11.0°C: Mostly overcast with a few brighter moments. Strong south-westerly wind. Very good visibility.
[Sunrise: 08:18 GMT]
* = a species photographed today
Another delayed start. The forecast was rain: it didn't. It also said the strong wind would ease after 08:00. It didn't: well not much until after 12:00. Pah!
So as usual with late starts it was The Flash first.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 11:40 – 12:20
(275th visit of the year)
Just from the dam-top. The model boat club were using the West end of the water.
Bird notes:
- the Canada Goose with the injured leg was trying to get sympathy from the model boat club members who were using the West end of the water. The goose was hobbling between the cars parked on the south-west grass.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw
Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose
- 16 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- no Moorhens
- 242 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 36 Black-headed Gulls
- *24 Herring Gulls
- 35 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Just from the dam-top. The model boat club were using the West end of the water.
Bird notes:
- the Canada Goose with the injured leg was trying to get sympathy from the model boat club members who were using the West end of the water. The goose was hobbling between the cars parked on the south-west grass.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw
Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose
- 16 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- no Moorhens
- 242 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 36 Black-headed Gulls
- *24 Herring Gulls
- 35 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(277th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- as yesterday most of the Greylag Geese were inside the island and hard to count. Two white feral geese were with them again.
- a pair of (Common) Teal were lurking alongside the island again.
- numbers of Tufted Duck and Pochard "best effort" with many birds continually diving and moving around.
- a Great Crested Grebe was new in. Which reminds me I forgot to note the calling Little Grebe yesterday. I did not see or hear it today.
- an adult Yellow-legged Gull is a species I do not see here very often. One on 27 January was my only other record this year.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- >40 Greylag Geese
- 2 mainly white feral geese
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 38 (22♂) Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 13 (>7♂) Pochard
- 83 (>52♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 Moorhens
- 89 Coots
- *1 Great Crested Grebe
- 93 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gulls: one adult; two second winters
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron
Noted elsewhere:
- just one unidentified fly around the Ivy bank. Warm-enough but too cloudy and windy.
The very clean-headed adult gull on the left must be a Yellow-legged Gull. Note how much darker it looks than the adult winter Herring Gull on the right. In this photo it almost looks dark-enough to be a Lesser Black-backed Gull: in 'real life' it was too pale. On average Yellow-legs should be slightly smaller than Herrings with males of both species averaging larger than females. That would suggest we are looking at a male Yellow-leg and a female Herring. But "on average"...
Bird notes:
- as yesterday most of the Greylag Geese were inside the island and hard to count. Two white feral geese were with them again.
- a pair of (Common) Teal were lurking alongside the island again.
- numbers of Tufted Duck and Pochard "best effort" with many birds continually diving and moving around.
- a Great Crested Grebe was new in. Which reminds me I forgot to note the calling Little Grebe yesterday. I did not see or hear it today.
- an adult Yellow-legged Gull is a species I do not see here very often. One on 27 January was my only other record this year.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- >40 Greylag Geese
- 2 mainly white feral geese
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 38 (22♂) Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 13 (>7♂) Pochard
- 83 (>52♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 Moorhens
- 89 Coots
- *1 Great Crested Grebe
- 93 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gulls: one adult; two second winters
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron
Noted elsewhere:
- just one unidentified fly around the Ivy bank. Warm-enough but too cloudy and windy.
A challenge: spot the pair of (Common) Teal.
The newly-arrived Great Crested Grebe. My last sighting here was of two birds on 14 November.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Gadwall
7 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
233 Coots
324 Black-headed Gulls
19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
11 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
6 Fieldfare
151 Redwings
284 Jackdaws
156 Rooks
4 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe.
4 Gadwall.
12 Pochard.
43 Tufted Ducks.
182 Coots
189 Wood Pigeons
20 Redwings
184 Jackdaws
3 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Black-necked Grebe
4 Great Crested Grebes
29 Swans
42 Pochard
2 Water Rails
c.900 Black-headed Gulls
c.2200 large gulls
127 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
12 Redwings
2 Fieldfare
16 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2008
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
13 Pochard
(John Isherwood)
2005
Priorslee Lake
c.2500 Black-headed Gulls
c.200 Lesser Black-backs
20 Pochard
58 Tufted Duck
A drake Wigeon
6 Great Crested Grebe
2 Little Grebe
c.200 Coot
2 Water Rail
202 Rooks
247 Jackdaws
11 Pied Wagtails
23 Siskin
5 Redpoll
19 Reed Bunting
(Martin R Adlam)