8.0°C > 7.0°C: Very heavy early shower clearing after 08:30; some breaks, also more light sprinkles. Moderate SW wind. Very good visibility, moderate in heaviest rain.
Sunrise: 08:15 GMT
* = a photo today
Priorslee Lake: 06:40 – 09:34
(278th visit of the year)
Today's mystery. A good-sized and tubby bird with a short tail flew across the lake c.07:05. Candidates are Woodcock: I did not see a long bill despite a clear silhouette view. Or tail-less Wood Pigeon: it seemed to be flying too leisurely. Pass.
Bird notes:
- All the Mute Swans went for another fly. The adults only flew two-thirds of the length of the water. As soon as they touched down the cygnets, who had been leading, also stopped flying.
- Two Cormorants arrived: one left soon after: within minutes one appeared from the direction of the departing bird. Was it returning? Or a third bird?
- Large gulls rather scarce this morning - avoiding the downpour?
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull only
- 32 Wood Pigeons
- c.450 Jackdaws
- 38 Rooks
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.80 Starlings: two groups each of c.40 birds from the W end.
- 2 Reed Buntings: conditions not good for seeing these
Jackdaw(s) were again calling from trees along the N side as early as 07:27. Passage from elsewhere started after 07:42
Counts from the lake area:
- *2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 9 (5♂) Gadwall
- 7 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 42 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 (or 3) Cormorants: see notes
- no Grey Herons
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 12 Moorhens
- 188 Coots
- c.250 Black-headed Gulls
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 24 pre-dawn; five later
- 3 Herring Gulls: 1 immature pre-dawn; one adult and one first-winter later
- 1 Kingfisher
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
If there was anything on the lamp poles it would have been washed off in the deluge
An update on the two 'minute creatures I photographed and failed to ID on Friday (11th). Both are springtails.
The round and vaguely yellow-brown individual is one of the Sminthuridae or Globular Springtails. A more specific identity eludes me as there are few illustrations on the web and I am not sure how complete the coverage of them is. Most live in soil. The NatureSpot web site suggests that there may be as many as 100,000 in each cubic metre of top-soil. Quite what one was doing crawling up a lamp pole is hard to say.
The black, slender insect with an apparent blue band may be Lepidocyrtus violaceus. The Lepidocyrtus springtail group are noted for the blue pigment on their head, thorax and abdomen. It would have needed better illumination and a camera with a proper macro-lens set-up to provide enough detail for an exact identification.
We live and learn. I recall nothing about Globular Springtails in my school science classes!
Of note later:
Nothing
The best I could manage of the sunrise this morning - or did I mean the best the sunrise could manage. At least the deluge had stopped.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:37 – 10:35
(260th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The seventh cygnet was likely lurking somewhere: one does tend to wander away from the others.
- I made two counts of the Tufted Duck: 66 with 27 drakes on the first count; 66 with 24 drakes on the second.
- Again only a single Great Crested Grebe for certain
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Herring Gull: adult
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived
- 21 Canada Geese: 'some' of these arrived
- 39 (22♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard
- 66 (27?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (0♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1? Great Crested Grebe only
- 9 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 42 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: yep: still floating.
On the lamp pole; on / around the Ivy; or elsewhere:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 09:37 – 10:35
(260th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The seventh cygnet was likely lurking somewhere: one does tend to wander away from the others.
- I made two counts of the Tufted Duck: 66 with 27 drakes on the first count; 66 with 24 drakes on the second.
- Again only a single Great Crested Grebe for certain
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Herring Gull: adult
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived
- 21 Canada Geese: 'some' of these arrived
- 39 (22♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard
- 66 (27?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (0♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1? Great Crested Grebe only
- 9 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 42 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: yep: still floating.
On the lamp pole; on / around the Ivy; or elsewhere:
Nothing at all.
(Ed Wilson)
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day
2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here
2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here
2013
Priorslee Lake
>550 Wood Pigeons
41 Magpies
1 Siskin
4 Gadwall
2 Teal
4 Pochard
64 Tufted Ducks
228 Coots
127 Black-headed Gulls
34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
12 Herring Gulls
12 Great Black-backed Gull
10 Fieldfare
19 Redwings
78 Jackdaws
7 Rooks
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)
The Flash
1st winter female Scaup
167 Tufted Ducks
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)
Horsehay Pool
A leucistic large species gull, probably Lesser Black-backed Gull
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Jim Almond)
2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
9 Pochard
27 Tufted Ducks
c.155 Coots
265 Black-headed Gulls
244 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
42 Herring Gulls
3 Greater Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Curlew
Mallard x Pintail
>25 Herring Gulls
>500 Wood Pigeons
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
Little Grebe
2 Gadwall
Goosander
c.50 Siskins
1 Redpoll
4 Great Crested Grebes
21 Swans
31 Pochard
92 Tufted Ducks
291 Coots
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
22 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
3 Buzzards
69 Coots
>1300 Black-headed Gulls
>2600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
23 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
5 Great Black-backed Gulls
25 Robins
16 Blackbirds
c.60 Fieldfare
c.162 Redwings
32 Magpies
230 Jackdaws
96 Rooks
22 Starlings
14 Greenfinches
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson/Kevin Pryce)
2005
Priorslee Lake
3 Ruddy Ducks
Water Rail
1500 Black-headed Gulls
700 Lesser Blacked Gulls
2 Little Grebes
6 Great Crested Grebes
29 Pochard
54 Tufted Duck
234 Coot
Sparrowhawk
176 Jackdaws
179 Rooks
11 Siskins
15 Pied Wagtails
2 Grey Wagtails
3 Redwings
1 Fieldfare seen.
164 Wood Pigeon
5 Reed Buntings
10 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)