Priorslee Lake: 4:26am - 5:50am // 6:50am - 7:46am
Location
Telford sunrise: 4:59am
14.0°C > 15.0°C. Promising start with breaks to the N & E but soon overall cloudy at low-level with drizzle and rain after 06:30. Light WSW wind. Good visibility but poor in drizzle later.
Location
Telford sunrise: 4:59am
14.0°C > 15.0°C. Promising start with breaks to the N & E but soon overall cloudy at low-level with drizzle and rain after 06:30. Light WSW wind. Good visibility but poor in drizzle later.
(90th visit of the year)
An early finish after the rain set in and reduced visibility greatly.
Best today was the party of 12 Ravens that flew SE overhead at 5:10am.
Notes
- 3 Tufted Duck seen heading in but never located on the water so may have flown on
- 5 of the 8 adult Great Crested Grebes were having a real tussle several times, two with bills locked and much splashing
- probably rather more Jackdaws than I logged as birds were again hedge-hopping at and possibly below my sight-line. In general the corvids seem to have a week-end lie-in and were rather later than usual.
And
- just 1 Barred Marble moth was about the only insect in the conditions.
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 3 Cormorants
- 62 large gulls
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 326 Jackdaws
- 211 Rooks
- 12 Ravens
Count of hirundines etc
- 9 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 2 House Martins
Count of singing warblers
- 6 Chiffchaffs
- 11 Blackcaps
- 2 Common Whitethroats again
- 3 Reed Warblers
The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 18 (16♂) Mallard
- 3 (?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 8 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 + 1 (1 brood)Moorhens
- 48 + 13 (8) Coots
- 67 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)
Priorslee Flash: 6:00am - 6:40am
Location
(65th visit of the year)
Notes
- another increase in Tufted Duck numbers (though by the time I left I could only see 11)
- the juvenile Great Crested Grebe re-found this morning: now behaving very independently even though it seems rather too small to fend for itself
- the Black-headed Gull was a very recently fledged juvenile but seemed to know exactly where it should be on the edge of the island
Birds noted flying over
- just 1 Barred Marble moth was about the only insect in the conditions.
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 3 Cormorants
- 62 large gulls
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 326 Jackdaws
- 211 Rooks
- 12 Ravens
Count of hirundines etc
- 9 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 2 House Martins
Count of singing warblers
- 6 Chiffchaffs
- 11 Blackcaps
- 2 Common Whitethroats again
- 3 Reed Warblers
The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 18 (16♂) Mallard
- 3 (?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 8 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 + 1 (1 brood)Moorhens
- 48 + 13 (8) Coots
- 67 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson)
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Priorslee Flash: 6:00am - 6:40am
Location
(65th visit of the year)
Notes
- another increase in Tufted Duck numbers (though by the time I left I could only see 11)
- the juvenile Great Crested Grebe re-found this morning: now behaving very independently even though it seems rather too small to fend for itself
- the Black-headed Gull was a very recently fledged juvenile but seemed to know exactly where it should be on the edge of the island
Birds noted flying over
None
Hirundines etc
- 1 House Martin only
Count of singing warblers
- 1 Chiffchaff
- 2 Blackcaps
The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 66 Greylag Geese
- 143 Canada Geese
- 1 Lesser Canada Goose ssp.
- 1 all-white feral goose seen
- 32 (25♂) + 3 (2 broods) Mallard
- 16 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 19 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull
On one of the lamps there was this forest of legs of many harvestmen – probably Leiobunum rotundum. But why so many?
At extreme range in poor light but this shows the plumage of a recently-fledged Black-headed Gull. The brown hind-neck is soon lost, followed by the brown on the back to acquire 1st winter plumage, retaining the brown in the wings, albeit gradually fading.
Hirundines etc
- 1 House Martin only
Count of singing warblers
- 1 Chiffchaff
- 2 Blackcaps
The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 66 Greylag Geese
- 143 Canada Geese
- 1 Lesser Canada Goose ssp.
- 1 all-white feral goose seen
- 32 (25♂) + 3 (2 broods) Mallard
- 16 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 19 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day in 2011