24 Feb 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

0.0°C > 5.0°C: Frost and fog at the Balancing Lake. Clearer and then clear at The Flash. A light breeze. Very poor visibility becoming good.

Sunrise: 07:09 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:05 – 09:00

(41st visit of the year)

Nothing much seen at all with only birds close to the edges visible. However I did hear a Little Grebe calling: my 63rd bird species here this year. A species often difficult to see at the best of times: this was not the best of times!

Bird notes:
- the recently near-resident pair of Canada Geese presumably flew in: they were not on the dam at 07:00 but were by 08:00.
- one of the Mute Swan cygnets not seen again though in the conditions that is hardly definitive. One of the fishermen reported all four present yesterday.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 1 Canada Goose: outbound
- 1 Wood Pigeon

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese: arrived
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 24 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- Coots not counted
- 2 Black-headed Gulls seen: birds heard after 07:40
- large gulls: none seen; heard calling c.07:35
- 1 Cormorant: arrived

Noted on or around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Nothing on the frost-covered lamps

Noted later:
- *the first flowers of Cowslip Primula veris just about to open

Fog was just rolling in as I arrived at the lake. This slightly affected my photo of the Snow (or Hunger) Moon which here is just about six hours shy of being full. Can you spot the Nova Class-C Lunar Lander near the South Pole? Neither can I!

A frost covered remnant umbel from one of last year's Common Hogweed flowers Heracleum sphondylium.

A frosted Cowslip Primula veris with the flowers about to open. I first photographed flowers last year on 5 March though they were probably rather more developed then.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:05– 10:45

(42nd visit of the year)

Mostly clear here.

Bird notes:
- the cob Mute Swan is now starting to chase geese as breeding season approaches. Unusually he was having a go at the Greylag Geese: it is mostly Canada Geese that are the object of his ire.
- the pair of Gadwall were very visible today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 11 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 15 Canada Geese: of these two pairs departed
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- *2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 22 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 50 (26♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- *45 Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull: departed
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: second year

Also noted:
- *more new fruits of the fungus King Alfred's Cakes Daldinia concentrica

Still here: a duck Gadwall.

And her drake companion.

A Coot looking fierce. Normally it is Moorhens that come out on the grass along the East side, scampering away when dog-walkers appear. In the last few days several Coots have taken to the grass and often stand their ground and I have been able to get within a foot or so of them.

Mrs. Bullfinch doing what Bullfinches like doing best – eating buds.

Unlike yesterday's battle-scarred Magpie here is a pristine individual.

These seem to be even more new fruits of the fungus King Alfred's Cakes Daldinia concentrica growing on the dead tree near the academy.

Plane of the day: just visible on the belly of the aircraft is the logo and legend 'Turkish Airlines'. It is a Boeing 787-900 series Dreamliner.

And here the FlightRadar24 data for the flight from Dallas to Istanbul. The fine weather in many places has tempted many light aircraft to go for a fly around.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
5 Cormorants
3 Grey Herons
8 Pochard
8 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
1 Kingfisher
6 Redwings
391 Jackdaws
217 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
201 Tufted Ducks
2 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
4 Great Crested Grebes
(Ed Wilson)

Hortonwood
21 Redwings
(Dave Tromans)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Glaucous Gull
(Observer Unknown)

The Flash
Drake Scaup
(Richard Vernon)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Caspian Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Observer Unknown)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Wigeon
55 Pochard
104 Tufted Duck
1 Common Gull
2 Ravens
22 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
200 Black-headed Gulls
400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
20 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
Glaucous Gull
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
(Pete Nickless)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
3 Cormorant
5 Pochard
9 Tufted Duck
2 Kestrel
556 Wood Pigeon
27 Robin
23 Blackbird
1 Fieldfare
14 Redwing
47 Magpie
100 Jackdaw
96 Rook
16 Greenfinch
3 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
6 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
2 Cormorants
9 Pochard
36 Tufted Ducks
3 Water Rails
c.420 Wood Pigeon
c.60 Starling
29 Pied Wagtails
23 Blackbirds
6 Greenfinches
17 Siskins
1 Redpoll
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)