10 Dec 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 8.0°C > 10.0°C:  A clear start. Then a heavy shower c.07:10 clearing after 08:00. Moderate south-westerly breeze gusting strong at times. Very good visibility except during shower.

Sunrise:  08:11 GMT

Photos to be added later.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:20 – 09:30

(298th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the number of Coots remains unusually low for reasons that are unclear. Those that are present seem to have plenty of food available.
- viewing the early gull arrival was thwarted by needing to shelter from the shower. I think c.250 Black-headed Gulls and >450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I could not find any Herring Gulls at this time.
- again the usual post 08:30 gull arrival was almost non-existent with birds flying overhead.
- one Great (White) Egret present for a while. Flew off West c.09:00.
- unusual for this time of year was hearing and then seeing House Sparrows away from the gardens in Teece Drive. Several had invaded the hedge around the academy.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Stock Dove
- 25 Wood Pigeons
- 8 Herring Gulls
- 64 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 185 Jackdaws
- 91 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 8 Canada Geese
- 11 (?♂) Mallard
- 38 (24♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- c.250 Black-headed Gulls
- ? || 5 Herring Gulls
- >450 || 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: arrived separately
- *1 Grey Heron
- *1 Great (White) Egret

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 2 male Winter Moths Operophtera brumata

Flies:
- *1 very small unidentified fly
- *1 small fly (or perhaps an ichneumon)

Springtails:
- 1 globular springtails sp., possibly Dicyrtomina saundersi
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:
Nothing noted

A great start with a clear view of the waning Cold Moon. Pity it was pouring within rain within 30 minutes.

The local Grey Heron in the morning light.

The Great (White) Egret departing. It looks to have even longer legs than the heron.

 Making noise about it too.

A Carrion Crow "helping" the Common Buzzard on its way.

You may be tempted to think "Song Thrush". Not so. A female Blackbird. This is speckled rather than spotted and much more rufous than a Song Thrush.

I suppose a small fly. The relatively long antennae might suggest it is a small ichneumon. I can't tell.

I can say that at about 3mm this is one of the smallest flies or midges that I have seen. I can't say anything else about it.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn

Flies:
- no midges

Arthropods:
- 1 Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 12 spiders: usual suspects

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:35

(292nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *what I presume is the same drake Shoveler was seen again.
- *a feral-type Mallard with white on the breast and more rufous flanks was a bird I cannot recall seeing previously.
- so where were all the Herring Gulls today?
- at least four Chaffinches noted. A good number these days.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- *1 (1♂) Shoveler
- *32 (22♂) Mallard
- *1 (1♂) hybrid Mallard
- *7 (4♂) Pochard again
- 35 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- *8 (3♂) Goosander
- 9 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 38 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull only
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted around the area:

On the bank of Ivy:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- >5 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *1 Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *1 Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Flies
- >20 Common Blow Flies Calliphora vicina

My latest photo of a / the drake Shoveler.

A formation pair of Mallard.

This drake Mallard seems to be learning to water-ski!

"It's a Mallard Jim but not as we know it". Clearly mostly drake Mallard but what is it crossed with? Not sure. I am tempted to suggest Ruddy Shelduck. It is larger than the typical Mallard which Ruddy Shelduck is. But that is from quite a different genus and I am not sure that the two species could produce off-spring.

Noisy too!

"I'm only pretending to be asleep. I can see you". A peeking duck Pochard.

Another duck Pochard in flight.

Ready to splash down. "What big feet you have".

Brownhead Goosander.

A Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax...

...and a Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax. Only February and November were blank months for hoverflies this year.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
6 Gadwall
4 Pochard
2 Teal
4 Raven
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
3 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

Horsehay Pool
Caspian Gull
(Jim Almond)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe.
3 Gadwall.
6 Pochard.
46 Tufted Ducks
1 Goosander
1 Water Rail
155 Coots
23 Redwings
6 Fieldfares.
151 Jackdaws
63 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull
2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Caspian Gull
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
c20 Herring Gulls.
(J W Reeves)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
Yellow-legged Gull
An adult Little Gull
(Jason/Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
9 Pochard
53 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Merlin
3 Buzzards
>500 Black-headed Gulls
234 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
24 Robins
22 Blackbirds
122 Fieldfares
178 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
139 Jackdaws
66 Rooks
12 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson / Martin Adlam)

2005
Priorslee Lake
160 Golden Plover
1500 Black-headed Gulls
400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
2 Little Grebes
13 Pochard
34 Tufted Duck
239 Coot
1 Water Rail
142 Jackdaws
251 Rooks
2 Redpolls
47 Siskins
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)