3.0°C > 6.0°C: Areas of thin high cloud. Calm start with very light E wind later. Moderate visibility in haze.
Sunrise: 07:19 GMT
* = a photo today.
A very quiet morning
Priorslee Lake: 06:02 – 09:03
(243rd visit of the year)
Other bird notes:
- Now two 'spare' drake Gadwall and all three pairs located. No longer staying together.
- Five brownhead Goosanders dropped in at 07:10. These presumably the five seen flying W over the football field a few minutes later - I did not see them again on the lake.
- A Water Rail was heard giving its 'pip pip pip'- type call.
- c.75 Black-headed Gulls were flying around over the water at 06:25. >175 more seen arriving from the W. Very few stayed any length of time.
- Only 41 Lesser Black-backed Gulls noted flying from the Hortonwood direction. 13 of these flew directly over meaning 28 arrived at that time.
- Later 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived from the E and S. No other species with them.
- All but three of the roosting Starlings left, unusually, the NE area.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- 5 Feral Pigeons: one group
- 62 Wood Pigeons: 37 of these in two migrant parties SW / W
- >250 Jackdaws
- 9 Rooks
- c.110 Starlings: one group
- 3 Redwings: one group
- 12 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Siskin
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.300 Starlings: five groups, four of them from NE area
- 1 Fieldfare
- 11 Redwings
- no Reed Buntings
Counts from the lake area:
- *2 + 5 Mute Swans (that should have been yesterday's total also!)
- 8 (5♂) Gadwall
- 14 (9♂) Mallard
- 4 (3♂) Pochard
- 43 (29♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (5♂) Goosanders: briefly
- 5 Cormorants: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Grebe
- 11 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail: heard only
- 9 Moorhens
- 148 Coots
- >250 Black-headed Gulls
- 49 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Birds on playing fields c.07:15:
[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]
- 22 Black-headed Gulls on the football field
these flew to the academy fields upon the arrival of dog-walkers.
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 2 Tetragnatha stretch spider sp. again
- *1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman
Noted later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Sunrise flotilla of Mute Swans. Not an inspiring sunrise.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:06 – 10:17
(227th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Fewer Pochard and Tufted Duck - due to presence of fishermen? Or last night's fireworks?
- Another late Skylark flying over.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Feral Pigeons: one group
- 1 Skylark
- 1 Redwing
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 19 Canada Geese
- 40 (23♂) Mallard
- *2 (2♂) Pochard
- 83 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- *17 (2?♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 14 Moorhens
- 32 Coots
- 59 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult; one first-winter
- 1 Herring Gull: second-winter? Briefly
On the same lamp pole as yesterday:
- 1 November Moth type (Epirrita sp.)
On / around the Ivy:
- 3 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) only
- [no 'flies' seen]
Of interest elsewhere:
- ?Honey Bee (Apis mellifera): single insect seen entering nest site. But what was it?
- *another fungus sp., perhaps Mealy Bonnet (Mycena cinerella)
- 1 Grey Squirrel again
Most of the Pochard present yesterday seemed to have departed. Not this handsome drake.
Several close-in brownhead Goosanders. Could I resist? Nope.
I was just too late on this different bird. Its catch is just sticking out the corner of its mouth.
All gone, And looking rather smug I feel.
And another bird with a great hair-do. No white between the bill and the eye suggests an adult duck.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day
2019Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
4 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
1 Teal
1 Pochard
56 Tufted Duck
23 Moorhens
233 Coots
600+ Wood Pigeons
6 Song Thrush
55 Fieldfare
55 Redwings
532 Jackdaws
167 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
c.150 Greylag Geese
2 Gadwall
9 Pochard
28 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
166 Coots
c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Great Black-backed Gull
c.300 Wood Pigeons
29 Blackbirds
63 Redwings
120 Fieldfares
709 Jackdaws
182 Rooks
c.70 Starlings
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)
The Flash
10 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Wrekin
Location
Firecrest
1 Crossbill
(Andy Latham)
2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
26 Pochard
86 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
1 Redshank
c.750 Black-headed Gulls
128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Kingfisher
20 Pied Wagtails
34 Robins
32 Blackbirds
16 Redwings
41 Greenfinches
1 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)