3 Dec 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

4.0°C > 5.0°C: Very low cloud, misty and murky. Moderate south-easterly breeze. Moderate visibility.
Sunrise: 08:02 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:20 – 09:30

(294th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
Nothing very exciting this morning.
- the Tufted Duck count may be incomplete. Something spooked some of them while I was in mid-count.
- Black-headed Gulls were again later arriving, all after 07:25. I thought c.125 though as they streamed away (and I was not counting) there seemed to be more.
- c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were on the water by 07:05 and another large arrival took the total to at least 500 by 07:20. Among these were at least 23 Herring Gulls.
- a later arrival produced 27 Herring Gulls, on Yellow-legged Gull and at least 107 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
- the Great (White) Egret present again. I did not see it arrive.
- some Jackdaws and Rooks lost in both low cloud and poor visibility.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 16 Wood Pigeons only
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: together
- 121 Jackdaws
- 72 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails
- 4 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 11 (7♂) Mallard
- *2 (0♂) Pochard
- *44 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 44 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- c.125 Black-headed Gulls
- 23 || 27 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- *>500 || 107 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived and departed
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great (White) Egret

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

Moths:
- 1 male Winter Moths Operophtera brumata: flushed from vegetation under a lamp

Slugs, snails etc.:
- *1 Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella

Nothing else at all

Later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:

Nothing noted

A gull that still puzzles me. It seemed dark for an adult-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull albeit there is a contrast between the folded wings and the black wing-tips. It has some head-streaking that a Great Black-backed Gull would not show: yet the legs look pink rather than yellow as they should if it is a Lesser.

Definitely pink legs. Most odd. While the yellow of the legs is brightest when this species is in breeding condition I think as an adult this bird's legs should appear yellow at this date.

A duck (female) Pochard in flight. This species does have a pale wing-bar but because the wings are essentially pale it is not obvious.

Apart from one Winter Moth Operophtera brumata flushed from underneath a street light the only creature I noted here pre-dawn was this Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella. One of the easier snails to identify with the pale line around the apex of the shell.

A duck (female) Tufted Duck looking for somewhere to splash down. You can almost count its retrices (tail-feathers). Most species of bird have 12 retrices (Feral Pigeons often don't due to selective breeding).

A duck (left) and drake (right) Tufted Duck.

A quartet. A duck leads three drakes. On the central two birds the "tuft" can be seen blowing in the wind.

And here are seven. None of these is a sharp as I would have liked: the light-level was poor.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata: presumed same as yesterday

Flies:
- 4 midges

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- none!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:40

(287th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no Shoveler noted.
- *two pairs of (Common) Teal
- a single brownhead Goosander flew off leaving two drakes and four other brownheads on the water.
- I could only find two Great Crested Grebes.
- three Cormorants: one was the bird seen yesterday tied-up in fishing lines and still like it.
- no Grey Herons yesterday: three today!

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 35 (22♂) Mallard
- *4 (2♂) (Common) Teal
- *6 (3♂) Pochard
- 15 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 (2♂) Goosander: departed
- 9 Moorhens
- 52 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 26 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls only
- 3 Cormorants
- *3 Grey Herons

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 3 male Winter Moths Operophtera brumata: two of these where they were yesterday
The bank of Ivy was devoid of insects.

*Fungus:
- possible Crystal Brain Fungus Exidia nucleata
- unidentified bracket fungus.

Two pairs of (Common) Teal with the drakes in the centre.

Now the two ducks are central. On the left-hand duck the white flash on the side of the tail is well-seen.

A selection of Pochard photos. A drake.

Another drake. In dull conditions the fine vermiculations show. Sadly the colours don't!

Here a duck.

One I am puzzling over. The head pattern looks like a duck yet the flanks show some vermiculations and the stern is dark, both features shown by drakes. Perhaps a first-winter drake late to acquire adult plumage?

Pity about the twig across the head of this Grey Heron. I could not reposition without even more twigs getting in the way.

Very small fungi growing on the end of broken branch. Small bracket fungus apparently. No idea of the species. I also note bottom left a jelly fungus. That could be Crystal Brain Fungus Exidia nucleata. There are of course many similar species. This species is common and widespread on rotting wood.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
60 Golden Plover
6 Gadwall
3 Pochard
2 Shoveler
2 Teal
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Teal
3 Gadwall.
8 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
163 Coots
7 Redwings
c577 Jackdaws
c149 Rooks
8 Siskins
22 Goldfinches
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Adult Caspian Gull
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(JW Reeves)

Priorslee Flash
Tundra Bean Goose
Great Black-backed Gull
8 Goosander.
(JW Reeves/Andy Latham /Tom Lowe)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
3rd-winter Caspian Gull
(JW Reeves)

Wellington
Pair of Blackcaps in my garden
(JW Reeves)

2009
The Wrekin
Firecrest
(Pete Nickless)

2007
Priorslee Lake
8 Goosander
Woodcock
21 Greylag Geese
A drake Gadwall
6 Pochard
58 Tufted Duck
2 Buzzards
1 Kestrel
6 Meadow Pipits
14 Redwing
3 Fieldfares
31 Magpies
47 Siskins
12 Goldfinches
11 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
22 Goosander
27 Pochard
16 Tufted Ducks
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
27 Pochard
69 Tufted Ducks
4 Buzzards
68 Coots
1 Woodcock
528 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
20 Robins
22 Blackbirds
3 Song Thrushes
3 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
187 Jackdaws
168 Rooks
11 Greenfinches
10 Goldfinches
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
5 Cormorants
8 Pochard
32 Tufted Duck
201 Coot
Water Rail
c.2100 Black-headed Gulls
c.175 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
440 Jackdaws
225 Rooks
1 Kestrel
2 Collared Dove
1 Skylark
18 Pied Wagtails
5 Meadow Pipits
5 Redwings
40 Fieldfare
1 Kingfisher
11 Robins
19 Blackbirds
2 Song Thrushes
2 Goldcrest
5 Redpolls
12+ Siskins
2 Yellowhammers
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson/Martin Adlam)