5 Apr 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

4.0°C: A late start to allow the rain to clear away. Often clear, though a passing sleet shower. Fresh NW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:36 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 07:35 - 09:20

(55th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- More Great Crested Grebes again. Two of them possibly moved back from The Flash?
- Eight Linnets seen in the hedge between the football field and the academy playing fields. These dropped in to the latter to feed. Most of my Linnet records from here are of over-flying birds.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
Numbers affected by the chilly and windy conditions; also by my late arrival.
- 2 Canada Goose: pair inbound
- 14 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Starlings again
- 1 Siskin

Count of hirundines etc. noted:
- >50 Sand Martins
- > 6 Barn Swallows

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- 2 (2) Willow Warblers
- 19 (15) Chiffchaffs
- 10 (9) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:
- 2 Canada Geese throughout
- 2 Mute Swans: pen sitting throughout
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck still
- 3 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 9 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Kingfisher

Also noted:
- 4 Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)
- *1 Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

Here is a male Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria). Females are smaller and a greenish-yellow. A common species often found resting on leaves even though, as its name suggests, it favours piles of dung where it performs an important recycling function.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 - 10:15

(43rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Great Crested Grebes gone again!.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 1 Stock Dove
- 1 Siskin

Count of hirundines etc. noted:
- 12 Sand Martins
- 2 Barn Swallows

The Barn Swallows were my first of the year here and take my Flash 2021 bird species count to 62.

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- 1 (1) Willow Warblers
- 8 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:

- *32 Canada Geese
- *3 Greylag Geese
- 3 + ? eggs Mute Swans
- 31 (23♂) Mallard
- 31 (19♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens only
- 25 Coots
- *2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult and one third year, briefly

Also noted:
- 2 Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

Splash-down for two Canada Geese.

Compare and contrast with splash-down of this Greylag Goose.

A graphic illustration of the difficulty of gull identification from photos. On the face of it the pale wings and back suggest this is an adult Herring Gull. Closer inspection shows that there is perhaps too much black on the outer wing; too wide a white trailing edge to the secondaries; and the feet are perhaps not really pink.

It is the back bird of these two and in this light it is quite clearly an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. The leading bird looks like a third year Lesser Black-backed Gull - note how the black on the wing tip extends on to the primary coverts and on close inspection there is a small black smudge in the tail, the remnant of the tail band shown by first and second year birds. In real life the first bird never really looked pale-enough for a Herring Gull. It is the way the camera attempted to compensate for the contrast in the first photo. But in real life I would have been unlikely to have noted that the other bird was not a full adult.

(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

3 Cormorants

2 Grey Herons

9 Tufted Duck

4 Blackcaps

7 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Warblers

131 Jackdaws

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

1 Cackling Goose-type

37 Tufted Ducks

3 Blackcaps

4 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Warbler

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool

4 Great Crested Grebes

23 Tufted Ducks

3 Sand Martins

1 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

2013

Priorslee Lake

2 Little Grebes 

5 Great Crested Grebes 

2 Gadwall 

23 Tufted Ducks 

2 Redwings

1 Fieldfare

3 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash 

3 Great Crested Grebes

48 Tufted Duck 

2 Brambling

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

4 Lapwings

1 Stock Dove

3 Sky Larks

8 Redwing

(Ed Wilson)

Horsehay Pool

Male Wheatear

(Glenn Bishton)

2011

Priorslee Lake

1 Goosander

(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

1 Ring Ouzel

60 Golden Plover

20 Yellowhammer

4 Wheatear

(John Isherwood, Andy Latham, John Isherwood, Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee lake

2 Great Crested Grebe

17 Tufted Duck

68 Lesser Black-backed Gull

1 Kingfisher

5 Meadow Pipit

1 Blackcap

6 Chiffchaff

3 Reed Bunting

(Martin Adlam)

2006

Priorslee Lake

6 Great Crested Grebe

5 Herons

7 Tufted Ducks

3 Lapwings

2 Ruddy Ducks

418 Jackdaws

27 Wrens

26 Blackbirds

47 Sand Martins

1 Swallow.

2 Fieldfares

1 Barn Owl

4 Meadow Pipits

2 Fieldfares

2 Blackcaps

6 Chiffchaffs

5 Willow Warblers

1 Willow Tit

9 Greenfinches

2 Siskins

7 Reed Bunting

(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)