29 Mar 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 13.0°C: Broken cloud soon began to break and scattered cloud after 08:30. More puffy clouds developing later. Fresh SW breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:52 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:00 - 09:15

(48th visit of the year)

Birds notes:
- My first sighting of any of the Canada x Greylag Geese this year.
- 'Ones that got away': at 06:15 four ducks circled over the E end of the water seemed too small to be Mallard. They appeared to pitch in to the NE area out of my line of sight. Nothing found later.
- Lower number Coots likely due to partners on nests hidden in reeds.
- Certainly now three pairs of Great Crested Grebes.
- One Grey Heron chased a second away soon after 06:00. The process was repeated with what I have assumed to be a third individual at 08:30.
- A singing Skylark from the fields to the E was fighting hard against the wind and came across Castle Farm Way and was singing above the new estate for a while.
- Chiffchaffs everywhere at the moment. Did not see any non-singing birds.
- No Lesser Redpolls or Siskins noted.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 4 Canada Geese: single and pair outbound
- 4 Greylag Geese: single outbound; trio inbound
- 2 Greylag x Canada Geese: duo with the single Canada and Greylag Geese noted outbound.
- 22 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Black-headed Gulls: first year
- 2 Herring Gulls: one first year; one second year
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 2 Cormorants: singles
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 71 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 4 Starlings
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Count of warblers noted (number in brackets is singing birds)
- *14 (14) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:
- 3 Canada Geese: pair arrived and stayed; these chased away another single arrival.
- 2 Mute Swans
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 7 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens once more
- 29 Coots
- no Little Grebes seen or heard
- *6 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult briefly
- 1 Cormorant: arrived and departed.
- 3 Grey Herons

On the lamp-poles pre-dawn:
- *1 Larinioides sp. orb-web spider

Also noted:
- 2+ Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) [several other unidentified bumblebees]
- 3 Grey Squirrels
- my first Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna) flowers here this year.
- *my first Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis) 'flowers' this year

A video of displaying Great Crested Grebes - too much coffee gives me the shakes: sorry! I had not really appreciated that as part of the display they reach on to their back and lift up some the feathers.

A sunny Chiffchaff hunting the flies that will be pollinating the Willow catkins.

Not always in reeds. Here is a male Reed Bunting in a tree. This one still to acquire full summer plumage. I have never previously noticed the rufous on the very top of the crown.

Very obliging.

It must have heard the camera shutter.

Then I noted even closer was what I assume was his mate - a Mrs. Reed Bunting. Similar but less contrasting facial markings.

This Larinioides sp. orb-web spider scurried off before I could get a better shot and definitively ID it.

As long ago as 26 February I noted Cowslip (Primula veris) in bud. With the recent chilly weather they have made slow progress in to flower. Recent warmer days and sun have opened some of the flowers.

An inconspicuous plant with even more inconspicuous flowers: this is Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis). Last year I noted this flowering at the end of February.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 - 10:05

(36th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One drake Tufted Duck still consorting with a pair of Mallard.
- After a lower number of Tufted Duck for a few days today saw a return to about the same number seen last week. If all the fishermen scared them away where did they go and how did they know to come back?
- A Goldfinch seen collecting 'fluff' from Great Reedmace (Typha latifol) and taking it away - for a nest lining?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk

Count of warblers noted (number in brackets is singing birds)
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps

Counts from the water:
- 27 Canada Geese
- 3 + ? eggs Mute Swans
- 29 (19♂) Mallard
- 62 (37♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens only
- 26 Coots

My 2021 bird species stays at 58.

Also noted:
- *1 female plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus) on a lamp pole
- 2 Grey Squirrels

Not at all sure what this Nuthatch is doing. I saw it approaching this nest hole carrying something - surely too early for it to be food for a brooding mate I thought. It is not clear whether it is carrying this in to or out of the nest cavity.

Seems to be piling them up. It is known that Nuthatches will plaster their chosen hole to reduce its size to deter predators. Perhaps collecting material for that?

Zoomed in as much as I could - perhaps it is a ball of mud.

I think this is a female of the plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus) - the females do not have plumed antennae. The plain wings wings mean it is not the midge Psectrotanypus varius that I recorded at the lake last Thursday. Note the rusty base to the wings.

Sticky buds - remember them? Just bursting here. The buds of Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum). Apparently so-called because conkers (the fruit) were fed to horses to make their coats shine.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between Priorslee Lake and The Flash

- A pair of Mallard briefly on the upper pool.
- A Moorhen at the lower pool.
- The only Siskin of the morning by the upper pool.
also
- 1 Grey Squirrel again

(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

2015

Local Area

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

2 Little Grebes

3 Great Crested Grebes

4 Cormorants

1 Grey Heron

31 Tufted Duck

3 Redwings

5 Sand Martins

7 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Warbler

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

2 Great Crested Grebes

1 Cackling Goose

2 Common Teal

49 Tufted Ducks

3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers

4 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool

3 Great Crested Grebes

17 Tufted Ducks

1 Blackcap

2 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool

3 Tufted Duck

3 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

2013

Priorslee Lake

2 Gadwall

7 Wigeon

Iceland Gull

(John Isherwood and et al)

The Flash

1 Shoveler

2 Pochard

(John Isherwood)

Horsehay Pool

2 Mandarin Ducks

(Paul Spear)

2012

Priorslee Lake

3 Great Crested Grebes

16 Tufted Duck 

2 Blackcaps

12 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

4 Great Crested Grebes 

47 Tufted Duck

1 Blackcap

5 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

2 Red-legged Partridges

(Ed Wilson)

2008

Priorslee Lake

Oystercatcher

Blackcap

5 Chiffchaffs

Sand Martins

7 Gadwall

(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

2 Wheatear

6 Sky Larks

1 Fieldfare

3 Redwings

Lapwing

Green Woodpecker

14 Linnets.

(Ed Wilson) 

2006

Priorslee Lake

 Barn Owl

25 Sand Martins

3 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Warbler

47 Redwings

4 Meadow Pipits

12 Tufted Duck

4 Jays

433 Wood Pigeons

(Ed Wilson)