6 Dec 19

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool [not in that order]

Priorslee Lake:  12:25 – 13:15
The Flash:  11:35 – 12:20
Trench Lock Pool:  09:55 – 10:15 // 11:00 – 11:25
Trench Middle Pool:  10:20 – 10:55

12.0°C > 9.0°C:  Sunny intervals after rain: heavy shower later. Moderate / fresh WSW wind. Very good visibility.

[Sunrise: 08:05 GMT]

Priorslee Lake:  12:25 – 13:15

(278th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- All five cygnets in reasonable proximity to the adult Mute Swans.
- Good to see the Lapwings over even though there were too many dogs around for them to ever think about settling.
- Of the 50 Herring Gulls logged about eight were (near) adults. Most of the others were first-winter types and not all reliably identifiable as Herring Gulls, though most certainly were.
- The same first-winter Caspian Gull that has been present most days for nearly five weeks was here again.
- A first-winter Great Black-backed Gull was my first of the year here: species #101. This species has become uncommon since the demise of the Granville Tip as a winter feeding area for hundreds, even thousands, of gulls.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 22 Lapwings

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwalls
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 3 (3♂) Pochard
- 61 (34♂) Tufted Ducks: same total as yesterday; a few more drakes
- 1 (0♂) Goosander again
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Little Grebes
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 125 Coots
- >180 Black-headed Gulls
- >125 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: mostly adults
- >50 Herring Gulls: >eight adults
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: adult
- 1 Caspian Gull: first-winter
- 1 Great Black-backed Gull: first winter

A motley collection of first-winter gulls. I think they are all first-winter Herring Gulls. The bird at back left has a whiter head. If it were a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull the bill would be all black, which it isn't.

This shows the range of size and plumage of first-winter Herring Gulls.

An aberration: this first-winter Herring Gull shows white in some of the left wing coverts.

It is the back bird of this quartet and shows no white on the right wing coverts. Another white-headed gull in the foreground, not readily identifiable beyond ‘first-winter Herring Gull-type’ from this angle/

Now here is an interesting gull – honestly! Read on.

As it takes off in company with a regular first-winter Herring Gull note the very different tail pattern; also the dark secondaries with, unlike a Lesser Black-backed Gull, paler secondary coverts.

Another view with two regular first-winter Herring Gulls. Note no hint of paler inner primaries. The pink legs are irrelevant – all immature gulls have pink legs. Does it look larger than the Herring Gulls? The upper bird looks to be the aberrant first-winter Herring Gull with white in the left wing coverts.

Here with its head turned note the large all-black bill. These features all point to first-winter Great Black-backed Gull. No doubt this is a (smaller) female, otherwise the size difference would be more apparent. Difficult to be sure but the legs do look long.

Our first-winter Great Black-backed Gull is the left-most bird. The white head are large bill are obvious. Note too the larger feathers on this bigger bird make the markings on the back appear rather coarse.

Here the first-winter Great Black-backed Gull is trying to grab a dead fish while two first-winter Herring Gulls are no doubt on the lookout for scraps. One of them is the aberrantly marked bird.

And on its own.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  11:35 – 12:20

(263rd visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- Only one Great Crested Grebe located
- All the large gulls either arrived or departed (or both)

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Jackdaw

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans as ever
- 2 Canada Geese again
- 34 (18♂) Mallard
- 7 (6♂) Pochard
- 43 (21♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only
- 2 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 91 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: four adults; 2 first-winters
- 4 Herring Gulls: 1 adult; 3 first-winters

Other things:
- on the Ivy bank: the sun had just about gone in ...
        - 1 Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
        - 1 leafhopper possibly Empoasca vitis
        - 1 unidentified fly
- nothing elsewhere

Always good to start gull photos with a puzzle! This first-winter bird does not fit any of the ‘classic’ descriptions in that the uppertail and rump are more densely marked than any of the Lesser Black-backed / Herring /Yellow-legged group. I fancy the inner primaries are paler but not obviously so. Only first-winter Herring Gull has anything like so diffuse a tail band and I therefore conclude that it what it is.

Conversely this is easily told as a first-winter Herring Gull with the adult pale grey already showing on the mantle and obvious pale inner primaries. Note the bill is still all-dark though.

Bit of a ‘grab shot’ as this insect soon flew away. It is my first-ever December record of a hoverfly: a Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).

Also around the Ivy was this leafhopper. It might be Empoasca vitis, a species that is active as an adult all year. Note the white around the eye that also points to this species.

The only other insect around the Ivy was this Muscid fly. No idea of the species in this large family.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  09:55 – 10:15 // 11:00 – 11:25

(51st visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- Even more Canada Geese.
- Good to see some Tufted Duck returning. Hope they attract more .... Last significant numbers here were in late March.
- Gulls mainly dropping in to bathe / drink and go.

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

Counts from the water:
- 1 Mute Swan: again
- 182 Canada Geese
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 9 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 (2♂) Goosander
- [no Little Grebes]
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens
- 7 Coots
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull: both adults; both arrived and departed
- 3 Herring Gulls: 1 adult and 2 first-winters: all arrived and departed

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  10:20 – 10:55

(51st visit of the year)

Surprise: the footpath along the N side embankment still closed.

Notes from here:
- Mute Swan gone again.
- Only one Great Crested Grebe found
- 1 Pied Wagtail rather unusual here. My first here this year – bird species #53.
and
- all the species of fungus found on Monday (2nd) still present

Birds noted flying over / near here:
None

Counts from the water:
- 14 Greylag Geese: flew in
- 20 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral Goose-type as ever
- 22 (13♂) Mallard
- 15 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (3♂) Goosander
- 1 Grey Heron: briefly
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only
- 17 Moorhens
- 47 Coots
- 52 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Herring Gull: adult

(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
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
2 adult Caspian Gulls (one with a green ring suggesting a German/Polish border origin).
8 Yellow-legged Gulls
80+ Great Black-backed Gulls
c.1000 Herring Gulls
2000+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
1st w Viking Gull (hybrid Glaucous x Herring Gull)
2 ad hybrid Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
9 Pochard
44 Tufted Ducks
176 Coots
c.200 Black-headed Gulls
c.650 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.20 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls.
5 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
234 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
35 Mute Swans
2 Shoveler
48 Tufted Duck
3 Goosander 
162 Coots
228 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill
Caspian Gull
7 Yellow-legged Gulls
3500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
500 Herring Gulls
Common Gull. 
(Tom Lowe)

Buildwas
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
500 Lapwings
(Tom Lowe)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Pochard
52 Tufted Ducks
1 eclipse drake Ruddy Ducks
9 Golden Plover
>2000 Black-headed Gulls
>2526 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
22 Robins
24 Blackbirds
c.45 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
10 Redwings
348 Jackdaws
132 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Ravens
1 Cormorant
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
4 Pochard
39 Tufted Duck
1 Little Grebes
233 Coot
14 Redpolls
17 Siskins
24 Pied Wagtails
9 Redwings
12 Fieldfares
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)