2 Jan 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

8.0°C: Not quite so mild. Some patchy cloud with some sunny intervals. Moderate SSW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:22 GMT once more

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:55 – 09:40

(2nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One of the adult Mute Swans spent long periods apart from the others. I am not sure which one or indeed whether it was always the same one.
- The first Black-headed Gulls arrived at 07:40. Numbers were very low with only about 60 arriving. Another 75 arrived at 07:55 by which time many of the originals had already left.
- Only one sizeable group of Jackdaws (33) noted. Strangely from calls these seemed to have stopped off in trees to the N of the lake. Later birds seen flying well to the E in dribs and drabs.
- Two Ravens flew E at the early time of 07:45.
- The Cetti's Warbler sang once apparently along the N side. Later one was calling in the SW area – the same?

Overhead:
- 1 Canada Goose: from the W: circled and left to the W.
- 2 Feral Pigeons: singles
- 6 Stock Doves: duo and four singles
- 127 Wood Pigeons: 85 of these in six groups E / SE
- 10 Herring Gulls
- 52 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 81 Jackdaws
- 2 Ravens
- 2 Redwings
- no Pied Wagtails
- 2 Siskins

Birds seen leaving roost sites around the lake:
- 25 Magpies left the roost to the S / E. Later 12 were noted in conifers to N and W of the football field though these may have come from a different roost.

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler still

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1) Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall again
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 14 (9♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens again
- 49 Coots
- c.140 Black-headed Gulls only
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull again
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

On and around the lamps:

Moths:

None though:
- *unidentified larva, but of what?

Also:
- *unidentified red-eyed fly
- *several barkflies of at least two species
- *possible springtail

Spiders / Harvestmen:
- *Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

Later:
- *Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

Additions to my 2022 bird log for here in species order:
Raven, Jay, Feral Pigeon, Nuthatch, Treecreeper
Year to date: 46 species

Taking the sun is a Redwing.

Mrs. Bullfinch with a beakful of buds, a favourite food of this species.

When I took this photo I assumed it was a slug. Looking at the photo on the computer shows it to be a larva. I cannot suggest what of though.

One of the many flies with red eyes. Just visible through the folded wings is the orange tinged abdomen.

 A barkfly sp. Seems to be different from any I have photographed recently.

Possibly the smallest insect I have photographed on the lamps: I think a springtail but beyond that...

First spider of the year: a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis). One of its eight eyes is reflecting the camera flash. The pale streak along the cephalothorax (front bit) is the best ID feature as the abdomen pattern is variable.

Second spider of the year seen much later: this Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider has caught its breakfast – a midge by the looks of things.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:45 – 10:40

(2nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Many ducks back again.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

On /around the water:
- 12 Canada Geese again
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 43 (28♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- no Teal
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 74 (39♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (1♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens only
- 26 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 42 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Herring Gull
- *1 Cormorant again
- [Grey Heron reported as present earlier]

On the street lamps:

Nothing on any of them

On around the Ivy:
- despite being in the (watery) sun I could find no insects.

Additions to my 2022 bird log for here in species order:
Siskin, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Pochard
Year to date: 33 species

The cygnet formation flying team comes in to land.

A second-winter Herring Gull seems to be seeking inspiration. The bill-pattern invites confusion with Ringed-bill Gull, a rare vagrant from North America. That species is smaller and as a result the bill is much smaller. Also the bill marking is more neatly parallel-sided across both mandibles.

Many of my attempts to photograph the fishing Cormorant looked like.

Slightly better. Shows the nasty hook on the tip of the bill.

And then it popped up too close!

What a sweetie. "Do I look better this way?"

"Or this way?"

"All this posing has made me quite dizzy"

Two rather distant Siskins hiding amongst the alder cones in trees at the top end of the water.

(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

Drake Scaup still present.

2012

Priorslee Lake

1 Yellow-legged Gull

4 or 5 Great Black-backed Gulls

1 Caspian Gull

(Ed Wilson and et al)

2010

Priorslee Lake

c.1500 gulls

Adult winter Ring Billed Gull.

Adult Common Gull

3 adult Yellow-legged Gulls

Black-necked Grebe

(Ed Wilson and Rob Stokes)

2009

Priorslee Lake

Caspian Gull

Adult Yellow-legged Gull

Iceland Gull

(Dawn Balmer, Peter Wilson and et al)