5.0°C > 6.0°C: Scattered cloud. Moderate northerly wind. Very good visibility.
[Sunrise: 06:33 GMT]
* = a species photographed today
Another gentle day still recovering from man-flu.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 10:30 – 11:00
(58th visit of the year)
Viewing only from the dam-top area again.
Bird notes:
- yesterday drake Shoveler had, not surprisingly, gone.
- I could not find the duck Pochard.
Counts from the lake area:
- 9 Canada Geese
- 3 Mute Swan: plus one dead
- 6 (3♂) Mallard
- no Pochard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 60 Coots
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
Of note:
Nothing else
Nor have I seen any birds offer a caught fish to their intended. Indeed I can only recall seeing a single small fish caught by all the birds this year. It scoffed the fish itself.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:20 – 10:20
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:20
(55th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a Mute Swan puzzle: the two immatures were present with three adults. The adult on its own had no rings and therefore is apparently not the erstwhile partner of the bird presumed shot. This pair comprised a blue-ringed cob and a green-ringed pen. So could the surviving bird have re-paired with one of the other two birds that arrived, leaving a lone unringed bird? I was unable to get close-enough to the pair to see whether any had rings. And why were there only two adults yesterday?
- yesterday's drake Gadwall not found.
- neither was yesterday's pair of Great Crested Grebes.
- again just one singing Chiffchaff.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Jackdaws
Noted on / around the water:
- 24 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 5 Mute Swans
- no Gadwall
- 27 (19♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) feral Mallard [’Aylesbury Duck’]
- 22 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 17 Moorhens
- 29 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- no Cormorants
Of note:
Nothing else
Interesting aircraft #1. Not as old as it looks this is a 1983-build Pitts S-2A Special. Specifically designed for aerobatic competitions is is basically an engine with wings and space for a pilot – a 360HP engine in this instance. It has grabbed an appropriate registration of G-PITZ. It is group-owned by folk from the Stockport area and is here flying on a day-trip from Manchester City Airport (Barton) to Cotswold Airport (Kemble, nr. Cirencester).
The first of what will be no doubt be a range of poor photos of Chiffchaffs.
And to prove it here is another. And there are no leaves on the trees for it to hide behind yet.
(Ed Wilson)
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2014
Leighton
1 Common Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
(BirdGuides)
2013
Wellington
Woodcock
(J Reeves)
2011
Priorslee Lake
10 Pochard
25 Tufted Duck
1 Chiffchaff singing
(Ed Wilson)
Priorslee Village
Blackcap
2 Redwing
Frog spawn
(Martin Adlam)
The Flash
5 Great Crested Grebe 5
2 Pochard
31 Tufted Duck
10 Goosander
1 Sparrowhawk
2 Buzzard
(Ed Wilson)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Lapwing
Sparrowhawk
8 Linnets
15 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
6 Cormorant
17 Tufted Duck
29 Wren
35 Robin
25 Blackbird
14 Redwing
2 Chiffchaff singing
47 Magpie
9 Greenfinch
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
6 Great Crested Grebes
1 Shelduck
6 Pochard
40 Tufted Ducks
1 Goldeneye
1 Goosander
1 Ruddy Duck
114 Coots
1 Water Rail
221 Lesser-black Backed Gulls
c.500 Black-headed Gulls
5 Herring Gull
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Common Gull
159 Jackdaws
c.80 Fieldfares
12 Redwings
10 Greenfinches
3 Siskins
3 Redpoll
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)