16 Feb 21

Priorslee Lake

8.0°C: Mostly cloudy with clearance to the W making slow progress. Light / moderate S wind . Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:25 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:35 - 09:35

(7th visit of the year)

My first visit for over a month. It is two weeks after my first Covid jab so I feel feel reasonably safe in the early morning.

Not entirely sure that 'exercise' was what I did - the paths around the lake are VERY muddy and slippery.

The recent hard weather and ice had clearly seen many birds move away from the lake.

Notes:
- Three small geese not noted until they had already passed directly overhead and away: they defied identification. Frustrating as they seemed too small even for Greylag Geese.
- Just one cygnet being restricted to the SW grass by the two adults. Later another cygnet present and noted being chased away by the cob. Possibly one of last year's cygnets trying to return though as I could not see any rings I cannot be sure.
- At least 650 Black-headed Gulls had arrived by 06:55. These moved away leaving just 18 by 08:15. c.30 more drifted in / returned later.
- Large gulls moving both S and NW more or less throughout. Strangely the first 12 (of the 15) Herring Gulls were immatures and likely all first winter birds. In contrast all but one of the 84 Lesser Black-backed Gulls seemed to be adults.
- At least nine Song Thrushes in song.
- A Grey Wagtail lurking in the Wesley Brook where it enters the lake.
- Chaffinch, Greenfinch and Reed Bunting heard in song for the first time this year.
- A rather strange sighting of a male Reed Bunting on top of trees by the pedestrian crossing in Teece Drive.
- A group of four *Lesser Redpolls popped up on scrub at the W end. After I managed a quick photo of one a group of >10 small finches flew off, audibly also containing at least one Siskin and Linnet.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 9 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese
- 3 unidentified small geese
- 6 Feral Pigeons
- 20 Wood Pigeons
- 14 Black-headed Gulls
- 15 Herring Gulls
- 84 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants
- c.335 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks
- 1 Starling

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: departed
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans (see notes)
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 5 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 35 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- >650 Black-headed Gulls
- 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons

My 2021 bird species list for here moves to 56 with the following additions today:
- Feral Pigeon
- Grey Wagtail
- Linnet
- Siskin
- Coal Tit
Rather chastening to think that no matter how many more visits I make this year I am unlikely to double this number.

On / around the street lights pre-dawn
- *1 spider sp. - unidentified of course.

Also noted
- *Turkeytail fungus (Trametes versicolor)

This Cormorant flew in, as they seem to most mornings. A very white breast and belly suggests this is a first year bird.

A lot of editing of a shot taken towards the rather non-existent light managed to reveal a few details on this Lesser Redpoll. Most obvious feature is the small, pointed and yellow-toned bill. If you look very closely it is just possible to see the red forehead (called the 'front' in bird topology). The small black area under the bill (often inappropriately called a moustache) is very hard to discern.

The best I could manage before this spider scuttled off. Not enough detail for me to ID it. Looks rather rotund for the usual orb-web inhabitants of the lamps.

A very common fungus that grows on dead wood more or less anywhere - Turkeytail (Trametes versicolor). Both its vernacular and scientific names refer to the multi-toned bands.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2016

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

8 Pochard

(Tony Beckett)

2010

Priorslee Lake

5 Great Crested Grebes

4 Gadwall

44 Pochard

55 Tufted Ducks

1 Water Rail

151 Coots 

12 Siskins

2 Redpoll

23 Linnets

9 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

2008

Priorslee Lake

3rd winter Glaucous Gull

1st winter Glaucous Gull

(Paul King)

2006

Priorslee Lake

7 Great Crested Grebes

3 Cormorants

2 Gadwall

8 Pochard

26 Tufted Ducks

118 Coots

2 Lapwing

c.1200 Black-backed Gulls

c.300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

55 Herring Gulls

c.574 Wood Pigeons

220 Jackdaws

199 Rooks

1 Sky Lark

11 Pied Wagtails

20 Robins

19 Blackbirds

1 Fieldfare

2 Redwings

1 House Sparrow

10 Greenfinches

7 Siskins

16 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)