18 Nov 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 12.0°C: Yet another grey, overcast morning. Light drizzle c.07:50. Light rain c.09:45. Yet again clearer to N with s few blue patches. Moderate S wind gusting fresh at times. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:39 GMT

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 06:11 – 09:19

(254th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One 'spare' drake Gadwall noted. Unusually it stayed well away from any of the three pairs.
- The gulls were early arrivals with >350 Black-headed Gulls on the water and Lesser Black-backed Gulls starting to appear, both by 06:40. The local Grey Heron and Buzzard were keeping them on the move, making accurate counts impossible.
- The Jackdaws are now passing when it is much darker - this morning some 10 minutes before the street lights went out. Ten days ago passage was after the street lights were extinguished. This morning the road noise from the M54 tended to drown their calls making it harder still. A possible further c.100 was seen swirling around to the far NE beyond Wards Rough. However I could not be certain they were not Wood Pigeons. Also c.40 probable's flew E to the far N later. Neither of these groups is included in the tabulated total. Several small groups passed as late as 09:00.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 4 Canada Geese: one group outbound
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 14 Feral Pigeons (three groups)
- 19 Wood Pigeons only
- c.500 Jackdaws (see notes)
- 2 Rooks
- 13 Starlings: one group
- 2 Fieldfare: duo
- 20 Redwings: one group
- 2 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Siskin again

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- no Starlings
- 6 Redwings
- 2 Reed Buntings
The Reed Buntings left from along the S side. I did not visit their more usual roost area at an appropriate time.

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 7 (4♂) Gadwall
- 11 (7♂) Mallard
- 4 (3♂) Pochard
- 41 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 1 Little Grebe
- *11 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 187 Coots
- c.350 Black-headed Gulls
- *>125 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: c.80 pre-dawn: >45 flew in later.
- 5 Herring Gulls: two adults pre-dawn: three adults flew in later.
- *4 Herring-gull types: 'immatures' not all seen well-enough to ascribe a positive ID.
- *1 putative Caspian Gull: second winter

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- *1 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata): same pole, hanging on tight in the wind
- 1 possible Muscid fly Phaonia pallida
- 1 probable Small Black Ant (Lasius niger)
- *1 larger ant sp., probably Negro Ant (Formica fusca)
- *2 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestmen

Noted later:
- 3 Grey Squirrels

One of a pair of Great Crested Grebes. The bill is rather curiously foreshortened here.

And the other one of the pair. They moult their head plumes and show a darker cheek patch during the winter. A first winter bird would almost certainly still show some evidence of the facial stripes at this date.

Here both together. The bill on the front bird still looks a bit odd.

The first of today's gull puzzles. A second winter Herring-type that seems to have short legs and a pot-belly. Both Yellow-legged and Caspian Gulls - the likely confusion species - are noted as being longer legged than Herring Gulls so I guess Herring Gull it is. The head is rather weakly streaked and I would have expected there to be more pale at the base of the bill but hey-ho.

A pair to contrast here. On the left a first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. They are not all as dark and streaked as this individual. On the right a first-winter Herring Gull - the smaller amount of pale grey on the back than the previous bird leads me to this conclusion. So why then does it have more extensive pale at the base of the bill? "Individual variation" I suppose: just as typically Herring Gulls are larger than Lesser Black-backs and this one doesn't seem to be.

I am crossing fingers again here. The clean-headed and rather elegant gull on the left is I reckon a second-winter Caspian Gull. Note the dark-looking eye and the mantle colour slightly darker than a Herring Gull. On the right an adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, this one with less head-streaking than meant.

This Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) in more or less the same place as on the previous two mornings. Previously it had been resting wings open: today the wings were closed and it was being blown about by a fresh breeze. It amazes me how insects can hang on on windy conditions. And why do they not get seasick?

This ant is much larger than several I have seen lately and is likely a Negro Ant (Formica fusca). One of the wood ant species. Other wood ants are noted as being found in different habitats - moorland, conifer woodland - which is why I suspect this species.

A while since I showed this harvestman. A small species with the characteristic thicker basal part of the legs. It is Paroligolophus agrestis.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:23 – 10:21

(238th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Did I just overlook the Great Crested Grebes?
- After a dearth of Moorhens yesterday (just one) it was back to a more usual number.
- I think the adult Lesser Back-backed Gull must be dead as its head seemed to be underwater. What is surprising is that throughout the last five days it has stayed in almost the same place on the water. It must be a sheltered spot. It is also a surprise that the fish have not yet started to eat it..

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 7 Feral Pigeons (two groups)
- 20 Jackdaw

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 36 Canada Geese: 24 of these arrived in two groups
- 35 (21♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 53 (20♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 (1♂) Goosanders: of these one brownhead arrived: all eight took off (but did they leave?)
- no Grey Heron
- no Great Crested Grebes either
- 11 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 69 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: presumed deceased
- 1 Kingfisher

On the lamp poles
Nothing on any of them

Around the Ivy
- at least 1 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

Elsewhere:

Nothing of interest 

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2018

Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2016

Local Area

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

1 Wigeon 

5 Gadwall 

2 Teal 

1 Pochard 

102 Tufted Duck 

1 Water Rail

229 Coots 

1 Snipe

>500 Starlings

127 Fieldfare

7 Redwings 

99 Jackdaws

1 Brambling

1 Yellowhammer

(Ed Wilson)

2012

Newport

1 Waxwing

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

1 Adult Yellow legged Gull

(John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash

1 adult Yellow legged Gull

2 female Goosander

(John Isherwood)

2006

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

36 Pochard

49 Tufted Duck

1 Ruddy Duck

11 Lapwings

1 Woodcock

c.1700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

>600 Black-headed Gulls

5 Herring Gull

1 Yellow-legged Gull

2 Great Black-backed Gulls

910 Wood Pigeons

22 Robins

21 Blackbirds

258 Fieldfares

13 Redwings

201 Jackdaws

158 Rooks

348 Starlings

4 Reed Buntings

(Martin Adlam / Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

c.1000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

c.1500 Black-headed Gulls

10 Herring Gull

2 Yellow-legged Gulls

1 Wigeon

(Martin Adlam)