5 Mar 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

3.0°C > 5.0°C: Mainly clear with frost out of the keen NNW breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 06:49 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 05:45 – 08:25

(52nd visit of the year)

Two new bird species for my year list here:
- A Kingfisher flew past me along the N side at 06:40
- A Curlew was heard calling and then seen flying W to the S at 08:20. A not untypical date for this species to fly over. My recent records are 24 March 2021, 18 March 2019 and 07 April 2016. My only returning passage record was a bird on 10 July 2020. Only the 2021 record comprised of more than a single bird.
My year total number of bird species here moves to 68.

Other bird notes:
- No Great Crested Grebes found.
- Both the Cetti's Warbler and Chiffchaff were in good voice again.
- About 175 of the c.250 Jackdaws were noted flying S very far to the E. Three Rooks were with them.
- With less traffic noise this morning I could just about hear a very distant Skylark over fields way to E of Castle Farm Way.
- A loose party of c.25 Siskins flew N along the line of Castle Farm Way. These seemed to be different from the large group wheezing away in trees at the W end later. Numbers of this species have been higher than usual this year but the usual attendant Common Redpoll or two.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 9 Canada Geese: single and two pairs outbound; two pairs inbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: pair outbound
- 1 Stock Dove
- 53 Wood Pigeons: 22 of these in two tight groups
- 1 Curlew: as highlighted
- 46 Black-headed Gulls: four tight groups SSW
- 7 Herring Gulls
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 7 Cormorants: two singles and a group of five
- 1 Common Buzzard
- c.250 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks
- 3 Pied Wagtails
- c.25 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese throughout
- 2 Mute Swans
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 29 (17♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebe
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

On / around the frosted street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *springtail sps.

Later:

Nothing of note

Blue Tit are rather cute.

As ever trying to hide behind branches this male Bullfinch is eating his breakfast buds.

Munch, munch. These birds are always shy and had I moved to get the branches out of the way he would have flown.

I waited for him to move to a different position – behind a different branch!

This springtail photo was taken yesterday and shows the markings more clearly than most I have taken.

And another from yesterday with another variation in markings. Note the three short horizontal cross-bands. There is too much variability within each species for me to identify these beyond belonging to the genus Dicyrtomidae.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:30 – 09:35

(49th visit of the year)

A small amount of ice had formed which the wind had blown in to the bottom end.

Bird notes:
- The pair of Mute Swan were assiduously sorting out their nesting platform for the year.
- The pair of Teal were again by the island.
- Three drake Pochard found: two asleep by the island; another at the top end
- No Great Crested Grebes noted here either.
- No Chiffchaff noted.

Birds noted flying over here:

None

On /around the water:
- 19 Canada Geese: two of these arrived
- *3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 25 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 2 (1♂) Teal
- 3 (3♂) Pochard
- 76 (42♂) Tufted Duck
- 14 Moorhens yet again
- 26 Coots again
- no Great Crested Grebes
- 17 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: a second and a third year, together, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

On /around the street lamp poles:
- *1 springtail sp.
I suppose it was inevitable that having 'got my eye in' I would find one here sooner or later.

Also noted:
- *Crocus flowers, probably Early Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus)
- *Black balls of fungus on a dead Ash tree – likely King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica)

Both adult Mute Swans were busily engaged in cropping the vegetation around the chosen nest site to make a safe platform for the eggs and for the pen to sit on while she incubates the clutch next month.

A Dunnock of course. Always good to see these perky birds. They are often to be seen shuffling about on the ground.

Not so many Siskins here this morning which meant that they few that were present were more approachable.

A record shot. It was not too easy to reach this springtail for a proper possible identification photo but is presented as the first springtail I have recorded around The Flash.

I found these crocuses flowering in the small copse at the NW end of the water. I suspect they are Early Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus) and most likely garden escapes.

This black globular fungus is on the large dead and pollarded Ash tree near the Priorslee Academy. I suspect they are King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica). All I can say is poor King Alfred.

(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

Horsehay Pool

4 Great Crested Grebes

20 Goosander

1 Glaucous Gull

1 Yellow-legged Gull

(Paul King)

2012

Priorslee Lake

Peregrine

4 Great Crested Grebes

2 Pochard

21 Tufted Duck 

(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash

2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers

4 Great Crested Grebes

8 Pochard

51 Tufted Duck 

(Ed Wilson)

2010

Priorslee Lake

5 Great Crested Grebes 

1 Heron 

6 Gadwall

28 Pochard

57 Tufted Duck

c.1000 Black-headed Gulls

55 Magpies

1 Linnet

2 Siskin

12 Reed Bunting

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

Glaucous Gull

c.200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

c.10 Herring Gulls

2 Common Gulls

9 Mute Swans

12 Tufted Duck

8 Great Crested Grebe

(Mike Cooper)

2006

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

7 Great Crested Grebes

2 Herons

1 Cormorant

11 Pochard

90 Tufted Ducks

1 Water Rail

607 Wood Pigeon

11 Greenfinches

23 Siskins

5 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)