3 Dec 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

3.0°C > 4.0°C: Early broken cloud even with a few light showers. Clearer later. Light N wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:01 GMT

* = a photo from today.

Priorslee Lake: 06:32 – 09:21

(246th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I could not find any of the recently seen Common Teal
- A Little Grebe was new since my last visit.
- I have no idea why I saw no passage of Jackdaws and Rooks. In principle I was present in plenty of time...

Birds noted flying over here:
- 29 Wood Pigeons
- 36 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 5 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Jackdaw
- 11 Redwings
- 3 Pied Wagtails

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: very vocal before dawn in the north-east area.

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 6 Redwings

Counts from the lake area:
- 13 Canada Geese: eight of these arrived and then departed; two others departed and then apparently returned
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 (4♂) Gadwall
- 10 (7♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 61 (28♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 165 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- c.75 Black-headed Gulls only
- 14 Herring Gulls
- 52 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 December Moth (Poecilocampa populi): moth species #93 for me here this year
- *1 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)
- *1 Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria)

Noted later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

and still in flower:
- *Bramble [Blackberry] (Rubus fruticosus agg.)
- *Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

with
- *two different types of fungus

My first December Moth (Poecilocampa populi) of the year. My 93rd, and almost certainly my last, species here this year. A common-enough species though not one I see every year. 2017 and 2021 are my only previous records since 2013.

A Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata).

To complete this morning's trio of moths here is my first Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria) of this Winter season. It is a male: females have only vestigial wings and are flightless. They crawl up tree-trunks where the males detect them using pheromones.

This is no doubt a legacy of the wet and warm Autumn after the Summer drought. I found this Bramble [Blackberry] (Rubus fruticosus agg.) in flower.

A very fresh-looking flower of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense). Red Clover always opens before and continues to flower after White Clover (T. repens). I cannot recall seeing it flowering in December previously.

There is a fallen tree trunk resting against the Wesley Brook bridge and partially submerged in the stream. There are several different fungal growths appearing. Here is part of an extensive brown crust-type fungus.

A very different almost cauliflower-looking fungus.

A different angle on the same fungus. I cannot begin to identify it.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:24 – 10:20

(239th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- All four Mute Swan cygnets went for a protracted fly-around, making several laps of the water.
- The only Cormorant noted was one flying high overhead.
- A Skylark heard flying over: a most unusual date for a passing bird.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Skylark

Noted on / around the water
- 3 Canada Geese
- *2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *49 (31♂) Mallard
- [the white duck (Peking(?) Duck) not seen]
- 27 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 (3♂) Goosander
- 13 Moorhens
- 39 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 41 Black-headed Gulls
- no Cormorants
- 3 Grey Herons

On / around the street lamp poles:
Nothing noted

Noted later around the Ivy bank:
- many flies but no wasps or hoverflies.

Two of the group of four Mute Swan cygnets that took to the air.

 One passing by...

............almost too close.

A pair of Mallard catch the sun as they head off toward the food being offered on the other side of the water.

A better view of the duck in this view. With a change in the angle of light the drake's speculum appears much less green and almost blue.

Back to green again on his speculum with that of the duck's now apparently blue-toned. Her speculum is always less bright than that of a breeding condition drake.

(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
Priorslee Lake
60 Golden Plover
6 Gadwall
3 Pochard
2 Shoveler
2 Teal
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Teal
3 Gadwall.
8 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
163 Coots
7 Redwings
c577 Jackdaws
c149 Rooks
8 Siskins
22 Goldfinches
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Adult Caspian Gull
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(JW Reeves)

Priorslee Flash
Tundra Bean Goose
Great Black-backed Gull
8 Goosander.
(JW Reeves/Andy Latham /Tom Lowe)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
3rd-winter Caspian Gull
(JW Reeves)

Wellington
Pair of Blackcaps in my garden
(JW Reeves)

2009
The Wrekin
Firecrest
(Pete Nickless)

2007
Priorslee Lake
8 Goosander
Woodcock
21 Greylag Geese
A drake Gadwall
6 Pochard
58 Tufted Duck
2 Buzzards
1 Kestrel
6 Meadow Pipits
14 Redwing
3 Fieldfares
31 Magpies
47 Siskins
12 Goldfinches 
11 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
22 Goosander
27 Pochard
16 Tufted Ducks
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
27 Pochard
69 Tufted Ducks
4 Buzzards
68 Coots
1 Woodcock
528 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
20 Robins
22 Blackbirds
3 Song Thrushes
3 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
187 Jackdaws
168 Rooks
11 Greenfinches
10 Goldfinches
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
5 Cormorants
8 Pochard
32 Tufted Duck
201 Coot
Water Rail
c.2100 Black-headed Gulls
c.175 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
440 Jackdaws
225 Rooks
1 Kestrel
2 Collared Dove
1 Sky Lark
18 Pied Wagtails
5 Meadow Pipits
5 Redwings
40 Fieldfare
1 Kingfisher
11 Robins
19 Blackbirds
2 Song Thrushes
2 Goldcrest
5 Redpolls
12+ Siskins
2 Yellowhammers
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson/Martin Adlam)