5 Feb 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:50 – 09:10
The Flash:  09:15 – 10:15

3.0°C > 6.0°C:  Cloudy start, clearing to give good sunrise; some thin lifted mist for a while later. Almost calm. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:46 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  06:50 – 09:10

(24th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The two Canada Geese arrived from the W and stayed throughout. They were gently discouraged from mingling with the Mute Swans by the patrolling cob.
- The seven unidentified outbound geese were possibly the 2019 family with their hybrid young – some of the calls sounded only vaguely like Greylag Geese.
- The pair of Gadwall perhaps those seen at The Flash on Monday.
- No Tufted Duck present. Unprecedented at this date (unless frozen over!). The group overhead had nothing to do with the lake
- A trio of Great Crested Grebes were new arrivals.
- A significant proportion of the over flying Wood Pigeons were higher than usual, suggesting more than just local movement. However no groups or consistent direction.
- First Blackbird song of the year from here.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 4 Greylag Geese (two duos outbound)
- 29 Canada Geese (23 outbound in three groups; six inbound together)
- 7 unidentified geese (1 group outbound)
- 6 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 72 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 50 Wood Pigeons, exactly
- >950 Jackdaws
- 6 Fieldfares: first of year for me here.
- 1 Redwing

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake:
- 30 Magpies
- 1 Reed Bunting

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese: arrived
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 3 (2♂) Mallard again
- [no Tufted Duck]
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Grey Herons
- Little Grebe(s) heard
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 51 Coots

Gulls:
Arrival:
- 12 large gulls were the first arrivals just after 07:15. The first Black-headed Gulls arrived at 07:30. Most had left again by 08:10 when a mere 11 gulls remained (9 Black-heads and one each of Lesser Black-back and Herring).
counts
- 243 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 5 Herring Gulls: all  immatures
- 6 unidentified large gulls – flew off before ID

Thereafter a single new gulls arrived. A better passage overhead with most birds passing S / SW with several ‘skeins’ of >10 birds.
- 1 Herring Gull: first year

The lamp poles again remained devoid of insects:

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site:
#62     Fieldfare

The very early sunrise was blood red.

Later a more orange ...

... and then fading away. Red sky in the morning is supposed to presage rain or wind. We are three days at least away from the threatened gales so ...?

Looking the other way: the reeds lit by the early sun. In the left foreground is the roost area for the Reed Buntings, though the roost seems to be largely quiet at the moment.

One of the trio of ‘new’ Great Crested Grebes. Probably the bird with the most well-developed head-plumes.

Its that time: the Coots are staking out their territory and fighting. Amazingly they rarely seem to injure each other despite those fierce-looking feet.

Anytime they come within range of the camera: click. A Long-tailed Tit of course. A strange effect on the upper breast: not sure why.

A male Bullfinch eating buds – as they do. Does not seem to have too much effect on the Blackthorn or Hawthorn blossom. Not sure why this bird seems to show a pale patch on the side of its head.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:15 – 10:15

(23rd visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- Monday’s Gadwall gone: perhaps to the lake?
- One of the Kingfishers seen to fly right through the island. How these high-speed arrows manage to avoid impaling themselves is quite beyond me. They are obviously more manoeuvrable than they look.
- Now three Song Thrushes singing here (11 at the lake again).
- Female Bullfinch seen at the top end eating seeds from dead willowherb.

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

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 6 Canada Geese
- 44 (24♂) Mallard only
- 6 (6♂) Pochard again
- 59 (35♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (3♂) Goosander
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 7 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 28 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Kingfishers

Other sightings:
- 1 Muscid fly on the Ivy bank
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Food in the offing: the Black-headed Gulls gather.

A good trick – the left-most bird walking on water.

Good view of the juvenile plumage on the left-most bird.

Amazing aerobatics in avoiding each other.

After it has all quietened down this adult Black-headed Gull shows signs of moulting in to breeding plumage with the head rapidly darkening.

This Goldcrest is either double-jointed or has its head on upside down!

Well: it seems OK here.

This Robin seems certain to get good reception for its song – ugh!

This Dunnock was happy to have its portrait taken....

... and show both sides.

Here a female Bullfinch is extracting seeds from dead heads the last year’s willowherb – can’t say which species.

Nothing special: just though these leaves looked good in the morning sun.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Velvet Scoter
3 Scaup
(Observer Unknown)

2013
Priorslee Lake
10 Gadwall
29 Wigeon
Caspian Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gull
7 Great Black-backed Gulls
(John Isherwood, Kris Webb)

The Flash
2 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

Holmer Lake
13 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
11 Pochard
65 Tufted Duck
c.50 Lapwings
Dunlin
c.300 Black-headed Gulls
c.400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.50 Herring Gulls
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Common Gull
(Ed Wilson / Jim Almond)

2011
Priorslee Lake
9 Pochard
>1000 Black-headed Gulls 
82 Herring Gulls
1 Glaucous Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
>500 Wood Pigeons
248 Jackdaws
211 Rooks logged 
1 Redpoll
(JW Reeves, Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
102 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
9 Herring Gulls
(Martin Adlam)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
12 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
2 Water Rails
32 Robins
26 Blackbirds
13 Song Thrushes
4 Redwings
2 Willow Tits
11 Greenfinches
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
c.850 Black-headed Gulls
8 Great Crested Grebes
2 Gadwall
20 Pochard
85 Tufted Ducks
163 Coots
20 Robins
22 Blackbirds
10 Song Thrushes
1 Willow Tit
13 Greenfinches
10 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)