Priorslee Lake: 5:52am - 8:04am
Map
Telford sunrise: 6:52am
0.5°C > 2.0°C Wintry shower moving away and then clear. Almost calm start becoming moderate SW. Very good visibility.
Car MOT meant an early finish: later walking the snowy Shropshire Hills (with Red Grouse seen)
(28th visit of the year)
Notes
- Pochard seem to have returned to after a morning at The Flash, but had not brought too many Tufted Duck back with them
- the male Pheasant see strutting around the grass in front of the yacht club shelter again
- big passage of Jackdaws this morning but Rooks in short supply (unless they went over very early)
- a Pied Wagtail seemed to have roosted in the grass in the SW area
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 13 Canada Geese
- 6 (4♂) Goosanders
- 34 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 555 Jackdaws
- 41 Rooks
- 2 Redwings
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 71 Magpies
- 1 Pied Wagtail(!)
- 1 Reed Bunting
Redwing roost not visited: none seen leaving in the distance
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall still
- 7 (3♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard back
- 22 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 14 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Moorhens
- 74 Coots
- 16 Black-headed Gulls only
- 2 Herring Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
Map
Telford sunrise: 6:52am
0.5°C > 2.0°C Wintry shower moving away and then clear. Almost calm start becoming moderate SW. Very good visibility.
Car MOT meant an early finish: later walking the snowy Shropshire Hills (with Red Grouse seen)
(28th visit of the year)
Notes
- Pochard seem to have returned to after a morning at The Flash, but had not brought too many Tufted Duck back with them
- the male Pheasant see strutting around the grass in front of the yacht club shelter again
- big passage of Jackdaws this morning but Rooks in short supply (unless they went over very early)
- a Pied Wagtail seemed to have roosted in the grass in the SW area
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 13 Canada Geese
- 6 (4♂) Goosanders
- 34 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 555 Jackdaws
- 41 Rooks
- 2 Redwings
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Counts of birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 71 Magpies
- 1 Pied Wagtail(!)
- 1 Reed Bunting
Redwing roost not visited: none seen leaving in the distance
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall still
- 7 (3♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Pochard back
- 22 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 14 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Moorhens
- 74 Coots
- 16 Black-headed Gulls only
- 2 Herring Gulls
After the showers moved away excellent morning light.
A Song Thrush peering down at me.
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Lock Pool: 8:20am - 9:15am
Map
(15th visit of the year)
Notes
- the fly-over Greylag Geese were my first record at this site for the year
- long-term pair of Gadwall gone
- an immature Great Crested Grebe running the gauntlet of the resident pairs
Overhead (geese en route to Middle Pool)
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 2 Canada Geese
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 Canada Geese
- 7 (4♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 2 (1♂) Shoveler
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 18 (12♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 Little Grebe
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens again
- 56 Coots
- 13 Black-headed Gulls only
Still trying for a really sharp and close bird: meanwhile this departing Sparrowhawk will have to do.
Strong legs and strong feet allow Moorhens to climb trees and bushes quite well. Here one show how. They also often walk quite long distances from water and are not infrequent as road casualties.
-------------------------------------------------------
Trench Lock Pool: 8:20am - 9:15am
Map
(15th visit of the year)
Notes
- the fly-over Greylag Geese were my first record at this site for the year
- long-term pair of Gadwall gone
- an immature Great Crested Grebe running the gauntlet of the resident pairs
Overhead (geese en route to Middle Pool)
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 2 Canada Geese
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 Canada Geese
- 7 (4♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 2 (1♂) Shoveler
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 18 (12♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 Little Grebe
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens again
- 56 Coots
- 13 Black-headed Gulls only
Not long now: the Pussy Willow will soon be out. A few droplets of rain cling on.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2009
2009
Juvenile Glaucous Gull
1st winter Iceland Gull
1st winter Iceland Gull
2nd winter Iceland Gull
(Mike Cooper)