2.0°C > 5.0°C: Mostly cloudy at medium level though, typically, a clearance was approaching from the North as I was departing. Slight frost early. Light / moderate NNW wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 08:02 GMT
* = a photo from today.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:45 – 09:20
(21st visit of the year)
Only a little ice remaining.
Bird notes:
- Pochard and some Tufted Duck drifting back though a larger number have left The Flash so there must be other interchange pools.
- In contrast to yesterday's large number of Black-headed Gulls pre-dawn this morning there were none until 07:30 and at most 100 arrived thereafter.
- With a change to northerly winds there were more Lesser Black-backed Gulls than Herring Gulls on early passage. Co-incidence?
- Two Starlings were a surprise leaving the reed beds at dawn.
- The (or a) Cetti's Warbler sang once.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 15 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 15 Herring Gulls
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 2 Starlings
- 1 Greenfinch
Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 2 Starlings (in addition to the birds flying over)
- 1 Redwing
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans: another cygnet for a while
- 42 Canada Geese: 39 of these arrived with...
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose and...
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 3 (1♂) Gadwall
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 3 (3♂) Pochard
- 25 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- 134 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- c.100 Black-headed Gulls only
- 15 Herring Gulls
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
***yesterday's Tufted Duck total was omitted in error. For the record:
- 14 (9♂) Tufted Duck
On / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Too much dew / frost
Nothing noted
Nothing noted
Later:
Passing on another lap. It was chased by both the resident adults whenever it rested on the water. The resident cygnets seemed largely uninterested.
Coming on for a touch down. It is clearly unringed. Martin Grant told me that the man who used to do the ringing of the swans in Shropshire has moved away and no-one has yet stepped forward. You need to be a BTO trained to perform any bird ringing.
This cygnet shows more brown on the upper wing than our birds suggesting it hatched later. It was flying strongly.
This view omits one of the 41 arriving geese. See whether you can spot the single Greylag. There is a bird with pale forewing showing bottom centre but I would not like to speculate as to whether it is the Greylag or the Greylag x Canada Goose.
Aircraft of the day: this is an AgustaWestland AW109SP GrandNew registered to Hadleigh Aviation with a London W1 address. This eight-seat twin-engined helicopter is built in Italy by what is now known as Leonardo S.P.A. AgustaWestland was formed from the merger of Agusta of Italy with the UK's Westland Helicopters. This model differs from the original Agusta 109 series in having a larger cabin, upgraded avionics to permit single pilot operation and more powerful engines.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30
(18th visit of the year)
c.25% thin ice.
Bird notes:
- Both the Shoveler and the Pochard gone.
- Several Siskins flying around
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Noted on / around the water
- 28 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 42 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 61 (31♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (1♂) Goosander
- 13 Moorhens again
- 59 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe still
- 55 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: arrived: same immature bird as yesterday?
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two of these arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron
On / around the street lamp poles or elsewhere
Nothing noted
Two likely lasses (perhaps). The nearer Tufted Duck still with extensive white at the base of the bill also has paler feathering along the flanks. I do wonder whether it might be a late-moulting first winter drake. Any thoughts of Scaup can be dismissed because it has a 'tuft'. Also the white at the base of the bill does not extend around the side of, and below the gape.
A smart adult Lesser Black-backed Gull with no obvious remnant winter head-streaking. In real life the legs looked very yellow, as they should, and I am disappointed at the camera's rendition.
This Lesser Black-backed Gull has most certainly not lost its winter head streaking. Its age is hard to determine. The back suggests an adult or perhaps a third year bird. Yet these should have a red spot on a mostly yellow bill with a restricted amount of black. This one shows a solid black band and no hint of red.
It flies off complaining that someone (else) had the temerity to walk along the bridge and disturb it. One of the Mute Swan cygnets is behind, taking refuge from the cob that was chasing any one of them he could get near.
The heron was 'helped' on to the island by a chasing Herring Gull which looks very similar to the bird I photographed yesterday.
(Ed Wilson)
Nothing noted
This Mute Swan cygnet visited.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30
(18th visit of the year)
c.25% thin ice.
Bird notes:
- Both the Shoveler and the Pochard gone.
- Several Siskins flying around
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Noted on / around the water
- 28 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 42 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 61 (31♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (1♂) Goosander
- 13 Moorhens again
- 59 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe still
- 55 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: arrived: same immature bird as yesterday?
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two of these arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron
On / around the street lamp poles or elsewhere
Nothing noted
An adult drake Tufted Duck of course. But why is the eye not golden or bright orange? Pass.
That is quite a bow-wave. This duck Tufted Duck has incurred the displeasure of a Coot – easily done – and was being chased away.
When it flew back it slithered to a halt on, indeed almost in, the thin ice.
Today's Goosander photo. A duck, with a white chin.
The legs look slightly more yellow in this view of the same bird from only a slightly different angle.
One Grey Heron has taken to standing on a bridge hand-rail again.
Zoomed in on that bill you do not want to mess with.
(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
Velvet Scoter
2 Scaup
(Martin and Ian Grant)
2013
Priorslee Lake
39 Wigeon
8 Gadwall
24 Pochard
74 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
173 Coots
169 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
18 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)
2008
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
(Observer Unknown)