4.0°C > 6.0°C: Good clear spells though patchy cloud, especially to the W. Light WNW breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 08:13 GMT
* = a photo today
Priorslee Lake: 07:00 – 09:20
(16th visit of the year)
No ice.
Bird notes:
- Many of the Tufted Duck have moved on now the ice has gone.
- Just two Black-headed Gulls were sitting on buoys at 07:25. Only c.75 more arrived at 07:42 and numbers stayed low throughout. I have no idea why.
- Lesser Black-backed Gulls started arriving at 07:35 and almost outnumbered the Black-headed Gulls.
- One Long-tailed Tit seen apparently on its own. Most odd.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 8 Greylag Geese: outbound together
- 2 Feral Pigeons: together
- 1 Stock Dove
- 6 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 9 Herring Gulls
- 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 88 Jackdaws
- 1 Redwing
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1) Mute Swans
- 2 (2♂) Gadwall again
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard again
- 24 (12♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- c.75 Black-headed Gulls
- 12 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: adult
- 62 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant arrived and almost immediately departed
On / around the street lamps:
Moths:
- 1 Early Moth (Theria primaria)
Other things:
- *1 'winter cranefly'
- *1 winter midge
- *1 'winter cranefly'
- *1 winter midge
Spiders etc.:
None
Later:
Later:
Nothing noted
Additions to my 2022 bird log for here:
Additions to my 2022 bird log for here:
None
Year to date: 60 bird species
One of the winter craneflies not atypically with legs missing.
A tiny brown-winged midge – seemed too small to need wings!
Look: a Siskin the right way up!
Chomping away on a seed.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:35
(15th visit of the year)
All the ice gone.
Bird notes:
- Eventually even more Canada Geese than yesterday.
- *The drake Shoveler was out on the open water this morning.
- *Four Pochard (three drakes) and many more Tufted Ducks have returned now the ice has gone.
- No Great Crested Grebe found.
- A distantly heard singing Mistle Thrush – probably the bird singing around the Ricoh area. I missed this species here last year.
Birds noted flying over here:
None
On /around the water:
- 81 Canada Geese: 37 of these arrived
- 2 Greylag Geese: one of these arrived
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *2 (1♂) Teal
- 39 (24♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- *1 (1♂) Shoveler still
- *4 (3♂) Pochard
- *44 (27♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- *66 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron
On the street lamps or on / around the Ivy:
- 81 Canada Geese: 37 of these arrived
- 2 Greylag Geese: one of these arrived
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *2 (1♂) Teal
- 39 (24♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- *1 (1♂) Shoveler still
- *4 (3♂) Pochard
- *44 (27♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- *66 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron
On the street lamps or on / around the Ivy:
Nothing on any of them
One addition to my 2022 bird log for here:
Mistle Thrush
Year to date: 46 bird species
Mistle Thrush
Year to date: 46 bird species
A trick of the light makes this drake Shoveler's head look blue when it usually appears dark green.
Splendid in the sun is this drake Teal.
Not quite so splendid is its partner but then her job is to look inconspicuous when incubating on the nest.
A rather soggy-looking duck Pochard. So soggy that the pale facial markings are obscured.
Here she is with two drakes. Note how the tone of the drakes' head varies with the lighting.
The drake Tufted Ducks are now coming in to 'full tuft' as they prepare for breeding.
A first-winter Black-headed Gull. It seems to have a few stray pale feathers suggesting it is starting its moult in to first summer plumage when much, but not all, of the brown feathering will be lost. I read recently that many first-winter birds disperse to the Mediterranean such that the proportion of these around the UK does not accurately represent the breeding success. Adults usually winter closer to their breeding grounds.
(Ed Wilson)
(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
2014
Priorslee Lake
57 Magpies
10 Pochard
64 Tufted Duck
119 Coots counted
>500 Black-headed Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
18 Redwings
>1500 Jackdaws
>325 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash
1st-winter female Velvet Scoter
102 Tufted Ducks
(Ed Wilson and Unknown Observer)
2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
21 Pochard
80 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
1 Goldeneye
155 Coots
Snipe
Woodcock
Kingfisher
113 Redwing
30 Siskins
(Ed Wilson, Mike Cooper)
The Flash
31 Tufted Duck
50 Goldfinches
1 Redpoll.
(Ed Wilson)
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Caspian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
(Tom Lowe)
2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Shoveler
21 Pochard
95 Tufted Duck
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
15 Great Black-backed Gulls
117 Redwings
12 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)
The Wrekin
6 Marsh Tit
2 Brambling
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Cormorants
4 Pink-footed Geese
3 Greylag Geese
16 Pochard
35 Tufted Ducks
1 Goldeneye
>600 Black-headed Gulls
>487 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
94 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
24 Robins
11 Blackbirds
8 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
39 Magpies
205 Jackdaws
76 Rooks
12 Greenfinches
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
12 Great Crested Grebes
2 Gadwall
11 Pochard
11 Tufted Duck
213 Coot
1 Water Rail
c.360 Black-headed Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
169 Jackdaws
117 Rooks
220 Wood Pigeons
21 Robins
20 Blackbirds
2 Willow Tits
41 Siskins
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)