25 Nov 20

Priorslee Lake Only

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.

Excuse me. An adult Moorhen sparks the interest of two adult winter Black-headed Gulls. A study in black and white (and yellow/green and red).

There are of course gull puzzles. As a relatively newly recognised species there are rather few illustrations of immature Caspian Gulls for me to compare. This rather delicate-looking immature seems to me to be a good candidate. The paler inner primaries just visible on the right hand upper wing seem too extensive for a Yellow-legged Gull and the underwing looks too heavily marked for a Herring Gull.

Here landing there is almost a collar of speckles. Note the rather narrow and parallel-sided bill with a neat black tip.

Second winter it seems. Here it is possible to see the very tip of the bill is pale.

Just to prove that not all adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls have dense head-streaking - nor obvious yellow legs come to that. This individual seems curiously short-legged.

I offer this rubbish photo for comment - not on its quality but on what it portrays. This creature was towards the top of a lamp pole and on the other side to the light. My torch did not really have the range to illuminate it for the camera to focus on it. What I have been able to discern is an apparent white head; longish antennae that are held at right angles to the body as do many species of wasp; a rotund red abdomen; no obvious wings unless the abdomen is a carapace which I doubt. Seems to have swollen hind femora. I'm puzzled.

(Ed Wilson)

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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)

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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)