5 Dec 21

Priorslee Lake only

4.0°C > 3.0°C: Very strange weather. Increasingly bright skies to E, even areas of blue, despite the fresh and gusty NW wind: meanwhile continuous mainly light rain and cloudy at the lake.

Sunrise: 08:04 GMT

* = a photo today

A delayed start due to heavy rain c.06:15. I was cold and wet after visiting the lake and went home.

Priorslee Lake: 07:05 – 09:15

(280th visit of the year)

Firstly a correction with thanks to Martin Grant, keeper of the Mute Swan ring data. I was prompted to check as I thought when I read ring 7JNU on Friday that the base of the bill looked rather swollen. However unless I see both sexes together I have difficulty sexing this species – the cob (males) has the larger swelling, especially when in breeding condition. It turns out 7JNU is the cob and it was he who stayed behind and was presumably the bird that flew off yesterday. Apologies.

Bird notes:
- A dearth of, especially, Black-headed Gulls. The first arrived at 07:25 and I noted no more than 24 at any one time.
- It was especially noticeable today that Herring Gulls passing over are much more likely to drop in for a wash and brush up than Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Why should that be?
- More Pied Wagtails heard passing over on roost dispersal. Likely at least in part due to much reduced background traffic noise on Sunday mornings.

Overhead:
- 11 Wood Pigeons only
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 69 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 57 Jackdaws
- 12 Redwing: three singles and one group
- 17 Pied Wagtails only heard
- 9 Siskins

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 3 Reed Buntings: these flew from a location where I have not noted these roosting previously.

Warblers noted:
- 2 Cetti's Warblers again

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard again
- 47 (21♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (1♂) Goosander: a previously unseen bird was noted departing at 08:50
- 8 Moorhens yet again
- [Coots not counted]
- 24 Black-headed Gulls only
- *1 Great Black-backed Gull
- *12 Herring Gulls
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: arrived together; one soon departed
- 1 Grey Heron

Street Lamps:
A rather cursory look around the street lamps pre-dawn failed to find anything after overnight rain and wind.

Later:
Nothing noted

Not much today in wet and windy conditions. A flying plank. Note the size of the bill on this Great Black-backed Gull as it departs. Apart from first-winter birds this species at all ages and times of the year shows an unstreaked white head. This bird is a full adult. This species can often be recognised by its lumbering flight.

As so often a gull puzzle. I only noted the lower bird as it was leaving. A pale-winged gull with very reduced amount of black on the wing-tips. This can be indicative of Thayer's Gull, a disputed species / form of Iceland Gull. Looking carefully at the right wing it seems the outer two primaries are not full-grown. If this is also true of the left wing then when they are full-grown it would change the appearance: if they are dark-ended then the result would look far more like what I think it is – a Herring Gull. The white area in the forewing and the very variable amount of white on the trailing edge of the wing also suggest this bird is in moult. I am sure the bill is too large for a Thayer's Gull and supports the moulting adult Herring Gull hypothesis. The upper bird is a Black-headed Gull, closer to the camera so out of proportion.

From a slightly different angle and somewhat over-enlarged this shows the Herring Gull-type bill more clearly. The upper wing pattern is less obvious.

(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.

9 Pochard

44 Tufted Ducks

1 Goldeneye

158 Coots

9 Herring Gulls

1 Great Black-backed Gull

27 Redwings

4 Fieldfares

(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash

7 Pochard

71 Tufted Duck

5 Goosander

(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2011

Priorslee Lake

5 Adult Great Black-backed Gulls

(John Isherwood)

2009

Priorslee Lake

4 Great Crested Grebes

36 Swans

15 Pochard

48 Tufted Ducks

1 Woodcock

300 Coots

c.1500 Black-headed Gulls

5 Stock Doves

5 Redwings

c.35 Goldfinches

c.10 Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

1 Wigeon

7 Pochard

58 Tufted Ducks

>1000 Black-headed Gulls

>2350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

5 Herring Gulls

1 Yellow-legged Gull

20 Robins

20 Blackbirds

c.40 Fieldfares

4 Song Thrushes

6 Redwings

2 Willow Tits

190 Jackdaws

278 Rooks

7 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

2 Wigeon

12 Pochard

47 Tufted Duck

239 Coot

Golden Plover

c.1600 Black-headed Gulls

397 Jackdaws

261 Rooks

2 Meadow Pipits

3 Redwings

16 Robins

24 Blackbirds

62 Fieldfares

15 Wrens

2 Willow Tits

Redpolls

Siskins

(Ed Wilson)