9 Jan 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 6.0°C: Heavy showers at 07:30 and 09:30: otherwise fine with clear intervals. Moderate W wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:19 GMT

* = a photo from today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:40 – 09:15

(7th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
Four bird species were added to my 2023 list from here today. Nothing unusual, just catching up with birds not noted every day:
- A Collared Dove flew North over the West end.
- A Greenfinch flew West.
- A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew out of the north-side wood.
- A Nuthatch was calling from trees alongside Teece Drive.

These take my 2023 bird species total for here to 57.

Other bird notes:
- The Mute Swan cygnets spent much of the time as two x two, one set of which went for a fly down the length of the lake. Other than when they were all asleep in close proximity the adults were also separate.
- Coot numbers seem to be gradually declining, I guess as birds return to their breeding sites.
- There may be more than one Great Crested Grebe. I seem to see one all around the lake but can only ever find one at any one time.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 11 Canada Geese: two groups inbound, the first at the exceptionally early time of 07:20
- 70 Wood Pigeons: 46 of these seen flying high North together
- 1 Collared Dove
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- no Jackdaws or Rooks
- 1 Greenfinch
- 2 Siskins

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
None

Counts from the lake area:
- 9 Canada Geese: two of these flew off together
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 9 (6♂) Mallard
- 4 (4♂) Pochard
- 31 (>13♂) Tufted Duck: five of these flew off West when too dark to sex
- 12 Moorhens again
- 138 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe still
- >400 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 29 unidentified large gulls pre-dawn
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately

On / around the very wet street lamp poles pre-dawn.
Nothing found

Before the first shower arrived the moon was visible. Known as the Wolf Moon it was full just before midnight on Friday 6th.

All the four drake Pochard conspired to stay a long way away this morning. Here are three of them.

Plane of the day: this is an Embraer Regional Jet with an engine each side located at the rear of the fuselage. The red paint on the engines identifies it as being part of the Loganair fleet. It is en route from Edinburgh to Southampton as...

 ... the data from FlightRadar24 confirms.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:40

(7th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
One addition to my 2023 bird species list from here:
- A Treecreeper was in with a mixed party of tits alongside squirrel alley

This takes my 2023 bird species total for here to 39.

Other bird notes:
- 20 Greylag Geese were overhead twice.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 20 Greylag Geese.
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Noted on / around the water
- 11 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese: departed
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 43 (29♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 63 (36♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (0♂) Goosander again
- 16 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe again
- 54 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: three departed together; another arrived
- 2 Grey Herons

On / around the street lamp poles:
Nothing noted

Noted elsewhere:
- a dead Perch (Perca fluviatilis) in the water at the top end.

Twenty Greylag Geese arrived overhead in two groups – this one is of seven.

Here with the other 13 joined up. They circled over and departed to the East only to return a few minutes later, circle again and then fly off South.

Two drake Tufted Ducks, one showing the white wing bar that does not quite extend all the way as far as the body.

Here the white 'arm pits' (axillary feathers) can also be seen.

"Have you been photographing my brother?"

 It's a good trick if you can do it – swim sideways making a bow-wave.

Looking more placid is a duck Tufted Duck. A small amount of white is still just about visible at the base of her bill. Her diagnostic small tuft is well-seen in profile.

Today's trio of Goosanders: I think all ducks with splendid head plumes.

This adult Cormorant is now well into breeding plumage. Just about visible at this angle is the white thigh patch.

Hanging its wings out to dry. From this angle it seems to be wearing Santa's cast-off beard.

A female Blackbird. These can be confused with Song Thrushes. Blackbirds show the dark marks as streaks on a brown background whereas the paler Song Thrush has black spotting on an almost white background. If it is singing it is not a female Blackbird – apart from Robins in winter, female birds almost never sing.

The dead fish under branches at the top end. A large Perch (Perca fluviatilis)

(Ed Wilson)

Note:

Ed Wilson's visit to the Wirral on 7 Jan 23 can be found Here.

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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

2 female Scaup

10 Pochard

79 Tufted Duck

1 Great Crested Grebe

39 Herring Gulls 

85 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

4 Great Black-backed Gulls

296 Black-headed Gulls

(Gary Crowder)

2013

Priorslee Flash

A drake Scaup

(Observer Unknown)

2012

Priorslee Lake

14 Pochard

12 Tufted Duck

5 Yellow-legged Gulls

36 Great Black-backed Gulls

A dark-mantled Scandinavian Herring Gulls

Common Gull

c.550 Black-headed Gulls

39 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

88 Herring Gulls

32 Redwings

(Ed Wilson, Tom Lowe, John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash

3 Great Crested Grebes

7 Pochard

78 Tufted Duck

233 Black-headed Gulls,

1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

1 Herring Gull

1 Great Black-backed Gull

1 Reed Bunting

(Ed Wilson)

Holmer Lake

71 Goosander,

(John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake

Bittern

15 Wigeon

1 Common Gull

2 Great Black-backed Gulls

46 Magpies

39 Swans

4 Gadwall

28 Pochard

89 Tufted Ducks

3 Goosander

3 Water Rail

1 Snipe

303 Coots

>1000 Black-headed Gulls

c.50 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

2 Yellow legged Gull

c.15 Herring Gulls

3 Redwings

2 Willow Tits

126 Jackdaws

10+ Siskins

(Ed Wilson, Jim Almond, John Isherwood)

2009

Priorslee Lake

2 Great Black-backed Gull

1 Common Gull 

2 Raven 

(John Isherwood)

2007

Priorslee Lake

16 Pochard

47 Tufted Ducks

>670 Black-headed Gulls

>515 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

43 Herring Gulls

1 Caspian Gull

3 Yellow-legged Gulls

7 Great Black-backed Gulls

22 Robins

3 Fieldfares

50 Redwings

351 Jackdaws

264 Rooks

(Ed Wilson, Paul King)

2006

Priorslee Lake

2 Gadwall

8 Pochard

63 Tufted Duck

1200 Black-headed Gulls

21 Robins

19 Blackbirds

28 Greenfinches

28 Siskins

1 Reed Bunting

(Ed Wilson)