6 Dec 15

Priorslee Lake: 06:53 – 09:43
Location

Telford sunrise: 08:05

11.0°C > 13.0°C. Some brightness to E, otherwise cloudy with light rain, soon clearing and then good breaks after 09:00. Fresh / strong WSW wind dropped moderate, even light for a while. Good visibility. Very mild again

Best sighting was the huge female Peregrine that caused chaos amongst the gulls at the lake

(147th visit of the year)

The recent winds have broken up most of the areas of weed and much of it has now either dispersed or sunk.

The yacht club were getting ready to go on the lake when I left and this moved some of the ducks – see the counts at The Flash.

Notes
- just 9 (5♂) Gadwall this morning
- 3 drake and 1 duck Shoveler: 2 drakes were full breeding plumage birds and hence different from the 2 (or more) drakes seen over the past week
- Magpie numbers very low because I was mainly elsewhere at roost dispersal time – failing to find any Redwings coming out of the roost
- Jackdaws mostly in smaller parties but in the wind they were swirling around and no easier to count for that!
- Cetti’s Warbler heard today, again in the NW area
- 2 Starlings left the reeds at the E end of the lake – not in position to see birds leave the usual W end roost
- both Mistle and Song Thrushes singing briefly this morning
- Treecreeper heard in two very different locations this morning
- most of the Pied Wagtails overhead seemed to be coming from the M-way service area – must go one evening and check whether there is a roost there
and
- the Mottled Umber still on the same lamp but again in a very slightly different place

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 4 Greylag Geese
- 121 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 19 Herring Gulls
- 7 Wood Pigeons (1 group)
- 686 Jackdaws
- 7 Rooks
- 2 Ravens
- 4 Redwings (3 groups again)
- 7 Pied Wagtails
- 8 Starlings (1 group)
- 4 Greenfinches
- 7 Siskins

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake
- >21 Magpies
- 2 Starlings (1 group)
- 7 Redwings again

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 9 (5♂) Gadwall
- 11 (6♂) Mallard again
- 4 (3♂) Shoveler
- 11 (8♂) Pochard
- 69 (30♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 10 Great Crested Grebes
- 32 Moorhens
- 229 Coots
- c.250 Black-headed Gulls
- 39 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 17 Herring Gulls
- 3 Great Black-backed Gulls

Here we see the difference between Greater and Lesser Black-backed Gulls (with Herring Gulls getting in on the act). The mantle colour of the Greater is much darker than any Lesser Black-back, the bill is massive and the head never show streaking in winter plumage. Note that this Greater seems likely to be a female as males usually stand out by their sheer bulk.

A few of the Black-headed Gulls are beginning to acquire summer plumage.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Flash: 09:46 – 10:21
Location

(101st visit of the year)

Other notes
- the whole family of Swans went for a fly today with the cygnets being away for over 5 minutes – the adults never left the lake area
- there were 39 (20♂) Tufted Duck present until c.10:10 when a large number of Tufted Duck and Pochard flew in, presumably as the yacht club started activity on the lake. The only problem is that a subsequent count of 130 Tufted Duck here suggests that 91 (with 7 Pochard) flew in and I counted nowhere near that number – just 69 – on the lake. So ...?
- Kingfisher yet again
- Nuthatch heard – my first for a while
and
- I noted there is still at least one Ragwort plant still in flower here

Birds noted flying over
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 3 Feral Pigeons

The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 3 Canada Geese again – same?
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 34 (22♂) Mallard
- 7 (6♂) Pochard
- 130 (??♂) Tufted Duck
- 15 (6♂) Goosander
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 129 Black-headed Gulls

Part of the group of Goosander with one drake and three brownheads: all the latter have clean white chins and lack any pale on the face and seem likely to be ducks rather than immatures. The tone of the head-colour on the leading bird seems slightly different here but I have other shots that suggests this is just the angle of the light.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013 and 2014

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

2013

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Location
2 adult Caspian Gulls (one with a green ring suggesting a German/Polish border origin).
8 Yellow-legged Gulls
80+ Great Black-backed Gulls
c.1000 Herring Gulls
2000+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
1st w Viking Gull (hybrid Glaucous x Herring Gull)
2 ad hybrid Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
9 Pochard
44 Tufted Ducks
176 Coots
c.200 Black-headed Gulls
c.650 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.20 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls.
5 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
234 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
35 Mute Swans
2 Shoveler
48 Tufted Duck
3 Goosander 
162 Coots
228 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill
Location
Caspian Gull
7 Yellow-legged Gulls
3500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
500 Herring Gulls
Common Gull. 
(Tom Lowe)

Buildwas
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
500 Lapwings
(Tom Lowe)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Pochard
52 Tufted Ducks
1 eclipse drake Ruddy Ducks
9 Golden Plover
>2000 Black-headed Gulls
>2526 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
22 Robins
24 Blackbirds
c.45 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
10 Redwings
348 Jackdaws
132 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Ravens
1 Cormorant
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
4 Pochard
39 Tufted Duck
1 Little Grebes
233 Coot
14 Redpolls
17 Siskins
24 Pied Wagtails
9 Redwings
12 Fieldfares
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)