11 Dec 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

5.0°C: Overnight frost had been cleared by incoming medium/high overcast. Light rain after 09:50. Calm start with light SSW wind later. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:11 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:40 – 09:30

(286th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- More Black-headed Gulls arrived after 07:30: at least 175, after two days of very low numbers.
- A Cetti's Warbler sang once at the W end at 07:35. A few minutes later I heard song from the S side. Might, or might not, have been a different bird.

Overhead:
- 3 Feral Pigeons: together
- 1 Stock Dove
- 100 Wood Pigeons: 89 of these in a single group flying E
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 16 Herring Gulls
- 203 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 107 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Fieldfare: with....
- 13 Redwings: single group
- 6 Pied Wagtails heard
- 1 Greenfinch
- 2 Lesser Redpolls: together

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 8 Redwings

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: see notes

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 (3♂) Mallard again
- 38 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 58 Coots
- Little Grebe(s) heard only
- c.175 Black-headed Gulls
- 18 Herring Gulls
- 38 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 3 Winter Moths (Operophtera brumata)

Also
- 2 'winter midge' sp.

Spiders or harvestman:
- 1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

Noted later:
Nothing

The cloud spreading from the West had melted the frost but had not spread far-enough to prevent red sky presaging the rain that started later.

The most colourful part behind my favourite foreground tree.

The maximum extent of the colour

Today's Redwing photo. Unlike our resident Song and Mistle Thrushes the breast is streaked and not spotted. A hint of the red flanks showing on the bird's right side.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:25

(261st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Greylag Geese are getting less and less frequent here. It was good to see 17 even if most did fly off.
- The drake Teal was mixing it with a group of 13 Mallard (nine drakes).

Birds noted flying over here:
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

On /around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- *17 Greylag Geese: most departed
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *39 (25♂) Mallard
- *1 (1♂) Teal again
- 52 (28♂) Tufted Duck
- 14 (6♂) Goosander
- 16 Moorhens again
- 25 Coots
- *2 Great Crested Grebes as ever
- 68 Black-headed Gulls
- *4 Lesser Black-backed Gull: all adults
- 1 Grey Heron only

On / around street lamps:
- *1 female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)

Around the Ivy:
Nothing

Otherwise:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Good to see a few of these handsome Greylag Geese present.

At least one of the drake Teal is still present.

Unusually mixing with the Mallard – one drake visible here which was part of a group of 13 Mallard (nine drakes)

Talking of Mallard, a pair getting together.

She seems quite willing but it does not look much fun. (It is past the watershed isn't it?) I once heard a parent telling an inquisitive child that "he is giving her a good ducking". I suppose.

Two Moorhens tuck in to provided food. Note the bird on the left is an immature with browner plumage and dull colouration to the bill. I have not noted any other obvious immatures for some weeks. A Dunnock is sneaking it to partake of the feast.

A fairly typical adult winter-plumaged Lesser Black-backed Gull. The amount of dusky markings on the face and head is very variable. Some, as here, can show a small amount of black on the bill, usually only on the upper mandible at this age.

his example was rather distant. Nevertheless its unmarked head and lack of black on the bill are obvious. It invites confusion with Great Black-backed Gull which is always white-headed. That species would be darker on the back – as dark as the almost black primaries. It would also show a much larger bill.

One of the two first-winter Great Crested Grebes. If you look carefully at the top of the neck the adult head plumes are just showing as black marks.

This is an adult moth – honest! It is a female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) and like most 'winter' moths is flightless, crawling up tree-trunks and, as here, lamp poles where its pheromones attract the males. Once mated she drops to the ground and crawls to find somewhere to lay a clutch of eggs. It is thought this behaviour is an energy saving adaptation – she does not expend energy flying around dispersing eggs in the cold and hence can lay more eggs. The easiest way to identify these 'winter females' is by the extent of the vestigial wings – the Winter Moth has the smallest 'wings'.

(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

2013
Priorslee Lake
Scaup imm/fem
4 Yellow-legged Gull
(Gary Crowder)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Yellow-legged Gull
8 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 duck Gadwall
3 Goosander
4 Teal
1 Wigeon
1 Redshank
8 Pochard.
55 Tufted Ducks 
1 Water Rail
172 Coots.
4 Great Black-backed Gulls . 
36 Redwings
42 Fieldfares
453 Jackdaws
64 Rooks
(John Isherwood/Roger Clay/Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
35 Mute Swans
1 drake Wigeon
1 duck Goldeneye
2 drake Shoveler
40 Tufted Duck
1 Common Gull
6 Herring Gull
163 Lesser Black-backed Gull
128 Black-headed Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
165 Coot
Lesser Black-backed Gull with a Dark Blue ring with Orange [red] numbers 567. This bird bred in Germany. 
(Martin Grant/Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Adult Caspian Gull
(Tom Lowe)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black necked Grebe
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Cormorants
18 Pochard
56 Tufted Ducks
27 Robins
23 Blackbirds
3 Fieldfares
2 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Water Rail
750 Black-headed Gulls
1000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Little Grebes
5 Great Crested Grebes
15 Pochard
27 Tufted Duck
2 Redpolls
25 Siskins
15 Pied Wagtails
2 Redwings
32 Fieldfares
5 Reed Buntings
13 Robins
18 Blackbirds
11 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)