3.0°C: Low overcast. Light northerly wind. Good visibility.
[Sunrise: 07:19 GMT]
* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area
Yet another rain delayed start.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 11:15 – 11:45
(38th visit of the year)
Again viewing from the dam-top area only.
Very quiet. While I was present I noted no birds flying in or out and none flying over.
Bird notes:
- a decrease in the Tufted Duck numbers today. Still a surfeit of drakes.
- seven Goosanders today: two full adult and one immature drake with four brownheads/ducks
- an additional Great Crested Grebe.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 21 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- *7 (3♂) Goosander
- 5 Moorhens
- 34 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- no Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret
(35th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a single Mute Swan still present: it did not come close-enough for me to check its sex / any ring.
- many Mallard apparently hiding this morning.
- no sign of yesterday's drake Pochard or Goosanders.
- after a dearth of Moorhens yesterday there were birds on the wet grass all around the lake today.
- two Great Crested Grebes again. However only one of them had head plumes.
- a female Blackcap flew off from the feeding station as I arrived there. No further sightings of birds of either sex during the next 15 or so minutes.
- *Siskins again seen both on the feeders and in the trees.
- a Lesser Redpoll flew North and I assume the same flew South a minute or so later.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Lesser Redpoll
Noted on / around the water:
- 21 Canada Geese; the goose recently seen dead in the water is now buried in the reeds at the top end.
- no Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan
- 19 (15♂) Mallard
- no Pochard
- *33 (22♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 16 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *12 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls: two (near?) adults; one third- and one first-winter
- no Cormorants
- no Grey Heron
Noted around the area:
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 21 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- *7 (3♂) Goosander
- 5 Moorhens
- 34 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- no Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret
Something amusing the duck Goosander perhaps?
Time for a stretch. Apologies for the standard of today's photos. My back-up camera does not have the same capability. I was also struggling to remember the best settings to (partially) compensate for the poor light. These are my best attempts at learning what is possible.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:55 – 11:05
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 09:55 – 11:05
(35th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a single Mute Swan still present: it did not come close-enough for me to check its sex / any ring.
- many Mallard apparently hiding this morning.
- no sign of yesterday's drake Pochard or Goosanders.
- after a dearth of Moorhens yesterday there were birds on the wet grass all around the lake today.
- two Great Crested Grebes again. However only one of them had head plumes.
- a female Blackcap flew off from the feeding station as I arrived there. No further sightings of birds of either sex during the next 15 or so minutes.
- *Siskins again seen both on the feeders and in the trees.
- a Lesser Redpoll flew North and I assume the same flew South a minute or so later.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Lesser Redpoll
Noted on / around the water:
- 21 Canada Geese; the goose recently seen dead in the water is now buried in the reeds at the top end.
- no Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan
- 19 (15♂) Mallard
- no Pochard
- *33 (22♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 16 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *12 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls: two (near?) adults; one third- and one first-winter
- no Cormorants
- no Grey Heron
Noted around the area:
Fungus:
- *a crust-type fungus, perhaps Hen of the Woods Grifola frondosa.
More light would have helped here. I am puzzling as to whether it is the inner or outer webs of the Wood Pigeon's primary feathers that are pale-edged. Not something you can notice with the naked eye.
A trio of tit species happily(?) sharing a feeder. A Great Tit on the left and a Long-tailed Tit above a Blue Tit on the opposite side.
A crust-type fungus. Obsidentify had no meaningful suggestion. Google Lens was perhaps better suggesting either Sliver-leaf Fungus Chondrostereum purpureum or Corticium roseum. But as their scientific names imply the first should look purple-tinged and the other rosy-hued. Consulting NatureSpot the best match seems to suggest Hen of the Woods Grifola frondosa. But...
(Ed Wilson)
2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
7 Pochard
24 Tufted Duck
5 Greater Scaup
92 Redwings
216 Jackdaws
163 Rooks
12 Siskins
1 Yellowhammer
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash
1 Pochard
169 Tufted Ducks
2 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Lock Pool
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Pochard
54 Tufted Duck
1 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Middle Pool
6 Tufted Duck
3 Buzzards
(Ed Wilson)
2013
Horsehay Pool
Iceland Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Paul King)
2010
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
2 Teal
4 Gadwall
48 Pochard
75 Tufted Ducks
1 Goosander
1 Sparrowhawk
>500 Black-headed Gulls
>350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
27 Herring Gulls
126 Coots
1 Lapwing
1 Oystercatcher
2 single Redwing
16 Fieldfare
15 Siskins
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
12 Pochard
16 Tufted Ducks
107 Coots
2 Water Rails
425 Wood Pigeons
1 Skylark
20 Robins
12 Blackbirds
17 Greenfinches
45 Siskins
1 Redpoll
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
- *a crust-type fungus, perhaps Hen of the Woods Grifola frondosa.
A drake Tufted Duck.
...and a duck.
A Moorhen on the lookout for spilt food.
The nest-building Coot seems to be going for the height-record.
More in the open with better light so a more acceptable photo of a Black-headed Gull.
This looks to be a first year male Blackbird with retained juvenile brown feathers in its wings.
Another not very good photo: a Coal Tit showing the usually hard-to-see peachy flanks.
A poor photo of a female (thin "zip") Great Tit.
A Long-tailed Tit with a feeder to itself and so...
...tucks in.
A male Chaffinch. An unusually sombre-toned individual.
Chomp, chomp. A female Siskin munches away.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
7 Pochard
24 Tufted Duck
5 Greater Scaup
92 Redwings
216 Jackdaws
163 Rooks
12 Siskins
1 Yellowhammer
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash
1 Pochard
169 Tufted Ducks
2 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Lock Pool
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Pochard
54 Tufted Duck
1 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Middle Pool
6 Tufted Duck
3 Buzzards
(Ed Wilson)
2013
Horsehay Pool
Iceland Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Paul King)
2010
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
2 Teal
4 Gadwall
48 Pochard
75 Tufted Ducks
1 Goosander
1 Sparrowhawk
>500 Black-headed Gulls
>350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
27 Herring Gulls
126 Coots
1 Lapwing
1 Oystercatcher
2 single Redwing
16 Fieldfare
15 Siskins
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
12 Pochard
16 Tufted Ducks
107 Coots
2 Water Rails
425 Wood Pigeons
1 Skylark
20 Robins
12 Blackbirds
17 Greenfinches
45 Siskins
1 Redpoll
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)