31 Jan 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool (not quite that order)

Priorslee Lake:  12:20 – 13:00
The Flash:  09:35 – 10:50
Trench Lock Pool:  11:00 – 11:05 // 11:55 – 12:10
Trench Middle Pool:  11:10 – 11:40

10.0°C > 11.0°C:  Cloudy. Occasional light rain. Moderate SW wind. Very good visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:54 GMT]

Priorslee Lake:  12:20 – 13:00

(21st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The first-winter Great Black-backed Gull the only notable sighting. One immature gull remains unidentified

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Common Buzzard

Counts from the lake area only:
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 12 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- [no Little Grebe]
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 49 Coots
- c.150 Black-headed Gulls
- 43 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: mostly adults
- 11 Herring Gulls: five of these (near) adults
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: adult
- 1 Great Black-backed Gull: first-winter

No other sightings:

No entirely sure what this gull is attempting to eat. The gull is a first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull.

What species of gull has a dark-back and a black head? Not a rarity: just a Lesser Black-backed Gull with extreme winter head-streaking. The red on the bill suggests a full adult.

This first-winter gull will have to stay unidentified. The inner primaries are only very slightly paler than the rest of the flight feathers suggesting Yellow-legged Gull as does the all-dark bill. A view of the upper-tail would be needed to confirm. In truth, the overall tone of the bird looks rather too pale for a Yellow-legged Gull.

On the left with the white-head and large all-dark bill is a first-winter Great Black-backed Gull obviously larger than the two Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

This is, I think, the same bird in flight. This species also has pale inner primaries as a first-winter. However it is the white tail-tips that suggest this is not a Herring Gull as is the rather scaly appearance on the back with no trace of pale-grey. (Typically the Coots are out on the SW grass behind this bird)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:35 – 10:50

(20th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- The lone Greylag Goose did a circuit overhead and left to the SE.
- A third Great Crested Grebe keeping its distance
- Sparrowhawk heard calling from the E side trees.
- One of the Coots is already sitting on a nest. I have noted it nest-building recently. I was told it has been sitting for several days now. Seems very early.
- Small movement of gulls W overhead – they were not at Trench later.
- Still a group of Goldfinches feeding on Alders on the island – at least 16 seen flying off.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- 41 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 18 Wood Pigeons (tight group)
- 11 Jackdaws

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 10 Canada Geese
- 39 (25♂) Mallard
- 7 (7♂) Pochard
- 46 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (2♂) Goosander
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen only
- 16 Coots again
- 73 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Herring Gull: first-winter
- 1 Kingfisher

No other sightings

Numbers of Pochard have been very variable recently – always all drakes. Here one has a preen...

... and here it looks around.

A trio of drake Pochard here. Note the different bill patterns – no idea why. Note too the false ‘black-eye’ on the left-most bird – looks like a cyst. Also not sure why their foreheads look so dark – did not notice it at the time.

Coot nests are not an attractive work of art and look rather painful to sit on. This one is settling very early in the year.

It would be good to see Long-tailed Tits on a sunny day for a rather better photo. This will have to do for a dull January day.

Of course in three months leaves will get in the way so make the best of it.

Not a species I often photograph – and in truth not one that often stays still long-enough to provide photo opportunities. A male House Sparrow of course.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  11:00 – 11:05 // 11:55 – 12:10

(8th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- Now four drake Pochard. Perhaps some of the birds ‘missing’ from The Flash?
- The two drake Goosanders flew off during my first visit. One flew in during my second visit. I suspect these birds, like many of the gulls, commute between here and Middle Pool.
- Strangely quite for large gulls with just three birds dropping on, only for a while.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Common Buzzard again

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 14 Canada Geese
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 4 (4♂) Pochard
- 11 (7♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 (2♂) Goosanders (see notes)
- 3 Great Crested Grebes remain
- 1 Moorhen
- 7 Coots again
- 33 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: both adults, briefly
- 1 Herring Gull: second-winter

One of the two drake Goosanders leaves. Good view of feet and tail.

You can almost see the concentration on the face of this second-winter Herring Gull as it carefully touches down on the ‘buoy’.

“Easy: how many out of 10 will you give me?”

The same bird on the water. It is the extent of the pale on the back that suggests it is a second-winter bird. It crossed my mind it might be a first-winter already moulting in to second summer plumage. I cannot find any illustrations of birds at this age, though the moult is noted as normally starting in March / April. So it is in my log as a second-winter bird.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  11:10 – 11:40

(8th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- Rather quiet again.
- Goosanders possibly from Trench Lock?

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Common Buzzard

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans [7JLE and 7JLL]
- 34 Canada Geese again
- 1 all-white feral goose-type
- 26 (17♂) Mallard
- 9 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 (2♂) Goosanders
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens only
- 30 Coots only
- 133 Black-headed Gulls
- no large gulls

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site:
#33     Common Buzzard

One of the adult Black-headed Gulls here was showing an almost complete breeding ‘hood’. None of the others show any sign of acquiring breeding plumage – though the change, when it comes, happens very quickly.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
6 Great Crested Grebes
22 Greylag Geese
19 Pochard
42 Tufted Duck
c.390 Black-headed Gulls
c.350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
32 Herring Gulls
1 Common Gull
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
69 Redwings
25 Greenfinches
4 Linnets
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash
Tundra Bean Goose
8 Greylag Geese
37 Tufted Ducks
c.1000 Black-headed Gulls
246 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
35 Herring Gulls.
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Trench Pool
8 Pochard
50 Tufted Ducks
79 Coots
(Ed Wilson)

Holmer Lake
50 Goosander
(John Isherwood)
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)