10 Feb 19

The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

The Flash:  14:10 – 14:50
Trench Lock Pool:  15:05 – 15:25 // 15:55 – 16:30
Trench Middle Pool:  15:30 – 15:50

7.0°C > 6.0°C:  Mainly sunny with just a few showers in the vicinity. Moderate W wind. Very good visibility

(Sunrise: 07:37 GMT)

Rain precluded my usual early start

The Flash:  14:10 – 14:50

(33rd visit of the year)

Bird species added to my 2019 log from here
52      Common Buzzard

Notes from here:
- the pair of Gadwall re-found
- drake Shoveler not located
- highest number of Tufted Duck this year: perhaps some disturbed from the lake?
- Goosander returned – all the rain made the River Severn too muddy? Not sure of the sex of this bird – I think a first-year drake yet to acquire adult plumage

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
- 2 Common Buzzards at least
- 1 Stock Dove

The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 9 Canada Geese again
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 48 (30♂) Mallard
- 4 (4♂) Pochard
- 66 (35♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (0♂?) Goosander
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 7 Moorhens
- 32 Coots
- 96 Black-headed Gulls

With the bill and bill-base largely hidden sexing this bird in either eclipse or immature plumage is not easy. Seems too much white in the back for a duck Goosander so my vote would be a first-winter drake.

One of the local Buzzards came out for a soar. My first here this year.

Seems to be food in the offing and these Black-headed Gulls are not about to be left out.

No table manners.

Word soon spreads ...

Not an easy species to photograph. Outside the breeding season when Coal Tits are in mixed roaming tit-parties they are inconspicuous and always on the move. They are bottom of the pecking order at feeders. In the breeding season they sing from the very tops of trees – and of course they are our smallest tits anyway.

I was very happy with two shots.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  15:05 – 15:25 // 15:55 – 16:30

(8th visit of the year)

Bird species added to my 2019 log from here
36      Common Buzzard
37      Goldcrest

Gulls were difficult – and rather few. Just 14 Black-headed Gulls before I went to Middle Pool and back. When I returned there were >60 on the water and many more spiralling it. At that point a dog-walker-cum-fisherman arrived and all the gulls went up and left. Single Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls visited briefly, otherwise the water was devoid of gulls

Notes from here
- the lone Mute Swan still
- a drake Pochard new / back: however many Tufted Ducks gone
- a few Goosanders here as well
- very low number of Coots

Birds noted flying over / near here [other than local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws]
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 2 Starlings

The counts from the water
- 1 Mute Swan
- 19 Canada Geese
- 3 (2♂) Mallard again
- 1 (1♂) Feral Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 11 (5♂) Tufted Ducks
- 5 (3♂) Goosander
- 2 Little Grebes again
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Moorhen
- 41 Coots
- 14 > c.100 > 1 Black-headed Gulls
- 0 > 1 > 0 Lesser Black-backed Gull

This Goosander – with its tail up! – still shows some pale above the bill-base suggesting it is a first year bird, as does the lack of a well-defined crest. A duck I think – too little white in the wing.

One of the local Buzzards came out for a soar here as well.

Not a feeding frenzy here: a panic to get away when a dog-walker-cum-fisherman arrived.

Later this Lesser Black-backed Gull dropped in for a few minutes. Here it is leaving. Typically extensive head-streaking, though this is a variable feature of this species. There is pale on the inner primaries which suggests this is a sub-adult – probably third-winter. There does not look to be much black on the bill and the eye is pale.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  15:30 – 15:50

(8th visit of the year)

Strangest sighting here was what seems most likely to have been a small bat sp. flying around low over the water. It was about as far away from me as it could be. Its flight action reminded me more of a large insect – like a locust – flying rather aimlessly, albeit in the same general direction. It looked rather pale and unicoloured. Strange date: must have been disturbed as still too cold for insects

Bird species added to my 2019 log from here
31      Coal Tit

Notes from here
- rather quiet
- lone Mute Swan gone
- a few Black-headed Gulls dropping in: too early for the big roost numbers

The counts from the water
- 4 Greylag Geese
- 40 Canada Geese
- 24 (17♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Tufted Ducks
- 13 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 46 > 69 Black-headed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

1. A few photos from Venus Pool on 7 Feb Here.

2. A few photos from Belvide on 4 Feb Here.

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

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
1st-winter female Velvet Scoter
(Tom Lowe)

2013
Priorslee Lake
27 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
11 Pochard
48 Tufted Duck
118 Coot
(Tony Beckett)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull
2 Iceland Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
1 Common Gull
1 Peregrine
(John Isherwood, Martin Grant and Roger Clay )

Telford
1 Waxwing
(Mike Shurmer)  

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Goosander
1 Snipe
10 Pochard
39 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
1500+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
25+ Siskins
(Ed Wilson and Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
5 Pochard
36 Tufted Ducks
148 Coots
2 Water Rails
c.1000 Black-headed Gulls
6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
8 Herring Gulls
385 Wood Pigeon
473 Jackdaws
394 Rooks
12 Robins
18 Blackbirds
2 Willow Tits
13 Greenfinches
53 Siskin
5 Redpolls
14 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)