3.0°C > 5.0°C: Mostly overcast again. A brief blue patch. Then light rain! Light north-east wind. Good visibility.
[Sunrise: 07:32 GMT]
Yes: "poor weather" itinerary again. I did walk around at the Balancing Lake.
Another dead goose in The Flash.
* = a species photographed today
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 10:35 – 12:15
(36th visit of the year)
It was Model Boat Club day at the lake. Their activities have minimal impact on the birds, most just moving out of their way.
Bird notes:
- *the third pair of Gadwall seen again and a fourth pair noted.
- *a lone Lapwing was seen flying low over the water. It then surprised me by settling on the dam-face from where I accidentally flushed it.
- the gull count is of the birds present when I arrived. There was a continual small turnover of gulls with nothing of interest noted.
- neither Grey Heron nor Great (White) Egret were present.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Redwing
Counts from the lake area:
- 11 plus one dead Canada Goose: four of these arrived
- 2 Mute Swans
- *8 (4♂) Gadwall
- 5 (4♂) Mallard
- 19 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 122 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- *1 Lapwing, briefly
- 64 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Herring Gulls
- 2 Yellow-legged Gulls
- *104 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Of note:
Nothing else
New Bird Species
One addition to the bird species on my site for here in 2025:
67 Lapwing
New Bird Species
One addition to the bird species on my site for here in 2025:
67 Lapwing
Four pairs of Gadwall today. Here is one pair, the drake closest.
The duck may not be so striking but is attractively marked. This from a different pair.
And the drake from this pair showing even more of its remarkable markings.
Now a third pair. There was not much else to photograph this morning.
...which is often partially obscured. Note the long head plume – longest in the breeding season and longer on males.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:25
(34th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- *an additional pair of Mute Swans present. One of these was put to flight but returned. By the time I departed the residents had stopped trying to chase the visitors away.
- the two drake Shoveler remain.
- I have no idea why the totals and sexual composition of the Tufted Duck is so variable. I often see birds flying around but almost never see any arrive or depart. Do they do this at night?
- a / the Little Grebe made a very brief appearance.
- *a Common Buzzard was sitting in a tree on the island and ignoring the Carrion Crows and Magpies making a lot of noise in an attempt to see it off.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None
Noted on / around the water:
- 20 + *2 dead Canada Geese
- *6 Mute Swans
- 2 (2♂) Shoveler
- 38 (27♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Pochard
- 54 (36♂) Tufted Duck
- 19 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 38 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: adults
Of note:
Noted on / around the water:
- 20 + *2 dead Canada Geese
- *6 Mute Swans
- 2 (2♂) Shoveler
- 38 (27♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Pochard
- 54 (36♂) Tufted Duck
- 19 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 38 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: adults
Of note:
Nothing else
One of the visiting adult Mute Swans was put to flight...
...but returned.
Dead goose #4 and difficult to see almost inside the island. There is definitely something odd going on.
The Common Buzzard dares a Carrion Crow to get near.
And also sits-out attention from two Magpies.
(Ed Wilson)
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2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Velvet Scoter
1 Mediterranean Gull
(Observer Unknown)
2013
St Georges
5 Waxwings
(Observer Unknown)
Horsehay Pool
1 Caspian Gull
(Jim Almond)
2009
Priorslee Lake
2 Iceland Gulls
(Pete Jordan)