28 Feb 15

Priorslee Lake: 5:58am - 8:55am
Map

Telford sunrise: 6:58am

6.0°C > 8.5°C Low cloud and drizzle gradually lifted with some bright spells later. Moderate S wind. Moderate visibility, becoming good.

Only notable record was the Blackcap heard sub-singing at The Flash – my first in the area this year (though I had one in my Newport garden on 12 January)

The fishing group (CFSG – Castle Farm Specimen Group) have organised another work party to open up the N-side path to dry it out and allow access to their fishing ‘pegs’.

(25th visit of the year)

Notes
- the Canada Goose that tried its luck on the water was soon seen off
- now at least 16 Great Crested Grebes!
- Skylark again today but this one heard singing from the fields to the E, probably noted because of less traffic at weekends
- 4 small groups of Long-tailed Tits suggests that the larger winter groups are breaking up into smaller breeding pairs / groups

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 28 Canada Geese
- 1 Black-headed Gulls only
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 6 Feral Pigeons
- 387 Jackdaws
- 72 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 49 Magpies
Redwing roost not visited and none seen / heard later

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans: rings read as Blue 7FAD, 7HFB
- 1 Canada Goose
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall again
- 6 (3♂) Mallard again
- 5 (3♂) Pochard still
- 48 (31♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 16 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhens
- 69 Coots
- 182 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 11 Herring Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Flash: 8:59am - 9:51am
Map

(23rd visit of the year)

Notes
- the Swans are still trapping the feral white goose on the banks of the water: it only escapes when the Swans decide to go after some of the bread being proffered by the regular duck-feeder
- the Black-headed Gulls were most reluctant to settle, swirling around overhead. At one stage they almost all settled but left again within seconds
- most unusually 2 Ravens were perching on a roof in the estate
- 2 Starlings over seemed to be from the nearby estate: birds not yet back on roofs here
- see also notes from the lake: 3 small groups of Long-tailed Tits here

Birds noted flying over were just
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 21 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 21 (14♂) Mallard
- 1 white feral duck
- 5 (4♂) Shoveler
- 48 (24♂) Tufted Ducks
- 5 (1+♂) Goosanders
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 17 Coots
- c.50 Black-headed Gulls

Most unusual I would have thought: a Raven shouting from the roof of a house alongside The Flash. I associate these birds with open farmland and cliffs. One of my bird books says “also about fringes of towns and villages with large trees” which does not seem to describe the area too well.

Still trying to get to grips with these three distinctive plumages on the Goosanders. The bird on the right is an adult drake – no problems there; the bird on the left most closely resembles a duck but the extent of the white around the base of the bill suggests it may be a 1st year bird. But the middle? It has to be an immature drake but whether it is moulting in to 1st summer or 2nd/adult summer seems to me to be less clear.

And here is a different puzzle-bird in close(r)-up. Is that a few dark green feathers emerging at the base of otherwise brown part of the neck?

Watch out: Swans on the war-path. It is supposed to be easy to distinguish a cob (male) by the larger knob on top of the base of the bill but I often struggle and it is not apparent here. What is apparent is relatively little difference in bill colour – the pen (female) of this pair is just coming up to 2 years old (and his daughter, but we will skip over that) and probably still ‘immature’. They may not successfully breed this year.

Nice synchronisation! I assume the cob is in the lead but probably me being chauvinistic again.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 9:59am - 10:20am
Map

(14th visit of the year)

Notes
Apart from a few more gulls rather similar to my last visit and nothing of note

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 14 Canada Geese
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 27 (14♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 61 Coots
- 35 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 10 Herring Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2009 and 2013

Priorslee Lake
2013
2nd winter Iceland Gull
2nd winter Glaucous Gull
1st winter Caspian Gull
Adult Yellow-legged Gull.
Drake Scaup
(Ed Wilson / Tom Lowe)

-----------------------------

2009
Adult Common Gull
Male Stonechat
(Ed Wilson)

27 Feb 15

Priorslee Lake: 5:59am  - 9:05am
Map

Telford sunrise: 7:01am

1.5°C > 5.0°C Fine, clear and frosty. Chilly light / moderate WSW wind. Very good visibility.

(24th visit of the year)

Notes
- 2 Kingfishers again: as I suspected they really are friends: despite a lot of noise and chasing about they were also sitting quietly together
- Rooks were heard passing over, unseen in the dark, by 6:00am so the count was rather low this morning
- a Willow Tit was making a lot of noise today
- 2 Reed Buntings in song and another calling as well as the 2 seen leaving the roost

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 2 Canada Geese
- 11 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 242 Jackdaws
- 45 Rooks
- 2 Ravens
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 1 Sky Lark

Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 25 Magpies (partial count)
- 18 Redwing
- 2 Reed Buntings

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 6 (3♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard yet again
- 51 (30♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 15 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Water Rail seen
- 10 Moorhens
- 72 Coots
- 53 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 3 Herring Gulls

Crisp, clear start with ‘big sun’ at dawn.

Here is the Willow Tit shouting his call. Call and song are by far the easiest way to separate this species from the very similar-looking Marsh Tit. Willow Tits have pale edging on the primaries which are not visible here anyway: but they can be hard to see and are rather subjective and dependent upon freshness of the plumage. Willow Tit has a slightly bigger black bib, but that is of little use here on a bird that is singing with its throat puffed out. Its thicker and more powerful neck is only helpful if you know both species well (Willow Tit is the only British tit species that excavates its own nest hole). I spent a long while trying to get this photo and during all that time I failed to see or hear any other Willow Tits. I hope that is not a bad sign and this bird finds a mate. This species is in serious decline throughout England and here is one of the few places in Shropshire you can see one reasonably easily.

Another species of tit that is making a lot of noise at the moment – Coal Tit is (marginally) our smallest tit. In flight its shorter tail is often obvious.

One day they will all be gone to breed in the local rivers (the Severn has many pairs) but until then here is another study of two Goosanders. The difference in the colour of the head and the extent of the white around the base of the right-hand bird suggests it is a 1st winter. The left-hand bird need a handkerchief.

Nice reflective shot of a Moorhen. Note it has the nictating membrane closed – it is blinking.

Full breeding plumage for this drake Tufted Duck with a huge ‘tuft’ to attract the ducks. Note the water droplets on his back from his last dive.

And here is a duck – note how she has a small tuft. The most reliable way to dismiss any thoughts of Scaup when confronted by a female or immature is that a vestigial tuft will always be present.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Flash: 9:09am - 10:04am
Map

(22nd visit of the year)

Notes
- 2 birds overhead were my first Cormorants of the year here
- some of the Shoveler returned again – unless they rest-up inside the island and have been here all the time. I think this is unlikely – when they have been asleep they have been on the water tucked up against the island and reasonably easy to see.

Birds noted flying over
- 2 Cormorants
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 34 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 20 (13♂) Mallard
- 1 white feral duck
- 4 (3♂) Shoveler
- 45 (26♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 (?♂) Goosanders
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 35 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2009

Priorslee Lake
2009
1st year Glaucous Gull
Iceland Gull
(Ed Wilson)

26 Feb 15

Priorslee Lake:
Map

Late Afternoon: 3:20pm - 3:58pm

Telford sunrise: 7:03am

7.5°C > 5.0°C Cleared after rain. Moderate / fresh NW wind died away at dusk. Excellent visibility.

With heavy rain an hour away at my normal departure hour I opted to visit after the lunchtime clearance. I stayed out until after dusk to try and find some gull roosts – without much success.

Mainly these are the counts from the water

(23rd visit of the year)

Notes
- no large gulls at all, either on the lake or over

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 7 (3♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard
- 45 (32♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 10 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhens
- 71 Coots
- 81 Black-headed Gulls only

(Ed Wilson)

Late Morning: 11:45am

Possible harrier over field across roundabout from lake. ‏Very buoyant flight circling briefly. Can anybody check area? (Mike Cooper)

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Priorslee Flash: 2:37pm - 3:15pm
Map

(21st visit of the year)

For those wondering the hanging basket poles along Derwent Drive are not being removed: a corrosion problem with the fixing bolts requires them to be refitted on new base-plates.

Notes
- back to a single Shoveler; and a different drake to the lone drake on Tuesday
- in flight one of the Goosanders had a ‘drake-like’ wing-pattern but on the water it looked like a duck!
- where are all the gulls? one of the couples walking around the lake was equally bemused – yesterday at the same time it was “carpeted with gulls”.

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 18 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 25 (17♂) Mallard
- 1 white feral duck
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 63 (37♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 (?♂) Goosanders
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 10 Moorhens
- 13 Coots again
- 4 Black-headed Gulls and these left

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 4:06pm - 4:15pm // 4:50pm - 5:57pm
Map

(13th visit of the year)

Notes
- 8 Canada Geese seen flying away at dusk were probably from the water
- just 2 gulls here: several large groups of Black-headed Gulls and small parties of large gulls looked in but in the absence of any birds already on the water they seemed to reluctant to stay
- >600 Starlings in at least 5 different swirling groups arrived in the area, mainly to the NE, with some settling (for a pre-roost at least) in conifers in the gardens to the N of the water

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 9 Canada Geese again
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 2 (1♂) Shoveler
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 30 (15♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 59 Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool: 4:20pm - 4:45pm
Map

(5th visit of the year)

Notes
- when I arrived I counted 211 Black-headed Gulls; birds continued to drift in and there were c.370 present as I was about to leave. But as I was walking back to Trench Lock Pool almost 300 more birds arrived, flying in from the N and NE and dropping from a great height where they had been unseen. After I got to Trench Lock Pool more birds were overhead but whether these were new arrivals was unclear. While Middle Pool was clearly the most sheltered of the local pools it is not very big and has paths all around it which are quite close to the water. I was somewhat surprised the birds seemed content here. Whether they actually stayed to roost I cannot be sure

The counts
- 2 Mute Swans
- 7 Greylag Geese
- 31 Canada Geese
- 22 (12) Mallard
- 5 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 9 (5♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhen
- 11 Coots
- >650 Black-headed Gulls (see notes)

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2009 and 2014

Priorslee Lake
2014
1st winter Yellow-legged Gull
(Ed Wilson)

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2009
Iceland Gull
2 Curlew
(Ed Wilson)

25 Feb 15

Priorslee Lake: 6:07am - 9:13am
Map

Telford sunrise: 7:05am

3.5°C > 9.5°C Fine with early sun. Calm / light W wind. Excellent visibility

 (22nd visit of the year)

Notes
- female (on size) Sparrowhawk unusually seen perched in the open: showed unusual white spots on the back.
- remain of a Sparrowhawk kill contained feathers that I cannot identify – a long and narrow white feather, presumed primary, with black on both the tip and all along one side was the most distinctive
- in better weather Song Thrushes singing again – 11 heard this morning
- also heard singing were Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Goldcrest, Chaffinch and Reed Bunting (as well as the year-round birds like Robin, Wren etc.)
- the Goldcrest had me confused for a while: I had not really appreciated that the louder last notes of the typical song are quite different from the ‘tweedly-tweedly’ part of the song. They carried further and were initially all I could hear from a distant bird: it invited confusion with Marsh Tit (which would have been a new bird at this site for me)
and
- two species of fungus noted today

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 5 Canada Geese
- 33 Black-headed Gulls
- 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 486 Jackdaws
- 84 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 53 Magpies
- 6 Starlings
- ?? Redwing
Redwing roost area not visited this morning

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 5 (2♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard
- 53 (36♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 2 Little Grebes
- 15 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 84 Coots
- 11 Black-headed Gulls only
- 1 Herring Gull

Several small fruiting fungus bodies. Probably the so-called Orange Peel Fungus (Peziza Aurantia).

This female Sparrowhawk perched here allowed me to approach unusually close before it flew off. It watched me with its piercing gaze! Uncommon are the white spots on the brown back – this feature seems rarely, if ever, mentioned in field-guides. The back colour and the larger size indicate this is a female: an immature bird would show stripes and not barring on the throat.

This collection of plucked feathers looks like the work of a Sparrowhawk.

I extracted one of them and here it is alongside my size 9 boot. It is a long and narrow, presumed primary, all white apart from black on both the tip and all along one side. I can not think of any species that shows this feature. A Feral Pigeon could well show these marks but the feather seem too large and narrow. Anyone got any thoughts?

A close-up of the markings.

Another fungus sp., probably the very common Coriolus versicolor. A world-wide species of polypore fungus, sometimes called Turkey Tail, used in traditional Asian medicine and also as the source for some complementary treatments for cancers.

and one in close-up.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Flash: 9:17am - 10:12am
Map

(20th visit of the year)

Notes
- the Lesser Canada Goose ssp. was seen being mated by a regular Canada Goose
- again 2 of the Goosanders were in the plumage that I cannot find in the literature
also
- another fish in the jaws of a duck Goosander, this time a good sized Perch.

Birds noted flying over
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 25 Canada Geese
- 1 Lesser Canada Goose ssp.
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 29 (19♂) Mallard again
- 1 white feral duck
- 2 (2♂) Shoveler
- 44 (23♂) Tufted Ducks
- 9 (1?♂) Goosanders
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhens
- 13 Coots
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls

The Flash seems to be a happy hunting ground for Goosanders: here is another duck with (more than) a beak-full. This time a good sized Perch.

She has dashed out of the scene with these two other ducks in hot-pursuit!

One of the rather pale brownhead Goosanders followed by a regular duck, accompanied by a pair of Tufted Duck.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Wrekin: 10:28am – 12:47pm

Map

(1st visit of the year)

On a splendid clear day the 2000’ Abergavenny Sugar Loaf visible in the far distance - >60 miles as the Crow flies!

Rather late in the day for good birdwatching but most of the expected species were noted. I had hoped for Marsh Tit but this species as well as Willow Tit and Long-tailed Tit eluded me.

A Nuthatch

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2006 and 2014

Priorslee Lake
2014
An adult winter Kittiwake
2nd winter Great Black-backed Gull.
Adult Iceland Gull
Adult Caspian Gull
(John Isherwood / J Reeves / P Jordan)

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2006
2nd winter Mediterranean Gull
(Ed Wilson)

24 Feb 15

Priorslee Lake: 6:00am - 8:59am
Map

Telford sunrise: 7:07am

3.5°C > 6.5°C Sunshine and passing light showers. Fresh and chill W wind. Excellent visibility.

Overall rather quiet. A few things seem to have moved out though in the rather windy and chilly conditions they may have been sheltering.

(21st visit of the year)

Notes
The 5 Canada Geese that landed on the lake were soon seen off by the resident cob Swan.
2 Little Grebes seen together with much calling at the W end.
At least 10 Wood Pigeons were flushed from a roost in the trees around the lake.
In the blustery conditions Song Thrushes seemed reluctant to sing – only 5 heard today.

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 14 Canada Geese
- 7 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Goosander
- 36 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 269 Jackdaws
- 97 Rooks
- 3 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Linnet

Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 10 Wood Pigeons (see above)
- ?? Magpies
- 3 Starlings
- 45 Redwing
Magpies had started to leave their roost before I left the Redwing roost area this morning

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 5 Canada Geese
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 5 (2♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard
- 43 (26♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 13 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Water Rails heard
- 11 Moorhens
- 68 Coots again
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls

A rather chill-looking start to the morning.

This adult Black-headed Gull is superficially still in winter plumage but the head shows slightly more black smudging indicating that the change to summer plumage has started.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Flash: 9:04am - 9:55am
Map

(19th visit of the year)

Notes
- 2 of the 11 Goosanders were in a plumage that I cannot find in the literature: I suspect these were both 1st year drakes moulting out of the ‘brownhead’ winter plumage.
- One of the duck Goosanders managed to catch a Roach of at least 1lb if not more.

Birds noted flying over
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 20 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 29 (19♂) Mallard
- 1 white feral duck
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 46 (30♂) Tufted Ducks
- 11 (4? ♂) Goosanders
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 43 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

These two Great Crested Grebes are slightly further forward in their courtship with one bird, presumably the male (he noted, chauvinistically!) presenting weed to his intended. It looks here as if his intended is rather young as she lacks significant head plumes as yet.....

....the difference in appearance being highlighted in this view.

 ....but she seems to know how to look coy.

This view highlights the proportionally rather large head of Goosanders and well illustrates the hook on the end of the large bill. A duck bird here.

Note the difference in the amount of white shown by the rear-most bird. It suggests to me that this is in fact a drake, possibly even a 2nd year bird, which still retains much of its winter ‘brownhead’ plumage. This plumage is not illustrated in any of my bird books.

And here is a different but similarly-plumaged bird. It was supposed to be a compare and contrast with a typical adult duck but she dived as I pressed the shutter and you can see just a few tail-feathers!

This grey-side bird is how a typical adult duck looks.

....and here she helps by showing her wing pattern.

Another ‘now you see it: now you don’t’ shot. The drake is being showered by splash from the duck’s dive – again just her tail-tips are visible.

Don’t tell the fishermen! That is a good-sized breakfast and it does not look as if it is about to be shared.....

Though at least one of the drakes seems keen to help the duck with a Roach of around a 1lb.

A duck Goosander shows how to ‘walk on water’.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 10:08am - 10:38am
Map

(12th visit of the year)

Notes
- all the drake Shoveler gone, leaving the 3 ducks
- a 5th Great Crested Grebe this morning: a juvenile being chased by one of the resident adults
- 1 Kingfisher heard again

Overhead
Nothing!

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 9 Canada Geese
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 7 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 3 (0♂) Shoveler
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 36 (18♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 (2♂) Goosander
- 2 Little Grebes
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 52 Coots
- 132 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Sleeping it off: the immature Great Crested Grebe at Trench tries not to attract the attention of either of the pairs that ‘own’ their patches on the water.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014

Priorslee Lake
2014
Adult Iceland Gull
3 Yellow-legged Gull (2 adult and a 3rd winter)
10+ Great Black-backed Gull
(Gary Crowder)

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2013
Glaucous Gull
(Observer Unknown)

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2010
Woodcock
(Ed Wilson)

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2009Juvenile Glaucous Gull
1st winter Glaucous Gull
2nd-winter Iceland Gull
Adult Yellow-legged Gull
(John Isherwood / Jason Buckley and et al)

23 Feb 15

Priorslee Lake: 6:10am - 11:32am
Map

Telford sunrise: 7:09am

-1.5°C > 5.0°C Clear with a slight frosty: some light wintry showers later. Moderate / fresh WSW wind. Very good visibility.

An extended visit treating a friend to the delights of my local patch: the extension failed to produce much not seen during my normal visiting hours apart from all 3 of the Water Rails that were only heard. There continues to be almost no gulls arriving from the tip area: in previous years they have arrived in some numbers after c.09:30

(20th visit of the year)

Notes
- I now understand why sometimes there are two pairs of Gadwall and other times there are three: one pairs spends periods, especially overnight, elsewhere and flies in to a different part of the lake
- 2 Grey Herons seeing each other off around the lake: one seen in the distance may have been a 3rd
- now 15! Great Crested Grebes
- just 7 Song Thrushes heard singing this morning
- Bullfinch heard giving its quiet and unobtrusive song – as a result this species is rarely noted singing.

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 30 Canada Geese
- 102 Black-headed Gulls
- 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 357 Jackdaws
- 164 Rooks
- 13 Feral Pigeons
- 6 Starlings
- 5 Pied Wagtails

Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 71 Magpies
- 8 Starlings
Redwing roost not visited but 3 seen leaving from a distance

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 4 (2♂) Mallard
- 4 (3♂) Pochard
- 46 (31♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Grebe
- 15 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Water Rails heard
- 9 Moorhens
- 68 Coots
- 39 Black-headed Gulls
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 8 Herring Gulls

No apologies for yet another drake Gadwall photo: this nicely lit shot shows the chestnut on the upper wing to good effect. This hard to see in flight when the white speculum draws the eye away from the other marks.

Another male Bullfinch: the bill is open because it is giving its quiet and unobtrusive song.

The song of the Reed Bunting is not much to write home about either, but is given with great gusto. Noticeable here is the length of the claws clutching the stem.

While we are talking about singing with gusto: this Great Tits joined in.

As did a Song Thrush: getting quite noisy these mornings.

In case you think male Blackbirds are black! Though the bill and the eye ring both suggest this is an adult I suspect it is a 1st year male bird and hence the slightly mottled appearance.

What!? In fact just one of last year’s leaves that has desiccated on the tree with the light shining through.

A fine-looking Grey Heron flies by: one of the two birds battling around the lake: wings down and.....

... wings up.

Compare this with yesterday’s breeding-plumaged Great Crested Grebes: this bird is still very much in winter plumage completely lacking any sign of head- or neck-plumes. It is probably an immature that was born in a late brood last year and may well not breed this year.

I've noted before how Herring Gulls in particular seem intrigued by the buoys at the lake and peck at them. Here is a 1st winter doing just that.

It then tried to stand on it, but the wind was rather too strong and it more or less fell off......

... and then displayed its upper-wing marking to good effect.

......and here the whole upper side. You can even see the black nails on the pink toes of this bird.

It has been suggested that the orange colour of the buoys triggers the same mechanism that juveniles use to tap the red spot on their parents’ beaks to get food regurgitated. Here we see what appears to be a 3rd winter bird about to do the same with a different buoy. I would not expect the trigger mechanism noted above to still be present in a near-adult. So perhaps there is another reason.

These nine Magpies were hanging around the sluice area, perhaps confused by the absence of the fast food van in the lay-by (he is on holiday). Such groups are common at this time of year: birds apparently gather in mixed family parties while pairing up for the coming breeding season.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2006 and 2007

Priorslee Lake

2013

Juvenile Glaucous Gull

(Observer Unknown)

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2012

Juvenile Glaucous Gull

2nd-winter Caspian Gull

1st-winter Yellow-legged Gull

(Observer Unknown)

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2009

Juvenile Glaucous Gull

1st Winter Iceland Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

(Martin Adlam / Ed Wilson)

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2008

2nd winter Iceland Gull

(Pete Nickless)