7.0°C > 6.0°C: Rain and drizzle. Mainly light NNW wind. Moderate visibility at best.
8.0°C: Clear and sunny. light WNW wind. Very good visibility
Sunrise: 07:50 GMT
Priorslee Lake: 06:20 – 09:20; also 13:50 - 14:40
(261st visit of the year)
From the first visit:
* photos from this visit only
Rather heavier rain than I expected. I decided to brave the elements after reports of an adult Glaucous Gull in the Belvide roost last night and in the Chasewater roost the night before. It seemed to be moving West ... Well you've got to try!
No such luck and frustratingly two that got away:
- at 06:35 a shape flew past me and was likely a Woodcock going to roost though I saw no detail to back up the suggestion.
- at 08:25 a small wader circled the 'other end' of the lake from where I was. A very 'dark and light' bird with a strong wing-bar but no other obvious features. The most likely candidates at this date might be Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper or Dunlin. I think it showed too much contrast for Dunlin. It did not have the very obvious white rump of Green Sandpiper. But neither did it fly on fluttering wingbeats that Common Sandpiper usually does. Pass.
Other bird notes:
- The Mute Swan cygnets made a 50 yard splashing foray across the water, scattering the Coots, without achieving lift-off - indeed there was probably not room for them to do so from their start point. One of them later paddled well away from the others (and was probably the bird that also slept well apart). Both adults left the other four cygnets on the concrete ramp and went off in different directions for a while. All seven were eventually reunited.
- At least 350 Black-headed Gulls were already in a tight group on the water by 06:40. Had they roosted here?
- The first Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived at 07:19 with nineteen present before they all departed. Later another 11 flew in.
- Two Herring Gulls were with the first group; an adult and an immature - it was too dark to properly age the bird. Later another five flew in - two first winters; one second-winter and one third-winter.
- What seems to me to be a second-winter Caspian Gull also put in an appearance.
- A strange sighting was a tight group of 28 Wood Pigeons flying in from the S to land in N-side trees.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 14 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: second-winter
- 10 Wood Pigeons only
- 120 Jackdaws: others heard
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 6 Redwings
- Reed Buntings: heard only
Counts from the lake area: incomplete counts in rain
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 11 (7♂) Gadwall
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Pochard
- 30 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant: came and went
- 3 Grey Herons
- Little Grebe heard only
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- *9 Moorhens
- [Coots not counted]
- *>350 Black-headed Gulls
- *30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 19 pre-dawn; 11 later
- 6 Herring Gulls: see notes
- *1 probable Caspian Gull: second winter
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Mainly too wet but ...
- >20 winter gnats (Trichocera sp). How do they cope with rain?
- *1 unidentified 'thing'
- 1 Tetragnatha stretch spider sp.
8.0°C: Clear and sunny. light WNW wind. Very good visibility
Sunrise: 07:50 GMT
Priorslee Lake: 06:20 – 09:20; also 13:50 - 14:40
(261st visit of the year)
From the first visit:
* photos from this visit only
Rather heavier rain than I expected. I decided to brave the elements after reports of an adult Glaucous Gull in the Belvide roost last night and in the Chasewater roost the night before. It seemed to be moving West ... Well you've got to try!
No such luck and frustratingly two that got away:
- at 06:35 a shape flew past me and was likely a Woodcock going to roost though I saw no detail to back up the suggestion.
- at 08:25 a small wader circled the 'other end' of the lake from where I was. A very 'dark and light' bird with a strong wing-bar but no other obvious features. The most likely candidates at this date might be Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper or Dunlin. I think it showed too much contrast for Dunlin. It did not have the very obvious white rump of Green Sandpiper. But neither did it fly on fluttering wingbeats that Common Sandpiper usually does. Pass.
Other bird notes:
- The Mute Swan cygnets made a 50 yard splashing foray across the water, scattering the Coots, without achieving lift-off - indeed there was probably not room for them to do so from their start point. One of them later paddled well away from the others (and was probably the bird that also slept well apart). Both adults left the other four cygnets on the concrete ramp and went off in different directions for a while. All seven were eventually reunited.
- At least 350 Black-headed Gulls were already in a tight group on the water by 06:40. Had they roosted here?
- The first Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived at 07:19 with nineteen present before they all departed. Later another 11 flew in.
- Two Herring Gulls were with the first group; an adult and an immature - it was too dark to properly age the bird. Later another five flew in - two first winters; one second-winter and one third-winter.
- What seems to me to be a second-winter Caspian Gull also put in an appearance.
- A strange sighting was a tight group of 28 Wood Pigeons flying in from the S to land in N-side trees.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 14 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: second-winter
- 10 Wood Pigeons only
- 120 Jackdaws: others heard
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 6 Redwings
- Reed Buntings: heard only
Counts from the lake area: incomplete counts in rain
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 11 (7♂) Gadwall
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Pochard
- 30 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant: came and went
- 3 Grey Herons
- Little Grebe heard only
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- *9 Moorhens
- [Coots not counted]
- *>350 Black-headed Gulls
- *30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 19 pre-dawn; 11 later
- 6 Herring Gulls: see notes
- *1 probable Caspian Gull: second winter
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Mainly too wet but ...
- >20 winter gnats (Trichocera sp). How do they cope with rain?
- *1 unidentified 'thing'
- 1 Tetragnatha stretch spider sp.
Second winter it seems. Here it is possible to see the very tip of the bill is pale.
(Ed Wilson)
Priorslee Lake
(262nd visit of the year)
I made a second visit in the afternoon, only checking what was visible from the E-end lay-by:
Counts from the lake area
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 10 (6♂) Gadwall
- 4 (2♂) Mallard
- 6 (4♂) Pochard
- 53 (25♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant
- no Grey Herons
- 2 Little Grebes
- 9 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 202 Coots
- c.125 Black-headed Gulls
- 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: adult
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priorslee Lake
(262nd visit of the year)
I made a second visit in the afternoon, only checking what was visible from the E-end lay-by:
Counts from the lake area
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 10 (6♂) Gadwall
- 4 (2♂) Mallard
- 6 (4♂) Pochard
- 53 (25♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant
- no Grey Herons
- 2 Little Grebes
- 9 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 202 Coots
- c.125 Black-headed Gulls
- 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: adult
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day
2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2013
Priorslee Lake
6 Gadwall
1 Teal
2 Pochard
99 Tufted Duck
225 Coots counted
1 Woodcock
6 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
Green Woodpecker
231 Fieldfare
66 Redwings
c.375 Jackdaws
2 Redpolls
5 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
31 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
23 Tufted Duck
Goosander
143 Coots
1 Yellow-legged Gull
19 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
259 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson / Allan Heath)
2005
Priorslee Lake
206 Starlings going to roost
C.500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
10 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow legged Gull
1 Caspian Gull
c.700 Black-headed Gulls
(Martin Adlam)