21 Jan 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

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

3.0°C:  Clouded after clear night and very white frost. Light WSW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:08 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  07:00 – 09:20

(16th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Three Grey Herons seen disputing territory.
- Reed Bunting singing at W end again.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 2 Greylag Geese: outbound
- 1 Canada Goose: flew N
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 45 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 30 Wood Pigeons
- >1070 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 4 Redwings

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake:
- 3 Reed Buntings

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 9 (6♂) Mallard
- 7 (7♂) Pochard
- 19 (11♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Cormorants
- 3 Grey Herons
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 70 Coots

Gulls:
Early arrival:
- First gull was an immature Herring Gull that had a look and moved on at 07:40.
- First ten Black-headed Gulls arrived at 07:45 with only another 76 counted arriving.
Counts
- 86 Black-headed Gulls

After 08:00 very few large gulls arrived and none stayed any length of time:
Counts
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults
- 1 Herring Gull: first winter

Nothing on any lamp pole pre dawn: too frosted?.

No other sightings:

New bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site.
None

One of the three battling Grey Herons leaves under early grey skies. Included mainly to show the huge feet. Here the toes are spread – my bird books tell me that this species keeps its toes together and it is the vagrant Purple Heron that has obvious large and spread toes. Clearly another bird that has not read the book on how to behave.

Still rather dull when this Jay did its best to brighten the day.

A gravity-defying Blue Tit.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash:  09:25 – 10:05

(15th visit of the year)

Still c.50% ice, very thin.

Bird notes from here:
- A pair of Greylag Geese flew in, closely followed by the family of one adult each of Greylag and Canada Goose and their five hybrid 2019 offspring.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Wood Pigeons

 Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 5 Greylag x Canada Geese
- 3 Canada Geese
- 42 (25♂) Mallard
- 5 (5♂) Pochard
- 34 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 (4♂) Goosander
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 15 Coots
- 36 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult

No other sightings:

New bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site.
None

The three Mute Swans went for a short fly-around and came back when they discovered the top end was still ice-covered – two distant Black-headed Gulls are standing on ice.

There is always one that has to go the other way around the circle! An out-of-step duck Goosander as part of what seems to be three pairs.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trench Lock Pool:  10:15 – 10:25 // 11:05 – 11:25

(6th visit of the year)

No ice.

Bird notes from here:
- First Pochard of the year here – a drake.
- Dire number of Coots

Birds noted flying over / near here:
None

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans as usual
- 41 Canada Geese
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 8 (6♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (1♂) Goosander
- 1 Little Grebe
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen
- 4 Coots only
- 29 Black-headed Gulls again
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 8 Herring Gulls: six first-winters: two adults
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: (near) adult still

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site (in sighting order):
37      Pochard

While trying to photograph some of the other gulls this adult winter Black-headed Gull flew by. I could not resist.

Just about the closest I have managed to get to the near adult Yellow-legged Gull. Compare the mantle colour with a winter first-winter Black-headed Gull behind.

Handily spreading its wings to show the dark marking on the greater coverts which suggests it is indeed the same bird that has been present for some weeks.

Just about to settle on its favourite buoy. Do my eyes deceive me or are the legs (if not the feet) looking pale yellow?

When I looked at the photo I was rather nonplussed. I was intending to show the difference in mantle tone between the Yellow-legged Gull and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. Then I looked at the size of the bill on the left-hand bird as well as its bulk. Yellow-legged Gull is Herring Gull-sized and therefore typically larger than Lesser Black-backed Gull. So is it a Great Black-backed Gull? No. For two reasons: the head is streaked which an adult Great Black-backed Gull never is; and there is obvious contrast between the mantle and the darker wing tips. I suggest that we are looking at a large male Lesser Black-backed Gull and a smaller female Yellow-legged Gull. Instructive.

This is what a real adult Herring Gull looks like. Apart from its paler tone there is less extensive black on the wing tips. There are also more white ‘mirrors’ on the black primary tips.

Here is an adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. An individual showing very extensive head streaking. A rather strange white patch on the leading edge of the right wing.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trench Middle Pool:  10:30 – 11:00

(6th visit of the year)

No ice.

Notes from here:
- The usual pair of Mute Swans – 7JLE and 7JLL have returned. They went for a brief fly toward Trench Lock Pool but soon came back.
- Song Thrush singing.
- Grey Wagtail again.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 24 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose-type
- 27 (18♂) Mallard
- 9 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 (5♂) Goosanders
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- 122 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly
- 1 Herring Gull: adult, briefly

No other sightings:

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site (in sighting order):
31      Mute Swan
32      Song Thrush

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day..........
2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
2  Greater Scaup 
1 Velvet Scoter 
117 Coots
1 Great Black-backed Gull
4 Redwings 
c.274 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson / Mike Stokes)

 2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe 
1 Greater Scaup 
1 Goldeneye
26 Wigeon 
4 Gadwall 
1 Shoveler 
22 Pochard 
76 Tufted Ducks 
157 Coots 
1 Common Gull
144 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
74 Herring Gulls
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

 2010
Priorslee Lake
Adult Caspian Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Andy Latham)

 2009
Priorslee Lake
Juvenile Glaucous Gull
Juvenile Iceland Gull
(Observer Unknown)

 2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Pochard
36 Tufted Ducks
c.195 Black-headed Gulls
48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
34 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

 2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
5 Pochard
11 Tufted Duck
132 Coot
2 Water Rail
c.1600 Black-headed Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
428 Jackdaws
438 Rook
300 Wood Pigeons
14 Robin
80 Fieldfare
30 Redwing
11 Blackbird
1 Willow Tits
6 Greenfinch
65 Siskins
6 Redpolls
8 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)