6 Jan 20

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

Priorslee Lake:  07:05 – 09:30
The Flash:  09:35 – 10:15
Trench Lock Pool:  10:25 – 10:35 // 11:30 – 11:50
Trench Middle Pool:  10:40 – 11:25

7.0°C > 8.0°C:  Overcast start; a few breaks and later a short clearance ahead of rain. Fresh SSE wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:21 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  07:05 – 09:30

(6th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- No sign of the fifth Mute Swan cygnet. All the other cygnets moved well away from the adults after finishing the proffered bread at 07:30.
- The ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ Gadwall were here today.
- One of the Grey Herons was around most of the time. Two more flew in together from the east and then disputed as to which of them was going to stay. One left shortly afterwards.
- An extra pair of Great Crested Grebes again.
- A single Lapwing was a surprise to see, briefly on the SW grass.
- Three Mistle Thrushes were rattling away in the trees opposite the academy. Eventually one was motivated to sing (five Song Thrushes had been singing earlier)
- An unusual sighting was a mixed group of at least 35 Redwings and 45 Goldfinches in the bushes and trees near the Belisha beacon in Teece Drive at 09:25.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 11 Greylag Geese: one group inbound
- 1 Canada Goose: 1 outbound
- 7 mixed geese (see note under Priorslee Flash)
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls only
- 4 Herring Gulls again
- 10 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- >670 Jackdaws
- >155 Rooks

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

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese: departed
- 8 (5♂) Gadwall
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 6 (5♂) Pochard again
- 31 (20♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants
- 3 Grey Herons
- 3 Little Grebes
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 13 Moorhens
- 89 Coots
- 1 Lapwing

Gulls:
The first Black-headed Gulls arrived just before 07:30, with at least 750 by 07:40.
Just three adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived before 07:45 when many of the gulls started to leave.

Early arrival counts
- >750 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

After 08:00 gull numbers stayed very low – at 08:35 there were just seven Black-headed Gulls present. Later some returned from the fields to the E. Very few new arrivals of large gulls, none of which stayed:

Later arrivals
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls

On lamp poles pre dawn:
- 1 Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria)
- 1 Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)

No other sightings

Additional bird species for 2020 recorded here this morning (in order logged)
55      Collared Dove

This, believe it or not, is a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina). This species becomes progressively darker during Autumn until they look like this, if seen, in Winter

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:35 – 10:15

(5th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- The group of mixed species geese – adult Greylag and Canada with five near-identical cross offspring was first noted here in July 2019. It seems likely that these are the seven birds recently seen very early over the lake when I have identified them mainly by sound. There have been occasional additional birds over the lake and today when this party flew off from here they were accompanied by an ‘extra’ adult Canada Goose

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Feral Pigeons (same birds as yesterday)
- 18 Jackdaws
- 1 Raven

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 5 Greylag x Canada Geese
- 10 Canada Geese
- 33 (20♂) Mallard
- 7 (7♂) Pochard again
- 38 (19♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only
- [no Moorhens]
- 12 Coots
- 46 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult; one second-winter
- 1 Herring Gull: first-winter
- 1 Kingfisher

No other sightings:

Additional bird species for 2020 recorded here this morning (in order logged)
42      Raven
The hybrid Greylag x Canada Geese do not constitute a species for this count.

Some of the ‘mixed parentage’ geese today. This family was first seen in July 2019. One parent is a Greylag Goose and the other the Canada Geese shown here. There are five cross-breed juveniles with four seen here. The family seems to have stayed together – the others members of the family were too far away to get them all in one photo. Seems that two juveniles have more white on the face and a white eye-ring while the other two are closer to Canada Goose in facial marking. The trio of Mute Swans is behind – the adults now sporting brighter, breeding condition bills.

Rather unusual is a raft of Tufted Duck with a preponderance of ducks – just two of these eleven show the white flanks of adult drakes.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  10:25 – 10:35 // 11:30 – 11:50

(2nd visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- 16 of the Canada Geese flew in.
- The drake Goosander likely the bird seen flying over Middle Pool as it arrived between my visits.
- All the large gulls stayed only briefly.

Birds noted flying over / near here [other than local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws]:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 31 Canada Geese
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 12 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (1♂) Goosander: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron again: departed
- 4 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Moorhens
- 8 Coots
- 38 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: six adults: one second-winter
- 1 Herring Gull: adult

Additional bird species for 2020 recorded here this morning (in order logged)
31      Goldcrest

Necessarily taken through branches to illustrate the Grey Heron’s breeding plumes blowing in the wind.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  10:40 – 11:25

(2nd visit of the year)

Workmen were back on the N side embankment doing some ‘cosmetic’ work.

Highlights
- The Pink-footed Goose is still around: it again flew in with the Greylag Geese.
- So too is the Yellow-legged Gull. It circled over for some while before eventually settling on the water.

Other notes from here:
- The pair of Great Crested Grebes was seen performing a food-pass even though neither shows any sign of breeding plumes as yet.
- Moorhen numbers likely affected by the ground works.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 (1♂) Goosander
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Counts from the water:
- 1 Pink-footed Goose: with Greylags
- 84 Greylag Geese
- 102 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral Goose-type
- 23 (16♂) Mallard
- 10 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 (5♂) Goosanders
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 132 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull

Additional bird species for 2020 recorded here this morning (in order logged)
26      Grey Heron
27      Cormorant
28      Dunnock

Centre-stage is the Pink-footed Goose among all the Greylag Geese

Closer here.

And a direct comparison here.

It always seems incredible to me that adult Cormorants, which ostensibly look black, are actually both blue-black and brown when the light catches them. Note that on the nape it is just possible to see the first breeding-condition white plumes starting to appear on this individual.

This well illustrates the darker mantle of Yellow-legged Gull, a species only recently split from Herring Gull. A ‘real’ Herring would have a mantle close to the tone of the Black-headed Gull behind. Care is always necessary as the apparent tone can vary greatly with the angle of the light – I managed to get them more or less at the same angle here.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Local area
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
2 Scaup
5 Great Black-backed Gulls - 4 adult and a 1st winter
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
1st winter Caspian Gull
6 Great Black-backed Gulls
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 adult Caspian Gulls
10+ Yellow-legged gulls (most adults and 3rd-winters, at least 1 1st-winter)
10 Great Black-backed Gulls
(J W Reeves)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Adult Mediterranean Gull
Pair of Brambling
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Evening Report
An adult winter Ring-billed Gull at about 3:15pm
3 adult Common Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

Daytime Report
4 Common Gull
2 adult Yellow-legged Gull
1 adult Great Black-backed Gull
Black-necked Grebe
1 Snipe
(Jason, Pete Jordan and Ian & Jim)