Location
Telford sunrise: 06:23
9.0°C > 12.5°C. Mainly cloudy with just a few early breaks: sporadic light drizzle / rain. Moderate NW wind. Good / very good visibility
Nothing to highlight today
(105th visit of the year)
Other notes
- again some Canada Geese pitched in for a while
- only 2 Little Grebes seen again this morning: both juveniles
- three pairs of Great Crested Grebes with 4, 2 and 2 juveniles. At least one other adult and one other juvenile – whether this juvenile is in fact from one of the other 3 broods or from a 4th brood is unclear because it was nowhere near the ‘spare’ adult
- Kingfisher again
- party of 43 House Martins flew high S at 06:35: party of 6 Barn Swallows arrived from the W at 06:45 and left to the W a few minutes later – local birds coming to drink? By 08:00 hirundines gathering along the N side feeding in the lee of the trees and at least 55 birds involved with a good number of Sand Martins
- 12 Chiffchaffs (2 in song) and 3 Blackcaps noted. A single Reed Warbler was calling from one of the reed beds where nesting took place so perhaps there was a late brood this year and not all birds have left
- >40 Goldfinches feeding on thistle-heads: many of these juveniles
and
- 2 Pipistrelle bats, one at each end of the lake
- no dragonfly or butterfly species recorded
- no moth species on the lamps
- 2 moth species in the Priorslee Avenue foot tunnel: a Riband Wave and a Silver-Y
- no moths flushed
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 20 Greylag Geese (4 groups)
- 80 Canada Geese (11 groups)
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 9 Feral Pigeons
- 4 Stock Doves
- 1 Collared Dove
- 190 Jackdaws
- 85 Rooks
- 5 Pied Wagtails
Count of hirundines etc
- c.10 Sand Martins
- 16 Barn Swallows
- c.75 House Martins
The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 33 Canada Geese (3 groups)
- 19 Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 7 + 9 (3? broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 6 + 19 Moorhens
- 156 Coots
- 62 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priorslee tunnel (between the Lake and The Flash)
Location
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priorslee Flash: 07:15 – 07:50
Location
(77th visit of the year)
Notes
A very quiet again and now the all-white feral goose was the only goose present. What has happened to the several Canada Geese that seemed unable to – at least one had a broken wing – is unclear
- 5 Chiffchaffs (1 in song) and 2 Blackcaps noted
Birds noted flying over
None
Hirundines etc
Hirundines etc
None
The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 47 (28♂) Mallard
- 24 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 2 Grey Herons
- 2 + 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens again
- 23 Coots
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 47 (28♂) Mallard
- 24 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 2 Grey Herons
- 2 + 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens again
- 23 Coots
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Lock Pool: 09:35 – 10:00 // 10:55 – 11:00
Location
(37th visit of the year)
Notes
- now just 3 Mute Swans: an obvious pair and a single bird close-by but actually associating with the pair
- none of the juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen – fledged and gone? 3 separate adults: the 4th could have been tucked away on a nest son where
- at least one of the House Martins was a juvenile a juvenile
- a Jay flew over
- a Grey Wagtail left towards (and was then presumably the bird noted at) Trench Middle Pool
- 2 Chiffchaffs (1 in song) noted
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trench Lock Pool: 09:35 – 10:00 // 10:55 – 11:00
Location
(37th visit of the year)
Notes
- now just 3 Mute Swans: an obvious pair and a single bird close-by but actually associating with the pair
- none of the juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen – fledged and gone? 3 separate adults: the 4th could have been tucked away on a nest son where
- at least one of the House Martins was a juvenile a juvenile
- a Jay flew over
- a Grey Wagtail left towards (and was then presumably the bird noted at) Trench Middle Pool
- 2 Chiffchaffs (1 in song) noted
also
- no insects noted
Birds noted flying over
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
Count of hirundines etc
- 12 House Martins
The counts from the water
- 3 Mute Swans
- 10 Canada Geese
- 15 (7♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks as usual
- 1 Little Grebe
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 + 4 Moorhens
- 111 Coots
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
One of the juvenile Great Crested Grebes attempts breakfast with the parent – who had provided the food – watching. Do they ever choke?
I paused over these ducks when they were asleep: were they ‘real’ Mallard or not – always assuming any of the Mallard here are ‘real’. But when they woke up and stood up they revealed a rather different structure that clearly suggests some Indian Runner-type genes.
Hard to make out this rather worn moth on one of the lamps. One red eye is perhaps the best clue to its orientation. The dark marks in the middle where the folded wings meet is enough to identify this as a Flounced Rustic moth – a very common and widespread moth.
Pushing through the leaf litter and associated debris alongside the path around the lake were these fruiting bodies of a fungus that is hard to identify when this obscured and the gills difficult to see.
While this picture shows a few more details – we see the gills are white – identification still eludes me.
These were large fruiting bodies, each with a depressed centre: the size is illustrated by my size 9 boot alongside two of them.
- no insects noted
Birds noted flying over
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
Count of hirundines etc
- 12 House Martins
The counts from the water
- 3 Mute Swans
- 10 Canada Geese
- 15 (7♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks as usual
- 1 Little Grebe
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 + 4 Moorhens
- 111 Coots
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
As it does with this clump of a different species of fungus.
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Middle Pool: 10:05 – 10:50
Location
(14th visit of the year)
Notes
- low number of geese but the Mallard have returned
- still many more Tufted Duck here than on the main pool
- two Goldcrests were, I was surprised to see, were my first at this site this year
- 2 Chiffchaffs noted
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trench Middle Pool: 10:05 – 10:50
Location
(14th visit of the year)
Notes
- low number of geese but the Mallard have returned
- still many more Tufted Duck here than on the main pool
- two Goldcrests were, I was surprised to see, were my first at this site this year
- 2 Chiffchaffs noted
and
- a Flounced Rustic moth on one of the lamps
- lots of fungus of at least two species
Birds noted flying over
- a Flounced Rustic moth on one of the lamps
- lots of fungus of at least two species
Birds noted flying over
None
Hirundines etc
Hirundines etc
None
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 11 Canada Geese
- 25 (15♂) Mallard
- 7 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 19 (8♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 + 5 Moorhens
- 13 Coots
- 15 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 11 Canada Geese
- 25 (15♂) Mallard
- 7 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 19 (8♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 + 5 Moorhens
- 13 Coots
- 15 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------