Note:
19 Nov - 1 Dec
Sightings will be unformatted and without images.
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Friday 21 November 2025
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:15 – 09:25
The Flash: 09:30 – 10:50
0.0°C > 3.0°C: A small amount of thin high cloud, otherwise clear. Very light mainly south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:43 GMT
photos to be added later
With the keen wind having abated I braved the cold for a "normal" visit.
Priorslee Balancing Lake:
(283rd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- six Canada Geese throughout. Perhaps the six I noted yesterday did not leave: but hid.
- a small returning Greylag Geese flock of 15 birds after singles had flown both westbound and eastbound. One of the mainly-white feral geese was with the flock.
- an adult Mute Swan flew in with four first-winter cygnets.
- a duck (Common) Teal was noted.
- just two small groups of passage Wood Pigeons.
- a large number (>400?) gulls were already present by 06:40 with more streaming in from the South and north-east. Unusually many of the Black-headed Gulls were scattered among the Lesser Black-backs. They usually mostly form separate groups. Best effort at estimating the total and the separate species counts. Later my third Common Gull – another first-winter - was found.
- only only Song Thrush was heard singing in the cold conditions.
- another fly-over Lesser Redpoll. I have yet to record Linnet here this year even though I have seen them as close as in Woodhouse Lane
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 17 Greylag Geese: seen notes
- 1 mainly white feral goose with Greylags
- 49 Wood Pigeons: of these 33 were noted in two migrant groups
- 52 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: two duos
- c.150 Jackdaws
- 40 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 1 Lesser Redpoll
No birds seen leaving roosts around the lake
Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese
- 1 + 4 Mute Swans: arrived – see notes
- 20 (12♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) (Common) Teal
- 2 (2?♂) Pochard
- 48 (25♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 44 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Common Gull
- 24 Herring Gulls
- c.800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: c.750 early on; c.50 arrived after 08:00
- 3 Cormorants: arrived separately; one departed
- 1 Grey Heron
Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Nothing noted on frost-covered poles
Nothing noted later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:
Cold again
Flies:
- 1 midges
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 spiders only including, unusually, a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash:
(277th visit of the year)
About 10% thin ice
Bird notes:
- confirming my log from yesterday: there are currently no Mute Swans here.
- no (Common) Teal noted.
- two trios of Cormorants were diving as groups, presumably to corral their prey.
- a Common Buzzard was hounded out of trees at the top end by Magpies and Carrion Crows and briefly perched in full view.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Noted on / around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese: more inside the island?
- 4 Greylag Geese: more inside the island?
- 1 all-white feral goose
- no Mute Swans
- 20 (12♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) Pochard again
- 30 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 (0♂) Goosander
- 8 Moorhens
- 68 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 39 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls: immatures
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly
- 10 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Egret
Noted around the area:
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 3 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris
Flies:
- >10 blowflies of at least two species.
(Ed Wilson)
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2013
Priorslee Lake
5 Gadwall
1 Pochard
125 Tufted Duck
3 Water Rails
15 Moorhens
221 Coots counted again
1 Snipe
23 Fieldfare
8 Redwings
196 Jackdaws
4 Rooks
2 Ravens
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
27 Tufted Ducks
9 Moorhens
142 Coots
(Ed Wilson)
2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
1st winter Great Black-backed Gull
3 female Goosander
3 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)
2008
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
30 Greylag Gees
16 Pochard
166 Tufted Duck
3 Goosander
Water Rail
148 Coot
c.700 Black-headed
c.1300 Lesser Black-backed
<20 Herring Gulls
93 Redwings
c.500 Starlings left a roost
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
33 Pochard
69 Tufted Ducks
6 Buzzards
>1750 Black-headed Gulls
2251 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
26 Robins
32 Blackbirds
96 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
13 Redwings
384 Jackdaws
216 Rooks
22 Greenfinch
2 Siskins
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
Priorslee Lake
5 Gadwall
1 Pochard
125 Tufted Duck
3 Water Rails
15 Moorhens
221 Coots counted again
1 Snipe
23 Fieldfare
8 Redwings
196 Jackdaws
4 Rooks
2 Ravens
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
27 Tufted Ducks
9 Moorhens
142 Coots
(Ed Wilson)
2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
1st winter Great Black-backed Gull
3 female Goosander
3 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)
2008
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
30 Greylag Gees
16 Pochard
166 Tufted Duck
3 Goosander
Water Rail
148 Coot
c.700 Black-headed
c.1300 Lesser Black-backed
<20 Herring Gulls
93 Redwings
c.500 Starlings left a roost
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
33 Pochard
69 Tufted Ducks
6 Buzzards
>1750 Black-headed Gulls
2251 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
26 Robins
32 Blackbirds
96 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
13 Redwings
384 Jackdaws
216 Rooks
22 Greenfinch
2 Siskins
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)