10 Feb 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool (not quite in this order)

Priorslee Lake:  11:45 – 12:15
The Flash:  09:40 – 10:10
Trench Lock Pool:  10:20 – 10:50 // 11:20 – 11:30
Trench Middle Pool:  10:55 – 11:15

6.0°C > 3.0°C:  Cloudy with squally sleet showers later. Moderate / fresh SW wind. Good visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:37 GMT]

An early visit to the lake in passing heavy showers did not seem wise.

Storm Ciara has failed to deliver anything anywhere as far as I can tell (apart from many small branches and twigs littering the ground)

Priorslee Lake:  11:45 – 12:15

(29th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One of the cygnets is increasingly ‘doing its own thing’ and spending time away from its parents and siblings.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 1 Common Buzzard

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- [no Mallard]
- 6 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Little Grebes
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 4 Moorhens
- 53 Coots
- 17 Black-headed Gulls only
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:40 – 10:10

(28th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I assume the Great Crested Grebes were hiding from the wind somewhere ....?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Herring Gull

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 10 Canada Geese
- 32 (19♂) Mallard
- 4 (4♂) Pochard again
- 71 (43♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant again
- [no Great Crested Grebes]
- 1 Moorhen again
- 14 Coots
- 22 Black-headed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  10:20 – 10:50 // 11:20 – 11:30

(11th visit of the year)

The fishermen have several times reported a ‘large white-headed bird of prey’ here and have not been convinced by my suggestion of a pale Buzzard. Today I was given more information, specifically that it had a leather strap on one leg. My informant was also impressed with the size of its bill and that as he approached it with his dog it did not flush – in fact his dog would not go closer. Seems likely an escapee. But what?

Bird notes from here:
- Eight drake Pochard this visit
- No sign of Friday’s Goldeneye.
- Seven Great Crested Grebes a return to the number in late 2019.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Common Buzzard

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans again
- 20 Canada Geese
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 8 (8♂) Pochard
- 18 (11♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 (1♂) Goosander
- Little Grebe(s) heard
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen
- 7 Coots again
- 18 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adult
- 3 Herring Gulls: one adult; one second-winter; one first-winter

Drake Goosanders now in their breeding finery. Note the thin black edging to some of the folded secondaries.

A good view of the upper-wing pattern. The thin black edging is just about visible on some of the secondaries.

That black edging is more apparent with the wings at this angle

And the under-wing view.

A very typical first-winter Herring Gull. Note there a few pale grey feathers beginning to appear in the primary coverts as it begins to moult in to first summer plumage.

Another view of the same bird. Here we can just see the grey mantle which might suggest a second-winter bird. However at that age the bird would show obvious adult-like pale blue-grey inner primaries rather than the pale grey shown here

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  10:55 – 11:15

(11th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- Just the one Great Crested Grebe again.
- Rook fly-over most unusual here.
- party of at least 10 Chaffinches and 20 Goldfinches: all the former and some of the latter feeding on the path.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Rook

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 47 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral duck?-type
- 24 (18♂) Mallard
- 6 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Great Crested Grebe again
- 12 Moorhens
- 20 Coots
- 20 Black-headed Gulls only

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site:
#35     Rook

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........
2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

 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)