3.0°C > 6.0°C: Early overcast with moderate visibility. Murk, mist and fog soon descended with poor or very poor visibility. Almost calm.
Sunrise: 08:14 GMT
* = a species photographed today
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 07:00 – 09:15
(12th visit of the year)
c.50% ice? Hard to tell through the mist.
Much scope for missing and / or double counting birds today. Only small areas of the water could be seen from any one point.
Bird notes:
- 10 Canada Geese, eight of which departed in three groups. I am sure they knew where they were going through the fog.
- *a drake Shoveler present again. I probably overlooked it yesterday.
- nine Mallard were seen flying around together early when too dark to sex them. None seen later.
- no Pochard seen and only a very few Tufted Duck noted.
- *a pair of Goosander flew in and, unusually, stayed some while.
- no Great Crested Grebes seen.
- the first gulls did not arrive until 07:40, gathering in the mist. c.08:00 something flushed them all and I estimated c.250 swirling around, all large gulls. When the dust had settled there were c.25 left on the ice with c.25 Black-headed Gulls.
- by 08:30 it was possible to count gulls new in or returned though as many were standing on and reflecting in the ice it was not easy. I think c.30 Herring Gulls and c.150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
- *six Cormorants (the usual?) had no problem locating the water.
- the Great (White) Egret was not hard to spot through the murk. The two sparring Grey Herons blended in to the scenery.
- two Redwings left a roost in the north-east area. Later three were in West end trees.
And two that got away:
- at 07:15 what might or might not have been a Woodcock was seen flying towards a known day-roost area. It was the right size but as it was flying against a dark background I was unable to see any diagnostic features.
- at c.08:05 what seemed to be a large falcon (Peregrine?) was glimpsed flying along with Jackdaws. The Jackdaws did not seem worried so perhaps it wasn't.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- no Wood Pigeons
- no gulls
- 48 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 10 Canada Geese: eight of them departed in three groups
- *1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 9 (?♂) Mallard
- no Pochard
- 6 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- *2 (1♂) Goosander: arrived
- 2 Moorhens again
- 13 Coots: some lost in the mist?
- no Great Crested Grebes
- c.30 Black-headed Gulls
- *c.50 Herring Gulls
- >250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *6 Cormorants yet again
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret
Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
All the poles were very wet with dew.
Flies:
- *1 unidentified fly!
- *1 unidentified fly!
Spiders / harvestmen etc.:
- *1 unidentified spider: third day
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
Later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere
A drake Shoveler. He must surely be a first-winter bird still be a long way from acquiring breeding plumage.
Misty weather is not great for critically examining "hard" gulls. These two Herring-types look slightly darker backed than usual. It may be only their stance that makes them appear to have a sloping head profile with parallel-side bills.
Had there been more light this view of one of them in flight might have helped. So were they just odd-looking Herring Gulls?
Unidentified fly on a street lamp pole at dawn. A bad photo taken from the side confirmed what is difficult to see here – the abdomen is a pale brown.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:20 – 10:35
(8th visit of the year)
>75% ice.
Visibility very poor throughout and plenty of scope for double counting and missing things.
Bird notes:
- initially the two Mute Swans were well apart and seemingly happily so. They did get back together later.
- no Goosander seen.
- Coot numbers returned to something like normal as bird were able to move out from overhanging vegetation in to small margins of clear water.
- four singing Song Thrushes with another non-singing bird seen.
- a single male Siskin in with a group of *Goldfinches on Alders
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
A springtail Orchesella cincta. On a different street lamp pole today and also helpfully walking up the identity label of the pole. What you can see is the top part of the figure "5".
There was another on the next pole. This photo shows more clearly the hairs on the abdomen. Neither of these specimens shows the usually obvious pale yellow band across the middle of the abdomen.
A moth I found yesterday on the wall of the main building at Sleap Airfield. It is a Spring Usher Agriopis leucophaearia. Closely related to the more common Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria it has a more wavy cross-band and lacks the black dot in the centre of the forewing. It is 12 years since I last saw this species at Priorslee.
Plane of the day – well yesterday actually. A Cirrus Design Cirrus SR20A G2 I saw at Sleap Airfield. The registration prefix VH- indicates the aircraft is registered in Australia. There cannot be too many Australian-registered light aircraft in the UK. This one flew in from Gloucester where it is (temporarily?) based. When I checked my records I discovered I saw this very aircraft 11 years ago at Sydney's Bankstown Airport; and then again at the big AirVenture event at Oshkosh in Wisconsin, USA in July 2022. How likely is that?
(Ed Wilson)
2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Velvet Scoter
3 Scaup
10 Pochard
87 Tufted Duck
2 Goosander
121 Coot
23 Herring Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gull
181 Lesser Black-backed Gull
157 Black-headed Gull
Kingfisher
(Gary Crowder, Chris Cameron)
2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Greater Scaup
4 Gadwall
1 Goldeneye
82 Tufted Ducks
15 Pochard
143 Coots
1 Dunlin
1 Great Black-backed Gull
3 Redwings
1 Fieldfare
184 Jackdaws
4 Siskins
(Ed Wilson, Mike Cooper, John Isherwood)
The Flash
29 Tufted Duck
8 Goosanders
14 Goldfinches
(Ed Wilson)
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Caspian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull.
(Observer Unknown)
2012
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
19 Pochard
22 Tufted Duck
2 Goosanders
14 Magpie
1 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Mediterranean Gull
2 Yellow legged Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
20 Herring Gull
100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
80 Black-headed Gulls
c. 60 Tufted Duck
9 Pochard
(Mike Cooper, Andy Latham)
2008
Priorslee Lake
Glaucous Gull
(Geoff Holmes)
2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
8 Cormorants
11 Pochard
29 Tufted Ducks
>252 Black-headed Gulls
>66 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
23 Herring Gulls
200 Wood Pigeons
35 Robins
15 Blackbirds
76 Fieldfares
17 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
39 Magpies
217 Jackdaws
175 Rooks
11 Greenfinches
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
9 Cormorants
200 Wood Pigeons
11 Great Crested Grebes
11 Pochard
24 Tufted Duck
243 Coot
1 Water Rail
236 Jackdaws
216 Rooks
33 Siskins
15 Pied Wagtails
24 Robins
19 Blackbirds
8 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)
- *1 unidentified spider: third day
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
Later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere
Nothing noted
The drake of the pair of Goosander that visited.
And his consort with a great hair-do.
Just to prove there were six Cormorants.
At least it is alive. The same spider as seen on the two previous days, now at a different angle. Another ID attempt using Obsidentify failed. It suggested a different species – Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica. I am sure it is not that species either.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 09:20 – 10:35
(8th visit of the year)
>75% ice.
Visibility very poor throughout and plenty of scope for double counting and missing things.
Bird notes:
- initially the two Mute Swans were well apart and seemingly happily so. They did get back together later.
- no Goosander seen.
- Coot numbers returned to something like normal as bird were able to move out from overhanging vegetation in to small margins of clear water.
- four singing Song Thrushes with another non-singing bird seen.
- a single male Siskin in with a group of *Goldfinches on Alders
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None
Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese again
- 2 Mute Swans again
- 34 (23♂) Mallard
- *24 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 9 Moorhens
- *41 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult, one possible adult and one immature.
Noted around the area:
Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese again
- 2 Mute Swans again
- 34 (23♂) Mallard
- *24 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 9 Moorhens
- *41 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult, one possible adult and one immature.
Noted around the area:
Springtails:
- *2 springtails Orchesella cincta
- *2 springtails Orchesella cincta
Fungus:
- *Blushing Bracket Daedaleopsis confragosa
Always good for a photo on a dull day. A duck Tufted Duck. At this date the ducks can show a very obvious tuft.
"Take that". Those feet have really sharp claws - ask any fisherman who has tried to extricate one caught in a fishing line in their enthusiasm to eat the bait.
Gruesome. Perhaps why I have not seen any live Cormorants here as yet this year. I cannot count this well-eaten one. But what has picked it so clean?
In close up. I have read that it possible to sex this species by the subtle difference in the shape of the back edge of the red. Too subtle for me.
- *Blushing Bracket Daedaleopsis confragosa
And a drake.
Four Coots doing what Coots like doing – fighting.
More fighting.
Mr. House Sparrow.
More light needed. A male Greenfinch.
A Goldfinch munching on Alder seeds.
This seems to be Blushing Bracket fungus Daedaleopsis confragosa.
The underside. This the part that "blushes" pinkish if scratched. I didn't.
and...
and...
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Velvet Scoter
3 Scaup
10 Pochard
87 Tufted Duck
2 Goosander
121 Coot
23 Herring Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gull
181 Lesser Black-backed Gull
157 Black-headed Gull
Kingfisher
(Gary Crowder, Chris Cameron)
2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Greater Scaup
4 Gadwall
1 Goldeneye
82 Tufted Ducks
15 Pochard
143 Coots
1 Dunlin
1 Great Black-backed Gull
3 Redwings
1 Fieldfare
184 Jackdaws
4 Siskins
(Ed Wilson, Mike Cooper, John Isherwood)
The Flash
29 Tufted Duck
8 Goosanders
14 Goldfinches
(Ed Wilson)
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Caspian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull.
(Observer Unknown)
2012
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
19 Pochard
22 Tufted Duck
2 Goosanders
14 Magpie
1 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Mediterranean Gull
2 Yellow legged Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
20 Herring Gull
100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
80 Black-headed Gulls
c. 60 Tufted Duck
9 Pochard
(Mike Cooper, Andy Latham)
2008
Priorslee Lake
Glaucous Gull
(Geoff Holmes)
2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
8 Cormorants
11 Pochard
29 Tufted Ducks
>252 Black-headed Gulls
>66 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
23 Herring Gulls
200 Wood Pigeons
35 Robins
15 Blackbirds
76 Fieldfares
17 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
39 Magpies
217 Jackdaws
175 Rooks
11 Greenfinches
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
9 Cormorants
200 Wood Pigeons
11 Great Crested Grebes
11 Pochard
24 Tufted Duck
243 Coot
1 Water Rail
236 Jackdaws
216 Rooks
33 Siskins
15 Pied Wagtails
24 Robins
19 Blackbirds
8 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)