Map
Telford sunrise: 6:54am
2.0°C > 3.5°C Wintry showers driven by fresh and gusty NW wind. Very good visibility except on showers.
The combination of the low temperature, strong wind and low humidity made it about the most unpleasant that it has been all winter standing on the dam counting Coots! (must get out less?).
(27th visit of the year)
Notes
- a noticeable exodus since yesterday with the Pochard gone, many fewer Tufted Ducks and fewer obvious Great Crested Grebes (though this last could have been due to difficulty finding them in the choppy conditions). Whether these had left to seek more sheltered waters or whether the re-opening of the footpath yesterday and resultant increased disturbance flushed them is hard to say. The Pochard did appear to have moved to The Flash but too many Tufted Duck were unaccounted for to explain a simple transfer
- male Pheasant see strutting around the grass in front of the yacht club shelter
- a pair of Stock Doves again seen flying in to a potential nest site
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 19 Canada Geese
- 14 Black-headed Gulls
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gull
- 5 Feral Pigeons
- 279 Jackdaws
- 77 Rooks
- 1 Raven
- 6 Redwings
- 3 Pied Wagtails
Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 72 Magpies
- 17 Starlings
- 3 Reed Buntings
Redwing roost not visited: again just 2 seen leaving from a distance
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall remain
- 9 (4♂) Mallard yet again
- 19 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe
- 11 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail heard
- 7 Moorhens
- 75 Coots
- 74 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 7 Herring Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
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Priorslee Flash: 8:45am - 9:22am
Map
(25th visit of the year)
Notes
Another dash around from one sheltered spot to another
- no Swans noted: although there is no single point where all the water can be seen – the island gets in the way – I realised quite quickly that they seemed to be missing and kept special watch. I also scrutinised the island, where any nest would be, and could not see them there either. Also the all-white goose was moving around with impunity and not being harassed
- Pochard likely refugees from the lake
- the drake Goosander flew off
No birds noted flying over
The counts from the water
- 30 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 22 (16♂) Mallard
- 1 white feral duck
- 4 (3♂) Shoveler again
- 5 (3♂) Pochard
- 85 (51♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 (1♂) Goosanders
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 41 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day in 2009
2009
Juvenile Glaucous Gull
2nd winter Iceland Gull
(Jim Almond)