4.0°C > 5.0°C: A sliver of early red sky to the East; otherwise increasing low cloud and rain after 09:30. Light ESE breeze increasing moderate. Good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:42 GMT
* = a photo from today.
A quick canter around ahead (just) of the forecast rain in very dull conditions.
Priorslee Lake: 06:54 – 08:59
(238th visit of the year)
Generally a quiet morning, probably weather-related.
Bird notes:
- No sign of yesterday's pair of Eurasian Wigeon. However a duck Common Teal was flushed.
- A smart adult Yellow-legged Gull was one of rather few gulls seen.
- The low count of Jackdaws and Rooks might have been because I arrived slightly too late.
- Three Song Thrushes were singing away for part of the time.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 19 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: together
- 11 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 10 Pied Wagtails
- 2 Siskins
Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: one brief call heard
Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- None: at least three Reed Buntings calling from their roost area but none was seen to leave
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 49 (>19♂) Tufted Duck
- 14 Moorhens
- Coots not counted
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 42 Black-headed Gulls only
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 29 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately; one departed
Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 plumed midge sp.
- *1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *1 male Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman
Later:
Nothing noted
The unmistakable shape of a stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
Male Leiobunum rotundum and L. blackwalli harvestmen can be hard to separate without close views. L. blackwalli has white rings around the eyes which this appears to have. However I think this might be reflection from the camera flash so I am keeping the log as Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli-type.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:02 – 09:40
(231st visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The Goosander totals, at least, are likely to be an under-recording. Birds were moving around rapidly and diving for long periods.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Noted on / around the water
- 110 Canada Geese: 105 of these arrived in a single group with...
- 1 Greylag Goose and...
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 52 (35♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 21 (11♂) Tufted Duck
- 16 (3♂) Goosander
- 19 Moorhens
- 28 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
On / around the street lamp poles:
Nothing noted
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 09:02 – 09:40
(231st visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The Goosander totals, at least, are likely to be an under-recording. Birds were moving around rapidly and diving for long periods.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Noted on / around the water
- 110 Canada Geese: 105 of these arrived in a single group with...
- 1 Greylag Goose and...
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 52 (35♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 21 (11♂) Tufted Duck
- 16 (3♂) Goosander
- 19 Moorhens
- 28 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
On / around the street lamp poles:
Nothing noted
Later around the Ivy bank:
Nothing noted
Nothing noted
A photo I took at The Flash yesterday. The body of this drone fly does look rather tapered though as it seems to have dark front legs it has to be a Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax).
(Ed Wilson)
Sightings from previous years without links are below
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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.
2013
Priorslee Lake
5 Gadwall
1 Pochard
125 Tufted Duck
3 Water Rails
15 Moorhens
221 Coots counted again
1 Snipe
23 Fieldfare
8 Redwings
196 Jackdaws
4 Rooks
2 Ravens
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
27 Tufted Ducks
9 Moorhens
142 Coots
(Ed Wilson)
2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
1st winter Great Black-backed Gull
3 female Goosander
3 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)
2008
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
30 Greylag Gees
16 Pochard
166 Tufted Duck
3 Goosander
Water Rail
148 Coot
c.700 Black-headed
c.1300 Lesser Black-backed
<20 Herring Gulls
93 Redwings
c.500 Starlings left a roost
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
33 Pochard
69 Tufted Ducks
6 Buzzards
>1750 Black-headed Gulls
2251 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
26 Robins
32 Blackbirds
96 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
13 Redwings
384 Jackdaws
216 Rooks
22 Greenfinch
2 Siskins
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)