Heron
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Moorhens
- 11 Coots
- 43 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults
- 2 Herring Gulls: first winter birds
- 1 Kingfisher

Other things:
- on the usual lamp pole
        - 1 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)
- on the Ivy bank: in the sun but still just 5°C and only ...
        - >25 flies of at least three species
- nothing elsewhere

Two rather different-looking brownhead Goosanders. The bird in the foreground with the darker (more intense) coloured head is likely an eclipse or immature drake – there is some white showing on the rear-flank. The back bird with the obvious white chin is a duck.

Overhead what I thought at the time to be an adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. The heavy streaking on the head; the small white mirror on the underside of only the outer primary; and the dark trailing edge to the underwing all point that way. However the photo reveals too much black on the bill, albeit with a small red spot on the lower mandible. I suspect a fourth-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Another gull puzzle. This first-winter ‘Herring Gull type’ looks rather long-necked and small-headed suggesting Caspian Gull. However the head is not obviously ‘white’ and I suspect it is just a first-winter Herring Gull caught with its neck extended. Compare in size with the adult Black-headed Gull. The tertials (in front of the folded primaries showing all-black) are unusually boldly marked – normally on all large gulls they are brown with variable amounts of white notches. These are almost white with brown bands!

Here it is the back bird and looks rather whiter-headed than the other first-winter Herring Gull in the foreground. Note that this latter bird has an all-black bill and more typical pattern of white notches in the brown tertials.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
60 Golden Plover
6 Gadwall
3 Pochard
2 Shoveler
2 Teal
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Teal
3 Gadwall.
8 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
163 Coots
7 Redwings
c577 Jackdaws
c149 Rooks
8 Siskins
22 Goldfinches
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Adult Caspian Gull
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(JW Reeves)

Priorslee Flash
Tundra Bean Goose
Great Black-backed Gull
8 Goosander.
(JW Reeves/Andy Latham /Tom Lowe)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
3rd-winter Caspian Gull
(JW Reeves)

Wellington
Pair of Blackcaps in my garden
(JW Reeves)

2009
The Wrekin
Firecrest
(Pete Nickless)

2007
Priorslee Lake
8 Goosander
Woodcock
21 Greylag Geese
A drake Gadwall
6 Pochard
58 Tufted Duck
2 Buzzards
1 Kestrel
6 Meadow Pipits
14 Redwing
3 Fieldfares
31 Magpies
47 Siskins
12 Goldfinches 
11 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
22 Goosander
27 Pochard
16 Tufted Ducks
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
27 Pochard
69 Tufted Ducks
4 Buzzards
68 Coots
1 Woodcock
528 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
20 Robins
22 Blackbirds
3 Song Thrushes
3 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
187 Jackdaws
168 Rooks
11 Greenfinches
10 Goldfinches
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
5 Cormorants
8 Pochard
32 Tufted Duck
201 Coot
Water Rail
c.2100 Black-headed Gulls
c.175 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
440 Jackdaws
225 Rooks
1 Kestrel
2 Collared Dove
1 Sky Lark
18 Pied Wagtails
5 Meadow Pipits
5 Redwings
40 Fieldfare
1 Kingfisher
11 Robins
19 Blackbirds
2 Song Thrushes
2 Goldcrest
5 Redpolls
12+ Siskins
2 Yellowhammers
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson/Martin Adlam)