5 Dec 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

1.0°C > 4.0°C: Early thin high overcast. It soon became very misty and murky and only began to clear after c.10:00. Light south-easterly breeze. Moderate visibility at best, often poor.

Sunrise: 08:05 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:20 – 09:10

(295th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- seven Canada Geese throughout.
- a new arrival was a pair of Gadwall.
- many of the Mallard fly out to the East well before it is light (to the storm pools at the edge of the housing perhaps). They tend to fly back in small groups c.08:15 and seem to disappear in to the reeds. So I know how many there are but have no idea of the split between drakes and ducks.
- I could not find any Pochard.
- the early gulls were often "lost in the mist" to me. The very first arrivals were noted at the late time of 07:08. Eventually there were c.650 large gulls on the water. Some had begun to leave before it was light-enough to check them all. The vast majority were adult / near adult Lesser Black-backs with only six obvious Herring Gulls. c.150 Black-headed Gulls were also present for a while. It is amazing that these all managed to find the lake!
- the later arrival produced 16 Herring Gulls, and 64 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
- six Cormorants arrived together and did some communal fishing for a while. They then all took off, though only four departed, the other two returning to sit on buoys.
- the Great (White) Egret present again but elusive. I saw it once when I flushed it, otherwise it hid away.
- only Jackdaws and Rooks passing directly over were noted.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Wood Pigeons only
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 29 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 2 (1) Gadwall
- 11 (?♂) Mallard
- 39 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- c.150 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 || 16 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- c.650 || 64 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants: arrived together; four departed
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great (White) Egret

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

Moths:
- *1 male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata

Nothing else at all

Later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:
Nothing noted

My best shot at getting a picture of the more-or-less full Cold Moon shining through a layer of high cloud. Within 30 minutes the whole area was misty and murky with the sky obscured.

A male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata improving its language skills courtesy of the sticker on the lamp overhang on one of the street lamps alongside the West end path. The only photo from the lake area. Too misty otherwise.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 3 midges only

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- none!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:25

(288th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- perhaps different drake Shoveler from any seen earlier in the week.
- no (Common) Teal seen
- for the first time I can remember there were more drake Goosanders (three) than brownheads (two).
- I have no idea why the water seems so popular to Herring Gulls.
- three Cormorants: none of them seemed to be the bird tied-up in fishing lines on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- *1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 24 (15♂) Mallard
- *8 (4♂) Pochard
- 49 (28♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (3♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 48 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 26 Black-headed Gulls
- *12 Herring Gulls: all ages
- *2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: both (near) adults
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- *1 male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
- *1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria

The bank of Ivy was devoid of insects.

This drake Shoveler seems to have significantly more rufous on the flanks than any of the birds I saw earlier in the week. They should me moulting quickly in to breeding plumage. That rapidly?

A clever trick if you can manage to do it. The drake Pochard was swimming in a straight line despite having its leg nearest me tucked up. I assume it has applied "full right rudder" to compensate.

A first-winter Herring Gull. The feathers on the back and wings are too brown for it to be an any age Lesser Black-back. The clincher anyway are the folded tertials – the long, darker feathers beyond the wing. These have a wavy separation between the black and the white. On a Lesser Black-back the separation is a straight edge. Easily seen!

Either an adult-winter or, more probably, a fourth-winter Herring Gull, aged by the black mark on both mandibles. The rest of the plumage looks adult-winter.

A trio of immature Herring Gulls. The left-most bird, a first-winter, has either food or something to play with and the others want to harass it so that whatever it has in its bill drops in the water and they can retrieve it. The pursuers are not easily aged in the poor and flat lighting. The strength of the tail-band would suggest they are both first-winters. Yet the extent of the grey on the back and the inner part of the wing would suggest second-winters.

Perhaps whatever the chase was all about it has dropped in to the water and this squabble ensued. All Herring Gulls. Taking off left is a third-winter bird with what seems to be an adult behind it. Joining the two first-winters on the water is a second-winter with only a dark tip to its bill.

The adult – well probably the same fourth-winter – Herring Gull attempting to repel boarders. It confirms the other two on the water are first-winters.

A face-off between "in the left corner" a first-winter Herring Gull, this one already showing some pale at the base of the bill: while "in the right corner" either an adult-winter or, more probably, a fourth-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, again aged by the black mark on both mandibles. This bird shows little head streaking.

For a change the male Winter Moth here was on a street lamp pole at the top end.

It was a male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria that was in squirrel alley today. As so often at the very top of a street lamp pole.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall.
9 Pochard
44 Tufted Ducks
1 Goldeneye
158 Coots
9 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
27 Redwings
4 Fieldfares
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
7 Pochard
71 Tufted Duck
5 Goosander
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
5 Adult Great Black-backed Gulls
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
36 Swans
15 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
1 Woodcock
300 Coots
c.1500 Black-headed Gulls
5 Stock Doves
5 Redwings
c.35 Goldfinches
c.10 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
7 Pochard
58 Tufted Ducks
>1000 Black-headed Gulls
>2350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
20 Robins
20 Blackbirds
c.40 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
6 Redwings
2 Willow Tits
190 Jackdaws
278 Rooks
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Wigeon
12 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
239 Coot
Golden Plover
c.1600 Black-headed Gulls
397 Jackdaws
261 Rooks
2 Meadow Pipits
3 Redwings
16 Robins
24 Blackbirds
62 Fieldfares
15 Wrens
2 Willow Tits
Redpolls
Siskins
(Ed Wilson)