30 Jan 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

3.0°C > 7.0°C: Clear to E with medium-low cloud to W gradually spreading across. Calm start with light SE breeze developing. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:56 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:40 – 09:20

(28th visit of the year)

At last: something different! A Little Egret flew low W over at 07:40. Bird species #63 for me here in 2022.

Other bird notes:
- A drake Gadwall has reappeared.
- A Woodcock flew around the small copse in the SW area and disappeared towards the M54 at 06:55. It on another circuit, or another, did the same thing a minute or two later.
- The early gull arrival consisted of only three Lesser Black-backed Gulls followed a few minutes later by just 27 Black-headed Gulls. All these departed within 10 minutes. Thereafter I noted ten Black-headed Gulls briefly on the water, perhaps earlier birds returning? Much later two Herring Gulls and one Lesser Black-backed Gull stopped off for a bathe.
- A significant passage of Black-headed Gulls passing overhead, all going SSW either in dedicated groups of up to 26 birds or among groups of larger gulls. I have seen flocks of Black-headed Gulls passing overhead on Spring passage but this is too early and they were going in the wrong direction. So where were they going and why? And why so few on the water?
- I counted 45 Magpies leaving their roost area in the NW part of the area. A depressingly large total but well down on the 80+ noted in the winter of 2017/2018.
- The number of passing Jackdaws remains much reduced. I have rarely exceeded 100 any morning this winter whereas a few years ago I sometimes saw several flocks that I estimated totalled more than 1000 birds. I just hope their roost site and / or feeding area have moved rather than their numbers have crashed.
- Another sighting of a lone Starling leaving the reeds apparently having roosted there. As I drive away I note that some Starlings have returned around the estate where they usually breed.
- Eight Song Thrushes and one Mistle Thrush in song.
- *Another group of 35 Redwings seen: these were in trees alongside Teece Drive.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese again: two outbound very loosely together; one inbound
- 1 Greylag Goose: outbound
- 1 (1♂) Mallard
- 1 Stock Dove
- 34 Wood Pigeons: 52 of these in three groups
- *118 Black-headed Gulls
- 11 Herring Gulls
- 78 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Little Egret
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 73 Jackdaws
- 4 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1) Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 8 (6♂) Mallard
- 10 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- 27 Black-headed Gulls only: see notes
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *3 Cormorants: arrived separately; one departed again
- 1 Grey Heron

On or around the street lamps:
- *1 Pale Brindled Beauty moth (Phigalia pilosaria)
- 2 'winter craneflies'
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider again – different pole

Not an exciting sunrise. This might appeal to cloud fans.

A drake Gadwall was around again.

A steady passage of Black-headed Gulls all flying SSW. Here are just three. As far as I could tell they were all adults.

One of the three Cormorants leaves. On this bird a big white thigh patch and yellow-toned bare skin under the bill. No sign of head-plumes as yet.

 There were four Long-tailed Tits chasing around. It was a challenge to capture them perched.

Here it is again.

One of the others.

A Redwing alongside Teece Drive. I've complained about twigs in the foreground before.

This is a Pale Brindled Beauty moth (Phigalia pilosaria). I last noted one here on 30 January 2019 – a consistent date.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:25

(27th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Most of the geese apparently still out.
- Two additional drake Pochard and twenty more Tufted Ducks since yesterday. Some of the Tufties may have been refugees from the lake once the boating started, though there were only 12 there earlier.
- A more typical number of gulls were present after the recent bonanza.

Bird noted flying over here:
- 1 Sparrowhawk again
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull again

On /around the water:
- 11 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 47 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 3 (3♂) Pochard
- 71 (34♂) Tufted Duck
- 16 Moorhens
- 26 Coots again
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 54 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: first winter
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near) adult
- no Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron

On /around  the street lamp poles:

Nothing

Otherwise
- 1 Grey Squirrel again

A drake Tufted Duck. Now is that gloss on the side of the head green or purple? Seems there is a hint of both to me.

Having eaten all the proffered food two Moorhens leave with "best foot forward" even if they cannot agree which is their best foot: left or right?

(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

2 Cormorants 

1 Teal 

7 Pochard 

66 Tufted Duck 

3 Greater Scaup 

1 Velvet Scoter 

91 Coots 

1 Woodcock 

50 Herring Gulls 

33 Redwings 

c.495 Jackdaws

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

106 Tufted Ducks 

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool

7 Pochard 

25 Tufted Duck 

4 Goosander 

44 Coots

(Ed Wilson)

Park Pool, Chetwynd near Newport

31 Shoveler

(Ed Wilson)

2013

Priorslee Lake

29 Wigeon 

10 Gadwall 

8 Pochard 

59 Tufted Ducks 

1 Scaup

169 Coots

 >300 Starlings

13 Redwings

46 Fieldfare 

211 Jackdaws

(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

The Flash

9 Pochard 

54 Tufted Duck

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool

2 Goosander

Sparrowhawk

(John Isherwood)

Holmer Lake

1 Gadwall

9 Goosander

1 Little Grebe

Goldcrest

Nuthatch

(John Isherwood)

2012

Priorslee Lake

4 Great Crested Grebes

21 Pochard

42 Tufted Duck

c.190 Black-headed Gulls

48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

8 Herring Gulls

Glaucous Gull

75 Redwing

16 Bullfinch 

(Ed Wilson, Martin Grant) 

Priorslee Flash

1 Pochard

43 Tufted Ducks

282 Black-headed Gulls

3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

2 Herring Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

2010

Priorslee Lake

 1 Water Rail

4 Gadwall

2 Willow Tit

(John Isherwood)

2009

Priorslee Lake

A female Ruddy Duck

500+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring & Black-headed Gulls.

1 Yellow-legged Gull

1 Great Black-backed Gull

(Ed Wilson)