25 Feb 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

1.0°C > 3.0°C: Areas of medium-level cloud with a few clear spells. Moderate N wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:06 GMT

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:55 – 08:40

(46th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *After my comment yesterday that the cob Mute Swan was not having much success in persuading the cygnets to leave all four cygnets took to the air c.07:35 and flew off East and had not returned by the time I departed.
- I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming: the first I have heard here this year.
- I heard a Cetti's Warbler singing in the north-west area early and then later in the north-east area. I assume this is the same bird?
- The two Mistle Thrushes flew high South overhead and seemed not to be the birds that usually nest in the Ricoh copse.
- A Grey Wagtail was briefly on the dam. My first record here since 06 January.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 7 Canada Geese: two East together; five South together
- 3 Greylag Geese: outbound together
- 1 Stock Dove
- 16 Wood Pigeons
- no gulls
- 1 Jackdaw
- 2 Mistle Thrushes: together

Counts from the lake area:
- 9 Canada Geese: of these five departed; and two arrived and then departed
- *2 + 4 Mute Swans: but see notes
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 4 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 14 Moorhens
- 77 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 37 Black-headed Gulls
- *9 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on / around the frosted street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 male Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria)

Of note later:
- *first flowers of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

Very little clear sky early.

The best of an uninspiring sunrise.

A swan-song? The four cygnets take to the air...

...and off they go to the East. They did not return while I was present.

One of the first of first year Herring Gulls has found something to play with.

This morning's male Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria). [Reminder: females of this species have vestigial wings and cannot fly]. Several of the marks around the moth on the lamp pole look as if they might be tiny springtails.

Just about on cue I noted the first flowers of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). Last year I first recorded them on 22 February. The flowers were some way up a bush where the sun reaches over the top of other vegetation.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:45 – 09:45

(42nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A very 'routine' day with little of note. A brief sunny spell provided a few good images of some of the small passerines.

Birds noted flying over here:
- *1 Sparrowhawk

Noted on / around the water
- 32 Canada Geese
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 40 (24♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 70 (44♂) Tufted Duck
- *3 (1♂) Goosander
- 14 Moorhens only
- 35 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe again
- 43 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls: two third and one first year
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adult and first year
- no Cormorants

On / around the street lamp poles or of note elsewhere:
Nothing noted

Two of the three Goosanders present this morning as they went for a fly-about. The 'cleaner-looking' bird closest is a first year drake; the other with a white chin is a duck, probably also a first year.

The same two with the drake in the lead. Note the inner forewing is paler on the drake than the duck.

A closer fly-by with the drake nearest me.

Here one of the two ducks comes back for a splash-down.

A Sparrowhawk dashes over. In this view the tail bands are visible but the belly looks streaked.

A second or so later and the belly is clearly banded. The under tail is too shaded to see the bands.

Gathering more nesting material is a Long-tailed Tit.

A male Bullfinch feeding on buds – as they do.

Munch, munch, munch.

And now for another of those delicious buds.

A female Greenfinch. Males are much brighter green at this time of year.

"Are you looking at me?"

A smart Goldfinch. I cannot tell which sex it is. The shape of the back-edge of the red apparently differs between males and females but I can never reliably decide which I am looking at.

Plane of the day: this is an Aeropro EuroFOX 2K operated out of a private airstrip close to the owners home near Tarporley, Cheshire resident. It is on its way to visit the Mid-Wales Airport on the outskirts of Welshpool. This Slovak designed two-seat light sport aircraft has multiple high-lift devices enabling to use very short grass runways. Notable in this view are the split flaps along the trailing edge of the wings. Over 600 have been built. Some in Europe have been amateur-built from kits. Aeropro, the US concessionaires, only sells completed aircraft.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.

Sightings from previous years without links are below

2014

Priorslee Lake

8 Pochard 

5 Tufted Duck

5 Cormorant

1 Kittiwake

1 Great Black-backed Gull.

1 Iceland Gull

1 Caspian Gull

23 Redwings

c.800 Jackdaws

 >300 Rooks

 9 Siskins

(Ed Wilson, J. Reeves, P. Jordan, John Isherwood, Gary Crowder)

The Flash

1 Little Grebe

215 Tufted Ducks

2 Goosanders

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool

11 Tufted Duck

(Ed Wilson)

Telford Crematorium

Cackling Goose

300 Lesser Black-backed Gull

c.20 Herring Gull

500 Black-headed Gull 

1 Great Black-backed Gull

(Gary Crowder)

Nedge Hill

1 Stonechat

(John Isherwood)

2013

Priorslee Lake

3 Great Crested Grebes

25 Wigeon

4 Gadwall

17 Tufted Ducks

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

Greater Scaup

50 Tufted Duck

12 Pochard

(Jim Shannon)

2012

Priorslee Lake

5 Redpoll

Priorslee Flash

1 Goosander

Nedge Hill

8 Lapwing

(John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe 

5 Great Crested Grebes

4 Gadwall

47 Pochard

55 Tufted Duck

c.550 Black-headed Gulls

c. 800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls 

56 Herring Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

7 Pochard

7 Tufted Duck

1 Ruddy Duck

2 Kestrel

1 Peregrine Falcon

1 Lapwing

3 Grey Wagtail

26 Wren

28 Robin

21 Blackbird

15 Redwing

53 Magpie

14 Greenfinch

6 Reed Bunting

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

6 Great Crested Grebes

2 Gadwall

9 Pochard

56 Tufted Ducks

5 Cormorants

121 Coot

1 Mediterranean Gull

c.1100 Black-headed Gulls

211 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

33 Herring Gulls.

741 Wood Pigeon

289 Jackdaws

108 Rooks

290 Starlings

21 Reed Bunting

1 Sky Lark

11 Greenfinches

6 Siskins

23 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

29 Pied Wagtails

23 Blackbirds

6 Greenfinches

17 Siskins

1 Redpoll

6 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)