1.0°C > 5.0°C: Clouding after clear and frosty night. Calm start with light SSW wind developing. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:37 GMT
* = a photo from today.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:35 – 09:40
(35th visit of the year)
New Bird Species
An additions to this year's bird log from here:
- A Little Egret flew low East at 08:10.
This takes my 2023 bird species total for here to 68.
Other bird notes:
- The resident pair of Mute Swans managed to put two of the cygnets to flight. They soon returned.
- Two Collared Doves flew straight over as normal and did not, like yesterday, stop off.
- A Little Grebe flushed in to cover c.07:00 and not seen again.
- Just three pairs of Great Crested Grebes located. None of these seen displaying.
- Yesterday all c.130 Black-headed Gulls arrived together c.07:15. Today at least 75 were already circling over the water by 06:55 with at least another 150 arriving in a group c.07:05. Several small groups followed these.
Birds noted flying over here:
- *1 Little Egret
- 3 Feral Pigeons: together
- 28 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Collared Doves: together
- 1 Sparrowhawk: displaying female
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 17 Jackdaws
- 10 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 15 Canada Geese: of these six arrived and seven others departed
- 1 Greylag Goose
- *2 + 4 Mute Swans
- *6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 11 (8♂) Mallard
- 12 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- 106 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- c.250 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons: one chased the other away; neither returned
Noted on / around the frost-covered street lamp poles pre-dawn
- *1 Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria)
Later:
This Little Egret was overhead before I noticed it and I could only get a 'grab shot' as it headed away. What a long, slim bill from this angle. The yellow feet are just about discernible.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:45– 11:05
(32nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- A Stock Dove was calling at the top end.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults
- 1 Jackdaw
Noted on / around the water
- *32 Canada Geese
- *2 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- *37 (25♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 45 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (1♂) Goosander
- 18 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *53 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gulls: immatures
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- *2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 2 Grey Herons
On / around the street lamp poles or of note elsewhere:
Nothing noted
A rather strangely pale duck Mallard. There was one present for a number of years but I cannot recall having seen it for many months (years?). Where has this one come from I wonder.
A first winter Black-headed Gull shows its wing pattern. The brown feathering along the leading part of the inner wing is beginning to be moulted out by new grey feathers.
This adult shows the largest amount of dark on the head of any of the 50+ birds present. It is standing angled-on to me so the rear is rather foreshortened. Note the different leg and bill colour on this adult and the earlier first winter birds. These gull photos were all taken using my car as a hide to get closer.
An immature Cormorant arrives. Surprisingly despite their large and rather threatening size none of the other birds seem to be concerned by their flight.
(Ed Wilson)
- A Little Egret flew low East at 08:10.
This takes my 2023 bird species total for here to 68.
Other bird notes:
- The resident pair of Mute Swans managed to put two of the cygnets to flight. They soon returned.
- Two Collared Doves flew straight over as normal and did not, like yesterday, stop off.
- A Little Grebe flushed in to cover c.07:00 and not seen again.
- Just three pairs of Great Crested Grebes located. None of these seen displaying.
- Yesterday all c.130 Black-headed Gulls arrived together c.07:15. Today at least 75 were already circling over the water by 06:55 with at least another 150 arriving in a group c.07:05. Several small groups followed these.
Birds noted flying over here:
- *1 Little Egret
- 3 Feral Pigeons: together
- 28 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Collared Doves: together
- 1 Sparrowhawk: displaying female
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 17 Jackdaws
- 10 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 15 Canada Geese: of these six arrived and seven others departed
- 1 Greylag Goose
- *2 + 4 Mute Swans
- *6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 11 (8♂) Mallard
- 12 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- 106 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- c.250 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons: one chased the other away; neither returned
Noted on / around the frost-covered street lamp poles pre-dawn
- *1 Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria)
Later:
Nothing of note
Early sunrise did not look too promising.
It did later colour up well.
A different and later view as the colour faded.
Another view.
Unusual behaviour from the resident Mute Swans, standing on the stones of the dam. The cob normally only comes out of the water here to chase the Canada Geese.
A drake Gadwall of course. Only three pairs noted this morning.
No visible means of support. A Jay passes over.
A Song Thrush with a modesty leaf!
This one won't find any snails up there.
Not so many Siskins this morning. The light was not good either. A female.
Two males here.
A male Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria): females have very vestigial wings and cannot fly.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:45– 11:05
(32nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- A Stock Dove was calling at the top end.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults
- 1 Jackdaw
Noted on / around the water
- *32 Canada Geese
- *2 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- *37 (25♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 45 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (1♂) Goosander
- 18 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *53 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gulls: immatures
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- *2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 2 Grey Herons
On / around the street lamp poles or of note elsewhere:
Nothing noted
Two Canada Geese and one Greylag Goose coming in to the food.
The Greylag Goose in close-up.
Now a Canada Goose in close-up.
Feet down and wings spread.
A Collared Dove rather unusually rooting about on the ground.
This first winter still has well-defined brown markings on the wings.
The same bird
While on this first winter the brown markings are faded.
You WILL learn to like gulls! This is a first year Herring Gull showing the upper-wing pattern...
...and the surprisingly intricate under-wing markings.
This adult Lesser Black-backed Gull still has much winter head-streaking remaining.
Always some friendly Robins.
Where's the food?
A different friendly Robin.
(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
1st-winter female Velvet Scoter
(Tom Lowe)
2013
Priorslee Lake
27 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
11 Pochard
48 Tufted Duck
118 Coot
(Tony Beckett)
2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull
2 Iceland Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
1 Common Gull
1 Peregrine
(John Isherwood, Martin Grant and Roger Clay )
Telford
1 Waxwing
(Mike Shurmer)
2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Goosander
1 Snipe
10 Pochard
39 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
1500+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
25+ Siskins
(Ed Wilson and Martin Adlam)
2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
5 Pochard
36 Tufted Ducks
148 Coots
2 Water Rails
c.1000 Black-headed Gulls
6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
8 Herring Gulls
385 Wood Pigeon
473 Jackdaws
394 Rooks
12 Robins
18 Blackbirds
2 Willow Tits
13 Greenfinches
53 Siskin
5 Redpolls
14 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)