21 Dec 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 9.0°C: Very murky after yet more rain. Drizzle at the start. Light SSW wind. Poor visibility, moderate later.

[Sunrise: 08:20 GMT]

No photos today

Priorslee Lake: 12:13 – 12:41

(284th visit of the year)

Just a view from the E end lay-by in Castle Farm Way (after a visit to The Flash)

Very quiet with many of the Gadwall gone (or hiding) and few gulls, the adult Yellow-legged Gull being the highlight.

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 19 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant
- no Grey Herons
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 13 Moorhens
- 140 Coots
- 29 Black-headed Gulls only
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gull: one adult; five second-winters
- 1 Yellow-legged Gulls: one adult

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 11:14 – 12:09

(266th visit of the year)

Firstly some follow-up news on this Grey Wagtail I photographed at The Flash yesterday (20th December). Thanks to the good offices of Martin Grant the rings have been tracked to Middleton Nature Reserve near Heysham in Lancashire. It was ringed there on 10th September 2020. The bird was identified as having hatched this year. So it is a first-winter bird. The straight-line distance between the ringing station and The Flash is 153km SSE (95 miles for me!). Exactly where the bird hatched is of course unknown as by September it had been on the wing for several months. It may well hang around as I have seen or heard a Grey Wagtail more often than not for some weeks. Yesterday was the first time I was able to photograph one.

I was also given a link to their Heysham Bird Observatory daily blog Here which shows that they have 13 different colours for the rings with some a bit of a challenge - e.g. orange, pink and red all possible.

Bird notes:
- Very confused about how many Greylag Geese there were. I noted three birds standing on the island on the Derwent Drive side. When I was on the opposite side a group of four Greylag Geese came across the water toward me. When I was back around the Derwent Drive side there were still three birds standing apparently in the same place inside the island. A walk to look over the water failed to find any more. I did not hear any arrive or leave. So were there four? or seven?
- Some Tufted Duck seemed to be flying off, but with the very low cloud it was hard to know whether or to where they left.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
None

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 4 Greylag Goose (see notes)
- 9 Canada Geese
- 33 (19♂) Mallard
- 6 (5♂) Pochard
- 80 (44♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 (0♂) Goosanders
- no Grey Herons
- no Little Grebes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 11 Moorhens
- 33 Coots
- 23 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: still the same body

On the lamp poles, around the Ivy or elsewhere
Nothing of note

(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

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
5 Gadwall 
2 Teal 
7 Pochard 
74 Tufted Ducks
221 Coots
2 Fieldfare
65 Redwings
228 Jackdaws
119 Rooks
13 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Gadwall.
12 Pochard
12 Goosanders
51 Tufted Ducks
145 Coots
c.280 Black-headed Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
c.265 Jackdaws
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
12 Goosanders
4 Pochard
38 Tufted Duck
12 Goosanders
7 Coots
42 were Herring Gulls
44 Black-headed Gulls only on the water
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

Trench Lock Pool
32 Mute Swans
42 Tufted Duck
168 Coots counted
1 Great Black-backed Gull.
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
Little Grebe
8 Great Crested Grebes
22 Swans
1 Gadwall
51 Pochard
148 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Snipe
1 Woodcock
274 Coots
8000+ gulls
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
7 Redwings
16 Goldfinches
13 Siskins
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson/Martin Adlam/Jim Almond)

2005
Priorslee lake
9 Pochard
16 Tufted Duck
c.2000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.500 Black-headed Gulls
5 Great Black-backed Gulls
11 Herring Gull.
c.200 Coot 
1 Water Rail
15 Pied Wagtails
243 Rooks
532 Jackdaw
31 Siskin
2 Redpoll
16 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)