7.0°C: Mostly cloudy with heavy showers. Moderate NW breeze gusting in showers. Very good visibility, moderate in showers.
[Sunrise: 07:58 GMT]
* = a photo today
Note order and timing. Brief visits between showers and commitments elsewhere
Priorslee Lake: 13:45 – 14:35
(276th visit of the year)
Mainly holed up in the car in the Castle Farm Way lay-by in a heavy rain shower.
Bird notes:
- Just the one Mute Swan again.
Counts from the lake area only:
- 1 Mute Swan: presumed the local pen
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall again
- 9 (5♂) Mallard
- 4 (3♂) Tufted Duck only: see note under The Flash below
- 6 Moorhens
- 65 Coots
- 32 Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 12 Herring Gulls
- 76 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 10:40 – 11:20
(252nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- I strongly suspect that many of the Tufted Duck from the Balancing Lake flew in here. I made a count when I walked along the W side and recorded 59 birds (31 drakes). As I walked down the E side there seemed to be a group I had not noticed previously. A recount gave me 83 birds with at least 49 drakes. When I got to the lake, albeit some hours later, there was only four Tufties present.
- Four Redwings flushed from trees in the NW area.
Birds noted flying over here:
None
On /around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 37 (27♂) Mallard
- no Teal
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 83 (49+♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 16 (10♂) Goosander
- 13 Moorhens
- Coots not counted
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons again
Of note:
(Ed Wilson)
- 5 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 37 (27♂) Mallard
- no Teal
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 83 (49+♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 16 (10♂) Goosander
- 13 Moorhens
- Coots not counted
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons again
Of note:
Nothing else
Just a few photos because of difficult light conditions and an approaching heavy shower. The Goosanders were unhelpful staying mainly in the 'shade' of overhanging trees around the island. Two drakes and a brownhead here. Note the nearer drake has some grey flank feathers to moult out.
One brownhead Goosander was more adventurous, out in open water. The extensive white between the bill and the eye (a bird's lores) suggests this is a first-winter bird and the sex probably cannot be reliably determined at present.
Watching attentively is one of the two Grey Herons that seem to be present most days.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.
Sightings from previous years without links are below
2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
7 Pochard
29 Tufted Ducks
1 Goldeneye
1 Goosander
142 Coots
33 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
203 Jackdaws
50 Rooks
3 Siskins
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)
2010
Priorslee Lake
1st-winter Mediterranean Gull
500 Black-headed Gulls
Yellow-legged Gull
800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
30 Herring Gulls
A drake hybrid Mallard x Pintail
(Tom Lowe)
Overdale
11 Waxwing
(Observer Unknown)
Granville Country Park
10 Waxwing
100+ Redwing
6 Bullfinch
20+ Redpoll
1 Tawny Owl
3 Sparrowhawk
1 hovering Buzzard
(Stuart Edmunds)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Yellow-legged Gull
(Richard Vernon)
The Wrekin
Firecrest
(Observer Unknown)
2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
3 Great Crested Grebes
23 Pochard
58 Tufted Ducks
65 Coots
>450 Black-headed Gulls
1128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
30 Robins
29 Blackbirds
46 Fieldfares
6 Song Thrushes
19 Redwings
2 Mistle Thrushes
168 Jackdaws
122 Rooks
1 Siskin
15 Linnets
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2005
Priorslee Lake
10 Reed Buntings
A duck Wigeon
3500 Black-headed Gulls
2000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
6 Herring Gulls
2 Pochard
53 Tufted Duck
228 Coot
496 Jackdaws
193 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)