5 Feb 18

Priorslee Lake: then Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

-0.5°C > 2.5°C: Overcast start with few flakes of snow: clear to far E allowing decent sunrise under the overcast. Cleared somewhat later with some sunny spells. Light NE wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:46 GMT

Highlight today was a splendid drake Goldeneye at Trench Lock Pool

Priorslee Lake: 06:30 – 09:45

(17th visit of the year)

A new species for me here this year was Goldcrest: my site year-list now stands at 59 bird species

Other notes from today:
- lots of Mute Swan action. Three of the adult visitors were hauled out at various times: none had Darvic rings, though one had a BTO ring (unable to read!)
- where have most of the Tufted Ducks gone? Fed up avoiding the battling Mute Swans and gone somewhere quieter?
- a Lapwing appeared overhead and then after circling for only a short while settled on the dam, albeit for no longer than a minute. This my first record actually on the ground at the lake for many years – usually a small party flies around and around and then decides it is too risky to land
- all the Lesser Black-backed Gulls were heading E / SE today – normally the direction is westerly. Possibly just because of the wind direction?
- was not in position to count the Magpies as they left the roost this morning. I logged 26 moving out of the area, but could only see those leaving to S and E. Later there were 26 on the football field and adjacent trees, these probably all different birds
- for many years the corvid roost dispersal consisted of >100 Rooks some 5 minutes ahead of >500 Jackdaws (numbers varied throughout the year). About 4 years ago the timing changed and the Rooks and Jackdaws were usually concurrent – perhaps the roost sites changed? For at least the last 6 months Rooks have been largely absent. This last week has seen a small mixed group of Rooks and Jackdaws follow the main Jackdaw party by a few minutes. This morning this mixed group was almost 10 minutes ahead of the Jackdaws. Most odd
- the Goldcrest was most welcome. During the pre-Christmas snow and freeze I had multiple records of this species most days. Until today I had seen none this year in spite of rather more benign conditions
- a male Greenfinch seen in full rasping song this morning (later 9 birds flew off together)
- the usual gangs of c.30 Siskins overhead and in the trees
- 7 Reed Buntings flew out of the NW reeds together – my largest roost count of the winter. At least two more birds still around the W end
and
- the lamps still empty

Today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over / near the lake:
- 19 Greylag Geese (1 party outbound)
- 6 Canada Geese (2 parties outbound)
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (2 groups)
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- c.300 Jackdaws
- 28 Rooks

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
[Magpies not counted]
- 6 Redwings
- 7 Reed Buntings (see notes)

The counts from the lake area
- 7 + 4 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese again
- 8 (5♂) Gadwall again
- 9 (6♂) Mallard
- 20 (8♂) Tufted Ducks only
- 5 Cormorants
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhens again
- 91 Coots
- 1 Lapwing
- 45 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

The overcast did not look like making a good sunrise. However a thin clear area to the E allowed the sun to shine through and produced a short and quite spectacular sunrise.

Worth getting up for.

‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’ – someone once said (Wordsworth actually). A sea-horse cloud lit by the sun.

Yes I know I have done this before: a Coot; a pattern; a sunrise – take your pick.

Bit distant but this flying drake Gadwall shows the white pattern in the wing shared with the duck. We can just about make out the brown on the forewing – not shared with the duck. (Some sun would be nice for these shots).

Fast becoming a favourite subject for my camera. Cormorants are far more attractive then expected when seen well.

And a different bird.

The Lapwing that was briefly on the dam. From this angle more or less a study in black and white and little sign of the ‘Green Plover’ – one country name for this species.

Won’t win prizes but pleased to get any shot of this energetic sprite – my first Goldcrest of the year at the lake.

A female Reed Bunting. Although many males are not yet in breeding plumage with jet-black head markings all would show black ear-coverts. So this has to be a female. Note that this bird has been ringed and I am trying to find out where this might be: one guess would be Shifnal sewage works where I know ringing of wagtails is done; another guess would be Aqualate Mere, just across the border in Staffordshire.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 09:55 – 10:40 // 11:20 – 11:35

(7th visit of the year)

Other notes from here
- most of the rather smaller numbers of geese flew over
- Pochard gone but Tufted Duck increased
- Coot numbers continue to declined

Birds noted flying over here [apart from the local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws coming and going]
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 13 Canada Geese
- 2 Buzzards
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Pied Wagtail

New bird species for me here this year were Goldeneye, Pied Wagtail and Greenfinch. My site total is now 43 species

The counts from the water
- 1 + 6 Mute Swans
- 3 Canada Geese
- 5 (3♂) Mallards
- 1 (1♂) ‘feral’ Mallard
- 60 (34♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (1♂) Goldeneye
- 1 (0♂) Goosanders
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 3 Moorhens again
- 66 Coots
- 27 Black-headed Gulls only
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

A pair of Tufted Duck fly-by.

My first view of the drake Goldeneye. The white flanks are brighter and more extensive than any Tufted Duck. However the white face patch and the head shape are diagnostic.

It spent a lot of time asleep – perhaps it had flown long-distance? It was also good at staying well away from the edges and photography was always from a distance.

When awake it occasionally did its bizarre head-tossing. The head flicks rapidly right over the back, though I missed that. Here it is with neck erect as it regains normal posture.

My best attempt to get close. Predictably it was against the light.

And here it is wing-flapping. The drake has a very distinctive wing-pattern. The duck’s wing-pattern has two dark bars across the white of the wing and it lacks white in the inner edge of the wing.

Not the most elegant of poses, but we see the large pinkish / orangey feet. These are not often seen as this species nests in holes in trees (really!) and thus is rarely seen walking about on land.

My new favourite again: this is a typical Cormorant pose when not actively fishing and allows distant birds to be separated from a Shag which would hold its head more horizontally – not that we are likely to see that salt/brackish-water species in Shropshire.

A species not often seen in flight and certainly one I have not photographed doing so before – a Moorhen.

At touchdown we see the long toes. Note too the alula (the feather at the bend of the forewing) extended to give extra lift and hence a lower touch-down speed (the leading edge slats on aircraft wings do the same thing).

A more normal view of a Moorhen.

When I checked this photo I was surprised. I had assumed that it was Carrion Crows that were harassing the Buzzard: not so – they are Jackdaws. We can see the grey nape as well as the different wing shape. Not sure I have ever seen Jackdaws do this before.

This first winter Black-headed Gull has seen the opportunity to try and rob these Coots of food.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool: 10:45 – 11:15

(7th visit of the year)

Notes from here
- unlike elsewhere Coot numbers holding up here
- high number of Black-headed Gulls
- a group of 10 Crows together in the trees was unusual here (a ‘murder of Crows’ seems to the most popular collective noun for this species)

Birds noted flying over here
- 1 Buzzard again

No new bird species for me here this year today

The counts from the water
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 31 Canada Geese
- 21 (16♂) Mallard
- 2 (0♂) ‘feral’ Mallard
- 10 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 14 Moorhens
- 47 Coots
- 158 Black-headed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Velvet Scoter
3 Scaup
(Observer Unknown)

2013
Priorslee Lake
10 Gadwall
29 Wigeon
Caspian Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gull
7 Great Black-backed Gulls
(John Isherwood, Kris Webb)

The Flash
2 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

Holmer Lake
13 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
11 Pochard
65 Tufted Duck
c.50 Lapwings
Dunlin
c.300 Black-headed Gulls
c.400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.50 Herring Gulls
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Common Gull
(Ed Wilson / Jim Almond)

2011
Priorslee Lake
9 Pochard
>1000 Black-headed Gulls 
82 Herring Gulls
1 Glaucous Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
>500 Wood Pigeons
248 Jackdaws
211 Rooks logged 
1 Redpoll
(JW Reeves, Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
102 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
9 Herring Gulls
(Martin Adlam)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
12 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
2 Water Rails
32 Robins
26 Blackbirds
13 Song Thrushes
4 Redwings
2 Willow Tits
11 Greenfinches
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
c.850 Black-headed Gulls
8 Great Crested Grebes
2 Gadwall
20 Pochard
85 Tufted Ducks
163 Coots
20 Robins
22 Blackbirds
10 Song Thrushes
1 Willow Tit
13 Greenfinches
10 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)