8.0°C > 10.0°C: A mixture. Cloud from overnight rain soon clearing to E and then clear for a while. Another area of cloud arrived before that too cleared to thin high overcast. Light W / SW wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:28 GMT
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 06:02 – 09:23
(248th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- In addition to the fly-over Goosanders a drake was seen leaving the lake at 07:30.
- Not sure where the early arriving Lesser Black-backed Gulls came from: they dropped from high overhead and I saw none overflying at that time to provide a clue. Unusually there were two immature Herring Gulls with them. Later arrivals were part of a small but steady E -> W passage with some birds stopping off for a while. The usual few gull puzzles.
- Very strange behaviour from Wood Pigeons. A larger than usual number were flying fast W early on, low-down and not in groups. Therefore they did not appear to be migrants. The just before 08:00 several large groups, one of c.130 birds, were noted heading N - yes N! In all I logged c.300. Whilst a few were still heading N several larger groups appeared flying S / SW, two of which both contained over 250 birds. All this within c.15 minutes. Only a few singles seen afterwards.
- Jackdaws very difficult to count today. They were in several concurrent scattered high-flying groups passing both to my left and right as well as overhead. Later two birds were seen, unusually, strutting around the football field.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 9 Canada Geese: single and octet outbound
- 10 (4♂) Goosander: 8 (2♂) S, unusually, at 07:20; 2 (2♂) W at 08:10
- 3 Cormorants: single and duo
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 20 Feral Pigeons: groups of 15, three & two
- c.1130 Wood Pigeons: c.1065 of these in 14 migrant parties (see also notes)
- >530 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks
- 7 Redwings: one group
- 4 Pied Wagtails
- 2 Siskins
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- >50 Starlings: one group from N side reeds
- 5 Redwings
- 1 Reed Bunting only
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese, for a while.
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall
- 13 (8♂) Mallard
- *3 (1♂) Pochard
- 25 (20♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (1♂) Goosander: departed
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately again
- 2 Grey Herons
- 3 Little Grebes
- 12 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 165 Coots
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 56 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 38 pre-sunrise: 18 more later.
- *4 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- *1 possible Yellow-legged Gull: near adult
- *1 possible Caspian Gull: second-winter
Playing fields
Not visited to view any gulls:
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 4 winter gnats (Trichocera sp)
- *1 probable springtail sp., perhaps Pogonognathellus longicornis
- 1 Tetragnatha stretch spider sp.
Noted later:
Nothing
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 4 winter gnats (Trichocera sp)
- *1 probable springtail sp., perhaps Pogonognathellus longicornis
- 1 Tetragnatha stretch spider sp.
Noted later:
Nothing
And here is the same second-winter Herring Gull for comparison. Shows a stouter-looking, shorter neck.
(Ed Wilson)
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(232nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The adult pen Mute Swan with the green Darvic ring was alone on the island and likely the bird that has been sulking there for three days. I assume this was the pen reportedly taken in to care for a while. The cob was sometimes with what I believe to be his 2018 daughter (thus also a pen). He was occasionally on his own. The cygnets were all together somewhere else.
- The immature Herring Gull stayed inside the island and was difficult to age. I later saw a first-winter circling overhead which might have been the same bird.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 5 Feral Pigeons: two singles & trio
- 8 Wood Pigeon together
- 47 Jackdaw
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 25 Canada Geese: seven of these arrived
- 35 (20♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Pochard
- 60 (?♂) Tufted Duck exactly
- 13 (>2♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 2 Great Crested Grebes as ever
- 12 Moorhens
- 42 Coots
- 63 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: first-winter
On the lamp poles.
Nothing
Around the Ivy
- >30 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
- 1 drone fly sp.: seen too briefly to ID
- many 'flies'
Of interest elsewhere:
- active Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) at their nest site. I would have thought it was too cold (10°C) with only rather watery sun to tempt them out.
- 3 Grey Squirrels
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day
2018Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
Today's Sightings Here
2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2014
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here
2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
7 Gadwall
2 Teal
59 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
27 Moorhens
239 Coots
c.440 Wood Pigeons
8 Song Thrushes
567 Fieldfare
26 Redwings
270 Jackdaws
106 Rooks
c.310 Starlings from roost
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
103 Starlings
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
8 Goosander
139 Coots
52 Redwings
55 Fieldfares
571 Jackdaws
128 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)
2008
Priorslee Lake
8 Great Crested Grebes
9 Cormorants
8 Pochard
117 Tufted Ducks
2000+ Wood Pigeons
400+ Fieldfare
125+ Redwings
33 Starlings
10+ Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
Gadwall
Shoveler
2 Water Rails
c.50 Lapwings
c.150 Golden Plover
6 Redwings
3 Fieldfare
Chiffchaff
Several Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
65 Pochard
65 Tufted Ducks
1 eclipse drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
50 Coots
500+ Golden Plover
1 Woodcock
790+ Black-headed Gulls
1753+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
962 Wood Pigeons
130 Fieldfare
93 Redwings
393 Jackdaws
135 Rooks
174 Starlings
34 Greenfinches
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebe
9 Pochard
63 Tufted Duck
5 Ruddy Duck
Water Rail
800 Black-headed Gull
Cormorant
10 Redwing
9 Reed Bunting
3 Redpoll
9 Siskin
(Martin Adlam)