14 Dec 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

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.

"Ahead by a short bill". The Mute Swan formation team off for a fly with Dad at the back rear with the orange bill.

Treecreepers are never easy to photograph. This 'delightful' view illustrates the long hind claw for grip and the stiff tail-feathers that are used as a prop.

Having a good root-about for insects, eggs or anything else that might be edible. Hind claw gripping the broken branch.

Another view of those tail-feathers well adapted to their task. A rare sunny interval shows the brown tones well.

(Ed Wilson)

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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)

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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)