20 Nov 25

The Flash and Priorslee Balancing Lake

0.0°C > 4.0°C:  Sunny. Moderate westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

[Sunrise:  07:42 GMT]

Another "Winter schedule" visit avoiding the dreaded school run, starting again at The Flash.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 10:55 – 12:15

(282nd visit of the year)

No ice noted.

Bird notes:
- strong cross-lighting made sexing many of the Tufted Duck very difficult: so I didn't bother.
- the gull counts were again taken when I arrived. The usual small movement through with nothing unusual seen.

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: departed
- no Mute Swans
- 13 (9♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 59 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 46 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 41 Black-headed Gulls
- 26 Herring Gulls
- 152 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

A Treecreeper climbing up – always up – a trunk. Note the way it uses its still tail-feathers as a prop. Note too the feet with long claws – three toes point forward and one backward.

Some of the thin curved bill used to get in to cracks in the bark is visible here. Note again the long claws.

It has climbed more or less beyond camera range. This shows that birds explore smaller branches as well as the main trunks.

Hazel catkins. Must be Spring! If only.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:25 – 10:45

(276th visit of the year)

A very very small amount of ice in the most sheltered of locations. The breeze otherwise stopped any ice forming.

Highlights here included:
- a Great (White) Egret seen flying away (over?). I had vaguely registered "the Little Egret where it often is". When I saw the big egret in flight I wondered whether I had been mistaken. Probably not as the Little Egret was (still) present and when I first noted it there was a Grey Heron nearby and had it been the Great Egret I am sure it would have been obvious.
- I glimpsed a Marsh Tit near the surgery and set off camera cocked to try and photograph it. Instead I saw, but also failed to photograph, a male Blackcap. Despite their similarities I have no doubt that both species were present. Probably my first November record of Blackcap here.

Other bird notes:
- only when perusing my log did I realise that I had not seen any Mute Swans.
- many fewer geese today. There were some unseen Greylag Geese calling from inside the island.
- again only one drake (Common) Teal seen. It flew in to the top corner.
- two drake Pochard noted. Did I overlook one yesterday?
- still a few Goosanders hanging on.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None

Noted on / around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese
- 12 Greylag Geese: more inside the island
- no Mute Swans
- 21 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) (Common) Teal
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 15 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 (1♂) Goosander again
- 11 Moorhens
- 79 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 45 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls: ages not determined
- 5 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great (White) Egret: departed – see notes
- 1 Little Egret remains

Noted around the area:
I was surprised to see anything.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 3+ Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

Flies:
- 1 seen briefly, probably a blowfly

At the bottom the drake (Common) Teal paddles for cover while a brownhead Goosander rearranges its breast feathers.

Here is that brownhead Goosander. "My: what big feet you have!" "All the better to paddle after the fish". Note the white area between the bill and the eye indicating this is a first-winter bird, sex undetermined.

A different brownhead with only a hint of white between the bill and the eye. The head is less of a rufous-brown and I think this is likely a duck (female).

Many of the drake Tufted Ducks have now moulted in to full breeding plumage with bright white flanks, as shown here.

This one is still moulting out the brown flank feathers. It could be a first-year acquiring its first breeding plumage or an adult with delayed moult out of the post-breeding plumage.

A third variation. Note the vermiculations on the grey feathers.

Another "oil painting" special. Two Moorhens.

A very "backlit" adult winter Black-headed Gull able to scratch its bill while flying like this.

A first-winter Herring Gull looking pot-bellied what caught in this pose.

A third-winter Herring Gull. Pointers to this age are the small black area on the bill; the black primary covert feathers and the darker tone to the secondary coverts. At this age it would be unusual for there to be any retained black feathers in the tail.

The Great (White) Egret powers away. Yellow bill and long all-black legs and feet.

Meanwhile the Little Egret displays its yellow feet.

A friendly Dunnock. Or Hedge Sparrow if you prefer though with a bill like this it is not related to the sparrows (which are closely related to African weaver birds). Another name is Hedge Accentor which is more accurate. It is the only lowland species of Accentor: others in this group are mountain-dwellers in Central Europe.

Inside the bushes it was dark so freezing the action of energetic sprites like this Goldcrest was never going to happen.

With an ambient temperature of just 3.0°C I was not expecting any insects on the Ivy bank even if it was in full sun and sheltered from the wind. I was wrong: this Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris was "out" but not really "about", just warming up perhaps.

This wasp was attacking the remains of the Ivy flowers with gusto.

Plane of the day. This is one of 91 Grob G115E Tutor T.1s operated on behalf of the RAF by Babcock Aerospace Ltd. They are allocated all over the UK and used as basic trainers by University Air Squadrons. These are Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF at Cranwell. This aircraft was en route from Southern Sailplanes at Membury in Wiltshire who have a maintenance contract for the type. Its destination was RAF Woodvale, home of both Liverpool and Manchester University Air Squadrons.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
15 Tufted Ducks
149 Coots
286 Redwings
84 Fieldfares
c.350 Jackdaws but no Rooks seen.
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
42 Mute Swan
1 Wigeon
c. 45 Tufted
36 Pochard
c. 240 Coot
c. 400 Lesser Black-backed Gull
c. 120 Black-headed Gull
10 Herring Gull
3 Yellow Legged Gull
(Mike Cooper)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 male Stonechat showing well near to sailing club hut.
1 Gadwall
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
31 Pochard
52 Tufted Ducks
8 Lapwings
>550 Black-headed Gulls
187 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
239 Wood Pigeons
40 Robins
32 Blackbirds
60 Fieldfares
11 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
310 Jackdaws
150 Rooks
35 Greenfinch
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
18 Pochard
55 Tufted Duck
3 Ruddy Duck
1 Wigeon
c.200 Coot
4 Cormorant
C.750 birds
24 Fieldfare
3 Redpoll
12 Siskin
5 Reed Bunting
1 Willow Tit
(Martin Adlam)