10 Dec 15

Priorslee Lake: 13:57 – 14:50
Location

Telford sunrise: not applicable

6.5°C > 7.0°C. Clearing after rain. High cloud and occasional light rain; the clearance to the far N making imperceptible progress. Light wind. Very good visibility

Decided against braving the day’s wet start and went later in an attempt to find some gulls – these remain in very low numbers

(151st visit of the year)

Notes
Just the counts from the water: nothing else was worth noting and I did not walk around
- the Cormorant left

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 10 (6♂) Gadwall
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 6 (4♂) Pochard again
- 77 (39♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Little Grebe still
- 11 Great Crested Grebes again
- 25 Moorhens
- 255 Coots
- 88 Black-headed Gulls
- 64 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 1 Great Black-backed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 12:59 – 13:21
Location

(50th visit of the year)

Notes
Very quiet with very few gulls – the 2 Lesser Black-backs looked but, as so often, they seemed reluctant to be the first large gulls to settle and so moved through

Birds noted flying over
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 25 Canada Geese
- 28 (19♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks
- 51 (28♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 169 Coots
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 13:30 – 13:51
Location

(103rd visit of the year)

Workmen were busy in the water fettling one of the footbridges which may have affected the numbers

Other notes
- one cygnet is still missing – the remaining birds two are the one without a Darvic ring and blue ‘7IIV’
- 2 drake Pochard new in
- very low number of gulls

Birds noted flying over
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

The counts from the water
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 4 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 38 (26♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) Pochard
- 57 (32♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 19 Coots
- 5 Black-headed Gulls

I’ve been trying to work out the ages of the two Great Crested Grebes at The Flash – is it the two adults who bred successfully this year. Or is one of them a juvenile. Well I got close to them both today. Here is one, and ...

... this, trust me, is the other! So now we know they are the same age, but not much else. The literature suggests that the smudge on the cheek indicates a 1st-winter bird but in that case they both are – and only one juvenile fledged here earlier this year. And the bill looks rather too pink for a 1st winter bird to me. I remain none the wiser.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
6 Gadwall 
4 Pochard 
2 Teal 
4 Raven
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
3 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

Horsehay Pool
Caspian Gull
(Jim Almond)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe.
3 Gadwall.
6 Pochard.
46 Tufted Ducks
1 Goosander
1 Water Rail
155 Coots
23 Redwings
6 Fieldfares.
151 Jackdaws
63 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1st winter Yellow-legged Gull
2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls

(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Caspian Gull
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
c20 Herring Gulls.
(J W Reeves)

2009
Priorslee Lake
 Black-necked Grebe
Yellow-legged Gull
An adult Little Gull
(Jason/Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
9 Pochard
53 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Merlin
3 Buzzards
>500 Black-headed Gulls
234 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
24 Robins
22 Blackbirds
122 Fieldfares
178 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
139 Jackdaws
66 Rooks
12 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson / Martin Adlam)

2005
Priorslee Lake
160 Golden Plover
1500 Black-headed Gulls
400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
2 Little Grebes
13 Pochard
34 Tufted Duck
239 Coot
1 Water Rail
142 Jackdaws
251 Rooks
2 Redpolls
47 Siskins
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)