2 Apr 15

Priorslee Lake: 13:06 – 13:32
Map

Telford sunrise: 6:41am BST

7.5°C > 8.5°C Broken cloud and quite bright. Light N wind. Good visibility.

A lunchtime tour after picking up the erstwhile defunct car for my first visit for three weeks. Mainly just the water counts.

No real highlights. Had hoped for some passing Sand Martins or Swallows but none seen – weather too clear? Rather late in the day for bird song and a few Chiffchaff were the only warblers heard – both Blackcaps and Willow Warblers should be present / passing by now

Rather strange that almost all the gulls seen were Herring Gulls and all these were immatures.

(38th visit of the year)

Notes
- the other Mute Swan assumed to be on its nest, but that not visible from the E end lay-by
- still 2 pairs of Gadwall
- high number of Tufted Duck remain
- fewer Great Crested Grebes but still more than usual
- all the Herring Gulls here also arrived while I was present, and also spiralling down from very high above – so high they could only be seen after they had started to descend.

Also
- 2 Buzzards over
- male Pheasant in the old Celestica grounds
- 2 Chiffchaffs heard singing at E end (did not walk all around)

The counts from the lake area
- 1 Mute Swan
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 7 (6♂) Mallard
- 25 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Cormorants
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 59 Coots
- 56 Herring Gull

One of the first of >50 immature Herring Gulls that arrived at the lake: here the perspective makes it look larger than the immature Cormorant.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Flash: 13:37 – 13:54
Map

(34th visit of the year)

Notes
- the all-white feral goose not located
- Shoveler gone
- at least one pair of Coots sitting on nest
and
- 2 Chiffchaffs heard singing

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 10 Greylag Geese
- 44 Canada Geese
- 10 (7♂) Mallard
- 1 white feral duck
- 39 (25♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens
- 14 Coots
- no gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 12:33 – 12:57
Map

(19th visit of the year)

Notes
- 3 only Great Crested Grebes seen but another may have been on a nest somewhere
- most of the large gulls spiralled in from high over while I was present

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 Canada Geese
- 3 (2♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 18 (13♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Little Grebe
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 51 Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 59 Herring Gulls

A collection of the immature Herring Gulls at Trench. Even the right-hand flying bird still shows traces of immature plumage with brown marks in the secondaries and the outermost greater primary coverts.

Another shot: the left-most bird is probably a 3rd summer bird still with black on the bill (a breeding adult would only show the red spot on the yellow bill) as well as more black in the wing.

Here we see the lone Lesser Black-backed Gull touching down showing its yellow legs, darker trailing part of the underwing as well as the dark wings: this seemed to be the only full adult present.

Here is the Little Grebe, now well in to breeding plumage with rufous neck and prominent yellow mark as the gape. I would expect the flanks to me rather brighter in full adult plumage.

This male Pied Wagtail is on the dam at the lake. At this time of year all ‘pied’ wagtails needed to be checked for passage migrant ‘white’ wagtails – birds that breed on the Continental that are much paler. With males there is no problem with the wholly jet-black back identifying a Pied Wagtails. Females can be harder unless like this bird they show you their rump – black on ‘Pied’ and grey on ‘White’. He is even having a sing.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2006,  2010 and 2011
Priorslee Lake
2011
2 Curlew
Wheatear
50 Sand Martins
(John Isherwood)
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2010
White Wagtail
Wheatear
3 Sand Martin
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Willow Tit
(John Isherwood)
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2006
3 Swallows
27 Sand Martins
4 Chiffchaffs
3 Blackcaps
2 Willow Warblers
31 Fieldfare
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson/Martin Grant)