24 Nov 25

The Flash and Priorslee Balancing Lake

4.0°C > 5.0°C: Low cloud with spells of drizzle, clearing after c.11:30. Fresh north-westerly breeze. Very good visibility, less so during drizzle.

[Sunrise: 07:48 GMT]

Another "Winter schedule" visit starting again at The Flash, this time to ensure safe parcel delivery before I left home.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 09:55 – 11:00

(286th visit of the year)

Mainly viewing from the dam-top area trying to shelter from the keen wind.

Bird notes:
- I managed to confirm the presence of a Great Black-backed Gull.
- unlike previous mid-morning visits there was almost no movement of gulls in or out.

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 51 (27♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 54 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Great Black-backed Gull
- 16 Herring Gulls
- 58 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Whether this is the same bird as I puzzled over two days ago or not I am unsure. What I am sure is that the left-hand bird is a Great Black-backed Gull, unusual this early in the Winter. Note in particular the large bill with a very white and unmarked head. There is almost no contrast between the main part of the folded wing and the wing-tips unlike the smaller, more delicate Lesser Black-backed Gull on the right of the photo.

A first-winter Herring Gull. Note the all-dark bill and the dark tail band is not present on each patterned outer tail-feather. On the right wing of this bird the anula feather (at the bend in the leading edge of the wing) is sticking out...

...as it is here on the underside of the same bird. The pattern on each outer tail-feather is even more easily seen here.

A different first-winter showing some pale at the base of the bill.

An adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gull (with extensive head streaking) leads an immature Herring Gull whose age is a puzzle. The bill-pattern suggests a second-winter...

...but the strength of the markings on the under-wing and the upper-wing pattern more closely resemble a first-winter. At that age the bill is usually all dark.

The same adult-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. Another individual with the outer primary feather on each wing tip not yet fully regrown from the annual moult. Although a relatively dark individual there is still a very obvious contrast between the black of the wing-tips and the rest of the wing. The white trailing edge to the wings of this species is noticeably wider than it is on a Herring Gull.

A super long-range shot of gulls on the south-west grass as seen from the dam-top. This is new behaviour this year with birds prefering the two jetties to the grass. Difficult to be certain: I htink eight Herring Gulls and 33 Lesser Black-backs (and four Coots). The difference in tone of the black on the Lesser Black-backs is probably as much to do with their angle with the light as it is to do with sub-species variation. Birds that come here in Winter from Northern Europe are darker than the UK's resident breeding population.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 11:10 – 11:55

(279th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- yesterday's Mute Swans gone again.
- no (Common) Teal seen.
- now four Pochard. Perhaps these were, like many of yesterday's Tufted Duck, refugees from the sailing club's exploits on the Balancing Lake.
- still a few Goosanders hanging on.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- no Mute Swans
- 28 (19♂) Mallard
- no (Common) Teal
- 4 (3♂) Pochard
- 29 (20♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 (0♂) Goosander
- 10 Moorhens
- 66 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 23 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls: ages not determined
- 5 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Egret remains

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

Moths:
- 1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata

Three of the four Pochard present. Two drakes book-end a duck.

An unusually brown-tinged specimen of a Winter Moth Operophtera brumata adding to my species total for the year here which now stands at 78. I wish I knew what that was in the top left of the photo. I did not see it at the time and I would have liked a better photo of it.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
6 Gadwall
2 Teal
3 Pochard
114 Tufted Duck
228 Coots
1 Snipe
Tawny Owl
157 Fieldfare
63 Redwings
208 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
31 Tufted Ducks
3 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
35 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
9 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
157 Coots
1 Yellow-legged Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull.
18 Redwings
16 Fieldfares
4 Siskins
3 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
6 Yellow-legged Gulls
700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood / Tom Lowe)

2007
Priorslee Lake
A male Stonechat
1 Gadwall
(John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash
Great Black-backed Gull
5 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

East of Priorslee
60 Golden Plover
(John Isherwood)