Location
Sunrise: 06:12 BST
8°C > 13°C: Fine start with broken high cloud: soon clouded from SE and looked threatening by 09:30 (and indeed soon rain). Calm. Very good visibility
(87th visit of the year)
Notes
- today it was the turn of most of the Tufted Duck to do a disappearing act
- large number of Black-headed Gulls for the date: perhaps refugees from the lake – see those notes
Birds noted flying over (in poor conditions)
- 11 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. seen here today
- 9 House Martins
Warblers seen / heard around the water: numbers in brackets are singing birds: song very sporadic now
- 4 (1) Chiffchaffs
The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 7 Canada Geese
- 1 all white feral goose
- 33 (23♂) Mallard
- 7 (4?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons
- 2 + 1 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 15 + 3 (2 broods) Coots
- 111 Black-headed Gull only
One of the semi-resident Grey Herons allowed even closer approach than usual.
(Ed Wilson)
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Priorslee Lake: 07:30 – 09:20
There seems to be an ‘event’ of some sort this weekend with the caravan having returned to the SW grass. In complete contravention of the agreement with Severn-Trent (the owners) one of the folk in the caravan was on the water in a power-boat before 07:30: boats are not permitted on the water before 10:00. As a result some birds were chased away before I was able to get any counts.
Notes from today
- 4 of the Greylag Geese were noted descending in to the fields to the E
- not all the geese were transiting to or from The Flash this morning, several groups headed towards the Town Park
- the Tufted Ducks were all seen flying off as I arrived and in response to the power-boat on the water
- the Black-headed Gulls did not spend much time on the water with some seen in the Ricoh grounds and others flying through
- the 2 Barn Swallows flew high E and seemed not to be local birds
- at least 6 Reed Warblers along the N side. A fisherman who had spent the night in the area said there “stacks of birds” in the reeds and sedges. At least 2 were begging juveniles
- 2 Ravens flew over – perhaps the same birds as noted yesterday
and
- a dead Pike in the water
- several different species of bee were about all noteworthy
- And a Rhingia campestris aka the Heineken Fly or Common Snout-hoverfly
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 15 Greylag Geese (3 groups)
- 18 Canada Geese (4 groups)
- >60 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 18 Feral Pigeons (3 groups)
- 44 Wood Pigeons
- 8 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 2 Ravens again
- 1 Pied Wagtail again
- 1 Goldfinch
Hirundines etc. seen here today again
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 5 House Martins
Warblers seen / heard around the water: numbers in brackets are singing birds: song very sporadic now
- 8 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Willow Warbler
- 5 (0) Blackcaps
- 6 (0) Reed Warblers
The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 13 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 (?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 8 + 6 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes again
- 3 + 1 Moorhens
- 54 + 12 juvenile Coots
- 88 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
As a PS to yesterday’s moulting Black-headed Gull shots here is the one I was after!
The recent rain has encouraged the snails to emerge: here is one.
... and another.
... and a 3rd – a rather hairy one too.
A fish dead in the water: seems to be a Pike (Esox lucius).
Another sign of Autumn – at least it is not frost (as yet).
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day in ...........
2013Priorslee Lake
Green Sandpiper
3 eclipse Teal
(Ed Wilson)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Greenshank
(Ed Wilson)
2005
Priorslee Lake
Black Swan flew over
233 Canada Geese over
11 Greylag Geese over
123 Jackdaws
234 Rooks
143 Greenfinches
1 Willow Warbler
2 Blackcaps
Cormorant flew over
(Ed Wilson)