4.0°C > 6.0°C: Mostly cloudy with early passing squally showers. Fresh NW wind, stronger gusts in showers. Mostly very good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:54 GMT
* = a photo today
Priorslee Lake: 06:40 – 09:20
(29th visit of the year)
Did I mention it has been quiet....
Other bird notes:
- I am slightly concerned about one of the Mute Swan cygnets. The family were asleep in the NE area. The adults and two of the cygnets awakened and paddled to a favourite position at the bottom of the concrete ramp. The third cygnet appeared some 20 minutes later and in order to speed its progress attempted to fly. It struggled to achieve lift-off and almost immediately dropped back only to patter and swim the rest of the way. The strong wind should have aided its take-off. All the cygnets are known to be strong flyers.
- A lone Lesser Black-backed Gull appeared briefly at 07:30. It was over 12 minutes later that just five Black-headed Gulls arrived only to soon depart. Later six more(?) appeared for a few minutes. Thereafter a single Herring Gull and two separate Lesser Black-backed Gulls were the only visiting gulls.
- Very few gulls were noted overflying.
- I noted just three Jackdaws passing SSE on their usual post-roost departure line and that was some twenty minutes after I would have anticipated seeing them. Later five groups totalling 95 birds flew in the opposite direction which they normally do in mid-afternoon. Most odd.
- The Cetti's Warbler gave one song pre-dawn only.
- Just a single Song Thrush was tempted to sing.
- *At least 50 Redwings were on the football field and were unusually tolerant of dogs chasing balls in the vicinity. [I was told that planning permission has been granted for the academy to fence off both the football field and some of the adjacent green space for their use. The council have just spent a lot of money refurbishing the children's play area. I wonder what will become of that? And of the trees planted by the community after trees and hedges were needlessly uprooted when the academy was built?]
Birds noted flying over here:
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 98 Jackdaws
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1) Mute Swans
- no Gadwall
- 8 (6♂) Mallard again
- 8 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 34 Coots
- 11? Black-headed Gulls only: see notes
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: all arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron again
On or around the street lamps:
Nothing seen in a cursory examination in wind and rain
Here are just 12 of the c.50 Redwings on the football field.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30
Somehow the Black-headed Gulls in this food melee all managed to emerge unscathed. I have tried counting how many: it is difficult. At least 10. Just visible on the right are a pair of Mallard!
One of the adult winter birds approaching. Note the thin black line on the leading edge of the outer primary feather. This feature is almost never visible 'in the field'.
(Most of) a first winter bird in a similar pose. This bird seems to have grown two adult-like central tail-feathers. I am not sure whether this means it is starting to moult in to first summer plumage or whether these are replacement feathers following damage. The only other unusual plumage feature is a missing outer secondary on its right wing.
A more-conventional first winter bird. The outermost tail feathers do not have any black and the next pair show black only on the outer tip.
Another first winter. The tail is being held slightly less spread and the all-white outermost tail feathers do not show well.
Q: How does a Cormorant scratch its head? A: carefully. Note the bare yellow skin below the eye and also the white thigh patch. Note too a fisherman's weight hanging in view (from an unseen branch). I hope it is not a lead weight.
The other Cormorant with more developed breeding plumage that includes white head plumes and a reddish tinge to some of the bare skin at the base of the bill. It is standing on one leg, the other is being held clenched and appears as a lump at it side.
Contrast this Song Thrush with the Redwings on the football field by the lake. This was one of two birds in close proximity and near where one has been singing intermittently for several weeks from deep inside a hedge. They are probably 'an item'.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30
(28th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The drake Teal made another short appearance.
- Just two drake Pochard today.
Bird noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 9 Redwings
On /around the water:
- 9 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 37 (24♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 1 (1♂) Teal
- *2 (2♂) Pochard
- 75 (36♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- *57 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls: one second winter; four first winters
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull: all (near) adults arrived separately
- *2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron again
On /around any street lamp pole and elsewhere.
Bird notes:
- The drake Teal made another short appearance.
- Just two drake Pochard today.
Bird noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 9 Redwings
On /around the water:
- 9 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 37 (24♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 1 (1♂) Teal
- *2 (2♂) Pochard
- 75 (36♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- *57 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls: one second winter; four first winters
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull: all (near) adults arrived separately
- *2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron again
On /around any street lamp pole and elsewhere.
Nothing
On of today's two drake Pochard.
I think 14 here, three of which are first winter birds with black tail bands.
(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
6 Great Crested Grebes
22 Greylag Geese
19 Pochard
42 Tufted Duck
c.390 Black-headed Gulls
c.350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
32 Herring Gulls
1 Common Gull
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
69 Redwings
25 Greenfinches
4 Linnets
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)
Priorslee Flash
Tundra Bean Goose
8 Greylag Geese
37 Tufted Ducks
c.1000 Black-headed Gulls
246 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
35 Herring Gulls.
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)
Trench Pool
8 Pochard
50 Tufted Ducks
79 Coots
(Ed Wilson)
Holmer Lake
50 Goosander
(John Isherwood)
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)