27 Jan 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C: Just a few breaks in low cloud to start. Then a spell of light drizzle. A clearance from the N after 10:00. Moderate W breeze. Initially good visibility, then moderate in drizzle becoming very good with clearance.

Sunrise: 08:00 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:45 – 09:20

(25th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- All five Mute Swans were investigating the nest area for much of the time.
- There seemed to be some change-around amongst the diving ducks. The drake Pochard had gone (to The Flash?) and the smaller number of Tufted Ducks contained proportionately many fewer drakes. They also tended to stay much closer together and, especially early, were very skittish all dashing off as a group to settle some way away.
- The Coots were also behaving oddly: few were on the SW grass – no longer frosted of course; 31 of them were toward the E end where a dozen or so is my typical count from that area.
- All gulls were late with a Lesser Black-backed Gull arriving at 07:42 as the first of 18 such gulls and eight Herring Gulls. It was several minutes before any Black-headed Gulls arrived and these dropped down high from the N and not, as usual, from the W end. Numbers stayed low.
- A group of 12 Siskins flew S over the dam. Later there were fewer (c.20) than yesterday in trees at the W end.
- A Reed Bunting was heard calling in SE area and was probably the bird seen flying away high to the W later – to where?

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: outbound
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 5 Wood Pigeons only
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 14 Herring Gulls
- 47 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 48 Jackdaws
- 8 Redwings
- 12 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1) Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard only
- no Pochard
- 16 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- no Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- c.100 Black-headed Gulls
- 22 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

On or around the street lamps:
- *2 different 'winter cranefly' sps.
- at least four species of fly / midge
- *1 planthopper
- *1 springtail
- *1 24 Spot Ladybird (Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata)
I was surprised / disappointed that there were no moths on this mild morning.

Another 'two for the price of one': a winter cranefly, small as they are, is huge in comparison with the springtail. Neither specifically identified.

A different species of winter cranefly caught as it decided the light from my torch was a threat and flew off. Note the banded abdomen that should make identification easier. Should!

This is the one chance I had to photograph the planthopper before it lived up to its name and hopped away never to be seen again. I will need help to identify it.

I found this ladybird on one of the street lamp poles pre-dawn. Identification was more straightforward than I thought as the only ladybird which is all-red is the 24 Spot Ladybird (Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata) [I hope it doesn't have to report by its scientific name!]. The actual number of spots is variable though the double fused-spots in the middle of the elytra (wing cases) are normally present. The NatureSpot web site notes it as active all year. I last recorded this here in July 2019.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:35

(24th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A drake Teal was heard calling and then seen paddling from the island toward the bottom end. Later one was at the top end – the same? I could not relocate any at the bottom end.
- A drake Pochard was new in – from the Balancing Lake?
- There was already another bumper number of Herring Gulls present when a large gull party flew over and even more dropped in and I lost track of what was going on. A few Lesser Black-backed Gulls also arrived at this time, though most carried on SW
- The distant singing Mistle Thrush seems to be in trees behind the Co-op store and is clearly audible from the S end.
- After struggling for several weeks to find any Long-tailed Tits I found two parties today.
- Eight Redwings were in trees at the top end and flew off W. Later two flying out of the W area may have been some of these.
- Just one male Greenfinch was seen and heard giving it nasal territorial 'song'.

Bird noted flying over here:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 43 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Jackdaw

On /around the water:
- 58 Canada Geese: 40 of these arrived
- 2 Greylag Geese: one of these arrived with the Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 39 (25♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 1 (1♂) Teal: see notes
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 62 (33♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 11 Moorhens
- 26 Coots again
- 1 Great Crested Grebe remains
- *71 Black-headed Gulls
- *26 Herring Gulls: too confusing to age them all! Almost all immatures
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gull: at least three immatures
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

On /around any street lamp pole:

Nothing on any of them

I initially thought that this rather dark-looking first-winter gull might be a Lesser Black-backed Gull. The photo shows that some pale grey feathers are developing on the back so it is another one of the many Herring Gulls that seem to be quite happy here at the moment.

Splott! A different first-winter Herring Gull takes the plunge. Note how from underneath the inner primaries are noticeably pale.

As it flapped it would not all fit. Here we see the paler inner primaries from above. The dark secondaries are clearly seen. A same age Lesser Black-backed Gull would show dark secondary coverts as well making two rows of dark feathers along the wing trailing edge.

Two more Herring Gulls. The bird on the left looks almost like an adult apart from the extensive dark on the bill and the smudgy black on the bend of the forewing. It is likely a fourth winter. The bird on the right is a third winter with dark from the wing tips extending along the front of the wing and remnants of the dark tail band that is shown by first and second winter birds.

Here is the same third winter (bottom left) showing a brown tone in the middle of the wing. Above it is a first winter Herring Gull. I am not 100% sure about the bird behind them. It is a first winter and just may be a Lesser Black-backed Gull.

This is an intriguing adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. It is very 'black' with no tonal difference between the main part of the wing and the wing tip and with the two outer primaries showing white 'mirrors'. This suggests it is of the race intermedius from NW Europe. The fuscus race that breeds in the UK shows paler inner wings and a white 'mirror' on the outer primary only. There are two puzzles outstanding: the inner primaries are paler - perhaps just worn? And the white area at the base of these inner primaries is normally only shown in late summer when the primary coverts are dropped and until they have regrown. This is a real bruiser of a bird. Note the wide white trailing edge to the secondaries.

(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

13 Pochard

63 Tufted Duck

2 Greater Scaup

1 Velvet Scoter

101 Coots counted

31 Herring Gulls

3 Great Black-backed Gulls

7 Redwings

522 Jackdaws

335 Rooks

71 Magpies

4 Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

111 Tufted Ducks

(Ed Wilson)

2013

Priorslee Lake

26 Wigeon 

10 Gadwall 

14 Pochard

56 Tufted Ducks 

1 Greater Scaup

177 Coots

4 Redwings

30 Siskins

(Ed Wilson, Dave Tromans)

The Flash

1 Little Grebe

4 Goosander

(Dave Tromans)