Monday, 29th - Duck Goldeneye

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday, 27th - 2 male Chaffinches were goading each other in to partial intermittent song. First song of year for this species

(Ed Wilson)

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Thursday, 25th Morning Log - Full report will follow but from this morning's highlights at Priorslee Lake
- duck Goldeneye: perhaps the bird I saw at Trench on Tuesday, but looked 'different'
- male Redpoll feeding quietly in the N side alders on it own no sign of any Siskins this morning Water Rail seen again.

(Ed Wilson)

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Wednesday, 24th (09:30am) - Full report to follow but at the lake this morning c.09:30 there were 9 Siskins feeding in the alders in the NE area of the lake (above the Water Rail 'ditch'). I neither heard them arrive; they made no sound apart from the falling debris as they fed; and they flew off also without calling. So check the alders folks

(Ed Wilson)

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Monday, 22nd (06:54 - 10:05) - A touch of winter! After late evening rain (and in some places, snow) showers everywhere was wet but with mainly cloudy skies to start and a moderate NNW wind this kept the frost and ice away. Just a hint of frost in well-sheltered spots later as the cloud broke up and it became bright and sunny. Excellent visibility

No highlights: a day strangely different in many ways, but nothing special

Other features of the morning
- Little Grebe back (?) in the same place
- all 3 Great Crested Grebes today
- few Cormorants today - a party of 3 looked at the lake but went away again
- no Goosanders seen over
- great view of perched female Kestrel diving down to mantle something in the SW grass and getting dive-bombed by a Mistle Thrush for its pains
- low number of gulls early; strange early passage of large gulls not sustained and only 1 large gull - a Herring Gull - stopped at the lake
- reasonable number of Wood Pigeons again with one spread-out party - much higher number of Pied Wagtails heard over - response to the colder weather?
- moderate log of corvids, especially Jackdaws, today: but they were behaving differently today
- the 'less than daily' log today included Great Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit and Jay as well as the Mistle Thrush already noted

The more detailed notes from the lake
- 1 Little Grebe back again in exactly the same spot
- 3 Great Crested Grebes today: the adult seen mainly around the N reeds and the dam. Both of the immatures in the NW area mostly asleep and well apart
- 3 Cormorants: a party of 3 adults were seen circling over at 08:20 but they left to the N before swinging round and heading S to the E. While the light-contrast to the E was not as good as in previous days I do not think this was responsible for the lack of sightings to the E this morning
- 1 Heron as far as I could tell: first seen along the N side at 08:25 I ended up flushing a bird about 5 times, always along the N side so assumed the same
- 2 Greylag Geese flew W at 09:05
- 21 Canada Geese: parties of 10 & 4 flew E at 07:22; and 6 more at 07:24. 1 large goose seen flying S to the far E seems likely to have been this species
- 2 Swans only: and with no geese to chase either it was a day off
- 34 Mallard (21 drakes): this was the pre-dawn dam-area count this morning and they all seemed to want to be fed - not that there was any food! Later they dispersed and I never had this total again
- 31 Pochard logged: throughout there were 30 (15 drakes in 2 unmatched parties). An unsexed bird flew off W at 07:36
- 41 Tufted Ducks logged today (24 drakes). (so 1 duck has flown off since yesterday!)
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- no Goosanders seen in flight today
- 1 Buzzard seen flying SW to the SE at 07:36
- 1 Kestrel at least: the usual early S-bound fly-by at 07:39. Then at 08:30 I noticed a female peering down from the small copse in the SW area and it proceeded to plane down to the grass and mantle something which it seemed to eat - there was nothing in its talons or bill when it flew back. It completely ignored the Mistle (missile?) Thrush that dive-bombed it while it was on the ground
- 7 Moorhens once again - 6 in the dam area again
- 46 Coots logged: 34 was my highest count of birds together on the SW muddy grass today. There were 7 at the (non) bread-feast at the dam pre-dawn.
- Gulls today:
- - c.200 Black-headed Gulls. None at 07:00; there were 6 by 07:17; and another 25 arrived at 07:19; numbers built to c.200 only - another low count. Thereafter numbers stayed very low with just 11 at 08:25; 34 at 09:20; and 37 at 09:45!
- - 128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. All logged flying over! This started most unusually with a group of c.50 birds very high and very far to the E at the early time of 07:45 (I assumed Golden Plover when I first saw them, but wing-beats far too slow - indeed whole movement too slow for waders, but I needed the telescope on 60x for these). First birds overhead were 14 going SW at 07:54. Almost no more until several groups flew N over the W end c.09:00. None was seen on the lake at all!
- - 6 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 5 birds seen amongst the parties of Lesser Black-backed Gulls; a 1st winter briefly at the lake at 08:25 was the only large gull that stopped this morning
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls
- no Feral Pigeons or Stock Doves
- 155 Wood Pigeons. The first was logged in flight at 07:54. 15 birds seen in the trees around the lake with several 'displaying' this morning; none was perched on the wires to the E; 26 birds as singles / small groups were seen flying E; and another 48 birds were noted flying W; a rather loose and spread-out total of 66 birds flew W to the N c.08:05
- the Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen bounding in from impossibly far to the SE (a daily trick from several months ago) and stopped in the NE trees at 08:20 (I was at the W end!)
- no Grey Wagtails logged
- 13 Pied Wagtails heard today - an immediate response to the colder weather?
- 23 Blackbirds this morning - a rather typical count, but what was not typical was 2 birds apparently this species flying high W to the N - all-black thrushes (2 melanistic Redwings would be unlikely and would have shorter tails!)
- 19 Fieldfares logged in a single party flying N at 09:15
- 8 Song Thrushes logged, with 5 heard in song
- 17 Redwings: 4 heard overhead pre-dawn; 9 birds seen / flushed from the trees, mainly in the NE area; and 4 birds seen only in flight
- 1 Mistle Thrush at least: prior to its dive-bomb antics with the Kestrel at 08:30 what was likely the same bird was heard scolding at the W end at 07:58
- no Goldcrest today
- a Coal Tit seen in with a tit-party on the N side - the first I have seen away from the area around the conifers near the Teece Drive gate for a long while
- at least 3 Jays making a lot of noise to the N with 2 of them seen in the small copse around the Celestica building at 08:55
- 183 Jackdaws, mainly in the corvid passage today. Started with a lone bird flying NW with Rooks at 07:35, and then a rather small party of 42 birds over the lake at 07:41. Thereafter passage was most odd as firstly a tight group of 50 birds at 07:44 was so far to the E as to be almost invisible despite its size; and then another unusually scattered and high group of some 60 birds was seen at 07:50, also far to the E. That was about it - just a few pairs mostly
- 159 Rooks, mainly in the corvid passage today. This started with low-level parties of 16 & 19 flying NW at 07:35 and 07:38 - an unprecedented number at this time of day. Almost none going SSE until a large, high and scattered group went out at 07:58. As with Jackdaws there were few others
- no Starlings today
- again few finches with nothing outstanding

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 3 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 2 Greylag Geese; 21 Canada Geese; 34 Mallard (21 drakes); 31 Pochard (15? drakes); 41 Tufted Ducks (24 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 46 Coots; no waders; c.200 Black-headed Gulls; 128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 6 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 155 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtail; 13 Pied Wagtails; 17 Wrens; 4 Dunnocks; 20 Robins; 23 Blackbirds; 19 Fieldfares; 8 Song Thrushes; 17 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; no Goldcrests; 4 Long-tailed Tit parties; 1 Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 20 Blue Tits; 11 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; 3 Jays; 31 Magpies; 183 Jackdaws; 159 Rooks; 17 Crows; no Starlings; 7 Chaffinches; 7 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; 3 Bullfinches; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species seen on, around and from the lake
- 62 birds: none added this morning
- 2 mammal sps. (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 2 moth sp. none added today)
- (no count of 'other species' is being made, though I am listing them)

(Ed Wilson)

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Sunday, 21st (07:05 - 10:44) - NB walking the lanes & fields to the E / SE 09:15 - 10:10: See Local Bird News.......

A fine rather chill morning with enough of a W wind to keep the frost away and to make exposed areas (like the dam-top) rather unpleasant. Good visibility

Back to more or less normal after all the gales: and nothing particular to highlight

Other features of the morning
- back to 2 Great Crested Grebes today
- many Cormorants flying around with at least 4 on the lake
- Goosanders seen over again
- only raptor seen today was Buzzard
- low number of gulls early; moderate numbers later with higher proportion of Herring Gulls
- reasonable number of Wood Pigeons with several displaying / calling and a few parties
- good log of corvids, especially Jackdaws, today
- the 'less than daily' log today included Great Spotted Woodpecker and Mistle Thrush

The more detailed notes from the lake
- no Little Grebe again
- 2 Great Crested Grebes today: the adult seen mainly around the dam. One of the immatures was in the SW area at dawn and then seen on its own in the NW area asleep. Had a peer-about later but could not see anything that might be a nest in the Wesley Brook outflow area (or the other bird!)
- 13 Cormorants: 2 flew S to the far E at the early time of 07:52; another at 07:58; 1 was seen flying towards the lake from the E at 08:03; 1 flew N to the far E at 08:05; 1 flew in from the SE at 08:11 and another at 08:13; 1 flew S overhead at 08:19; (the 3 seen circling over the lake at 08: 25 are assumed to be the 3 birds seen arriving, and now leaving); 1 flew S at 08:50; 1 flew NW 09:10; then 2 birds (an adult and an immature) arrived from the NW at 09:15 and stayed throughout; 1 flew NW over at 09:35. I make that 5 different birds on the lake; and 8 over = 13 for the morning
- 2 Herons yet again today: when 2 birds were in flight over the NW reeds at 07:55: these are assumed to be the 2 birds over the NE area at 07:56 even though they seemed to be going the other way. Later just a single seen on the S side and assumed to be one of these
- 4 Greylag Geese flew W at 07:56
- 4 Canada Geese as well: 2 flew E at 07:12; and 2 more at 07:14
- 4 Swans for a while between 07:27 and 07:44 while the residents dealt with another pair of adults that arrived from the E
- 21 Mallard (14 drakes): the pre-dawn dam-area count gave me just 2 birds (1 drake) - no food put out Sundays! But how do they know it is a Sunday? As a result there were 19 birds (13 drakes) in the SW area. Could not find any others!
- 7 Pochard logged: 4 drakes. All seen throughout and eventually asleep at the W end again
- 42 Tufted Ducks logged today (24 drakes). The pre-dawn counts at both ends gave me a provisional total of 30 birds (17 drakes), so there were many others around the lake at that time. As I was about to leave the yacht-club activity corralled all these together!
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- 2 Goosanders only seen in flight today: 2 brownheads over at 07:54
- 1 Buzzard seen circling high over E end of the lake at 08:26
- 7 Moorhens again logged today - 6 in the dam area again.
- 45 Coots logged: 30 was my highest count of birds together on the SW mud today. There were 6 again at the (non) bread-feast at the dam pre-dawn.
- Gulls today:
- - there were c.140 Black-headed Gulls flying around by 07:25 but there was no further build-up and the maximum early count was c.170. None of my later counts improved on this number though there did seem to be several flocks of at least 100 birds arriving from the NE at 08:50 which seemed likely to be new arrivals
- - 220 Lesser Black-backed Gulls logged flying over, almost all flying W today. Today just 3 birds were seen on the lake so 223 for the 'morning'
- - 53 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. A good total - with 40 of these seen flying over, including a party of 16 birds that were all this species. Later there were 13 together on the lake. None of these birds stayed. Strange how the composition of the large gulls has changed over the weeks
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - 2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls briefly

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
<< to be added >>>

- 1 very strange blue morph Feral Pigeon flew W at 09:05; almost tempted to call it an aberrant Stock Dove - it did not even have a white rump, and the only thing that gave it away was a cream-tinge to the outer-wing
- 4 Stock Doves: 2 pairs flew S
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged with 1 'singing' along the N side at 07:49. 21 birds seen in the trees around the lake with at least 5 'displaying' this morning; none was perched on the wires to the E; 21 birds as singles / small groups were seen flying E; and another 21 birds were noted flying W; at least 4 groups totalling 96 birds were seen over the trees etc. to the E; and a party of 18 birds flew very high N. The day total was therefore 177
- the Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen bounding away from the W end at 08:35
- 1 Grey Wagtail logged: on the ground in Teece Drive at 10:00
- 3 Pied Wagtails heard
- no Fieldfares logged today
- 6 Song Thrushes logged, with only 4 heard in song
- 9 Redwings logged this morning: 1 heard overhead pre-dawn; and 8 birds seen flying S to E at 07:53
- 1 Mistle Thrush calling at the W end
- no Goldcrest today
- corvid passage started early on this bright fine morning and might have caught me by surprise - 110 Jackdaws at 07:34. Protracted passage until after 08:30 in mainly small numbers. No groups of Rooks of >16 birds but very steady passage. Ended with totals of 290 Jackdaws and 160 Rooks. Notable were 17 Rooks flying 'the wrong way' including a party of 10 that were the first Rooks I logged at 07:36
- 8 Starlings today: 3 flew S at 07:54; then 5 NW at 09:14
- again few finches with nothing outstanding

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- a ladybird hiding under the rim of one of the lights was identified from a photograph as a Calvia 14-guttata, a species that the "Collins Guide To Insects" says is active from April to September. Early or late? But I guess they over-winter as adults as most other species of ladybird do

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 13 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 4 adult Swans; 4 Greylag Geese; 4 Canada Geese; 21 Mallard (14 drakes); 7 Pochard
(4 drakes); 42 Tufted Ducks (24 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; 2 Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrel; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 45 Coots; no waders; >270 Black-headed Gulls; 223 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 53 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; 2 Great Black-backed Gulls; 1 Feral Pigeon; 4 Stock Doves; 177 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtails; 13 Wrens; 6 Dunnocks; 25 Robins; 20 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 6 Song Thrushes; 9 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; no Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 23 Blue Tits; 13 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 30 Magpies; 290 Jackdaws; 160 Rooks; 12 Crows; 8 Starlings; no House Sparrows; 7 Chaffinches; 2 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 5 Bullfinches; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Rabbit
- no Grey Squirrels
- new molehills noted today at E end

Insect:
- 1 Calvia 14-guttata ladybird on the lights

Year total of species at the lake now
- 62 birds: none added this morning
- 2 mammal sps. (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 2 moth sp. none added today)
- (no count of 'other species' is being made, though I am listing them)

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday 20th (14:06 - 15:15) - An afternoon visit for a change more or less added on my way home from The Flash and without any attempt at a full log - basically to see what I could find amongst the gulls

No real highlights: there were several 'odd' gulls, but in the end I concluded that there was nothing to get excited about, though I might pass the photos of 3 of the birds around to get confirmation. In the very bright sun (who is never happy then?) the mantle colour of some of the birds was hard to discern, changing substantially as they swung in the wind. The 3 oddities might be summarised as - a very small dark-backed bird that seemed like it might be a Common Gull
but certainly wasn't. The head was not rounded like a Common Gull; the bill too thick; and it lacked the beady-eye. What it might be is harder to say, but I suspect a female (and hence small) 3rd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull of the ssp. graellsii (too small for a Yellow-legged Gull), though with remarkably little head-streaking
- a very large first-winter type that looked superficially like a Great Black-backed Gull (there were 2 adult Greater Black-backed Gulls nearby for direct comparison), but was slightly smaller; rather more brown-toned in markings; had a pale base to the bill; the head did not seem white-enough; and the very front of the mantle / nape of the neck seemed to be Herring Gull in tone. I conclude this is a first-winter argentatus bird
- a large, slightly dark-backed adult Herring Gull-type with a clean white head. Certainly NOT the Caspian Gull (which I have yet to see: damn!), and probably a Yellow-legged Gull, though it does look rather like the 4th winter argentatus picture in the Gulls monograph

The more detailed notes from the lake - exclusively water-birds
- no Little Grebe seen
- 2 Great Crested Grebes today: the adult seen exploring most of the S part of the lake. 1 immature seen in the NW area
- no Cormorants
- no Heron
- no Geese
- 26 Mallard (18 drakes), mainly tucked up in the SE area's overhanging bushes, though 4 pairs still around the jetty / ramp looking for hand-outs
- 2 Pochard: both drakes
- 36 Tufted Ducks logged (19 drakes): these were still actively feeding (as were the Pochard) and the ducks in particular moving around the lake and I hope this is the real number!
- 7 Moorhens logged today - 4 in the dam area, including birds wandering along the top despite the dog-walkers; 2 in the NE area; and 1 at the W end
- 46 Coots logged
- gulls totals are a bit of a snap-shot in that many birds were moving about, though in the main once they arrived movement seemed to be to reposition from a washing area to a loafing area
- - c.195 Black-headed Gulls
- - 48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- - 34 Herring Gulls
- - 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull (see above)
- - 3 Great Black-backed Gulls (2 adults and 1 1st winter bird (as well as the 'puzzle' bird above which I have included in the Herring Gull count)

So the water-bird log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 1 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; no Herons; 2 adult Swans; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 26 Mallard (18 drakes); 2 Pochard (2 drakes); 36 Tufted Ducks (19 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 46 Coots; no waders; c.195 Black-headed Gulls; 48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 34 specifically identified Herring Gulls; 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull; 3 Great Black-backed Gulls

Year total of species at the lake now
- 62 birds: none added today
- 2 mammal sps. (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 2 moth sp.: none added today

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 19th (06:59 - 09:44) - A fine morning with the storm of yesterday much abated though the wind still a moderate W breeze. A 'fresh-feeling' to the day and very clear under almost cloudless skies

Surprisingly little damage from the storm considering previously strong winds had felled several small trees in the various copses around the lake. Half of one of the larger conifers along the N side was snapped off; and access to one of the fishing platforms involved a bit of a clamber over an ivy-covered dead trunk that had fallen. Another section of guttering had come off the yacht-club hut. But very little else considering

The highlight of the day was the Green Woodpecker heard and then seen in the NE area. No new species for the year

Other features of the morning
- all 3 Great Crested Grebes today
- 4 different Cormorants on the lake, and 4 more seen in flight
- Goosanders seen over again
- a party of c.50 presumed Golden Plover seen high and VERY distantly to the NE
- 4 sightings of probably the same Sparrowhawk; 3 sightings of at least 2 Buzzards and the usual Kestrel made it a good raptor day
- after a good number of gulls at the early gathering then rather few - biggest party of Wood Pigeons for a while - a flock of c.140 at least over fields to the E
- good log of corvids, especially Jackdaws, today

The more detailed notes from the lake
- no Little Grebe again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes today: the adult seen exploring most of the lake at various times. The others were seen in the NW area asleep
- 4 Cormorants: 4 singles flew S to the E at c.08:00. 1 juvenile came from the E at 08:15 and stayed until replaced by an adult at 08:24 that stayed only until 08:35 when it left to the N. Then 2 more adults by 09:10
- 2 Herons again today: yet again not recorded at first light at the lake and only when it flushed from the NW reeds at 08:45. What I assume was this bird seen along the S side at 09:10, but also a bird flying N over the E end
- 18 Greylag Geese at least logged: 2 at least heard flying, unusually, W at 07:03! Then 16 flew W at 08:21
- 17 Canada Geese at least: 5 flew E at 07:33; 1 flew S to the E, but then turned W and came overhead at 07:35; 2 flew in from the direction of The Flash at 07:39, circled around and left the way they came; 7 flew W to the N at 08:37; and then 2 more flew W at 08:57. None of the big movements seen in earlier years, but there are not the same numbers using The Flash at the moment - counts of 200 used to be common, whereas 80 is about the maximum at the moment
- 33 Mallard (19 drakes): the pre-dawn dam-area count gave me just 21 birds (13 drakes)
- 3 Pochard only logged: all drakes seen along the N side before they went to sleep in the loafing party of Tufted Ducks at the W end
- 31 Tufted Ducks logged today (14 drakes): 6 of these (none of them drakes) were at the bread-feast at the dam pre-dawn, but the main drake-dominated (21 / 12) was at the W end for the grain hand-out. A few others scattered about
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- 9 Goosanders seen in flight today: 7 at 07:54 with just 1 drake overhead; then a lone brownhead far to the N at 08:05; and a lone drake overhead at 08:20
- 4 sightings of Sparrowhawk over the N / W part of the lake between 08:35 and 09:05 seemed to involve the same female
- 3 Buzzard sightings: 1 to the E at 07:35; then 1 flew low S over the lake scattering gulls at 07:45; what must have been a different bird circling to the NE at 08:05
- 1 Kestrel seen flying S across the lake at 07:46 - well it was a light morning so it would be earlier!
- the Water Rail not seen today
- 7 Moorhens only logged today - 6 in the dam area again.
- 46 Coots logged today: 24 was my highest count of birds together on the SW mud today. There were only 6 at the bread-feast at the dam pre-dawn. Most of the birds were on the S side grass today
- there was a V-shaped flight of c.50 medium-sized birds flying high to the NNE. I concluded that these must be Golden Plover for whilst they did not really have quite the shape of a typical Golden Plover flock with its curved leading edge, the formation seemed too 'tight' and did none of the formation- and direction-changing that typifies the only other real alternative - Lapwings
- gulls today:
- - there were c.30 Black-headed Gulls flying around at 07:08 with at least another c.30 just arriving. The early arrival peaked at c.1100 today. Later there was the usual coming and going but no new arrivals I could detect
- - I logged 133 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over, with most of them flying S to the E of the lake. Only 2 birds were seen on the lake so just 135 for the 'morning'
- - 10 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. I logged 8 birds flying over, all flying W. 2 birds - an adult and a 1st winter on the lake
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
<< to be added >>>

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves either
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:54. 13 birds seen in the trees around the lake with 3 'displaying' this morning; 1 was perched on the wires to the E; 11 birds as singles / small groups were seen flying E; 17 birds were noted flying W; and 4 parties (>10 birds) totalling 208 birds were logged this morning. at least 140 birds were over the trees to the E at 08:00; and then at least 47 (in 3 smaller groups travelling together) flew N to the far E. 2 other parties making the day total 250 exactly
- the Green Woodpecker called from the NE area at 09:00 and was then seen flying off W
- no Grey Wagtail logged
- 2 Pied Wagtails only again
- 8 Fieldfares logged, all in a party flying S to the E
- only 4 Song Thrushes logged, with all 4 in song for at least part of the time
- 4 Redwings only logged this morning: 3 heard overhead pre-dawn; and a lone bird seen flying S
- no Mistle Thrushes
- a Goldcrest in the NW area
- corvid passage was, as noted, reasonable. The Jackdaws started passing at 07:35 with 111(!) birds flying low across the lake (as well as a wayward bird flying W). Passage had more or less finished by 08:00. Rooks passed at the same times but more steadily. My day totals were 279 Jackdaws and 136 Rooks
- no Starlings again
- still rather few finches with nothing outstanding

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 8 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans; 18 Greylag Geese; 17 Canada Geese; 33 Mallard (19 drakes); 3 Pochard (3 drakes); 31 Tufted Ducks (14 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; 9 Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 2 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 46 Coots; c.50 probable Golden Plover in the distance; no other waders; >1100 Black-headed Gulls; 133 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 10 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 250 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; 1 Green Woodpecker; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 2 Pied Wagtails; 15 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 21 Robins; 17 Blackbirds; 8 Fieldfares; 4 Song Thrushes; 4 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 4 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 14 Blue Tits; 10 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 43 Magpies; 279 Jackdaws; 136 Rooks; 14 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 4 Chaffinches; 5 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 62 birds: none added this morning
- 2 mammal sps. (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 2 moth sp. none added today

(Ed Wilson)

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Thursday, 18th (11:39 - 11:54) - A very short late morning to see whether there was anything blown in and / or sheltering. Other than me that is!

The wind was probably at its strongest about this time and was picking up water from the surface of the lake and hurling it across the lake to the dam. Apart from some calmer areas at the extreme W end and in the lee of the bushes on the SW shore it was too rough even for gulls to settle and the log is therefore very restricted

Even in the lee of the yacht club hut I had difficulty standing to count things; much less use the telescope and all numbers need to be treated with caution!

No highlights other than the weather

The complete log of the morning
- 1 Great Crested Grebe: the adult off the N side
- 1 Cormorant leaning more or less horizontally on the jetty
- no meaningful count of Mallard
- 14 Pochard (8 drakes), all in the SW area
- 55 Tufted Duck (33 drakes). Interestingly this suggests that the birds at Priorslee Flash had come from elsewhere to seek shelter
- no Moorhens seen
- no meaningful count of Coots could be made
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 17 Herring Gulls
- 1 Great Black-backed Gull
- all the 'large gulls' bar 1 Herring Gull were immatures. While I was there the lake was too rough for them to settle and most were flying around. Most of the Black-headed Gulls were on the grass / mud at the SW end
- 3 Wood Pigeon the only other birds noted

Year total of species at the lake remains
- 62 birds
- 2 mammal sps. (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 2 moth sp.

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Wednesday, 17th (07:00 - 10:19 // 11:55 - 12:05) - A wet spell between 07:30 and 07:45 was followed by a slow clearance from the NW, though it did not reach the sun until after 10:30. Moderate SW wind, though as the clearance came through it increased to strong and veered W. Good visibility

I had to go to town and stopped in the E end lay-by briefly at 12:00 on my return to see what was around: very windy at that time and the lake littered with gulls (and as I drove home there were 100s over the Limekiln Bank area). Nothing new and the data folded in to the main narrative

Highlights were 2 new species of bird for my lake year-list; and a new moth species for my lake-list
- a very smart duck Goldeneye was on the lake at first light and seen actively diving c.08:00: but by 08:30 it seemed to have gone
- 4 Pink-footed Geese flew W at 10:00
- a Pale Brindled Beauty moth was on one of the lamps this morning - identified from photographs I took
So my year species count for birds moves to 62; and for moths to 2

Other features of the morning
- only 1 Great Crested Grebes seen
- no Cormorants on the lake, but 4 singles seen in flight
- Kestrel seen twice yet again
- another better day for gulls at the lake, especially later in the morning
- rather few Redwings (8) and no Fieldfares again
- was it a Goldcrest?
- another Treecreeper (heard only)
- better log of corvids, especially Jackdaws, today

The more detailed notes from the lake
- no Little Grebe today
- 1 Great Crested Grebes only today: just the adult seen exploring most of the lake at various times. After their head-shaking display yesterday the others were perhaps hiding in the reeds!
- 4 Cormorants: 3 singles flew S to the E - they seem to be headed towards the fish-ponds behind the M54 Services? (though the River Severn is that way too!) Later an adult flew low W
- 2 Herons today: again not recorded at first light at the lake and only when I flushed one from the NW reeds at 08:50. A bird flying N to the E at 08:58 was a different bird
- 4 Pink-footed Geese flew W low at 09:55. They did not call and had already passed when I saw them. They immediately struck me as small geese and a glance showed that the upper fore-wing was nowhere near so pale-toned or extensively pale as in Greylag Goose: in addition the head seemed very small and both the head and the neck obviously dark. Despite the brevity of the view these features seem to clinch the identity. Unfortunately I had an appointment in Telford and was not able to check The Flash, though I got the impression that these birds would have passed to the S of The Flash
- 3 Greylag Geese logged when all 3 flew W together at 08:55
- 2 Canada Geese only when 2 flew E at 07:51 after the rain stopped
- 44 Mallard (29 drakes): the pre-dawn dam-area count gave me just 22 birds (13 drakes)
- 16 Pochard logged: 15 (7 drakes) were still on the lake at 09:00, though a drake had flown off at 07:53. Then at 09:25 7 birds (3 drakes) flew off towards The Flash
- 35 Tufted Ducks logged today (18 drakes): 7 of these (2 drakes) were at the bread-feast at the dam pre-dawn, but the main drake-dominated (17 / 12) party waits at the W end for the grain from another regular feeder. A few others scattered about [these of course fail the 'bread test' and therefore cannot be counted?]
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- the Goldeneye was in the middle of the lake for much of the time until she started diving c.08:00. Such a smart bird that I had to check the literature to recall what eclipse / 1st winter drakes looked like! But when I got round the N side of the lake where I might have got a photo, the bird seemed to have gone and I did not see it again
- no Goosanders seen today
- 1 Kestrel seen flying S over my head at 07:54 (a minute later than yesterday!): what was probably the same bird was a male seen perched atop a factory flue in Stafford Park at 08:20
- the Water Rail not seen today
- 11 Moorhens logged today - 6 in the dam area again. One bird was doing its 'clambering about the bushes' trick in the NW area
- 47 Coots logged today: 38 was my highest count of birds together on the SW mud today. There were 12 at the bread-feast at the dam pre-dawn, but some of these flew(!) or paddled to the SW area later
- gulls today:
- - there were Black-headed Gulls flying around at 07:05 but whether they were just arriving or had been disturbed I am unsure. The early arrival peaked at c.600 today. Later there was the usual coming and going. At 12:00 there were at least 300. No overflying groups seen
- - I logged 127 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over, today most of them were in small parties (<15 birds) flying S to the E of the lake. About 10 birds were seen on the lake at various times before I left for town. At 12:00 there were at least 350 birds on the lake, all assumed to be new birds = 487 for the 'morning'
- - c.94 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. I logged 9 birds flying over, all singles flying W. About 17 birds were seen on the lake at various times before I left for town - more than the number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. At 12:00 there were at least 68 birds on the lake, all assumed to be new birds
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - 1 adult Great Black-backed Gull was seen on the lake briefly at 09:35

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
<< to be added >>>

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- 1 Stock Dove to the NE around Woodhouse Farm again
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:08. 9 birds seen in the trees around the lake with 2 'displaying' this morning; 4 were perched on the wires to the E; 18 singles / small groups were seen flying E; 21 were noted flying W; and a party (>10 birds) of 14 birds was noted over the trees to E. 66 birds this morning
- 1 Grey Wagtail logged
- 2 Pied Wagtails only overhead - a rain-affected count?
- no Fieldfares logged again
- 6 Song Thrushes logged, again with all 6 in song for at least part of the time
- 8 Redwings only this morning, all seen flying over and all but 1 heading S
- 1 Mistle Thrush: a bird was seen on the wires to the E at 08:10. I was astonished to see what I assume was the same bird flying W across the whole length of the lake to the trees at the W end. I had assumed that the E & W end birds were different!
- a probable Goldcrest in the SE area: spent ages looking for this without success. It sure sounded like a 'crest', but somehow sounded slightly wrong and I wanted to check it out. But it would not play and somehow flew off across the M54 without my ever seeing it
- what sounded like a Willow Tit calling in the NW area turned out to be a real Willow Tit today
- the / a Treecreeper was heard in the NW area while I was engaged in looking at a small group of Bullfinches near the Wesley Brook bridge
- corvid passage was, as noted, better. The Jackdaws started passing at 07:51 and several good-sized groups passed over the E end of the lake before 08:00. Thereafter fewer than usual. And there were rather fewer Rooks, certainly in comparison. They also seemed to pass later, so perhaps I missed the main early party at the end of the rain. My day totals were 205 Jackdaws and 76 Rooks
- no Starlings again

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- a Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) moth was on one of the street lights this morning: not in a very good position with no clear sight through overhanging ash keys, but I got a good-enough photo to identify this: I had assumed it would be a Winter Moth though the wings did not look rounded enough - as indeed they weren't!

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 1 Great Crested Grebe; 4 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans; 4 Pink-footed Geese; 3 Greylag Geese; 2 Canada Geese; 44 Mallard (29 drakes); 16 Pochard (8 drakes); 35 Tufted Ducks (18 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; 1 duck Goldeneye; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 47 Coots; no waders; >600 Black-headed Gulls; >487 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 94 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 1 Stock Dove; 66 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 2 Pied Wagtails; 20 Wrens; 10 Dunnocks; 24 Robins; 11 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 6 Song Thrushes; 8 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 probable Goldcrest; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; 1 Willow Tit; 20 Blue Tits; 16 Great Tits; 1 Tree Creeper; no Jays; 39 Magpies; 205 Jackdaws; 76 Rooks; 22 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 6 Chaffinches; 12 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 4 Bullfinches; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Insects:
1 species of moth
- [1926] Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria)
[numbers are the British Checklist Numbers]

Year total of species at the lake now
- 62 birds: Pink-footed Goose and Goldeneye added this morning
- 2 mammal sps. (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 2 moth sp. (Pale Brindled Beauty added today)

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Tuesday, 16th (07:00 - 10:10) - A wet morning though the rain was mostly light and there was no wind. As a result apart from a short while keeping the optics dry in the hut on the SW grass I did my normal watch and walk all the way around. The overcast was just too thick to act as a good backdrop for overflying birds and some totals, especially of the corvids, suffered as a result

Highlight was another prolonged view of the Water Rail in the NE ditch

No bird additions to the year list but added mammal - 2 different Grey Squirrels seen today

Other features of the morning
- all 3 Great Crested Grebes seen
- no Cormorants logged this morning - perhaps the poor visibility prevented me seeing them?
- Kestrel seen twice again this morning
- a slightly better day for gulls at the lake with a group of Lesser Black-backed Gulls arriving with the early Black-headed Gulls, though the latter in low numbers again
- reasonable numbers of Wood Pigeon but only small parties today
- more Redwings (33) but no Fieldfares
- poor log of corvids today, I think they were taking a more easterly flight-line and therefore just beyond visible range in the gloom

The more detailed notes from the lake
- 1 Little Grebe seen once again in the usual place
- 3 Great Crested Grebes today: the 2 first winter birds in the NW area were obvious throughout, even indulging in some head-shaking display; the adult noted off the dam as usual, but also make forays along the S side and in to the SW area
- no Cormorants
- 1 Heron but not recorded until heard in flight at 09:25 and then seen in the NE area
- 3 Greylag Geese logged: 1 flew W at 08:23; and then 2 E at 08:25
- 5 Canada Geese: 4 arrived from the direction of The Flash at 07:43 and left back in the same direction at 08:16. 1 flew W 09:12
- 36 Mallard (23 drakes): the pre-dawn dam-area count gave me just 11 (6 drakes). Not sure why they were not present!
- 30 Pochard logged: 12 flew off towards The Flash - 7 at 07:35; and 5 more at 07:45. That left 18 (11 drakes) on the lake, though at 09:30 I could find just 7 drakes
- 29 Tufted Ducks logged again, though 15 drakes today
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- no Goosanders seen today [despite another high count of 36 later at The Flash]
- 1 Kestrel seen flying S over the lake at 07:53: what was probably the same bird seen flying NE on to the wires at 08:46
- the Water Rail again today. From rather limited experience it seems that it is better to quietly approach the ditch from the W than from Castle Farm Way to see this bird - as I have noted before the ditch seems curiously 'exposed' this year and is perhaps better hidden from the W
- 10 Moorhens logged today - only 6 in the dam area today
- 49 Coots logged today: 29 was my highest count of birds together on the SW mud today
- gulls today:
- - there were no Black-headed Gulls at 07:05 on the flat-calm lake. The first mixed species group with c.120 Black-headed Gulls arrived at 07:22, with rather few additional birds before the 'roost' broke and birds started to head back out again at 07:35 and the total had peaked at c.150. Later there was the usual coming and going and while there were some low counts there were eventually over 200. No overflying groups seen
- - I logged just 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over. But most unusually a party of c.50 birds arrived with the early Black-headed Gulls at 07:22 and some 20 more with later arrivals before 07:35. These had all gone by 08:30 and thereafter just 5 more birds arrived. So 97 for the morning
- - 10 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 2 adults arrived with the early group of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Then after 09:00 a small arrival of 8 birds (5 (near) adults; 3 1st winter birds)
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls today

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG 0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:22 BHG c.120; LBBG 50; HG 1; GBBG 0
07:45 BHG c.150; LBBG 70; HG 2; GBBG 0
08:10 BHG 74; LBBG 11; HG 1; GBBG 0
08:30 BHG 41; LBBG 1; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:50 BHG 83; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0 [same number as at 08:50 yesterday!]
09:00 BHG 133; LBBG 3; HG 2; GBBG 0
09:30 BHG 207; LBBG 4; HG 5; GBBG 0
09:40 BHG -; LBBG 5; HG 8; GBBG 0

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves either
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:03. 14 birds seen in the trees around the lake with 3 'displaying' this morning; 6 were perched on the wires to the E; 10 singles / small groups were seen flying E; 17 were noted flying W; and 2 parties (>10 birds) were noted, totalling 28 birds. Exactly 75 birds this morning
- no Grey Wagtails logged
- 6 Pied Wagtails overhead again
- no Fieldfares logged: perhaps because of the rather poor light preventing any flocks standing out against the grey sky?
- 6 Song Thrushes logged, with all 6 in song for at least part of the time
- 33 Redwings logged this morning. Just 2 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 12 birds seen leaving tree, mainly on the N side. 19 others seen in flight, 14 of which were in 2 parties heading S
- no Mistle Thrushes
- no Goldcrests either
- what sounded a bit like a Willow Tit calling again turned out to be a Great Tit making a similar call
- corvid passage was, as noted, very poor. Single high-flying Rooks at 07:41 and 07:44 were well ahead of any other sightings, but the main group of c.70 Jackdaws was far to the E and only just about discernible! My day totals were 141 Jackdaws and only 34 Rooks
- no Starlings
Also
- 2 Grey Squirrels: 1 sitting next to what I assume is a dray along the W side; and 1 running across the path along the N side

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
1 Little Grebe; 3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 3 Greylag Geese; 5 Canada Geese; 36 Mallard (23 drakes); 30 Pochard (? drakes); 29 Tufted Ducks (15 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; 1 Water Rail; 10 Moorhens; 49 Coots; no waders; >207 Black-headed Gulls; >97 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 10 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; 0 Stock Doves; 75 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 6 Pied Wagtails; 16 Wrens; 5 Dunnocks; 30 Robins; 24 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 6 Song Thrushes; 33 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 25 Blue Tits; 15 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 17 Magpies; 141 Jackdaws; 34 Rooks; 16 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 5 Chaffinches; 5 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- 2 Grey Squirrels
- no new molehills noted today

Year total of species at the lake now
- 60 birds
- 2 mammal sps. (seen - mole hills do not count)
- 1 moth sp.

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Monday, 15th (06:57 - 10:08) - A dry morning but rather cloudy with few breaks. The moderate SSW wind made it necessary to find some shelter. Good visibility

Highlight of today was a splendid Treecreeper at the W end on the trunk of a small alder tree. A year-tick and obviously a lake year-tick for me taking the year-total to 59. This species has been rather scarce here this winter, whereas last year it was with one of the tit parties for several weeks. Today it seemed to be on its own and, unusually, I saw it before I heard the call

Other features of the morning
- 8 Cormorants logged this morning
- fewer Pochard and Tufted Duck today
- Sparrowhawk and Kestrel seen this morning
- a dire day for gulls at the lake - could the Black-headed Gulls be already moving off to breeding grounds? Were some larger gulls over, but not in big numbers
- higher numbers of Wood Pigeon with several parties today
- fewer Redwings (17) but more Fieldfares (76)
- better log of corvids today but unexceptional numbers
- a lone Starling

The more detailed notes from the lake
- 1 Little Grebe seen again in the usual place
- 2 Great Crested Grebes today: just 1 first winter bird in the NW area; and the adult noted off the dam again
- 8 Cormorants with 6 flying S to the E in 3 sightings. Later 1, perhaps of these flying N. At 08:38 a bird arrived from the N, circled a few times and apparently did not like what it saw and left back to the N
- 1 Heron for sure. 1 over the NE area at 07:47 seemed likely to be the bird seen hiding in the NW sallows at 08:58
- 19 Greylag Geese logged: 2 seen approaching from the E at 08:45 promptly 'disappeared' and I never saw where they went. 11 flew E at 09:10; and then 6 more at 09:14
- no Canada Geese seen or heard this morning
- 32 Mallard (21 drakes) - the same as yesterday: the pre-dawn dam-area count gave me just 18 (12 drakes), but there were two fishermen and the presence of the usual supply of bread on the platform had not tempted too many for the feast
- 11 Pochard logged: these were noted in a tight party in the middle of the lake at 07:05. 7 flew off towards The Flash at 07:46. Later I could find just 1 drake and 1 duck on the lake
- 29 Tufted Ducks logged (14 drakes). This was the combined count of the pre-dawn W end count (18 - 11 drakes) and the off-dam count also pre-dawn
(11 - 3 drakes). Later there were only 24 birds (13 drakes), though these were scattered all around the lake and therefore there may have been more earlier. That said I noted none flying over
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- no Goosanders seen today [despite the record count of 44 later at The Flash]
- 1 apparent male (on size) Sparrowhawk being chased by a Crow as it tried to circle to the N at 08:40
- 1 Kestrel seen flying in the SW / S area at 08:20: presumed this bird on the pylons to the ESE at 08:40
- no Water Rail today
- 11 Moorhens logged today - no fewer than 10 on the dam-top and -face despite the presence of the fishermen at one end (the other end!)
- 55 Coots logged today: 26 was my highest count of birds together on the SW mud today. Odd was the fact that 31 were asleep in the water off the jetty this morning when I arrived - usually they are lined up about to jump on to the grass / mud if not actually feeding. When they are roosting most are inside the reeds and not visible
- gulls today:
- - there seemed to be no Black-headed Gulls at 07:05. The first was a lone bird at 07:19 but that seemed not to stay (hard to see single birds at this time of day!). It was 07:57 before I saw any more - there were just 4! The usual early build up was restricted to just 26 birds by 08:10. Most strange. There were more later, but nothing like the usual numbers and they peaked at c.175. There was however at least one tight group of 43 birds flying W at 09:40 that seemed not to be part of the usual coming and going. One of the dog-walkers said there seemed to be 'the usual number' on the field between the college and the Ricoh factory as he passed
- - I logged 215 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over. These fell in two distinct movements SW with c.100 at c.08:30; and another c.80 at 10:00 with very few in between apart from a party of 17 flying N. And then at 09:50 birds began arriving from the W, unusually, but almost as soon as they started settling on the water something sent all the gulls in the air and away. There had been at least 37 birds, so the morning total was at least 252
- - 23 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 2 immatures logged flying over with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls: an adult and an immature briefly on the lake at 09:20: and then 19 with the small arrival of Lesser Black-backs. These left at the same time. Did not get a chance to ascribe ages to all the birds, but they seemed mostly to be immatures
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls today

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG 0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:19 BHG 1; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:00 BHG 4; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:10 BHG 26; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:45 BHG 19; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
09:00 BHG 83; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
09:30 BHG c.175; LBBG 0; HG 2; GBBG 0
09:50 BHG ?; LBBG 37; HG 19; GBBG 0

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- 4 Stock Doves seen: 2 flew very high W at 08:55 apparently trying to catch up with a party of Wood Pigeons; then 2 flew SW 09:20
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:01. 15 birds seen in the trees around the lake but none was 'singing' this morning; 1 was perched on the wires to the E; 11 singles / small groups were seen flying E; and a big count of 82 singles / small groups were noted flying W. In addition 3 parties (>10 birds) were noted, totaling 91 birds (largest party 37), all heading W. Exactly 200 birds this morning
- 2 Grey Wagtails with birds in the SW area; and, for the first time this year, in the dam area
- 6 Pied Wagtails overhead included a party of 3 - parties been almost absent for some weeks
- no unusual numbers of Dunnocks but a bird seen along the dam-face this morning. I quite often see singles scuttling along the rocks and it always seems a rather unusual and exposed place for this species - there is no cover for them to retreat to quickly
- 76 Fieldfares logged in 6 groups all heading SW / W, the largest of 20 birds at 08:13
- 6 Song Thrushes logged, with 5 in song
- 17 Redwings logged this morning. Just 1 bird noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 3 birds seen in trees at the W end. 13 others seen in flight, mainly with the Fieldfare parties
- 2 Mistle Thrushes seen on separate segments of the power lines to the E
- 2 Goldcrests again
- Long-tailed Tits seemed to be everywhere today and I logged 6 parties, though most of the parties were small - indeed one appeared to comprise just 2 birds!
- single Coal Tit was heard in song
- and a single Willow Tit was heard calling
- Jay heard to the N today was the first for a while
- another day with a bumper Magpie count - 39 seen, 28 of which flew out of the NE roost
- corvid passage started early at 07:42 with several spread-out parties of Rooks at very high-level. Later a few tighter groups of low-level Jackdaws. Steady passage until c.08:10 and sporadically thereafter - even after 09:30 a few. My day totals were 217 Jackdaws and 175 Rooks. One oddity was that at least 26 Jackdaws paused on the structure of, and the wires around, one of the pylons to the SE, including the HT 'live' wires - usually they just rush on through. I recall some of the Rooks pausing on the LT wires of the smaller pylons last autumn for several consecutive mornings
- 1 Starling noted flying high S
- more finches today with 11 Greenfinches that included a group of 4 males apparently feeding on keys at the top of the largest ash along the Teece Drive approach. But the small party of Chaffinches present around the turn of the year seems to be long-gone
- 4 Reed Buntings with one flying off from the N side again

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 8 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 9 Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 32 Mallard (21 drakes) again; 11 Pochard (? drakes); 29 Tufted Ducks (14 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 55 Coots; no waders; >252 Black-headed Gulls;>66 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 23 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; 4 Stock Doves; 200 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 2 Grey Wagtails; 6 Pied Wagtails; 18 Wrens; 8 Dunnocks; 35 Robins; 15
Blackbirds; 76 Fieldfares; 6 Song Thrushes; 17 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; 2 Goldcrests; 6? Long-tailed Tit parties; 1 Coal Tit; 1 Willow Tit; 22 Blue Tits; 10 Great Tits; 1 Treecreeper; 1 Jay; 39 Magpies; 217 Jackdaws; 175 Rooks; 17 Crows; 1 Starling; no House Sparrows; 2 Chaffinches; 11 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 60 birds: Treecreeper and Jay added this morning
- 1 mammal (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 1 moth sp.

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Sunday, 14th (06:59 - 10:17) - A fine day for a change with a light / moderate SW wind making it nippy - cold enough for a dusting of frost in the well-sheltered bits. A great sunrise to distract me (and it did) with the high-cloud colouring up the sky. Good visibility

Highlight of today was a great, if rather short, view of the Water Rail as it scuttled away along the ditch in the NE area. A year-tick and obviously a lake year-tick for me taking the year-total to 58

Looked hard for the comet but no sign: was not too surprised as the web sites that were the source of my original identification suggested that it would not be visible after c.10 January

Other features of the morning
- 16 Cormorants logged, though only 4 of them landed on the lake: like the old days!
- most of the Pochard and Tufted Duck stayed until the yacht club arrived after 10:00: and then gave me a fly-by as I was leaving up Teece Drive
- just 3 Goosanders seen flying over
- no raptors - Sparrowhawk, Buzzard or Kestrel - seen this morning
- a large party of c.200 birds very far to the E seemed likely to be Lapwings from the shape and behaviour of the flock, but even the telescope could not really do anything apart from make the specks bigger
- an even worse day for gulls but I did see some Black-headed Gulls on the roof of the Celestica factory this morning - cannot remember ever seeing any here before
- several Wood Pigeon parties today, one of 57 birds
- very few Redwings (19) or Fieldfares (14) and no Starlings contrast with yesterday
- poor log of corvids today - don't think the sunrise distraction was entirely to blame

The more detailed notes from the lake
- no Little Grebe seen
- 3 Great Crested Grebes today: 2 first winter birds were in the NW area in the pre-dawn glow at 07:18 but only 1 subsequently: the adult noted off the dam later
- 16 Cormorants - phew! 12 seen flying past, with one party of 6 birds at 08:17. A bird arrived at the lake at 08:50 and stayed until 09:30; then 3 more arrived from the W and plunged in for a feed
- 2 Herons today. 1 over the NE area at 07:18 seemed likely to be the bird seen in the NW sallows and along the S side later. But a bird that flew W to the N at 09:20 seemed to be another
- 1 Greylag Goose only: a single flew SE at 07:15
- 30 Canada Geese: parties of 6, 11, 2 and 1 flew SE before 7 arrived from the direction of The Flash at 07:28 and stayed throughout; 1 flew W at 09:30; and then 2 more at 09:59
- 32 Mallard (21 drakes): no pre-dawn dam-area count as the sunrise distracted me from early
- 24 Pochard logged: 6 were noted flying off towards The Flash before 07:15. Later there were 18 resting on the lake in the NW area for a change (10 drakes). At least 14 flew off just as I was driving away at 10:15
- 39 Tufted Ducks logged (21 drakes). I saw none leave, indeed 4 seemed to fly in!
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- 3 Goosanders seen today, all brownheads flying W at 07:42
- the Water Rail was a welcome sight: I did wonder whether the continuing mild weather might have encouraged it to move on!
- 6 Moorhens logged today - 4 on the dam-face
- 51 Coots logged today: 19 was my highest count of birds together on the SW grass today - most have formed a breakaway group along the S side grass: in fact the 'SW grass' is rather a misnomer at the moment 'SW mud' would be better
- gulls today:
- - there seemed to be no Black-headed Gulls at 07:05 with the first c.40 of a smaller arrival noted at 07:08. The total peaked at c.600 birds. All subsequent counts were lower, sometimes much lower. But two other comments: while looking to the SE at the sunrise there were many, many Black-headed Gulls flying off in that direction. I made no count, but it seemed that it was many more than I had logged at the lake. And at 08:26 a tight party of c.40 birds flew SW amongst a group of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and seemed as if was probably not birds from the lake. At least 640 for the morning
- - I logged 63 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over, mostly flying SW as usual. Only 3 birds noted on the lake. So 66 for the morning
- - 7 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. All were flying over
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls today

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG 0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:20 BHG c.550; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:40 BHG c.600; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:25 BHG 77; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
09:00 BHG c.310; LBBG 3; HG 0; GBBG 0
09:45 BHG 65; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves seen
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:58. 16 birds seen in the trees around the lake and despite the lower temperature several were 'singing'; 1 was perched on the wires to the E; 6 singles / small groups were seen flying E; and 17 ditto flying W. 4 parties totaling 97 birds (largest party 57) were noted, all heading S or W. A better total of 137 birds this morning
- no Grey Wagtails
- 4 Pied Wagtails only heard over
- 14 Fieldfares logged in 4 small groups all heading SE / SW, the largest of at just 7 birds at 07:45
- 7 Song Thrushes logged, but only 6 in song
- 19 Redwings only logged this morning. At least 6 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 6 birds seen flying out of trees. only 7 others seen in flight
- 7 Mistle Thrushes at least: 1 heard in song to the E at 09:49; then 6 together at the W end / NW area 10:05
- 2 Goldcrests both seen well
- Long-tailed Tits seemed to be up early this morning: first calls heard at 07:36
- corvids were in low numbers: Not sure that the distracting sunrise was entirely to blame. I saw no big flocks of Jackdaws and indeed it is possible that they took a more westerly line today - some of the later birds certainly - where I am not usually looking. The only big party of was flying very high so perhaps the Jackdaws did too? Whatever, my day totally were 93 Jackdaws and 142 Rooks
- no Starlings today after yesterday's bumper count!
- few finches today
- 5 Reed Buntings again with 3 seen flying off, one from the N side

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 3 Great Crested Grebes; 16 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans; 1 Greylag Goose; 30 Canada Geese; 32 Mallard (21 drakes); 24 Pochard (? drakes); 39 Tufted Ducks (21 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; 3 Goosanders (no drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; 1 Water Rail; 6 Moorhens; 51 Coots; .200 distant Lapwings; no other waders; >640 Black-headed Gulls; 66 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 7 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 137 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 4 Pied Wagtails; 14 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 25 Robins; 18 Blackbirds; 14 Fieldfares; 7 Song Thrushes; 19 Redwings; 7 Mistle Thrushes; 2 Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 21 Blue Tits; 8 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 42 Magpies; 93 Jackdaws; 142 Rooks; 15 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 4 Chaffinches; 3 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 58 birds: Water Rail added this morning
- 1 mammal (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 1 moth sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday, 13th (06:59 - 10:14) - Yet cloudy day, today with a few light passing showers. There must have been some brighter bits as I distinctly recall a partial rainbow! Still breezy from the S. Good visibility except in showers

Slightly different day today with fishermen on the dam pre-dawn with lights. Their presence meant that birds in general were keeping away and even the arrival of the taxi driver and his bags of bread and cakes did not attract the birds, the food laying largely untouched and uneaten an hour later. Oddly anyway, but especially in the circumstances, about one-third of the Coots abandoned the SW grass and were diving off the dam! And I was surprised that the early Black-headed Gull arrival ignored the presence of the fishermen and gathered, as usual, at the W end: not so the large gulls that refused to settle at the W end and moved all the roosting gulls to the E end

Oddity of the morning was yet another 'one that got away'. John Isherwood and I were talking when we independently thought we heard a calling Common
Sandpiper. There were several things wrong (other than the date!) and we are inclined to pass it off as some badly-heard Robin! The call seemed to be to the NW of the lake, whereas Common Sandpipers usually only call when they are flying at low-level across water or at take-off and landing. We saw nothing before or afterwards that suggested there was a Common Sandpiper present, but agreed that had it been April then we would have logged one. The weather is strange though ?

Other features of the morning
- 5 Cormorants again, but only 1 of these fishing in the lake
- 15 Goosanders seen flying over - I assume on their way to The Flash
- all 3 raptors - Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Kestrel - seen this morning
- another generally poor day for gulls
- with flocks of Redwings (104), Fieldfares (179) and Starlings (218) moving SW over the lake this morning it was more like late October than mid-January. Do they know something that the weather-men haven't been telling me?
- there were 7 Song Thrushes singing and audible from the lake this morning - song is picking up, though 3 of these birds were not singing at full volume and all were singing somewhat intermittently
- another reasonable count of corvids today. As I was about to leave 2 Rooks were circling, tails spread, very high over doing their best to persuade me they were really Ravens

The more detailed notes from the lake
- 1 Little Grebe again along the N side: heard pattering away on my approach before I saw it
- 2 Great Crested Grebes today: seen at the same time this morning
- 5 Cormorants: 2 flew SW to the SE at 08:07; 2 flew S over the lake at 08:21; 1 circled in at 08:53 and then stayed throughout
- 1 Heron at least today. 1 in the NW sallows by 07:33 seemed to be the bird flying off E a few minutes later. 1, presumed same, over the NE area at 08:50
- 15 Greylag Geese: parties of 5 & 2 flew E at 07:43; then 8 flew W to the N at 08:40
- 8 Canada Geese: 2 arrived from the direction of The Flash at 07:37; and 4 more at 07:41. Meanwhile 2 more flew E at 07:39
- 41 Mallard (25 drakes): no pre-dawn dam-area count
- 38 Pochard were seen in a big group in the middle of the lake at 07:20 when still too dark to sex these birds, though the Tufted Duck with them were relatively easy to distinguish. By 08:25 all had gone, though I had logged only 11 leaving (6 at 07:36; 5 at 07:41) in the direction of The Flash
- 53 Tufted Ducks logged with 25 with the Pochard; 25 more at the W end; and 3 tucked in the NE area. There are usually birds off the dam, but I suspect not with the fishermen present. By 09:00 there were just 28 (17 drakes) remaining. I saw none of the others leave
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- 15 Goosanders seen today, all flying W: 7 (2 drakes) at 07:55; 2 (a pair) at 07:58, very low across the lake; 6 (3 pairs) at 08:10 that circled overhead for a few laps before continuing
- 1 Sparrowhawk (I thought a male on size; John Isherwood thought a female) circling over N-side trees at -08:35
- 2 Buzzard sightings: 1 circling to the NE at 07:41; and then 1 circling to far N at 08:40
- 1 Kestrel on the wires to the NE at 09:25
- just 2 Moorhens logged today - both on the dam-face. I guess the fishermen kept the others away, but where they were is anyone's guess
- 49 Coots logged today: 24 was my highest count of birds together on the SW grass today
- gulls today:
- - there seemed to be no Black-headed Gulls at 07:00 but the 2 seen by one of the buoys at 07:15 may well have escaped my notice earlier. Big swirling party of at least 700 birds powered in from: the W at 07:19. The total peaked at c.1000 birds again. All subsequent counts were lower
- - I logged c.200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over, mostly flying SW over an extended period today. The first bird recorded on the lake at 07:35 (with a Herring Gull). Thereafter a few throughout, but again the number of different birds is rather an educated guess at 15. So 215 for the morning
- - at least 22 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. There were 5 seen flying over at various times after the first at 08:20. The first on the lake was at 07:35, though it did not stay. Later up to 17 birds together on the lake, mainly adults and mainly large birds of the race that shows restricted amount of black on the wing tips
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls today

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG 0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:15 BHG 2; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:20 BHG c.700; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:30 BHG c.1000; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:25 BHG c.250; LBBG 6; HG 1; GBBG 0
08:55 BHG c.470; LBBG 1; HG 1; GBBG 0
09:10 BHG c.360; LBBG 2; HG 11; GBBG 0
09:20 BHG c.600; LBBG 6; HG 17; GBBG 0

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves seen
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:01. 9 birds seen in the trees around the lake again, none displaying; none was perched on the wires to the E; 6 singles / small groups were seen flying E; and 7 ditto flying W. Just one party of 16 birds seen to the E. A total of 38 birds this morning
- 1 Grey Wagtail seen in the W / SW / NW area on several occasions
- 2 Pied Wagtails only heard over
- 179 Fieldfares logged in 6 groups all heading S / SW, the largest of at least 82 at 07:59
- 7 Song Thrushes logged, all 7 in song
- 104 Redwings logged. At least 11 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 12 birds seen flying out of trees in NE and SW areas. 81 others seen in flight, mainly heading S / SW with the largest parties being of 24 flying SW to the N at 09:06 and 23 more flying SW to the E at 09:07
- 2 Mistle Thrushes at least: 1 on wires to the E at 08:35; then 2 on wires to NE at 08:50 probably involved the earlier bird
- 1 Goldcrest well seen near the Teece Drive gate
- corvids were in good numbers again with parties of both Jackdaws and Rooks passing more or less continuously between 07:45 and 08:10 - earlier and in a smaller window than yesterday. Passage was preceded today by a lone Rook flying NW. The log today was 274 Jackdaws and 266 Rooks
- 218 Starlings logged: this included a party of at least 170 birds flying SW. But none looked as if they might have roosted at the lake
- more finches today, but nothing untoward
- 5 Reed Buntings heard with 2 seen flying off

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 5 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 15 Greylag Geese; 8 Canada Geese; 41 Mallard (25 drakes); 38 Pochard (? drakes); 53 Tufted Ducks (? drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; 15 Goosanders (6 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 2 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 2 Moorhens; 49 Coots; no waders; >1000 Black-headed Gulls; >215 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 22 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 38 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 2 Pied Wagtails; 21 Wrens; 4 Dunnocks again; 32 Robins; 15 Blackbirds; 179 Fieldfares; 7 Song Thrushes; 104 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 20 Blue Tits; 12 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 15 Magpies; 274 Jackdaws; 266 Rooks; 9 Crows; 218 Starlings; no House Sparrows; 4 Chaffinches; 11 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 57 birds: none added this morning
- 1 mammal (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 1 moth sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 12th (14:48 - 16:18) Evening Log - An evening visit essentially to look at the gulls at their pre-roost gathering and try and find some interesting gulls. As last week I decided to do this tonight as weekdays seem best with less disturbance to move the gulls on. I was rewarded with lots of gulls, but nothing particularly interesting. There was a high number of Herring Gulls and these continue to puzzle me as they are all quite different to the birds I am used to from SW England. There were large ones; small ones; darker-mantles ones; immatures; and adults with varying amounts of marking on the head. Just 1,
seen briefly, was a sparkling 'clean' bird with no streaking on the head but sadly the mantle colour was darker than average suggesting a 'normal' Yellow-legged Gull rather the Caspian Gull (mildly annoyed not to have seen this on my local patch!)

I thought I had blown it as just as I arrived at 14:50 almost all the gulls went up and left to the W. But numbers built up again. However it did seem to me that most of the larger gulls did not stay for any length of time and as soon as I saw an interesting gull almost before I could get the camera organised with the telescope the birds was off. Would also account for the rather variable numbers in the periodic counts I took

At 16:05 all the large gulls left, apparently to the W. Most of the Black-headed Gulls seemed to be staying

At 16:15 I noted that there were still parties of c.20 - c.50 Black-headed Gulls arriving from the W

The periodic counts I took gave me the following approximate numbers - I was lurking in the bushes trying to hide as close as possible for photography and could not see the entire lake

15:00 BHG c.350; LBBG c.200; HG c.50; GBBG 0
15:30 BHG c.1000; LBBG c.300; HG c.75; GBBG 1; also 1 Yellow-legged Gull
15:45 BHG c.2000; LBBG c.180; HG c.45; GBBG 1
16:00 BHG c.2200; LBBG c.250; HG c.50; GBBG 0

Apart from gulls the highlights included
- a site-year-tick for me with 2 Goldcrests: species 55 for me here this year
- a year-tick as well with 2 Willow Tits: species 56 for me here this year I come for 11 mornings and fail to find either of these (and only logged Coal Tit for the first time today as well): and pick both up in a single visit
- the corvids made a lot of noise going back to their roost. I did no organised count but it is clear that there were more than I had logged this morning. After several parties of c.50 birds (Jackdaws, mainly) had been noted there was a big commotion overhead at 15:55 and while it is hard to be sure how many birds there were as they were mainly circling amongst the swirling gulls I would estimate at least 400 with rather more Rooks than Jackdaws (and a lone Pied Wagtail threading its way through to the west!). And then at 16:05 there were at least another 50 Jackdaws

A few other bits and pieces noted
- 1 Great Crested Grebes only noted
- 1 Cormorant on the jetty when I arrived: later fishing in the lake and making the gulls jumpy by surfacing from under them!
- no Pochard back for the overnight feed!
- did not count the Tufted Duck but seemed to be in about the same number as the morning count

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 12th (06:52 - 10:10) Morning Log - Another mainly cloudy day, but apart from a little light drizzle c.07:00 fine, and tending to brighten - a little. Still windy, but the gales of yesterday have abated without blowing anything interesting this way. Good visibility throughout

Highlight this morning was a year-tick for me: a Coal Tit and species #54 for my year-log at the lake

Other features of the morning, other than the strength of the wind
- 5 Cormorants fishing in the lake was the highest number since before Christmas
- a better day for gulls but hardly inspiring. Much better passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls to the north; and a better number of both Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls on the lake, though a confusing set of counts suggests that most of the birds were pausing as they flew W
- a Buzzard flushed out of the N side trees
- some small parties of Wood Pigeons noted today
- reasonable total of Redwings again - I do not recall seeing them in such numbers this late in the season in earlier years
- I have noted the large number of Magpies leaving the NE roost over the last few days: today the count was 33. But I was positioned slightly differently this morning to shelter from wind had backed since yesterday and I was able to note that there were at least another 15 birds in a roost in the NW area alongside Teece Drive
- reasonable count of corvids today, though I may have missed the largest parties of Jackdaws
- lone Starling possibly leaving a N-side roost

The more detailed notes from the lake
- 1 Little Grebe again noted along the N side in exactly the same position
- 2 Great Crested Grebes today: only ever managed one bird at a time, but noted the first winter at the W end; and an adult in the SE area
- 5 Cormorants: 4 arrived from the ENE 08:17; another from the N at 08:35. All still in the water fishing at 10:00. They did not seem to form up in hunting groups and while they were often in the same general area of the lake their diving was uncoordinated
- 1 Heron at least today. 1 heard in flight at 07:02, but not seen until 1 noted in the NE area at 09:25; presumably the same bird in the NW sallows at 09:50
- 2 Greylag Geese flew E at 07:44
- 2 Canada Geese flew W to N at 09:49
- 33 Mallard (21 drakes): the pre-dawn dam-area count gave me 27 birds (17 drakes), with the balance noted by the jetty on the SW grass
- 19 Pochard were seen in a tight group in the middle of the lake at 07:25 when still too dark to sex these birds. By 08:25 all bar 1 duck in the SE area had gone!
- 37 Tufted Ducks (19 drakes) logged after 08:30. Oddly there were 16 drakes with only 6 ducks at the W end; while there was 1 drake and 10 ducks in the SE area (and a few individuals elsewhere). Seems like the groups should 'get together' and even things up a bit!
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- no Goosanders seen today
- 2 Buzzard sightings: 1 circling to the NE at 07:55; and then the bird flushed out of the N side trees at 09:05
- no Kestrel seen this morning
- 8 Moorhens logged today - 5 seen on the exposed dam-face and these were already awake and roaming the rocks at 07:10
- 48 Coots logged today: 42 was my highest count of birds together on the SW grass today
- gulls today:
- - there seemed to be no Black-headed Gulls at 07:00: the first c.150 had arrived by 07:13. Once again this had increased to c.1000 birds by 07:30. When birds left soon after the lake almost emptied for a while - just 21 at 08:40. But birds (assumed the same) returned later
- - I logged 475 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying over, mostly flying SW to the N and almost all between 08:20 and 08:30 - just a scatter of singles thereafter. The first bird recorded on the lake at 08:27 and thereafter a whole confusing set of counts where every time I looked there were different numbers of birds of both this species and Herring Gull and the number of different birds is rather an educated guess at 25. So 500 for the morning
- - about 50 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. There were 8 singles seen flying over at various times after the first at 08:27. And as with Lesser Black-backed Gulls (q.v.) there were a whole set of confusing sightings - at 09:00 there were 11 birds, all immatures; then at 09:20 there were 13, all (near) adults
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - 1 adult Great Black-backed Gull

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG 0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:13 BHG c.150; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:15 BHG c.400; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:30 BHG c.1000; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:40 BHG 21; LBBG 0; HG 5; GBBG 0
09:00 BHG c.170; LBBG 1; HG 11; GBBG 0
09:20 BHG c.240; LBBG 12; HG 13; GBBG 0
09:30 BHG c.300; LBBG 15; HG 7; GBBG 0
09:40 BHG c.550; LBBG 14; HG 18; GBBG 0
09:50 BHG -; LBBG 15; HG 10; GBBG 1

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- 2 Stock Doves seen: 1 to the NE at 08:20; and 1 flew SW 09:50
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:12. 9 birds seen in the trees around the lake, none displaying; 3 were perched on the wires to the E; 18 singles / small groups were seen flying E; and 16 ditto flying W. 4 different parties seen to the E / NE with the largest of 37 birds. A much better total of 130 birds this morning
- 1 Grey Wagtail seen and heard at the W end on several occasions: seems to have forsaken the dam area
- 1 Pied Wagtail only heard over
- 2 single Fieldfares logged at 08:20 and 09:50 flying S
- 5 Song Thrushes logged, 3 in song
- at least 30 Redwings logged. At least 4 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 8 birds seen flying out of trees (all in the SW area). 18 others seen in flight with a party of 10 flying S at 08:25
- no Mistle Thrushes
- 2 Long-tailed Tit parties today, one with at least 11 birds in it
- at last! a Coal Tit heard and then seen in the NW area at 10:05! But lots of tits today
- as noted above there were large counts of Magpies leaving roosts in the NE area (33); and the NW area (15); as well as a few others, giving a large day-total of 53
- corvids were in good numbers with parties of both Jackdaws and Rooks passing more or less continuously between 07:50 and 08:40. Passage was preceded again by a group of 7 Jackdaws flying NW. And the S-bound passage lacked any early large Jackdaw party - I suspect I missed these as birds were flying in a broad front at various heights this morning (after the low, tight groups in the wind yesterday). But by the time I totted up the log it was 223 Jackdaws and 309 Rooks
- 14 Starlings logged: a party of 13 flew SE at 08:19; intriguingly a lone bird seemed to fly out of the N side bushes at 08:22
- more finches today, but nothing untoward
- 5 Reed Buntings heard with one, presumed of these, seen in flight

Also
- 1 Rabbit at the W end

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
1 Little Grebe; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 5 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 2 Greylag Geese; 2 Canada Geese; 33 Mallard (21 drakes); 19 Pochard (? drakes); 37 Tufted Ducks (19 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 2 Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 8 Moorhens; 48 Coots; no waders; >1000 Black-headed Gulls;>500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; >50 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 130 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 1 Pied Wagtail; 22 Wrens; 4 Dunnocks; 37 Robins; 18 Blackbirds; 2 Fieldfares; 5 Song Thrushes; 30 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; 1 Coal Tit; no Willow Tits; 24 Blue Tits; 18 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 53 Magpies; 223 Jackdaws; 309 Rooks; 10 Crows; 14 Starlings; no House Sparrows; 7 Chaffinches; 10 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Rabbit
- no Grey Squirrel
- no new molehills noted today

Year total of species at the lake now
- 54 birds: Coal Tit added this morning
- [but later moved on to 57 with the afternoon addition of Yellow-legged
Gull; Goldcrest; and Willow Tit]
- 1 mammal (seen - mole hills not counted!)
- 1 moth sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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Thursday, 11th (13.45) Afternoon Sighting - Adult Winter Caspian Gull!!

Caspian Gull courtesy Jim Almond (Click on image to enlarge)

Caspian Gull courtesy Peter Wilson (Click on image to enlarge)

Extremely clean looking bird compared to other gulls on the lake made it stand out a treat. It stayed very close to lay-by side of the lake giving me (and Rob Stokes) excellent views of its black beady eye and slender bill. A stunning bird!

I noted it had been reported earlier at a local tip with adult yellow legged gulls. There were no Yellow-legged Gulls at priorslee when we viewed this bird.

I also noted it tended to stay near the black headed gulls and keep out of the way of the lesser black backs. If it strayed near one it seemd to get short shrift from them.

Hope you all get the chance to go for this bird.

All the best

(Richard Vernon)

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Thursday, 11th (07:04 - 09:34) Morning Log - Started cloudy with some light rain but VERY VERY windy. At c.08:25 it started to drizzle and then another deluge at 08:30 until a clearance from the NW after 09:00, though brisk passing showers for a while as it got cooler. Wind may have abated slightly, but not that much. Good visibility until the rain when at best moderate

Highlight this morning was the return (?) of the Little Grebe - species #53 for my year-log at the lake

Other features of the morning, other than the strength of the wind
- 5 Goosander seen flying over
- another poor day for gulls: again a good start with reasonable number of Black-headed Gulls when I arrived - they had probably roosted: and the usual pre-dawn build up. But after that rather few and almost no larger gulls
- reasonable total of Redwings for the conditions
- high count of corvids today
There was not much else to look at / for in the strong wind!

The more detailed notes from the lake
- The Little Grebe was noted along the N side in exactly the same position as it was often seen during December: it is tempting to suggest it has been here all along and the wind had forced it out in the open. But any Little Grebe is likely to favour the same area as the 'best' feeding area so I am not sure. Whatever, it was species #53 for the year list of birds seen on or from the lake
- 1 Great Crested Grebes only today - I think! The first-winter bird from the NW area ventured along the S side again and then later a bird in front the dam looked like this bird rather than the more-usual adult here
- 1 Cormorant, fishing in the lake by 08:50, though I missed its arrival
- 1 Heron at least today. One flew through my binocular view as I was counting passing corvids, apparently battling its way E. Later 'the usual' seen perched in the NW willows
- no Greylag Geese today
- 3 Canada Geese flew low W at 08:47
- 31 Mallard (20 drakes): but I did not visit the (exposed) E end and this may be a partial count. On the other hand there were more than usual at the sheltered Priorslee Flash this morning
- 11 Pochard (at least 3 drakes). After 3 drakes seen feeding in the lake while still very dark birds were noted flying off towards The Flash: 1 drake at 09:05; 1 drake and 2 ducks at 09:03; 7 unsexed birds at 09:07. None was on the lake at 09:15
- 62 Tufted Ducks apparently, though many seemed to have flown off. This was a count of dark shapes on the lake at 07:15(!). I think these were all this species
- it was light enough to be certain about the drakes and I could separate the rather fewer Pochard. But where many of them went to I am uncertain. At 09:20 there were only 28 (16 drakes) and there were not enough at The Flash to make up the balance
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off today
- 5 Goosanders seen, all flying high W: 4 birds, apparently 2 drakes from wing-pattern, though one seemed to be a 'brownhead', well to the N 08:20. A lone adult drake flew overhead at 08:56
- 1 Sparrowhawk seen to the N being chased off by some of the departing Jackdaws
- no Buzzard sightings
- no Kestrel seen this morning
- 3 Moorhens only logged today - 1 only seen on the exposed dam-face
- 47 Coots logged today: 44 birds were together on the SW grass again at 08:15 again
- gulls today:
- - there were c.650 Black-headed Gulls on the lake when I arrived at 07:15. This had increased to c.1000 birds by 07:40 though I never saw any more arrive - in strong wind they arrive from the W at height. These began to leave before 07:45. Thereafter there were many birds swirling around all the while and periodic influxes of birds from the W; and a steady stream heading back W to the N. All assumed to be the same birds. One feature that I had not noted before was the very high percentage of first-winter birds - several checks of the 50 - 100 birds that gathered in front of me on the SW grass all revealed over 50% as first-winters. Of course birds here may not have been typical - all the adults out on the football fields perhaps? But it did seem to reflect the impression I had
when looking at the birds generally
- - not sure that Lesser Black-backed Gulls actually landed on the lake this morning: there were single adults very low over the water at 07:59 (the first of the day); and again at 09:11. Otherwise I logged just 8 other birds, also all singles, and all flying W to give me a poor total of just 10 birds for the morning
- - no Herring Gulls were specifically identified today.
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - no Great Black-backed Gulls either

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:15 BHG c.650; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:40 BHG c.1000; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:25 BHG c.220; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:43 BHG 73; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
09:05 BHG c.350; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves either
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:18. Just 3 birds seen in the wildly swaying trees around the lake; amazingly 1 was managing to perch on the wires to the E again; 5 singles / small groups seen flying E; and 5 ditto flying W. No parties seen. So another meager total - 14 birds this morning
- no Grey Wagtail today
- no Pied Wagtails heard
- no Fieldfares
- just 1 Song Thrushes logged, briefly in song
- at least 13 Redwings logged. At least 8 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 3 birds seen flying out of trees (2 along the N side; 1 in the SW area). 2 other singles seen in flight
- no Mistle Thrushes
- corvids were in large numbers with parties of both Jackdaws and Rooks passing more or less continuously between 07:55 and 08:25. The Jackdaws were in larger numbers at the start of the period, but some good-sized groups (spread-out though) of Rooks later. At one point these got all tangled up with the Magpies leaving the NE trees and heading off E - I have difficulty maintaining 2 running counts in my brain these days and the third gets me very confused! Big totals when I totted up the log - 378 Jackdaws; 348 Rooks; and most of the 34 Magpies as well
- no Starlings
- almost no finches in the windy conditions
- 3 Reed Buntings heard calling at the W end though

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- a desiccated skeleton of a spider that I assume had been blown by the gale from somewhere hidden inside the light-fitting

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
NB: **** all passerine totals affected by the strong winds: also did not walk around the lake today ******
1 Little Grebe; 1 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; no Greylag Geese; 3 Canada Geese; 31 Mallard (20 drakes); 11 Pochard (>3 drakes); 62 Tufted Ducks (? drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; 5 Goosanders (3 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 3 Moorhens; 47 Coots; no waders; >1000 Black-headed Gulls; 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; no specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; no Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 14 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; no Pied Wagtails; 6 Wrens; 1 Dunnock; 16 Robins; 2 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 1 Song Thrush; 13 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; no Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 4 Blue Tits; 2 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 34 Magpies; 378 Jackdaws; 348 Rooks; 9 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 1 Chaffinch; 4 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 53 birds: Little Grebe added today
- 1 mammal seen
- 1 moth sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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Wednesday, 10th (13:45 - 15:05hrs) Afternoon Log - The numbers of large gulls increased rapidly! Easily c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 5 Great Black-backed Gulls (all ad.); 7 Herring Gull & 3 Yellow-legged Gulls (2 adult - only briefly & 1 immature) - but one of the adults arrived back later!

Yellow-Legged Gull (Click on image to enlarge)

The Caspian Gull was present & stood out relatively well with a bright white head, the beady eye & I also took time to note the white underside to the leading primary as the bird preened itself! Unfortunately it didn't remain long, maybe only 20 minutes or so?

Very cold & windy, and when I left it's worth noting almost all the large gulls had gone!!

(Jason)

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Wednesday, 10th (07:05 - 11:08) Morning Log - NB: in the lanes and field to the E / SE between 08:50 and 09:45 - see Local Bird News

NB: after 10:00 much time spent with camera along the N side

Another very different morning. Started overcast after a deluge of rain c.06:00 (hence my later arrival). Clouds soon lifted and breaks appeared to the W after c.08:30, taking until after 10:00 to get far enough for the sun to appear. Moderate W wind with a much 'fresher' feel to the day as well as lower temperatures. Good visibility throughout

Highlight this morning was the, sadly, rather distant party of Golden Plover - species #52 for my year-log at the lake

Other features of the morning, other than my late arrival due to the weather
- 6 Goosander seen flying over - as 3 pairs this morning [and there were 8 drakes later on The Flash - see separate report]
- a poor day for gulls: a good start with reasonable number of Black-headed Gulls when I arrived - they had possibly roosted: and the usual pre-dawn build up. But after that very few flying over or on the lake, though in the circumstances seeing a Great Black-backed Gull passing overhead was a good record
- still reasonable totals of Redwings
- dire count of corvids today: possibly my fault as when I did find a flight-line on some sort today it was much higher than I had been looking. However a late party of Jackdaws flew very low indeed and well to the east where they would hardly have been visible from most locations

- my first moth of the year was a surprise at 10:50 on one of the street lights. If it wasn't drowned or blown off I would have expected it to have flown off to somewhere more shaded from what was now full sunlight

A separate report from the lanes and fields to the E, though obvious overflying birds are added to this main log

The more detailed notes from the lake
- 2 Great Crested Grebes today: the first-winter bird from the NW area ventured along the S side and caught a large fish
- 2 Cormorants seen: 1 immature Cormorant seen circling over at 08:45 before flying off N - 3 minutes later than yesterday which was 2 minutes later than the day before! 1, apparent adult, feeding in the lake at 09:40
- no Heron today
- 18 Greylag Geese: 13 flew W at 09:15; and then 5 more also flew W at 09:45
- no Canada Geese today again
- 37 Mallard (25 drakes): 3 of these flew in at the late time of 09:00
- 12 Pochard (just 4 drakes) all eventually gathered in the NE area: but these all flew out towards The Flash at 10:05, though not clear what sent them off. See also Aythya sp. below
- 39 Tufted Duck (21 drakes). 19 of these flew out towards The Flash at 11:02 when the model boat people arrived. See also Aythya sp. below
- at least 6 unidentified Aythya sp. ducks flew off W: 2 left 07:26; 2 more at 07:28; and at least 2 at 07:30 with a 3rd bird apparently circling back to land out of sight at the E end
- 6 Goosanders seen: a pair flew W 08:08; and then 2 pairs flew W 08:14. These certainly came from far to the E
- no Sparrowhawk seen
- no Buzzard sightings either [though 2 birds flushed while walking the lanes to the SE]
- the Kestrel flew S over the lake at 08:14: what was presumably the same bird was hovering over the dam at 08:30 - don't think I have ever seen one do this before
- 10 Moorhens logged today - 6 on the dam-face again; 2 on the SW grass; and 2 on the N side
- 51 Coots logged today: no fewer than 44 birds were together on the SW grass at 08:15
- c.80 Golden Plover were seen in a characteristically-shaped flock far to the ENE at 08:10 to become the 51st species on my lake year-list
- gulls today:
- - there were c.750 Black-headed Gulls on the lake when I arrived at 07:15 and as no more seemed to arrive until 07:24 it is probable that these had roosted. Usual early arrival peaking at c.1000 birds at 07:35. After these began to leave before 07:45 numbers seemed to stabilise at 250 - 300 and few, if any, more arrived later
- - 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived on the lake at 07:50 - well before the first of just 44 birds seen flying over: a very poor day. 2 immatures were seen much later. And later still with a very small arrival by 11:00 there were another 5 to give me just 53 birds for the morning
- - 9 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 1 immature briefly at 08:20; a very large adult flew over at 09:28; shortly after there were 3 1st winter birds on the lake; then at 11:00 there were 4 birds on the lake - an adult and what I assume were 3 other first-winter birds
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted
- - 1 first-winter Great Black-backed Gull lumbered low over on its own at 08:25

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:25 BHG c.750; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:35 BHG c.1000; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:50 BHG c.500; LBBG 2; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:20 BHG c.280; LBBG 0; HG 1; GBBG 0
08:35 BHG c.280; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
09:45 BHG c.240; LBBG 2; HG 3; GBBG 0
11:00 BHG c.350; LBBG 5; HG 4; GBBG 0

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- 1 Stock Doves flew W at 08:27
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:17. Just 2 birds seen in the swaying trees around the lake; 1 was on the wires to the E again; 12 singles / small groups seen flying E; and 23 ditto flying W. No parties seen. Yet another meager total - 37 birds this morning [and when I was in the lanes to the E there were very few there either]
- no Grey Wagtail today
- 5 Pied Wagtails heard overhead today
- no Fieldfares
- 7 Song Thrushes logged, 3 of which were in song
- at least 41 Redwings logged. again 6 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 3 birds seen flying out of trees along the N side. 32 more as singles / groups of seen in flight with a party of 14 flying W to the N
- no Mistle Thrushes
- still no Goldcrest this year - but still no Coal or Willow Tits
- 3 Long-tailed Tit parties today: the party in the SE area was feeding very low down, some just inches above the ground while others were again seem perching on and feeding from the tree-trunks (mainly alders here)
- corvids were, as noted above, in low numbers - or I missed them. I only saw high-flying small, spread out parties. Once again the main SSE movement was preceded by a small group (today of Rooks) flying NW. The totals were just 83 Jackdaws and, amazingly, also 83 Rooks!
- no Starlings
- 15 finches a slightly better number, but hardly inspiring
- 3 Reed Buntings heard calling at the W end
Also worth noting
- the hazel catkins are now fast-expanding and turning much brighter yellow as the small flowers (?) open: all rather high-up and it was a bit breezy for photos, but I got a few shots

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- a moth! a male Mottled Umber identified from the photos I took

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
2 Great Crested Grebes; 2 Cormorants; no Herons; 2 adult Swans; 18 Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 37 Mallard (25 drakes); 12 Pochard (4 drakes); 39
Tufted Ducks (21 drakes); >6 unidentified Aythya sp.; 6 Goosanders (3 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 10 Moorhens; 51 Coots; c.80 Golden Plover; no other waders; >1000 Black-headed Gulls; 53 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 9 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gull; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 1 Stock Dove; 37 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 5 Pied Wagtails; 20 Wrens; 6 Dunnocks; 22 Robins again; 14 Blackbirds; no Fieldfares; 7 Song Thrushes; 41 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 17 Blue Tits; 11 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 19 Magpies; 83 Jackdaws; 83 Rooks; 14 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 1 Chaffinch; 7 Greenfinches; 6 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 1 Bullfinch; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 52 birds: Golden Plover added today
- 1 mammal seen

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Tuesday, 9th (2:45pm) Afternoon Log - 450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 2 adult and 5 juvenile Greater Black-backed Gulls; 1 Caspian Gull; 3 Yellow-legged Gulls; 18 Herring Gulls; c.300 Black headed Gulls

(Paul King)

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Tuesday, 9th (06:38 - 09:59) Morning Log - A very different morning - mild and very breezy. Started with well-broken cloud, sadly mainly to N & E so that there was no chance of another look at yesterday's comet. But then clouded up. Wind abated a bit later

Due to the strength and direction of the wind my behaviour was different this morning, but I suspect the behaviour of the birds was too. So the difference are hard to ascribe to them or me

Highlight this morning was female Peregrine seen powering along to the N - species #51 for my year-log at the lake

Main features of the morning, other than the weather
- 4 sightings of Buzzard - apparently at least 3 birds
- more Pochard and Tufted Duck today - and not birds from The Flash either
- 10 Goosander seen flying over - at least 1 drake
- single Lesser and Greater Black-backed Gulls on the lake before the first Black-headed Gull arrivals may have roosted. Later when the large gulls started arriving the first birds were again almost all Herring Gulls, though Lesser Black-backs arrived later, along with a Yellow-legged Gull
- many passerines hiding and / or silent: no Dunnocks seen or heard; no Reed Buntings ditto (though was not ideally positioned for these); just 7 finches
- still reasonable totals Redwings; but fewer Fieldfares
- was nearly knee-capped by a flying Song Thrush that failed to notice me hiding from the wind
- good count of corvids today: I was positioned closer to the them today, but in the strong wind they were flying very low and therefore the time to see them is very limited and I was well-pleased with the number logged

The more detailed notes from the lake
- just 1 Great Crested Grebes today - a first-winter bird in the NW area
- 1 immature Cormorant seen circling over at 08:42 before flying off N - 2 minutes later than yesterday!
- 1 Heron visited me at the S end of the dam on several occasions and seemed to take little notice of me or the telescope
- 12 Greylag Geese: 3 flew W at 08:21; and then what I assume to be the usual party of 9 birds flew W at 09:35
- no Canada Geese today rather oddly
- 41 Mallard (25 drakes): just 8 off the very exposed dam at 07:30
- 16 Pochard (9 drakes) all eventually gathered to roost in the SE area: see also Aythya sp.
- 47 Tufted Duck logged. Initial count at 07:30 gave me 19 drakes and 27 ducks. Later complete count gave me 20 drakes but only 18 ducks! while (see below) some of the ducks may have flown off W, there were rather fewer ducks than drakes on The Flash
- 4 unidentified Aythya sp. ducks flew off W at 07:34, but this was after the duck totals above were taken
- 10 Goosanders seen: 9 birds flew W to the N in 3 small groups at 08:07, apparently all brownheads; then at 08:24 an adult drake flew W overhead
- a Sparrowhawk flew in to the SE trees causing the usual tit wailing at 08:23
- 4 Buzzard sightings: 3 seen to the NE, though these were all seen flying away from the area to the S or W such that it seems likely that they were different birds. Later a bird circling over the N side could have been one of these returning
- the Kestrel not seen this morning
- 6 Moorhens logged today - all 6 on the dam-face
- 46 Coots logged today: I give up trying to explain why they fluctuate but it is tempting to suggest that some were sheltering from the wind today. But there were more along the exposed dam-face so that does not really hold water
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted: the first apparently lone bird arrived at 07:20. Usual early arrival peaking at c.370 birds. Again an arrival after 09:15 from the N - up to 300 new birds to give a total of c.670 for the morning
- - a lone Lesser Black-backed Gull may have roosted as it was present at 07:10. Large passage SW to the far N today (possibly not visible from where I usually watch?) with at 430 birds logged. Not all specifically checked in the telescope, but all those seen well-enough were this species (rather than Herring Gulls, for instance). After 08:30 5 arrived at the lake, but did not stay. Then at least 78 arrived after 09:10. So at least 515 for the morning
- - at least 43 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 36 these birds arrived together on the lake at 08:30 with 34 of them being immatures! Several of the birds, including 1 of the adults, seemed to be very small birds and I spent some while trying to turn them in to Common Gulls and / or Ring-billed Gulls(!) without success. I think the answer is that these were small argenteus females and most of the birds were large argentatus juvenile males? Some of these left and at least 7 more adults arrived
- - 1 Yellow-legged Gull-type noted at 09:25 in amongst the large gulls. The dark mantle colour suggested that this was not going to be a Caspian Gull and as it would have been difficult to approach it without flushing it and even harder to photograph in the strong wind I let it go as a 'probable'
- - 3 Great Black-backed Gulls logged. 1 adult present at 07:10 still present at 07:40, but gone by 08:10. Then adult and 1st winter with the Herring Gulls at 08:30

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG 0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
07:10 BHG 0; LBBG 1; HG 0; GBBG 1
07:20 BHG 1; LBBG 1; HG 0; GBBG 1
07:40 BHG c.370; LBBG 1; HG 0; GBBG 1
08:10 BHG c.90; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG 0
08:30 BHG c.350; LBBG 5; HG 35; GBBG 2
09:10 BHG c.650; LBBG 4; HG 7; GBBG 1
09:25 BHG -; LBBG 78; HG 14; GBBG 0; also 1 Yellow-legged Gull type

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves either
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:59. No birds were seen in the swaying trees around the lake; 1 was on the wires to the E despite the wind; 13 singles / small groups seen flying E; and 22 ditto flying W. No parties seen. Yet another meager total - 36 birds this morning
- 1 Grey Wagtail at the W end flew off and up Teece Drive this morning at 09:25
- 1 Pied Wagtail only
- 3 Fieldfare logged. At least 1 heard calling overhead at 07:54. Later 2 seen flying to the N
- 5 Song Thrushes logged, 3 of which were in song, though rather intermittently. In addition to the bird that nearly knee-capped me there was another calling
- at least 50 Redwings logged. 6 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. Just 2 birds seen in or flying out of trees, mainly along the N side. 42 more as singles / groups of seen in flight with a party of 10 flying W; and another of 18 flying N
- no Mistle Thrushes
- still no Goldcrest this year - but still no Coal or Willow Tits
- I logged 2 Long-tailed Tit parties but one of these was small - apparently just 3 birds - and all the birds were feeding on moss (insects / eggs in the moss) or lichen on the trunks of silver birch trees
- from my position this morning it was easy to see Magpies leaving the roost in the NE area and flying off E, so a high count again today
- corvids all flying low in small parties in the strong wind. Was a bit worried when the first 2 Jackdaws I saw were flying to the W - I was expecting them to pass to my E - as indeed all the other birds did! Passage started at 07:48 and was intense with many groups of 20 - 30 birds. Unusually most of the Rooks were also flying low in rather loose groups and also rather later than the Jackdaws - they often go through earlier and fly higher. The totals were an excellent 351 Jackdaws and a high figure of 264 Rooks
- no Starlings
- just 5 finches logged
- no Reed Buntings but I was in the wrong position to see these easily

Also
- more new molehills along the N side

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing today - all blown off?

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
1 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 12 Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 41 Mallard (25 drakes); 16 Pochard (9 drakes); 47
Tufted Ducks (20 drakes); 4 unidentified Aythya sp. probably included; 10 Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; 3 (or 4) Buzzards; no Kestrels;
no Water Rails; 6 Moorhens; 46 Coots; no waders; >670 Black-headed Gulls;>515 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 43 specifically identified Herring Gulls; 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull; 3 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 36 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 1 Pied Wagtail; 10 Wrens; no Dunnocks! 22 Robins; 8 Blackbirds; 3 Fieldfares; 5 Song Thrushes; 50 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 14 Blue Tits; 7 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 32 Magpies; 351 Jackdaws; 264 Rooks; 8 Crows; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 5 Chaffinches; 1 Greenfinch; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; no Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbit
- no Grey Squirrel
- new molehills noted along N side

Year total of species at the lake now
- 51 birds: Peregrine added today
- 1 mammal seen

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Monday, 8th (06:40 - 10:04) - A splendid sunrise this morning as high cloud quickly spread in from the SW ahead of more rain after a rather chilly start (3.0C when I arrived). Started with the lake mirror-flat, but later some ripples as the wind picked up. Good visibility

The highlight for me was finding a Comet in the morning sky: I even managed a shot of it in the camera though the rapidly advancing high cloud and the lack of light at 07:22 this morning did not help and all I can see on the image is a faint bright spot. Searching the web suggests that this is Comet 2006 P1 (McNaught) about which I have heard nothing in the news. I was totally gob-smacked to get confirmation - the morning sky is usually alive with the trails of arriving transatlantic jets and I rather assumed that this would turn out to be a 'great silver bird' seen badly, but it did look like the only other comet that I have ever seen - the popular Halle-Bop comet in March 1997 (was it really almost 10 years ago!)

The birds? Oh yes! Well nothing very special at all. Make no excuses for being distracted by the sunrise and spending much of the time with the camera, so the numbers are affected naturally even though I was trying to listen out all the while. However it is clear that there were very few gulls overhead - especially the large gulls. Would that be because the tip is closed at the weekends? And if so, where do the birds go at weekends? Rather few ducks and corvids ?

No new species to my year-list for the Lake today: still stands at 50

Main features of the day were that there was rather lower numbers of most things: also worth noting
- the Kestrel flew S for my 4th consecutive visit: but 10 minutes earlier today - well it was brighter and the sun is rising (slightly) earlier
- no gulls at roost, but reasonable numbers of Black-headed Gulls arrived early. As noted, there were very few larger gulls overhead, but then a rather unusual party of gulls arrived from 09:15, with >400 Black-headed Gulls, 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 31 Herring Gulls, and 10 Great Black-backed Gulls - an exceptional number of the latter and, most unusually more Herring Gulls than Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- splendid male Green Woodpecker in the NW area
- more Redwings and a good-sized flock of Fieldfares (for the date) seen over
- very few corvids in the roost dispersal, but perhaps I was looking at the sunrise

The more detailed notes from the lake
- back to 2 Great Crested Grebes again today: the adult bird that frequents the dam and the main N side reed bed seemed to disappear a lot in to the reeds
- 1 immature Cormorant seen circling over at 08:40 before flying off NE
- no Herons heard or seen
- 11 Greylag Geese: 9 flew W at 09:05 with 2 silent Canada Geese lurking in the group; 2 more E 09:20
- 16 Canada Geese today: 2 flew E 07:42; 11 flew E 07:43 (and these were all Canada Geese despite the mixed party of 11 birds flying W later); 2 W with the Greylag Geese 09:05; and a lone bird W at 09:07. None on the lake
- 36 Mallard (24 drakes): all off the dam at 07:00. A complete scan later gave me only 25 birds with 16 drakes
- just 3 Pochard with 2 drakes, though the drakes had gone by 09:30: but see also Aythya sp.
- 28 Tufted Duck logged, with 14 drakes today. Interestingly when I did the count of the Mallard off the dam at 07:00 there were 15 Tufted Duck (5 drakes) lurking for the bread; these seem to have flown down the W end, as this is where most of the birds are resting at the moment
- at least 4 unidentified Aythya sp. ducks flying off. The wing-beats of at least 2 birds heard at 07:09; 2 more unidentified birds at 07:35
- no Goosander sightings
- a Sparrowhawk seen flying N over the lake at 09:20: a few moments later the tits were a-wailing!
- no Buzzard sightings
- the Kestrel flew low S to the E at 07:47
- 10 Moorhens logged today, with 6 on the dam-face
- 44 Coots logged today
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted: the first party of c.20 birds arrived at 07:14. Usual early arrival peaking at c.650 birds, followed by departure to the W from whence birds came & went. A more general arrival after 09:15 from the N - up to 400 new birds to give a total of c.1050 for the morning
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted. Very small passage of just 25 logged. After 09:30 there were 25 on the lake after a small arrival of large gulls from the N with a smaller than usual proportion of this species. So with a single on the lake earlier just 51 for the morning
- - at least 34 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 1 adult noted flying W; 2 immatures on the lake; and the other 31 as part of the small arrival of large gulls from the N
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - 10 Great Black-backed Gulls logged - 6 (near) adults and 4 1st winter, all arrived as part of the small arrival of large gulls from the N

The periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG  0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
07:25 BHG c.300; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
07:30 BHG c.450; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
07:40 BHG c.650; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
08:00 BHG c.240; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
08:25 BHG 57; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
08:45 BHG c.230; LBBG 1; HG 2; GBBG   0
09:00 BHG 166; LBBG 1; HG 0; GBBG   0
09:00 BHG c.560; LBBG 23; HG 31; GBBG  10

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- 4 Stock Doves: 3 flew W at 08:44; and another flew W with a Wood Pigeon at 09:00
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:58. again just 7 birds seen in the trees around the lake, 3 of these doing display flights; none was on the wires to the E; 9 singles / small groups seen flying E; and 13 ditto flying W. No larger parties seen. Another meager total - 29 birds this morning
- 1 male Green Woodpecker called from the NW area and then flew off up Teece Drive at 09:55
- 1 Grey Wagtail in the Teece Drive area this morning at 10:00
- 2 Pied Wagtails: just 1 heard on what might be the early roost dispersal. 1 flew over the dam at 09:15
- 32 Fieldfare logged. At least 1 heard calling overhead at 07:22 when much too dark to see. At 08:35 a flock of 31 birds flew very high S - so high it was hard to hear their calls
- 3 Song Thrushes logged, all of which were in song
- at least 34 Redwings logged. Just 1 bird noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 13 birds seen in or flying out of trees, mainly along the N side. 20 more as singles / small groups of <5 birds seen in flight otherwise
- 1 Mistle Thrush scolding at the W end (with Redwings) at 10:00
- still no Goldcrest this year
- thought I had cracked Willow Tit for the year list when a large tit party in the NW area sounded promising, but not quite right: and it was indeed not 'quite right' as it turned out the call was from one of the Great Tits
- corvids in poor numbers again today though the main passage probably coincided with my attention to the splendid sunrise. Once again it started with a small group of 7 Jackdaws flying NW at 07:47. But there was no extended passage this morning and I logged totals of just 67 Jackdaws and, unusually, more Rooks 92
- no Starlings
- only 12 finches logged, 4 of which were Goldfinches feeding in the NE alders
- 5 Reed Buntings included a bird seen flying out of the SE bushes (where I have not logged any since last breeding season)

Also
- 1 Rabbit at the W end at 07:25 - just the white scout at that time
- no new molehills noted

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
2 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; no Herons; 2 adult Swans; 11 Greylag Geese; 16 Canada Geese; 36 Mallard (24 drakes); 3 Pochard (2 drakes); 28
Tufted Ducks (17 drakes); >4 unidentified Aythya sp.; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 10 Moorhens; 44 Coots; no waders; >1050 Black-headed Gulls; 51 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 34 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 10 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; 4 Stock Doves; 29 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; 1 Green Woodpecker; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 2 Pied Wagtails; 16 Wrens; 5 Dunnocks; 31 Robins; 13 Blackbirds; 32 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 34 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; no Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 16 Blue Tits; 12 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 16 Magpies; 67 Jackdaws; 92 Rooks; 11 Crows yet again; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 3 Chaffinches; 4 Greenfinches; 5 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Rabbit
- no Grey Squirrel
- no new molehills noted

Year total of species at the lake now
- 50 birds: no change
- 1 mammal seen

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday, 6th (3:35pm - 4:55pm) Evening Log - Another clear evening, which allowed for an extended stay at the lake. And how that paid off, when after most people had left the lake, a large flock of large Gulls came in at 4:25pm and a long with them a Yellow-legged Gull. It just shows you what a few more minutes can provide, which is the beauty of this exceptional lake, you just never quite know what will turn up.

Other Main highlights were:
- 2 Great Crested Grebes appearing to be in the fro's of early courtship, whilst a third bird looked on.
- An excellent tally of Pied Wagtails, with one party of 10 birds heading towards the Town Centre at 4:20pm
- A most unusual Gull/Goose that flew by at 4:45pm

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- The 3 Great Crested Grebe all ended up at the west end with a pair showing signs of interest with each other. There was quite a bit of leveling of the body to the water and then diving. Unfortunately there wasn't any passing of aquatic plants to each other, probably because it was all killed off last year by the Water Sports Association. It will be interesting to see what they will use instead.
- The 2 resident Swans were at the dam end throughout
- There were no Greylag Geese this evening, but there were 3 Canada Geese along the SE section of the lake. Another strange goose appeared at 4:45pm. I was first alerted by the call which was definitely that of a goose, however what flew over was a large gull. It was really an unusual combination for which I have no logical explanation. It was shame it wasn't lighter and perhaps I could have got a better view of it as it disappeared over the trees on the northbank. At least if I hear that call again I'll be on it like a shot.
- Didn't do a Duck count as the model boat club were present and most of the Tufted were in flight, well 16 of them at least, and the rest of the ducks were up by the dam.
- A Cormorant with a very white belly thought about coming into land but changed its mind on seeing the radio controlled model boat on the water
- 5 Moorhens around the lake with most at the dam
- 37 Coots logged, with none on the SW bank due to the radio controlled model boat
- The gull roost tonight was a lot smaller and confined to east end. The model boat was at the west end and the gulls seemed to realise that it wasn't a threat to them.
- - The numbers seemed to be evenly split between the Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Black-headed Gulls with approx. 400 of each present on the water when I arrived. The Black-headed Gulls were quite flighty again this evening and they and the larger gulls all took to the air when a Common Buzzard crossed the lake, heading south at 4:05pm. This was cue for some of the gulls to head east and north, but a few returned for another 40 minutes or so, before most of the larger gulls departed again at 4:45pm and leaving just a handful for the night roost. The Black-headed Gulls however stayed in good numbers and with additional birds coming in all evening there were at as at least a 1500 birds roosting on the lake for the night.
- - When I arrived there were 11 Herring Gull and this increased to 21 as more birds came in for a wash and brush up.
- - As the second large wave of larger gulls arrived around 4:25pm, it was quite clear that there was a very white and clean headed gull in amongst them. In comparison to the Herring Gull and the Lessers around it, this individual was right smack in the middle with a slightly darker grey back and black eye, very reminiscent of the Yellow-legged Gull photographed last year.
- - Also in this second wave was an adult Great Black-backed Gull
- Still not many Wood Pigeon about with just 13 logged.
- 1 Grey Wagtail heard calling from the RICOH grounds at 4:45pm
- The number of Pied Wagtails heading towards the Town Centre was very high this evening, with one party of 10 seen at 4:19pm In total there were 30 logged which is my highest tally for the lake.
- Still a few Robins about with 5 singing around the west end of the lake.
- Only 3 Blackbirds heard from within Wesley Wood
- 3 Song Thrush seen flying overhead again.
- 1 Mistle Thrush heard singing from the direction of the Motorway footbridge in the SW corner of the lake.
- A few Redwing seen and heard with one flock of 30 birds heading east along the north bank at 3:55pm.
- 2 Fieldfare seen heading E at 4:20pm
- Only 5 Magpies logged around the lake until I left that is. At Teece gate there were in the region of 20 plus birds in the grounds of RICOH
- The corvid passage from where I was standing was even poorer than last night with only 9 Jackdaw and 20 Rooks logged.
- No Jay this evening
- 2 Starlings flew NW at 4:21pm
- There were a few Tits around this evening with 2 Great Tit, 4 Blue Tits and a small party of Long-tailed Tits passing through Wesley Wood. It's interesting to note that the Blue Tits are just starting to pair up and certainly in my back garden they have been investigating the nest box already.
- Finches were sparse again with 2 Chaffinches, 2 Greenfinches and 2 Goldfinches logged.
- Reed Bunting numbers were a bit better with 4 seen diving into Wesley Reedbeds

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
3 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Cormorant; 2 Mute Swans; 3 Canada Geese; 16 Tufted Ducks; 1 Buzzard; 5 Moorhens; 37 Coots; c.1500 Black-headed Gulls; c.400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 21 Herring Gulls; 1 Yellow-legged Gull; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; 13 Wood Pigeons; 1 Grey Wagtail; 30 Pied Wagtails; 5 Wrens; 2 Dunnock; 5 Robins; 3 Blackbirds; 3 Song Thrushes; 35 Redwing; 2 Fieldfare; 1 Mistle Thrush; 2 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 4 Blue Tits; 2 Great Tit; no Jay; 25 Magpies; 9 Jackdaws; 20 Rooks; 2 Crows; 2 Starlings; 2 Goldfinches; 4 Reed Buntings

(Martin Adlam)

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Saturday, 6th (06:40 - 09:51) Morning Log - Very different weather this morning. When I arrived there was some thin high cloud in front of the just waning moon, but cloud rapidly lowered and thickened giving mainly light rain from 08:15 onwards and making it very dull. It was also rather misty. At least there was little wind!

NB: there will be no report for Sunday 07 January - so wet I decided to have a lie-in and recharge my batteries

No new species to the year-list for the Lake today (* = added to main year-list as well) [last night added Common Gull as #50 for the year]

Main features of the day were that there was rather lower numbers of most things: also worth noting
- party of 9 Goosander flew over, presumed en route to The Flash, though most had moved on by the time I got there!
- the Kestrel flew S for the 3rd day running and all 3 days I have logged it with a 5 minute-span - clearly a creature of habit
- at 06:45 I could, most unusually, see not a single Coot to be seen! But by the time I had walked to the dam and back there were at least 46 in the water at the W end. I assume they were all roosting in the reeds?
- a lone Lapwing on the SW grass for a while
- no gulls stayed to roost, but reasonable numbers of Black-headed Gulls early. Small (for the date) party of larger gulls later
- good numbers of Redwings calling but very few of these (and Fieldfares) seen
- an amazing group of 24 Magpies flew off E from the NE area
- after yesterday's bumper numbers, very few corvids in the roost dispersal - except Magpies!

The more detailed notes from the lake
- all 3 Great Crested Grebes today
- no Cormorants
- at least 2 Herons. First heard in flight at 06:51, but not seen until 08:17 when 2 birds were in flight over the NW reeds. Later an immature in the NE area might just have been a 3rd bird
- the 2 resident Swans throughout
- 2 Greylag Geese flew E at 07:32
- 4 Canada Geese today: 2 arrived from the direction of The Flash at 07:47, but had gone by 09:00. 2 flew W at this time
- 42 Mallard (28 drakes): off the dam at 07:00 there were just 30 birds (18 drakes) this morning - could they really have 'known' that it was a Saturday and they don't get fed by the usual taxi-driver?. The complete scan later gave me the 42 birds and 28 drakes!
- 4 Pochard with 3 drakes: but see Aythya sp.
- 31 Tufted Duck logged yet again today, with 17 drakes today. The last 3 days have seen 31 birds, but a different number of drakes each day - 13; 19 and now 17!
- 20 unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off - probably Pochard, but impossible to be sure. 7 left at 07:45; and 13 at 07:53. Another 3 seen in flight at the latter time seemed to turn back, though I did not see them touch down
- 9 Goosanders flew over at 08:07 towards The Flash. I am 99% certain that these birds did not originate from here, but had flown from further E. Light was poor but I suspect they were all brownheads
- no Buzzard sighting
- the Kestrel flew low S to the E at 08:00 [it was 07:56 yesterday; and 07:55 on Thursday]
- 11 Moorhens logged today, with 7 together on the dam-face
- 50 Coots logged today. As noted above at 06:45 there were none to be seen! But by 07:25 there seemed to be 46 on the water at the W end - hard to be 100% certain as it was still rather dark to separate these from duck Tufted Duck! At this time I had logged 4 at the dam already. Later there were 38 on the SW grass; 8 around the dam and the NE area; and 4 more in the NW area. Both counts suggest a total of 50 - amazing!
- 1 Lapwing on the SW grass at 09:10, but not seen to arrive or leave
- gulls today:
- - I'm still not 100% certain whether Black-headed Gulls did roost - there appeared to be none, but I logged c.75 birds flying around at 07:07. These seemed to have gone at 07:15, with more birds not arriving until 07:24. But I do wonder whether it was just too dark to see birds sitting on the water. Whatever there were 700 at 07:45 when birds started to leave. Later counts below. At least 700 for the day
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted. A small passage again with 177 logged, most passing S / SW, though the first 2 flying E. Of these c.120 flew across in a broad front at 08:20, feeding a few on to the lake. After 09:20 there was a bigger arrival of large gulls from the N. At least 457 for the day
- - at least 48 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 5 singles were noted flying W; the balance were on the lake
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - 2 Great Black-backed Gulls logged - an adult and a 1st winter

I decided to change the way I present the periodic 'on lake' gull counts:
07:00 BHG 0; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
07:45 BHG c.700; LBBG 0; HG 0; GBBG   0
08:15 BHG c.400; LBBG 2; HG 1; GBBG   0 (1 adult Herring Gull)
08:25 BHG c.270; LBBG 22; HG 7; GBBG   0 (1 adult and 6 immature Herring Gulls)
08:40 BHG c.210; LBBG 11; HG 6; GBBG   0
09:05 BHG c.380; LBBG 6; HG 4; GBBG   1
09:35 BHG c.470; LBBG c.280; HG 43; GBBG   2 (1 adult; 1 1st winter)

- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:12. just 7 birds seen in the trees around the lake, 4 of these doing display flights; none was on the wires to the E; 6 singles / small groups seen flying E; and 5 ditto flying W. No parties seen. A meager total of just 18 birds this morning
- Grey Wagtail at the W end at 07:56 - seemed to be calling from the roof of the Ricoh factory
- 2 Pied Wagtails only heard
- 1 Fieldfare logged! At least 1 heard calling overhead at 07:44 but not seen
- 5 Song Thrushes logged, 4 of which were in song - and there are birds both sides of the M54 in the SW area, as they were concurrently singing today!
- at least 25 Redwings logged. 20 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. 5 birds flushed out of the N side trees much later. None seen in flight otherwise
- no Mistle Thrushes
- still no Goldcrest this year
- at least 31 Magpies logged with the party of 24 flying off E at 08:04. I have seen groups doing this previous mornings, but this is my first count of >20 birds. Usual numbers around the lake as well to take the total to 31
- corvids in very poor numbers today. Passage first noted rather late - after 08:00. apart from several tight parties of Jackdaws totaling 62 birds at 08:06 there were very few sightings of either species. While I was momentarily distracted by a party of Magpies(!) even if the main group had passed unseen at this time it would have been a poor day. I logged totals of just 114 Jackdaws and only 18 Rooks and one of these flew W
- no Starlings
- only 6 finches logged
- 4 Reed Buntings heard and a splendid male seen along the N side
Also
- more new molehills along the S side at least

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
3 Great Crested Grebes; no Cormorants; 2 or 3 Herons; 2 adult Swans; 2 Greylag Geese; 4 Canada Geese; 44 Mallard (28 drakes); 4 Pochard (3 drakes); 31 Tufted Ducks (17 drakes); 20 unidentified Aythya sp.; 9 Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 11 Moorhens; 50 Coots; 1 Lapwing; no other waders; >700 Black-headed Gulls; >457 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 48 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 2 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 18 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 2 Pied Wagtails; 21 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 36 Robins; 16 Blackbirds; 1 Fieldfare; 5 Song Thrushes; 25 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; no Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 15 Blue Tits; 12 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 31 Magpies; 114 Jackdaws; 18 Rooks; 11 Crows again; no Starlings; no House Sparrows; 2 Chaffinches; 4 Greenfinches; no Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 5 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- no Grey Squirrel
- new molehills noted along S side

Year total of species at the lake now
- 50 birds (the Common Gull last night was #50)
- 1 mammal seen

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 5th (14:57 - 16:27 ) Evening Log (East End) (Ed Wilson) - An evening visit essentially to look at the gulls at their pre-roost gathering and try and find some interesting gulls. I decided to do this tonight as weekdays seem best with less disturbance to move the gulls on. I was rewarded with brief views of a 1st winter Common Gull before it was swallowed up in the mass of Black-headed Gulls

I concentrated efforts on the large gulls. Nothing especially unusual noted - high number of birds and best count of the Herring Gulls for the year with birds of all ages and some clearly of the larger and darker-mantled Scandinavian race, but nothing that seemed like a Yellow-legged Gull, much less the Caspian Gull

[NB: my pictures of the bird I reported at Trench on Tuesday (2nd) has now been identified as a Yellow-legged Gull rather than the Caspian Gull from here at the end of last year]

- Black-headed Gull: all the gulls were put up just as I arrived and many of these flew off (the larger gulls, rather unusually, circled and mostly returned). But many more flew in and survived the panic when a very noisy motorbike put all the gulls to flight. I estimated c.500 at 15:15; c.1800 at 16:00; c.2100 at 16:25
- Common Gull: just the 1 1st winter bird briefly
- Lesser Black-backed Gull: in good numbers throughout, with birds appearing to come and go steadily, but with c.1600 on the lake more or less throughout until they started to leave and by 16:25 there were c.45 only
- Herring Gull: a full and detailed sweep of the main flock of large gulls netted me a total of 126 birds - best of the season (not that I have looked in the afternoons that often this winter!)
- Great Black-backed Gull: 1 full adult was in the main gull group for much of the time

A few other bits and pieces noted
- 2 Great Crested Grebes only again
- 1 Heron still here: and still on its NW willow-tree perch!
- 20 Greylag Geese flew E, unusually.
- 10 Pochard in the SE area - 6 drakes
- 26 Tufted Duck found - 15 drakes
- 3 of the Moorhens were feeding on the dam-top unconcerned about the dog-walkers (or my telescope)
- a Grey Wagtail on the dam

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 5th (15:40 - 16:45) Evening Log (West End) (Martin Adlam) - A clear evening gave great views across the lake from the west bank. When I arrived the lake was full up with gulls, but when a dog walker decided to join his canine pet in the water, the entire roost took to the air. Fortunately Ed Wilson was present on the east bank and his gull roost report will follow shortly.

Main features of the evening were:
- Plenty of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls when I arrived.
- 20 Greylag Geese did the circuit by flying east and then 20 minutes later returning and headed for The Flash.
- A few Pied Wagtail made their way west towards the Town Centre.

The more detailed notes from the lake:
- 2 Great Crested Grebe seen this evening, one at both ends of the Lake
- The 2 resident Swans were at the dam end waiting for the the "Bread man" to arrive.
- Apart from the Greylag Geese there were 3 Canada Geese seen heading E
- Duck count was restricted by my view and by the thousands of gulls present so not a comprehensive number this evening
- - 25 Mallard counted
- - and 23 Tufted Duck
- - Didn't see any Pochard but I suspect they were present.
- 3 Moorhens around the lake with 2 on the SW grass bank
- 45 Coots logged, with 37 on the SW bank
- An excellent gull roost tonight with many thousands present. A full report will follow tomorrow.
-- However after the mass exodus at 3:45pm there were still plenty of gulls present with at least 12 Herring Gull in amongst the 200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I spoke to Ed on his mobile and I believe he sighted a 1st winter Common Gull.
-- The Larger Gulls all left by 4:45pm but a c.1500 Black-headed Gulls remained.
- Not many Wood Pigeon about with only 4 logged.
- 1 Grey Wagtail shot overhead along the south bank heading E.
- Several Pied Wagtails heading towards the Town Centre with 9 logged.
- A few Robins about with 6 logged, which yet again isn't bad considering I was rooted to the spot.
- 4 Blackbirds seen and heard, with right melee coming from Wesley Woods. Not sure why, though I suspect the Magpies may have been the cause.
- 3 Song Thrush seen flying overhead.
- 1 Mistle Thrush heard at 4:35pm when it started singing from the direction of the Motorway footbridge in the SW corner of the lake.
- No Redwing seen or heard.
- No Fieldfare
- Only 5 Magpies logged which is unusual as they normally run into double figures in the evening.
- The corvid passage from where I was standing was very poor with only 77 Jackdaw and 6 Rooks logged.
- A Jay was heard screeching in Wesley Wood at 4:25pm
- 5 Starlings flew NW at 4:00pm and a single bird flew E at 4:20pm.
- Finches were sparse with no Chaffinches or Greenfinches logged.
- However 6 Goldfinches was a good number to log
- Only 1 Reed Bunting seen diving into Wesley Reedbeds

My complete log of the birds at and around the lake today was:
2 Great Crested Grebe; 2 Mute Swans; 25 Mallard; 23 Tufted Ducks; 3 Moorhens; 45 Coots; c.1500 Black-headed Gulls; c.3000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 12 Herring Gulls; 4 Wood Pigeons; 1 Grey Wagtail; 9 Pied Wagtails; 3 Wrens; 2 Dunnock; 6 Robins; 4 Blackbirds; 3 Song Thrushes; 1 Mistle Thrush; 1 Goldcrest; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; 4 Blue Tits; 3 Great Tit; 1 Jay; 5 Magpies; 77 Jackdaws; 6 Rooks; 2 Crows; 6 Starlings; 6 Goldfinches; 1 Reed Buntings

(Martin Adlam)

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Friday, 5th (06:42 - 10:37) Morning Log - NB: 08:35 - 09:35 absent to E around the lanes and fields - see separate report on Local Area

Yet another very breezy morning, with scudding clouds across the full moon and occasional passing light showers. Dull at times, especially to the NE. Good visibility

No new species to the year-list for the Lake today (* = added to main year-list as well)

Main features of the day were
- high number of Black-headed Gulls but no roost. Later a reasonable number of large gulls
- big party of impossibly distant Lapwings
- 2 Wood Pigeon parties again but still low numbers around the lake: but some display flights
- good numbers of both Redwings and Fieldfares
- high numbers in corvid dispersal

The more detailed notes from the lake
- back to 2 Great Crested Grebes today: just 1 in the NW area. The adult was again in the area of the dam
- 1 Cormorant only: an immature flew in from the E at 08:50 but not seen later
- 1 Heron again. First heard in flight at 07:35, but not seen until 09:40 when on its preferred willow in the NW corner
- the 2 resident Swans throughout
- Greylag Geese heard at 07:23 but not seen: later 2 flew E at 07:40
- Canada Geese also heard at 07:23 but not seen at all
- 37 Mallard (24 drakes): this was my count off the dam at 07:00 when still quite dark. The complete scan at 09:40 gave me 36 birds with 24 drakes!
- 21 Pochard at least. A group of 11 (8 drakes) loafing in the SE area at 08:35; but 3 flew off at 07:36; 4 more at 07:50; and 3 at 08:00, all of these unsexed
- 31 Tufted Duck logged again today, but 19 drakes today
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off
- no Goosanders today
- 2 Buzzard sightings: a bird flew SW to the SE at 07:50; then at 08:35 there was a bird circling over the fields to the E
- a Kestrel flew low S to the E at 07:56 - a minute later than yesterday
- 7 Moorhens logged today, all of them on the dam-face
- 46 Coots logged today: I'm now confused as I used my new 'more accurate' count strategy and got a lower than usual number! 42 birds were on the SW grass at 08:00, but some seemed to disperse
- 250 Lapwings was my best-estimate of a large flock seen at an incredible distance to the SE at 08:50 - I would judge these birds could even have been the other side of Shifnal! I was trying to count departing distant Rooks at the time and these 'appeared' in the scope
- gulls today:
- - hard to know if any Black-headed Gulls roosted: there were 8 birds by 07:12! More arrived at 07:16 and thereafter there was a continual arrival from the W of good-sized groups with c.500 by 07:30 and then c.1800 by 07:45 when birds began to leave again. Later counts gave c.380 at 08:30; and c.900 at 09:35. I am using 1800 as the figure for the morning
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted. Just 7 were seen on the lake with the c.1800 Black-headed Gulls at 07:45, though these flew off. A small passage of birds flying W after 07:33 gave me 168 before 09:30 when at least 150 birds were seen circling to the N. It seemed to be some or all of these birds that flew in to the lake giving me a count of 198 birds at 09:35. So 205 birds at least this morning
- - at least 20 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. An adult flew W to the S at 09:00. Otherwise they all seemed to arrive with the Lesser Black-backed Gulls c.09:30. 7 of the 19 were immatures and these were usually to be found terrorising the large orange buoys as well as chasing the immature Lesser Black-backs off the jetty
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - just 1 adult Great Black-backed Gulls logged again, in with other large gulls at 09:35
- no Feral Pigeons seen
- 2 Stock Doves flew S at 08:40
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:03. 10 birds seen in the trees around the lake, with 2 of these doing display flights; none was on the wires to the E; 10 singles / small groups seen flying E; and 29 ditto flying W. At least 40 birds seen in 2 groups, with 28 flew W to the S and just 12 birds seen in the Wards Rough area. A total of 89 birds this morning
- Grey Wagtail at the W end at 07:59 and presumably the same in the Teece Drive area later
- 3 Pied Wagtails heard
- 71 Fieldfare logged. One large group of 52 flew W at the rather late time of 09:18; otherwise 5 small groups
- 6 Song Thrushes logged, 3 of which were in song
- at least 67 Redwings logged - the same number as yesterday! just 7 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see -birds leaving overnight roosts in the lakeside trees? No birds seen in the trees around the lake. 60 seen in flight in 14 separate groups
- 3 Mistle Thrushes flying in circles and calling at the W end at 10:15
- no Goldcrest again today
- corvids in very good numbers today. 8 Rooks passed over early at 07:51; and then 10 Jackdaws and 22 Rooks were seen flying the 'wrong way' at 07:57. Passage began immediately after that with at least 130 Jackdaws in 4 tight, fast-flying parties, but it was later before smaller scattered groups of Rooks passed. Passage continued steadily until 08:30 with some good-sized groups of Jackdaws and I logged totals of 405 Jackdaws and 195 Rooks
- a lone Starling again, logged flying E to the S
- 17 finches logged: nothing unusual again
- 4 Reed Buntings heard
Also
- my first Rabbit of the year - at the W end at the late time of 10:20
- new molehills along both N & S sides

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
2 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; >2 Greylag Geese; Canada Geese heard only; 37 Mallard (24 drakes); 21 Pochard (>8 drakes); 31 Tufted Ducks (19 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Goosanders; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 2 Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 46 Coots; 250 very distant Lapwings; no other waders; >1800 Black-headed Gulls; >205 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 20 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 89 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; 1 Grey Wagtail; 3 Pied Wagtails; 14 Wrens again; 5 Dunnocks; 33 Robins; 18 Blackbirds; 71 Fieldfares; 6 Song Thrushes; 67 Redwings again!; 3 Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 21 Blue Tits; 14 Great Tits again; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 14 Magpies; 405 Jackdaws; 195 Rooks; 11 Crows; 1 Starling; no House Sparrows; 5 Chaffinches; 8 Greenfinches; 4 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no
unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- 1 Rabbits
- no Grey Squirrel
- new molehills noted to S & N

Year total of species at the lake now
- 49 birds
- 1 mammal

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Thursday, 4th (06:40 - 09:54) - Yet another very breezy morning, with scudding clouds across the full moon and occasional passing light showers. Dull at times, especially to the NE. Good visibility

Added the following species to the year-list for the Lake (* = added to main year-list as well), in time (rather than systematic) order
- 9 Goosanders were seen flying towards the Flash in 3 separate groups: the first at 07:48. Not clear whether these had come from the E end of the lake or whether they were just passing over. I recall that they form large evening roosts at favoured locations and fly-in from daytime feeder. Belvide is a big roost some years, so perhaps these were birds that fish in The Flash that had been to Belvide
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling along the N side at 08:10

Other main features of the day were
- possible small gull roost with only Black-headed Gulls. Again early numbers were disappointing and there were few large gulls over, but after 09:10 a large arrival filled the lake. All the birds were very 'jumpy' and it was hard to get accurate numbers
- 2 Wood Pigeon parties today: still low numbers around the lake today with no 'song' or display flights
- smaller numbers of both Redwings and Fieldfares
- better (seen?) corvid dispersal

Due to the strength and direction of the wind I spent some while out of the wind in the hut on the SW grass which again restricted my view somewhat; and blocked some of the calls of passerines. So figures are again not directly comparable

The more detailed notes from the lake
- 3 Great Crested Grebes today: in the NW area birds were heard at 07:12 and first seen at 07:25, with 2 together, apparently both 1st winter birds. The adult was again in the area of the dam
- 1 Cormorant only: flew in at 08:05 from the N and stayed in the water fishing throughout
- 1 Heron for certain: first seen at 07:35 flying to its customary spot in the NW willows and thereafter what was presumably the same bird at many points around the lake
- the 2 resident Swans throughout
- 21 Greylag Geese flew W in 2 small groups on their way 'home' at 09:10
- at least 12 Canada Geese today. Birds heard calling distantly at 07:15. 2 arrived from The Flash direction at 07:59; and then 2 more arrived from the E at 08:50. Then a party of 8 flew W at 09:02
- 42 Mallard (29 drakes again)
- 7 Pochard at least. A group of 7 were seen in the centre of the lake at 07:30 - too dark to sex them at this time. Later there were 2 drakes and 3 ducks loafing at the W end. What happened to the rest is unclear - indeed the group may well have flown off and the 5 others be extras ?
- 31 Tufted Duck logged today: 13 drakes
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off
- the 9 Goosanders: a drake flying W was found as I was searching for the calling party of Jackdaws at 07:48: then a party of 7 (2 drakes) flew W at 07:48; a brownhead flew W at 08:11. Perhaps these went to The Flash?
- no Sparrowhawk sightings
- 1 Buzzard seen flying NE across the lake with a calling Black-headed Gull in hot pursuit, though that did not persuade any of the other gulls to join in!
- a Kestrel flew low S across the lake at 07:55. A bird flushed from trees in the SW corner that then went to hover over the SW grass at 08:40 was likely the same bird
- 5 Moorhens only logged today: only 2 on the dam-face - with the strong wind it was both 'choppy' along he dam and rather exposed, so I guess they were lurking elsewhere
- 59 Coots logged today: a much higher count than in recent days, the product I think of a better count strategy for the this species. Most congregate on the SW grass at dawn, though they later disperse and intermingle with the birds elsewhere that seem to still be around their nest sites
- gulls today:
- - hard to know if and how many Black-headed Gulls roosted: there were at least 30 birds flying around over the lake at 06:45 and c.100 by 06:59 but
whether these were disturbed roosting birds or early fly-ins I am unsure. By 07:35 there were c.250 birds and by 07:45 there were at least 600 birds that then exhibited the most unusual behaviour by staying around the lake but flying continually around at speed and calling (indeed all the gulls I saw today here, at The Flash and then at Trench Lock seemed incredibly jumpy and hard to count because they seemed always on the move when something spooked them). It was after 08:00 before birds left and thereafter counts gave me c.190 at 08:45, but c.280 by 08:50. After 09:10 gulls of all types began to pour in from the N and the only meaningful count I could make before they started flying about again was at least 1400 birds at 09:25 - they covered a large part of the water. About 2000 for the morning?
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted. After 08:00 there was a steady but small passage of birds westbound and I logged 131 birds before 08:45 which was when the first birds - 8 individuals - were on the lake, the numbers building up slowly until the big arrival from the N after 09:10. The 09:25 count for this species was c.350 birds. So 481 birds at least this morning
- - at least 33 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today: their movement matched that of Lesser Black-backed Gulls with a few westbound overhead; first birds on the lake at 08:50 and numbers increasing thereafter with the 09:25 count at least 33 birds. Particularly prevalent today was the attraction that the jetty has for immatures and especially first-winters of this species - there were no fewer than 9 crammed on with the Black-headed Gulls and a lone adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. I have noted immatures attracted to the jetty previously, but it was striking today
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - just 1 adult Great Black-backed Gull logged, arriving at 08:55
- no Feral Pigeons seen
- no Stock Doves today
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:04: no song again today. 8 birds seen in the trees around the lake; none was on the wires to the E; 6 singles / small groups seen flying E; and 24 ditto flying W. At least 90 birds seen in flight over the Wards Rough area, though I could not decide whether they were coming or going. Another party of 11 birds flew W A total of 139 birds this morning
- the Great Spotted Woodpecker only called briefly, but enough to get it on the year-list!
- no Grey Wagtail today
- 2 Pied Wagtails heard
- 5 Fieldfare logged in a single group flying W with the large Redwing flock at 09:47
- 3 Song Thrushes logged again, 2 of which were in song
- at least 67 Redwings logged. 22 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see - these seem likely to be birds leaving overnight roosts in the lakeside trees. Later 9 birds seen in the trees around the lake, with the balance of 36 seen in flight, mostly in a flock comprising 28 birds with the Fieldfares at 09:47
- no Mistle Thrushes this morning
- no Goldcrest again today
- corvid numbers were again affected by my restricted view and the wind. But the main party of Jackdaws was >100 birds at 07:47 today and there was a continuous small passage until 09:00. No parties of >10 Rooks was noted, but again there was a continuous small passage until 09:00. I logged totals of 222 Jackdaws and 85 Rooks
- a lone Starling logged flying SW at 08:15
- 15 finches logged: nothing unusual again
- just 3 Reed Buntings, but I was not near the main roost area

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc. clinging on in the
wind:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
3 Great Crested Grebes; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; 21 Greylag Geese; 12 Canada Geese; 42 Mallard (29 drakes); >7 Pochard (>2 drakes); 31
Tufted Ducks (13 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; 9 Goosanders (3 drakes); no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 5 Moorhens; 59 Coots; no Lapwings or other waders; >2000 Black-headed Gulls; >481 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; >33 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 1 Great Black-backed Gull; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 139 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 2 Pied Wagtails; 14 Wrens; 6 Dunnocks; 28 Robins; 14 Blackbirds again; 5 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes yet again; 67 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 3 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 12 Blue Tits; 9 Great Tits again; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 11 Magpies; 222 Jackdaws; 85 Rooks; 9 Crows; 1 Starling; no House Sparrows; 9 Chaffinches; 5 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 3 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 49 birds
- 1 mammal

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Wednesday, 3rd (06:41 - 10:05) - Another breezy morning, but cloudy and rather dull. The threatened rain never materialised. Felt warm, especially out of the wind. Good visibility. Brightened a bit after 10:00 (not much use!)

Added the following species to the year-list for the Lake (* = added to main year-list as well), in time (rather than systematic) order
- Buzzard seen circling to the E at 08:35
- 2 Stock Doves seen on the wires to the NE near Woodhouse Farm at 08:50
- 2 Lapwings* were on the SW grass by 09:20, though were flushed soon after

Other main features of the day were
- 5 Cormorants seen today, but only 1 in the lake
- first gull roost of the year with more Lesser Black-backed Gulls than Black-headed Gulls, which continue to be in low numbers. After all the big gulls left it became rather quiet again until after 09:45 when a reasonable number of large gulls started to arrive with my highest total of both Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls this winter
- no Wood Pigeon parties today: and in low numbers around the lake today with no 'song' or display flights
- good numbers of both Redwings and Fieldfares again
- corvid dispersal very disappointing
- 2 parties of Starlings seen in flight, but the reed-bed roost seems to be a thing of the past

Due to the strength and direction of the wind and the generally dull conditions then for some of the time I took shelter behind the bushes along the S side which restricted my view somewhat; and with the M54 right behind me prevented me hearing some of the calls of passerines. So figures are not directly comparable

The more detailed notes from the lake
- I think we must assume that the Little Grebe has moved on ? not seen for at least 5 days
- 2 Great Crested Grebes eventually again
- 5 Cormorants logged: 4 birds, all apparently adults, flew from the N at 08:30, turned W for a while and then headed off S; but by 09:10 there was an adult fishing in the lake and it was on the jetty by 09:40 but gone by 09:50
- 2 Herons today with what was probably the usual bird on the NW willows by 07:50. What seemed to be another bird flew in from the E at 09:10
- the 2 resident Swans throughout
- no Greylag Geese today
- no Canada Geese today either
- 44 Mallard (29 drakes). I went to the dam before first-light but did not venture across the top so as to avoid flushing the gulls at roost, so I did just the one sweep count much later from the dam top by which time the ducks were spread-out and moving around in response to dogs and fishermen
- 17 Pochard I think: a pair flew off at 07:48; another 8 (not sexed) left to the NW at 07:50. Later I counted 7 on the lake (4 drakes). The later departure allowed me to identify the species this morning
- 42 Tufted Duck logged today: 19 drakes today
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off
- 2 Sparrowhawk sightings: a male (on size) was being 'helped' along the N side and seen off to the E by the resident Crows at 07:40 pre-dawn; then at 09:40 a bird flew S along the W hedge without attracting any alarm calls from the tits, some of which were singing
- the Buzzard as noted above
- 7 Moorhens logged today
- 47 Coots logged today: it is hard to get accurate numbers at the moment as by the time it gets light-enough to count the birds on the SW grass the locals are walking dogs and flushing the birds, with some moving away for the day
- the 2 Lapwings on the SW grass: no idea where they came from or went to!
- gulls today:
- - c.100 Black-headed Gulls roosted and these were on the move by 07:08. Much harder to see on the choppy surface than the larger, more contrasting Lesser Black-backed Gulls and the number needs treating with caution. The first arriving party of just c.80 birds noted at the late time of 07:52, but only c.50 more thereafter. Later counts gave me c.250 at 08:15; c.260 at 08:45; c.190 by 08:55, but c.310 by 09:05; and c.175 by 10:00. So perhaps 410 for the morning total?
- - c.450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted, spread all over the water. These were on the move by 08:00 and more were arriving by this time so it is hard to know how many new birds were in the count of c.400 birds at 08:15. Later counts produced 62 at 08:45; just 11 at 08:55; but at least 270 by 10:00, assumed to be all-new arrivals. In addition 173 were logged flying over. So over 900 birds this morning
- - at least 52 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today: I could not find any in the roost, though it was rather dark! Later counts from the lake were 11 at 08:15; 5 at 08:45; but then a high figure of 41 with the arriving Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - at least 7 Great Black-backed Gulls logged. There were 2 first-winter birds at 08:15; but at 08:45 there was an adult and a first-winter bird The count of the big gulls at 10:00 gave me 4 adults and 2 first-winter birds
- no Feral Pigeons seen
- the 2 Stock Doves on the wires to the NE
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:21: no song again today. 9 birds seen in the trees around the lake; 2 were on the wires to the E (with the Stock Doves, helpfully); 7 singles / small groups seen flying E; also 7 ditto flying W. no other parties seen. A total of just 25 this morning
- no Grey Wagtail today
- 5 Pied Wagtails heard
- 50 Fieldfare logged in 4 groups, the largest of c.20 birds with Redwings in with the Fieldfare
- 3 Song Thrushes logged again, 2 of which were in song. The bird in the SW area started in Stafford Park area across the M-way, but appeared to be the bird later heard singing in the S-side bushes
- at least 59 Redwings logged. 17 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. Later 8 birds seen in the trees around the lake, with the balance of 34 seen in flight. Largest flock comprised just 9 birds
- 1 Mistle Thrush in the trees alongside Teece Drive this morning
- no Goldcrest again today
- corvid numbers were probably affected by the restricted view and the rather dark start to the morning. Just one sizeable group of c.45 Jackdaws and thin passage of both species until 08:30. I logged low totals of 90 Jackdaws and 59 Rooks
- c.52 Starlings logged: 2 seen flying S at 08:29 were followed by 2 separate parties of c.25 birds, also flying S
- only 11 finches logged: nothing unusual again
- just 2 Reed Buntings, but I had moved away before they would have started flying away

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc. clinging on in the
wind:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 5 Cormorants; 2 Herons; 2 adult Swans; no Greylag Geese; no Canada Geese; 44 Mallard (29 drakes); 17 Pochard (>5 drakes); 42 Tufted Ducks (19 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Ruddy Ducks; 2 Sparrowhawks; 1 Buzzard; no Kestrels; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 47 Coots; 2 Lapwings; no other waders; >410 Black-headed Gulls; >900 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; >52 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 7 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; 2 Stock Doves; 25 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 5 Pied Wagtails; 16 Wrens; 7 Dunnocks; 32 Robins; 14 Blackbirds; 50 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes again; 59 Redwings; 1 Mistle Thrush; no Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 10 Blue Tits; 9 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 10 Magpies; 90 Jackdaws; 58 Rooks; 11 Crows; 52 Starling; no House Sparrows; 5 Chaffinches; 4 Greenfinches; 2 Goldfinches; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; no Bullfinches; 2 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Year total of species at the lake now
- 47 birds
- 1 mammal

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Tuesday, 2nd (06:41 - 10:05) - Another breezy, fine and 'fresh' morning but with more cloud to start with and after a brief late sunrise as a remnant shower cleared away it dulled over and was a typical grey mid-winter day

Added the following species to the year-list for the Lake (* = added to main year-list as well), in time (rather than systematic) order
- Meadow Pipit flushed out of SW grass by a dog at 08:24
- Green Woodpecker* calling in NW area as it flew off W 08:50
- 2 Mistle Thrushes* at the W end at 08:55
- 3 all-white Feral Pigeons to the N over Priorslee Estate at 09:15
- a Grey Wagtail* flushed off the N shore at 09:45

Other main features of the day were
- back to 2 Great Crested Grebes today
- 4 Cormorants seen
- 22 Canada Geese logged with 14 of these seen flying N to the W
- Kestrel seen again
- no gull roost: on the lake numbers stayed even lower; even a low passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. There were, in the circumstances, reasonable
number of Herring Gulls; and a puzzling large gull that was probably a first-winter argentatus race Herring Gull
- a few Wood Pigeon parties again today: but in low numbers around the lake today with no 'song' or display flights
- good numbers of, especially, Redwings and Fieldfares
- corvid dispersal again rather protracted
- party of 3 Reed Buntings seen flying off seemed to fly out of the S side hedge along the M54 - not where I had been hearing the calls near the reed beds

The more detailed notes from the lake
- still no Little Grebe
- 2 Great Crested Grebes eventually, though again it was after 08:30 before I saw either: then the first winter in the NW area; and the adult along the dam
- 4 Cormorants logged: 2 seen approaching from the E at 07:56 but these were never seen on the lake; 1 flew N to the far E at 08:25; but by 08:45 there was an adult fishing in the lake
- 1 Heron heard calling in flight at 06:55: seen in the NW area as it got light at 07:35. One flushed from the SE area at 09:20 was perhaps the same bird
- the 2 resident Swans throughout
- no Greylag Geese today
- 22 Canada Geese: 2 flew E at 07:31; then calls at 07:40 led me to a party of 14 flying N - an unusual direction, possibly from the Town park. At 09:50 a group of 6 flew in from the E to torment the cob Swan - 34 Mallard: 24 drakes again. Tried hard to do a proper count despite the wind and this was the result. I went to the dam before first-light and noted 27 birds (19 drakes) around the dam - the return to work means that there is now food being put out on the platform again. But I knew there were more birds in the SW area so I did a proper count later
- 5 Pochard again: today, now in the NW area: 3 drakes again
- 38 Tufted Duck logged today: 17 drakes today
- no unidentified Aythya sp. ducks seen flying off
- a Kestrel flew fast S again
- 9 Moorhens logged today: pre-dawn there were 2 birds seen roosting(?) in the bushes at the S end of the dam
- 54 Coots logged today seemed to be a reliable count and means that c.20 have left over the last month
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. The first party of just c.15 birds arrived at the later time of 07:29; only c.40 arrived by the time the gathering broke at 07:48. Almost all the gulls left before 08:00 when at least 190 flew in from the W between 08:00 and 08:08. Later counts were similarly low with 146 at 09:10; and 108 at 09:50. No movement overhead was detected. So perhaps 230 for the morning total?
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. Only 1 adult bird was noted on the water all the while I was there! And rather flying over - a total of just 72 logged. So just 73 for the morning
- - 28 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today - a very good number in the circumstances. Just 1 immature was seen circling low over the lake, all the others flying W. This included an exceptional group of 18 Herring Gulls, almost all (near) adults and with just 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - 1 immature gull seen washing in the lake at 09:15. It was large-billed and with a dark scaly-looking mantle suggesting Great Black-backed Gull but the base of the bill was a very obvious orange-tone, especially on the lower mantle whereas I expected first-winter Great Black-backed Gulls to show an all-dark bill at this date. I did wonder about a first-winter Caspian Gull, but reference to the literature suggests that this should have an even whiter head than this bird. I took a few record shots and these revealed that the bill also had a pale tip; and confirmed that the head was not pale-enough for Great Black-backed Gull. Reference to 'Gulls' by Olsen & Larsson and comparison with the photographs showed that this was likely a first-winter argentatus race Herring Gull, so I have added it
to the count of that species
- 3 all-white Feral Pigeons seen over the estate
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 08:13: no song today. Just 3 seen in the trees around the lake; none was on the wires to the E; 5 singles / small groups seen flying E; 31 ditto flying W. 2 parties totaling 96 birds were seen with 71 of these seen leaving the Wards Rough area. A total of 135 this morning
- the Green Woodpecker calling as it left the NW area and flew up Teece Drive at 08:50
- the Meadow Pipit flushed out of SW grass by a dog at 08:24
- the Grey Wagtail flushed off the N shore at 09:45
- just 2 Pied Wagtails heard
- 10 Fieldfare only, logged in 2 groups
- 3 Song Thrushes only logged, 2 of which were in song. The bird in the SW area seemed to be in Stafford Park area across the M-way
- at least 137 Redwings logged. 11 birds noted calling overhead while still too dark to see. Later 18 birds seen in the trees around the lake, with the balance of 108 seen in flight, mainly flying from the E to pass both north & south of the lake. Largest flock comprised at least 34 birds
- 2 Mistle Thrushes were in the trees at the W end at 08:55 but neither called nor sang
- no Goldcrest again today
- party of 19 Magpies seen flying in circles in the NE area at 07:54, presumably as they left the roost?
- corvid passage started unusually again with separate small groups of Rooks then Jackdaws some 8 minutes before the main passage started. That too was unusual in that only 54 Jackdaws were in the main group at 07:55 - normally >100: but there was another group of over 70 birds at 08:07, though these were high to the far E. With steady passage of both species until 08:30 I amassed totals of 258 [252] Jackdaws and 97 [88] Rooks
- 1 single Starling flew high (for a Starling) S at 08:36
- 18 finches logged: nothing unusual
- probably 5 Reed Buntings: 2 heard at the W end with 3, apparently different birds, flying off from the S side bushes

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc. clinging on in the
wind:
- nothing today

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 2 Great Crested Grebes; 4 Cormorants; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; no Greylag Geese; 22 Canada Geese (6 on lake); 34 Mallard (24 drakes); 5 Pochard (3 drakes); 38 Tufted Ducks (17 drakes); no unidentified Aythya sp.; no Ruddy Ducks; no Sparrowhawks; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 9 Moorhens; 54 Coots; no waders; c.230 Black-headed Gulls; c.73 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 29 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; no Great Black-backed Gulls; 3 Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 135 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; 1 Green Woodpecker; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; 1 Meadow Pipit; 1 Grey Wagtail; 2 Pied Wagtails again; only 9 Wrens; only 4 Dunnocks; 28 Robins; 21 Blackbirds; 10 Fieldfares; 3 Song Thrushes; 137 Redwings; 2 Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 1 Long-tailed Tit party; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 15 Blue Tits; 9 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 26 Magpies; 258 Jackdaws; 97 Rooks; 23 Crows; 1 Starling; no House Sparrows; 8 Chaffinches; 10 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
Mammals:
- no Rabbits
- 1 Grey Squirrel
- no new molehills noted

Year total of species at the lake now
- 41 birds
- 1 mammal

(Ed Wilson)

Top

Monday, 1st (06:43 - 10:04) - HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL THE READERS

A bright and breezy fine and 'fresh' morning which led to the street lights going out a full 10 minutes earlier than yesterday (and 32 minutes earlier than in the rain on Friday!). Would have been a briefly interesting sunrise if there were better foreground than pylons and street lights!

Main features of the day were
- Only 1 Great Crested Grebe today and that not noted until 08:35 despite searching to add it to the year-list
- really odd noise from the Heron this morning
- adult Cormorant
- puzzling set of Greylag Geese records with 21 flying E before dawn; and 23 flying W later. All the groups were different sizes!
- 12 Canada Geese only today. None of these on the lake
- 12 Aythya-type ducks seen flying off in the direction of The Flash and, oddly, 3 seen arriving
- both Sparrowhawk and Kestrel seen today, but I had to wait until I went to The Flash to get Buzzard on the year-list
- no gull roost: on the lake numbers stayed low but reasonable passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Herring Gulls; and puzzling numbers of Black-headed Gulls apparently passing over
- a few Wood Pigeon parties today: and again in good numbers around the lake. And again Spring must be on its way with several birds in 'song'; and several more seen doing display flights
- good numbers of Redwings and Fieldfares again
- best numbers of Blue & Great Tits for a while; no other Parus sp., just distantly heard Long-tailed Tits
- corvid dispersal was most oddly protracted and with many birds taking a much more easterly route than usual
- no unusual finches, but I did manage Bullfinch for the year-list

The more detailed notes from the lake
- still no Little Grebe
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only: see above
- 1 Cormorant: adult arrived by 08:20; on the jetty (nee boat lunching platform) 09:15 but gone by 09:30
- 1 Heron seen: but at 06:56 there was the most amazing drawn-out harsh noise from the NW reed area that sounded a bit like the call given by fighting / sparring Herons, though upon reflection it was of longer duration and the tone was more akin to the flight-call of Little Egret. Too dark to see anything, but it clearly had an effect as some 66 birds - Coots, Aythya ducks? - shot out of / away from the reeds and sat on the water (too dark to identify them!). The call was repeated a few minutes later. It did cross my mind that the Heron might have been caught by a Fox or some such, but one was happily standing on the overhanging willows at 07:20 apparently none the worse for whatever all the noise was about
- the 2 resident Swans throughout
- see above: a party of 18 Greylag Geese flew E at 07:14; 2 more at 07:29; another at 07:46 was probably the bird that flew W at 07:50. Then at 09:50 a party of 13 flew W; and at 10:02 another party of 9 (there was a group of 9 at The Flash at 10:30). How many birds? well 23 at least, but perhaps 42
- after a party of Canada Geese heard at 07:09 there were 3 small parties of, respectively, 5; 4 and 2 birds, none of which landed at the lake
- 32 Mallard: 24 drakes. Hard to do a sweep count from the windy dam and birds on the move all the time made accurate / complete count too much like hard-work!
- 5 Pochard only: today in the SW area: 3 drakes (there were more birds at The Flash this morning suggesting that the others might have gone there - see Aythya sp. below)
- 32 Tufted Duck logged today: 16 drakes again
- at least 12 Aythya sp. ducks flew off towards The Flash at 07:30: but then 3 flew in from the SW at 07:40
- what seemed to be a female Sparrowhawk on size was seen to NW chasing Fieldfares at 07:47
- what I assume was a Kestrel flew fast S, far to the E: I did wonder about Merlin, but the distant silhouette was probably just a Kestrel in a hurry
- 7 Moorhens logged again
- 50 Coots logged today but the main group on the SW grass was continually being flushed by dogs and I could not get a reliable count: that said there seemed to be more on The Flash this morning so perhaps there should be fewer here
- gulls today:
- - no Black-headed Gulls roosted. In the windy conditions the birds flew in very high and were then hard to see on the choppy water, but there were at least 150 by 07:18 and c.350 by 07:30 when birds started to leave. The lake seemed curiously empty of gulls today and later counts gave me 64 bird at 08:30; just 35 at 08:50; c.175 at 09:05; and c.140 at 09:30. Despite these low counts there were plenty of birds in the air most of the time and between 08:30 and 08:40 at least 250 birds flew SW amongst some of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls and these seemed to have nothing to do with the lake. So I am taking 600 as the total for the morning
- - no Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosted either. Only 1 immature bird was noted on the water all the while I was there! Plenty flying over, all S / SW / W with the larger counts being as late as 10:00. A total of 377 logged over-flying. So at least 378 for the morning
- - 11 Herring Gulls were specifically identified today. 2 different immatures were on the lake separately: otherwise they were noted flying over, strangely they seemed not to be with the Lesser Black-backed Gull parties, but traveling on their won
- - no Yellow-legged Gull-types noted today
- - 2 Great Black-backed Gulls both on the lake despite the dearth of other large gulls: an adult was seen being harassed by the Black-headed Gulls at 09:14; and then a 1st winter bird was seen on the water at 09:20
- no Feral Pigeons
- no Stock Doves
- the first Wood Pigeon was logged at 07:53 when one burst in to 'song' - dawn chorus? 22 seen in the trees around the lake, including 3 birds singing and 4 more performing display flights; none was on the wires to the E; 9 singles / small groups seen flying E; 39 ditto flying W. 4 parties totaling 89 were seen to the E / SE, but none in the Wards Rough area. So a better 152 for the morning
- no Grey Wagtail yet again today
- 4 Pied Wagtails again, and again all heard only
- 57 Fieldfare logged in 7 groups, the largest of 28 birds flew SW
- 5 Song Thrushes logged, 4 of which were in song. The bird in the SW area seemed to stay 'this' side of the M-way throughout
- at least 81 Redwings logged. I noted 5 birds calling overhead while still too dark to see. Later 10 birds seen in the trees around the lake, with the balance of 66 seen in flight, mainly to the E / SE with the largest group comprising 16 birds
- no Mistle Thrushes again today
- no Goldcrest again today either
- corvid passage started unusually with a scatter of Jackdaws at 07:44 and there was then a pause during which 10 Jackdaws flew NW. After 07:50 both
species were seen flying in small groups (none exceeded 25 birds); and passage of these small groups continued throughout, dwindling after 08:45. So in the end there were respectable totals of 252 Jackdaws and 88 Rooks. Many of the Jackdaws were flying high and far to the E
- 2 single Starlings seen
- 24 finches logged: a better number that included a single Goldfinch and 2 Bullfinches. 3 of these were unidentified early finches seen at 07:40 flying from far to the E, but I could not hear their calls
- 4 Reed Buntings: 3 heard along the W end with 2, assumed to be of these birds, flying off. Another seen flying from the N shore

Checked the street lights I passed-by for insects etc. clinging on in the
wind:
- a large spider was lurking inside one of the street lights!

My complete log of the birds at the lake today was
no Little Grebes; 1 Great Crested Grebe; 1 Cormorant; 1 Heron; 2 adult Swans; >23 Greylag Geese; >11 Canada Geese (none on lake); 32 Mallard (24
drakes); 5 Pochard (3 drakes); 32 Tufted Ducks (16 drakes); at least 12 unidentified Aythya sp.; no Ruddy Ducks; 1 Sparrowhawk; no Buzzards; 1 Kestrel; no Water Rails; 7 Moorhens; 50 Coots; no waders; >600 Black-headed Gulls; >378 Lesser Black-backed Gulls; 11 specifically identified Herring Gulls; no Yellow-legged Gulls; 2 Great Black-backed Gulls; no Feral Pigeons; no Stock Doves; 152 Wood Pigeons; no Collared Doves; no Kingfishers; no Green Woodpeckers; no Great Spotted Woodpeckers; no Sky Larks; no Meadow Pipits; no Grey Wagtails; 4 Pied Wagtails again; 15 Wrens; 9 Dunnocks; 22 Robins; 16 Blackbirds; 57 Fieldfares; 5 Song Thrushes; 81 Redwings; no Mistle Thrushes; no Goldcrests; 2 Long-tailed Tit parties; no Coal Tits; no Willow Tits; 23 Blue Tits; 13 Great Tits; no Treecreepers; no Jays; 15 Magpies again; 252 Jackdaws; 88 Rooks; 14 Crows; 2 Starlings; no House Sparrows; 8 Chaffinches; 10 Greenfinches; 1 Goldfinch; no Siskins; no Linnets; no Redpolls; 2 Bullfinches; 4 Reed Buntings; no Yellowhammers; no unidentified Finch flocks

Also recorded
1 species of other 'insects'
- the large spider was lurking inside one of the street lights

The year-list, in order of recording (first seen or heard) was: (NB: Robin, Song Thrush and Blackbird were recorded before I left home as well as the first 3 birds at the lake (though not in that order!) Magpie; Coot; Mallard; Heron; Tufted Duck; Redwing; Mute Swan; Canada Goose; Greylag Goose; Black-headed Gull; Crow; Wren; Moorhen; Reed Bunting; Great Tit; Jackdaw; Pied Wagtail; Blue Tit; Dunnock; Sparrowhawk; Rook; Wood Pigeon; Long-tailed Tit; Fieldfare; Pochard; Greenfinch; Lesser Black-backed Gull; Chaffinch; Kestrel; Herring Gull; Cormorant; Starling; Great Crested Grebe; Bullfinch; Great Black-backed Gull; Goldfinch [36 new species after 3 at home: 39 recorded at the lake]

(Ed Wilson)