9 Apr 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 4.0°C: Early rather heavy rain gave way to more showery outbreaks. Cloud level generally low again. Light NNW wind fell away calm. Moderate / good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:26 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 05:30 - 09:15

(59th visit of the year)

Two additions to my 2021 bird species list this year:

- I was keeping out of the early heavy rain on the sailing club shelter when I noted four small birds running around on the grass at 05:40. So dark! What were they? Eventually enough light to see they were four Common Sandpipers. This date equals my previous earlies date in 2019. A remarkably consistent date as I have 10 April for 1991 and 2014. Species #85

- I searched and searched through all the Sand Martins and eventually just before 09:00 I found my first House Martin here this year. Species #86

One that nearly got away. A white object seen in the early gloom low-down in a bush seemed to be a white plastic bag masquerading as a Little Egret. However it had gone later. The position was not accessible for the bag to be removes and there was no wind to blow it away. So was it a Little Egret masquerading as a plastic bag? A photo taken in poor light from right across the lake supports the Little Egret identification - just! My fifth record this year though the other four have all been fly-overs.

Other bird notes:

- Just one Wood Pigeon motivated to fly over. Must be some sort of low-count record for me.

- A Common Buzzard feasting on what might have been a Pheasant carcass on the academy playing fields. A(nother) Pheasant still extant - heard calling later.

- The first Sand Martins were present by 07:45.

- All warblers were hard work with song often intermittent. More Willow Warblers - as there were at The Flash later. Mostly passing through I expect. That said Willow Warblers have been singing from the same two small areas for some days - no guarantee these are the same birds each day of course.

- A very frustrating Wren with a rather unusual singing tone and a very fast trill recalling the final phrase of a Wood Warbler's song. It has momentarily confused me for two days now.

- Four Linnets in the hedge between the football field and the academy playing fields. Too dull for photos.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 2 Canada Geese: one pair outbound

- 6 Greylag Geese: three pairs outbound

- 1 Wood Pigeon only!!

- 2 Collared Doves: together

- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adults together

- 3 Jackdaws

- 8 Starlings

- 5 Meadow Pipits

Count of hirundines etc. noted:

- c.50 Sand Martins

- 4 Barn Swallows

- 1 House Martin

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)

- 4 (4) Willow Warblers

- 18 (14) Chiffchaffs

- 11 (9) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:

- 4 Canada Geese: pair throughout; another pair arrived and were chased off.

- 2 Mute Swans: pen sitting throughout

- 4 (3♂) Mallard

- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck

- 6 Moorhens

- 29 Coots

- 5 Great Crested Grebes

- 4 Common Sandpipers

- 1 Grey Heron

- 1 Little Egret: roosted and departed

Otherwise newly in flower here for 2021:

- Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)

- Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa)

- Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)

I am reasonably pleased with these shots of Common Sandpiper considering the light level. The camera and I really struggled with the conditions today.

Two of the four birds here. The way the white extends up the shoulder is a good identification feature of this species as is the constant bobbing of the tail.

Camera 1 Binoculars 0. Just enough on this photo taken across the full width of the lake in the rain to be sure this is a Little Egret (note the black where the bill should be!). It is not a plastic bag, though the latter are far more frequent around the lake these days.

Because of the rain the camera was in my pocket when I saw this Great Crested Grebe attempting to 'do a Grey Heron' with a large fish. By the time the camera was ready the fish had been consumed and all I could see was rather strange behaviour as it kept dipping its bill in the water. There seems to be something hanging out of its bill, though I cannot make out what it is.

Not entirely sure what the Common Buzzard has found to eat other than it clearly had lots of feathers and is now rather a mess. I cannot tell whether the red is part of, say, a Pheasant's plumage, or just blood and guts.

I'm no expert on birds' eggs and was never been interested even as a child at a time when hunting birds' nests was not frowned on (much less illegal!). However Mr. Google to the rescue (other search-engines ....). The sparse black specks on a blue egg suggest a Song Thrush. [Not sure why it looks green in the photo!] Hopefully there is a fledging around somewhere.

Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) is the earliest umbellifer to flower in our area and this is the first I have seen this year. It has a typically open structure with well-spread umbels.

Not looking too happy in the rain and cold is this patch of Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 - 10:25

(47th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- I hope it was a Sparrowhawk overhead. It was doing a display flight with the white under-tail coverts spread out the sides. On size it looked like a female. Do females display? If not was it a male Goshawk? I doubt it - Goshawk is the most frequently misidentified bird and after all it is a know Sparrowhawk territory and the species are unlikely to co-exist.

- A pair of Barn Swallows was on a TV aerial on one of the houses in Derwent Drive for a while.

- It is not unusual for Willow Warblers to pass in some numbers in early April. Seven singing birds is a good count if a few days later than usual - held up by the northerly blast?

- A male Reed Bunting was calling at the S end. Only my second sighting of this species here this year after a female along the E side on 18 March

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

- 1 Sparrowhawk

- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult

- 1 Feral Pigeon

Hirundines etc. noted:

- 4 Sand Martins

- 2 Barn Swallows

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)

- 8 (7) Willow Warblers

- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs

- 5 (4) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:

- 21 Canada Geese

- 8 Greylag Geese

- 3 + ? eggs Mute Swans

- 23 (18♂) Mallard

- 37 (23♂) Tufted Duck

- 6 Moorhens

- 24 Coots

- [no Great Crested Grebes]

Nothing else noted

What is presumably a pair of Moorhens. They had just seen off a Coot in a no-holds-barred bout of kick-boxing.

Terrible light still but Barn Swallows on a TV aerial is not something you see every day. I would judge it to be the male closest to me but with only one long tail-streamer - the other looks broken. It has been shown (by whom? how?) that female swallows prefer males with the longest and equal-length streamers.

(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

4 Great Crested Grebes

2 Cormorants

2 Grey Herons

12 Tufted Duck

3 Swallows

7 Blackcaps

7 Chiffchaffs

2 Willow Warblers

133 Jackdaws

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

2 Great Crested Grebes

1 Cackling-type Goose

29 Tufted Ducks

5 Blackcap

3 Chiffchaffs

5 Willow Warbler

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

1 Sky Lark

1 Meadow Pipit

1 Blackcap

2 Chiffchaffs

2 Willow Warbler

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool

4 Great Crested Grebes

22 Tufted Ducks

2 Blackcaps

2 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

2013

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe 

5 Great Crested Grebes 

5 Tufted Ducks

Little Ringed Plover

8 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Tit

3 Redwings

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

2 Greylag Goose 

1 Cackling Goose 

73 Tufted Duck 

Brambling

(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

2 Wheatear

(John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington

6 Redshank

18 Teal

(Martin Grant)

2011

Nedge Hill

Ring Ouzel

4 Common Redstart

7 Wheatear

(John Isherwood,Ed Wilson)

The Wrekin

3 Pied Flycatchers

2 Common Redstarts

1 Tree Pipit

(JW Reeves)

2007

Priorslee lake

4 Tufted Duck

1 Sparrowhawk

2 Sand Martin

1 Skylark

1 Meadow Pipit

4 Blackcap

2 Willow Warbler

9 Chiffchaff

1 Willow Tit

3 Reed Bunting

(Martin Adlam) 

Priorslee Village

1 Swallow

(Martin Adlam)

2006 

Priorslee Lake 

5 Great Crested Grebes

3 Herons

1 Cormorant

7 Tufted Ducks

1 Ruddy Duck

259 Jackdaw

4 Stock Doves

1 Great Spotted Woodpecker

13 Meadow Pipits

21 Wrens

18 Robins

22 Blackbirds

1 Redwing

3 Blackcaps

7 Chiffchaffs

3 Willow Warblers

4 Jays

6 Greenfinches

2 Siskin

6 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)