7 Feb 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

Priorslee Lake:  06:45 – 08:55
The Flash:  09:00 – 09:35
Trench Lock Pool:  09:45 – 09:50 // 10:20 – 10:55
Trench Middle Pool:  09:55 – 10:15

2.0°C > 1.0°C > 4.0°C:  Early very low cloud and mist. Started to break c.08:30 but clouded again 09:00. Finally cleared c.10:15. Light SE wind, increasing somewhat. Poor visibility, becoming good.

Sunrise: 07:43 GMT

Highlight today was a duck Goldeneye on Trench Lock Pool

Priorslee Lake:  06:45 – 08:55

(26th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The two Canada Geese present throughout, separate from and unmolested by the Mute Swans and their cygnets.
- The first outbound Canada Geese were ‘sounds in the mist’.
- Now a third drake Gadwall.
- I guess most of the Jackdaws were lost in the mist. Those I did see were passing to the W of the lake – a less-used flight path. I did not hear any others and groups are usually quite noisy.
- A walk around the whole lake pre-dawn found 14 singing Song Thrushes.
- A Goldfinch seen in display flight.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 16 Greylag Geese (1 group outbound)
- >6 Canada Geese (3 pairs outbound with others heard)
- 233 Black-headed Gulls
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 15 Wood Pigeons
- 43 Jackdaws only

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake:
- 31 Magpies
- 3 Redwings

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese: throughout
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 6 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- [no Cormorants]
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 11 Moorhens
- 47 Coots

Gulls:
Arrival:
- Five Black-headed Gulls arrived c.07:15. The next arrivals were 16 large gulls, most of which went unidentified. Just 46 more Black-headed Gulls arrived by 07:30. Thereafter all the Black-headed Gulls flew straight through to the SSE (see fly-overs above), taking those that had landed with them.
counts
- 36 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adults
- 1 Herring Gulls: immatures
- 12 unidentified large gulls

Thereafter new gull arrivals were:.
- 51 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adults
- 3 Herring Gulls: immatures
The Black-headed Gulls arrived from the SE and may have been birds present and/or over flying earlier.

Other things:
- a single early Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) flower.

Rather too dull to get a decent shot of such an active sprite as this Goldcrest. This will have to do.

The single Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) flower. My logs show that only on 03 February 2016 did I see a flower on an earlier date.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:00 – 09:35

(25th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:
- fewer Tufted Duck today, but conditions not good. Not possible to see both ends of the water clearly at any one time.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans as ever
- 34 Canada Geese: 30 of these flew in
- 47 (28♂) Mallard
- 5 (5♂) Pochard
- 53 (26♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 15 Coots
- 52 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Kingfisher

No other sightings:

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool:  09:45 – 09:50 // 10:20 – 10:55

(10th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here:

- Five drake Pochard this visit

- The Goldeneye on an apparently typical date: my last record was on 5th February 2018 – though I recall the water was almost iced-over on that date. Logged on three of the previous six years.

- The Yellow-legged Gull remained on the water with wings folded so unable to confirm it was the ‘regular’ bird.

- First Greenfinch of the year here – in song.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 2 Canada Geese

Counts from the water:

- 2 Mute Swans again

- 13 Canada Geese

- 1 (1♂) Mallard only

- 5 (5♂) Pochard

- 11 (7♂) Tufted Ducks

- 1 (0♂) Goldeneye

- 1 Grey Heron: flew in

- 2 Little Grebes

- 4 Great Crested Grebes again

- 3 Moorhens

- 7 Coots

- 7 Black-headed Gulls only

- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adult

- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: near adult?

Additional bird species for my 2020 bird list at this site:

#41     Goldeneye

#42     Greenfinch

This duck Goldeneye persistently stayed well in the middle of the water. We can certainly see the golden eye but the distinctive head-shape is harder to discern.

This Grey Heron flew in and perched briefly. Then it noticed me and flew off – as here.

Here is this morning’s Yellow-legged Gull. As it did not fly the upper-wing pattern could not be determined. I rather suspect this is the long-term visitor here.

And here with a first-winter Black-headed Gull allowing comparison of the mantle tones.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool:  09:55 – 10:15

(10th visit of the year)

Lower numbers of just about every species.

Notes from here:
- Only one of the Great Crested Grebes found: could the other already be sitting on a nest?

Birds noted flying over / near here:
None

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 38 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral duck?-type
- 16 (12♂) Mallard only
- 7 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (1♂) Goosander again
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only
- 9 Moorhens only
- 22 Coots only
- 45 Black-headed Gulls only

(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

2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Velvet Scoter
3 Scaup
9 Pochard
9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c80 Black-headed Gulls
(Gary Crowder)

Telford Central Railway Station
35 Redwing
(Gary Crowder)

Horsehay Pool
1 Caspian Gull
(Tom Lowe)

2013
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site:
2 Glaucous Gulls 
1 Caspian Gull
(Kris Webb)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
15 Pochard
54 Tufted Duck
c.1200 Black-headed Gulls
1 Common Gull
c.420 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.30 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
10 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock
2 Little Grebes
30 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
 3 Pochard
6 Goosanders
4 Pale Brindled Beauty moths
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
34 Greylag Geese
9 Pochard
56 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
775 Black-headed Gulls
488 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
28 Robins
19 Blackbirds
8 Song Thrushes
1 Redwing
1 Willow Tit
41 Magpies
250 Jackdaws
100 Rooks
4 Greenfinches
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
 2 Gadwall
22 Pochard
63 Tufted Ducks
164 Coots
600 Wood Pigeons
c.1300 Black-headed Gulls
84 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
9 Herring Gulls
21 Robins
24 Blackbirds
9 Song Thrushes
3 Willow Tits
11 Greenfinches
15 Siskins
17 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)