Priorslee Lake: 06:45 – 09:35
The Flash: 09:40 – 10:20
Trench Lock Pool: 10:30 – 10:40 // 11:20 – 11:40
Trench Middle Pool: 10:45 – 11:15
9°C > 11°C: Mainly cloudy with a few breaks. Calm start: light W wind later. Very good visibility
Sunrise: 08:22 GMT once again
Priorslee Lake: 06:45 – 09:35
(195th visit of the year)
More song this morning. A Blackbird was singing at 06:45. Song Thrushes heard from 8 locations around the lake – perhaps fewer birds? A Mistle Thrush was sitting on its song perch at 09:30 though not singing or calling. Both Blue and Great Tits were calling and chasing around a lot: no ‘song’ as such though
I noted today that the part of the building site closest to the NE part of the lake is itself one huge muddy puddle. I suggest you don’t buy a house there!
Other bird notes
- the Mute Swans went for a long fly-around the lake but pitched back in
- the mixed group of 4 Greylag and 7 Canada Geese left at 07:35. No others today
- a pair of Teal new in
- 11 Goosanders W at 08:10; 2 S at 08:20. All brownheads
- 5 Great Crested Grebes seen together though for most of the time there were either just 4 together or two pairs. The 5th seemed to be lurking in the reeds most of the time
- 25 Black-headed Gulls arrived at 07:30. No more before 08:00 when c.175 arrived. By 08:10 only 3 remained! Thereafter c.115 returnees?
- Jackdaws in three separate groups today. c.95 over the E end of the lake at 07:40. >80 seen skimming the fields to the E of Castle Farm at 07:50. And then 34 over the lake at 07:51. Unusually at 09:00 7 birds flew E to the N
- 3 Siskins in Alders today. Not seen as many as usual so far this winter
- perhaps I was too late getting back to the Reed Bunting roost area. The only three birds I heard seemed to stay around
Bird totals
Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 13 (0♂) Goosanders
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Stock Doves
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- >200 Jackdaws
Birds recorded leaving roosts around the lake
- [Magpies not counted]
- 3 Redwings only
- no Reed Buntings seen
The counts from the lake area:
- 4 Greylag Geese
- 7 Canada Geese
- 8 (4♂) Gadwall still
- 2 (1♂) Teal
- 12 (9♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 33 (16♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Little Grebes
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail heard
- 12 Moorhens
- 70 Coots
- >200 Black-headed Gulls
My log of other things, on lamp poles
- 1 Winter Moth
- 3 Mottled Umber moths
- 1 Early Moth
- 1 Chestnut moth
- 1 gnat sp. (Dixella aestivallis?) with many more gnats flying about.
A better early sky this morning.
Far to the east and behind the trees the sky looks clearer.
Bulrushes (properly Greater Reed-mace), the remains of willow-herb spikes rising above sedges.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:40 – 10:20
(154th visit of the year)
Bird notes from here
- many of the Goosanders flew in while I was walking around. All of them then left. Not before there had been an almighty scrum when a brownhead caught a large fish and had trouble dealing with it. Many of the others piled in to ‘help’
- unusually some of the Mallard took to the air when the Goosanders left and also climbed high in the sky – as did many of the Black-headed Gulls. Could not see why
- two Song Thrush singing here again
and
- 1 Mottled Umber on a different lamp pole to previous logs
- 1 Dark Chestnut moth on the same pole: my first in Shropshire
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
- 4 Feral Pigeons
The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans again
- 4 Canada Geese
- 42 (25♂) Mallard
- 33 (22♂) Tufted Ducks
- 16 (3♂) Goosanders
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 46 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
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Trench Lock Pool: 10:30 – 10:40 // 11:20 – 11:40
(33rd visit of the year)
Nothing much to note here
Birds noted flying over / near here (other than local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws)
None
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans [the pen has the Blue Darvic ring ‘7HXA’ and was born at Priorslee Lake in 2013 (credit Martin Grant)]
- 72 Canada Geese
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) ‘feral’ Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 36 (28♂)Tufted Ducks
- 6 (4♂) Goosanders
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Little Grebes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- no Moorhens
- 83 Coots
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)
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Trench Middle Pool: 10:45 – 11:15
(32nd visit of the year)
Notes from here
- single apparently unringed Mute Swan back
- two duck Teal were new
- drake Pochard back (the additional bird at Trench Lock gone again, so ...?)
- Great Crested Grebe back yet again and has brought a friend
- 32 Black-headed Gulls when I arrived. When some food arrived the number increased to 65. Later they all left . To where? they were not at Trench Lock
and
- 1 unidentified spider was all I could find on the lamps
Birds noted flying over / near here
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 2 Stock Doves
The counts from the water
- 1 Mute Swan
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 44 Canada Geese
- 2 (0♂) Teal
- 22 (18♂) Mallard
- 2 (0♂) feral Mallard again
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 13 (7♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 13 Moorhens
- 35 Coots
- 32 > 65 > 0 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........
2016Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2013
Priorslee Lake
2 female Scaup
1 Yellow-legged Gull
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
7 Gadwall
(John Isherwood/Dawn Balmer)
The Flash
5 Goosander
(John Isherwood)
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Yellow-legged Gull
(Dawn Balmer)
Horsehay Pool
12 Goosander
(Dawn Balmer)
2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Jim Almond/Chris Ballance)
2011
Priorslee Lake
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
9 Great Black-backed Gulls
Water Rail
(John Isherwood)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Yellow-legged Gull
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Caspian Gull
(Jason)
2006
Priorslee lake
2 Great Crested Grebes
19 Pochard
34 Tufted Ducks
>300 Black-headed Gulls
>298 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
12 Herring Gull
33 Robins
13 Blackbirds
10 Fieldfares
45 Redwings
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)
2005
Priorslee lake
2 Little Grebes
11 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
2 Mute Swans
35 Pochard
84 Tufted Duck
243 Coot
c.250 Black-headed Gulls
c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
32 Herring Gulls
(Ed Wilson)