15 Feb 23

Priorslee Lake only

2.0°C > 4.0°C: Frosty and mostly clear. Light / moderate SE wind. Rather hazy with moderate visibility.

Sunrise: 07:27 GMT

* = a photo from today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:15 – 09:30

(40th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A quintet of Pochard new in since yesterday afternoon.
- Many Magpies are building / refurbishing their nests. Nevertheless at least 19 were seen leaving the roost site along the North side.
- A bumper number of 153 Rooks was seen outbound from their roost, passing over c.06:50. Very few Jackdaws though.
- At least 24 Redwings were in trees alongside Teece Drive c.09:30.
- A Reed Bunting was heard calling from the roost site at the West end. It then, unusually, flew off West. Two birds, sex undetermined, were seen later in reeds along the South side.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 1 Goosander: West @ 06:45, sex not determined
- 28 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 15 Jackdaws
- 153 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 8 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 5 (4♂) Pochard
- 19 (12♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 94 Coots
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- c.75 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived

On / around the frosted street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Nothing noted

Later:
Nothing of note

A rather chilly-looking pre-sunrise view across the lake. Too much cloud to the East to make a spectacular sunrise.

A frosty start too.

The best I could manage to show it as its best.

One of the pairs of Great Crested Grebes displaying in front of a still-sleeping Mute Swan.

The Coots are trying to sort out territories.

One of this pair has the toes on its strangely-shaped feet held tightly closed as it strikes out.

The other one is fighting back.

A Bullfinch eating buds.

There are many, many Hazel catkins yet there will be very few hazel nuts. Why is that? Well the catkins are the male part of the plant and the tiny flowers are the female parts that become the nuts. Just two small flowers can be seen adjacent to the top of one of the catkins. These were the only two flowers I could find on this plant, festooned as it was with catkins.

And here the same two flowers in close-up.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
3 Scaup
(Observer Unknown)

2013
Priorslee Lake
 Scaup
1 Yellow legged Gull
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
8 Gadwall
30 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
1 Little Grebe
(John Isherwood)

Holmer Lake
7 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
50 Tufted Duck
23 Pochard
1 Caspian Gull
575 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
80 Herring Gulls
650 Black-headed Gulls
(Mike Shurmer, Martin Grant)

Holmer Lake
39 Goosander
(Martin Grant)

2010
Priorslee Lake
6 Great Crested Grebes
4 Gadwall
33 Pochard
71 Tufted Ducks
164 Coots
243 Jackdaws
9 Redwings
3 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
8 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
2 Gadwall
10 Pochard
24 Tufted Ducks
129 Coots
c.660 Wood Pigeons
310 Starlings
20 Robins
25 Blackbirds
1 Willow Tit
11 Greenfinches
17 Siskins
4 Redpolls
2 Reed Buntings again
(Ed Wilson)