25 Mar 20

Priorslee Lake only

Official Government advice allows me to drive to the lake for my regular one period of daily exercise. It is easy to maintain ‘social distancing’ at 05:30!

As The Flash is rather more popular I will not be visiting during the duration of the current restrictions.

3.0°C > 8.0°C:  Clear with a slight ground frost. Initially calm with light SE breeze developing. Moderate visibility.

Sunrise: 05:59 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  05:25 – 08:15

(58th visit of the year)

One new species for my 2020 list here
#71     Blackcap: a bird singing from the same bush along the S side where I recorded my first for 2019 – on 24 March! Later another singing in the NW area

Other bird notes:
- One of the Greylag Geese could not make up its mind: it flew inbound, circled several times and then flew outbound again. Another outbound much later.
- Two Cormorants flew S very high indeed – small black specs even when overhead.
- A (Common) Kestrel seen hovering very distantly over fields to NE.
- Passage of Wood Pigeons today, many very high suggesting migrants. Almost as many going south as going north ....!
- Crows everywhere at the moment and very hard to get an accurate count as they fly about.
- Only two Song Thrushes singing – my lowest total this year. Two additional non-singing birds noted.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 2 Greylag Geese (singles)
- 7 Canada Geese (pair outbound; pair and trio inbound)
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 16 adults
- 1 Herring Gull: adult
- 4 Feral Pigeons
- 2 Stock Doves
- 110 Wood Pigeons
- 18 Jackdaws
- 17 Rooks
- 35 Fieldfare (two groups)
- 10 Redwings (single and one group)
- 1 Meadow Pipit
- 1 Linnet

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake:
None

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets)
- 12 (10) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived
- 3 Little Grebes
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 10 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 2 Kingfishers

Also noted
- 3+ Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) [first noted on 24 March in 2019]
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Early sunrise with a rather rare sighting in these Covid-19 times – an aircraft trail. In the middle of the water is the distinctive shape of a Great Crested Grebe.

About 15 minutes later and some colour in the sky. Remnants of the trail still present.

Much later a part of the lake as the sun rises through the trees.

A species I do not photograph too often. An opportunity to show the bill shape – not at all like the pointed shape of Rook and neither do Carrion Crows have any bare skin at the base of the bill. My ‘rule of thumb’ is that if I am not sure it is a crow – Rooks when seen are surprisingly distinctive.

The Chiffchaffs were all enjoying the sun this morning and seemed to be at the top of the tallest trees they could find.

“chiff-chaff” did you say?

The Wren was not at all cooperative. When I moved to see around the other side of the branch he (I assume ‘he’ as it was singing) turned around to give me the same view. Super rounded tail though.

Not too easy to identify. The warm brown wings give it away – a Reed Bunting. This is a female that lacks the black head of the male. The paler head markings do include the pale malar stripe, just about discernible here.

Blue Tits were investigating the dead heads of last year’s Great Reed Mace (Typha latifolia) [aka Bulrush]. You can almost see the concentration on its face.

Here too it seems completely absorbed in what it is doing – apparently it has extracted a seed from the fluff.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
7 Cormorants
2 Gadwall
18 Tufted Duck
1 Kittiwake
1 Sand Martin
7 Chiffchaffs
158 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Kittiwake
(John Isherwood)

Trench Lock Pool
2 Little Grebes
4 Great Crested Grebes
15 Tufted Ducks
2 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool
2 Tufted Duck
2 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes 
3 Great Crested Grebe 
7 Wigeon 
2 Gadwall 
34 Tufted Ducks 
c.450 Black-headed Gulls
c.350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.50 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull.
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Great Crested Grebes 
7 Swans 
2 Pochard 
73 Tufted Duck 
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe 
4 Great Crested Grebe 
4 Gadwall
27 Tufted Duck
c.210 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Great Crested Grebe 
36 Tufted Duck
2 Siskins
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
3 Cormorant
2 Shoveler
27 Tufted Duck
1 Green Woodpecker
29 Wren
22 Robin
21 Blackbird
5 Fieldfare
9 Redwing
6 Chiffchaff
36 Magpie
99 Jackdaw
8 Greenfinch
7 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Great Crested Grebe
1 Mallard x Pintail
2 Pochard
17 Tufted Duck
3 Chiffchaff
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Barn Ow
1 Little Grebe
6 Great Crested Grebes
1 Shoveler
26 Tufted Ducks
2 Water Rail
532 Wood Pigeon
2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers
2 Sky Larks
15 Pied Wagtails
26 Wrens
34 Blackbirds
6 Redwings
1 Willow Warbler
1 Chiffchaff
17 Magpies
4 Jays
1 Brambling
13 Greenfinches
4 Siskins
1 Linnets
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)