8 Jan 24

The Flash and Priorslee Balancing Lake

1.0°C > 2.0°C: Mostly cloudy. Light northerly breeze. Very good visibility.

[Sunrise: 08:20 GMT]
* = a species photographed today

I did not fancy a dull and cold-weather early start and decided to visit later in the hope of seeing more gulls at the lake. Well that failed!

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 09:35 – 10:40

(8th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- An even numbered date so no Pochard!
- A Great Crested Grebe back again.

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 11 (7♂) Mallard
- 21 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Moorhen
- 74 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Great Black-backed Gull
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 10:45 – 11:15

(8th visit of the year)

Highlight today was several concurrent skeins of c.60 Pink-footed Geese that flew north-west high overhead. This mirrors sightings seen on both Saturday and Sunday over Belvide Reservoir, some 12 miles to our East. This becomes bird species #43 here this year

New Bird Species
Another new bird species for me was a Lesser Redpoll heard flying over. Species #44.

Bird notes:
- Back to many more duck than drake Tufted Ducks.
- An increase in the number of Coots, perhaps arising from the reduction in numbers at the Balancing Lake. Perhaps as a result they were even more quarrelsome and noisy than usual.
- Also suggesting Spring is not too far away Great Tits were in full song today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- c.60 Pink-footed Geese
- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Noted on / around the water:
- 3 Canada Geese
- 7 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 39 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 73 (29♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 Moorhens
- 67 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

On the street lamp poles:

Nothing noted 

Of interest elsewhere
- Netted Crust Byssomerulius corium

Well you won't identify them from this photo. Part of one of the skeins of Pink-footed Geese flying over.

Many of the Coots were being very quarrelsome. Two face-off.

I am tempted to suggest that it is a female that is watching two males fighting. In this day and age...?

"Take that".

 "and that".

The Carrion Crow was not happy that the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was about to invade its space. Lesser Black-backed Gulls have yellow legs but, as is evident here, pink feet.

Yet another less-than-wonderful photo of the Kingfisher. I think I can see that the lower mandible is red and it is therefore a female. Both mandibles on the male are dark.

A much clearer example of Netted Crust fungus Byssomerulius corium.

Here shown on its small broken-off branch. The branch was lying on the ground: I propped it up for the photo.

Plane (helicopter) of the day. It is an Airbus Helicopters-built Eurocopter EC135 T3H Juno HT.1 operated by Royal Air Force #1 Flying Training School out of RAF Shawbury. It is one of 28 Junos used to train helicopter pilots of all the UK's Armed Services. Two were en route to the Army Aviation Centre at Middle Wallop in Hampshire, this one using the call-sign IRNMN2.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2013
Priorslee Lake
Drake Scaup
Goldeneye
(Martin Grant)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Caspian Gull
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Observer Unknown)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Caspian Gull
41 Great Black-backed Gulls
11 Bullfinches
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
29 Swans
4 Gadwall
c.22 Pochard
c.66 Tufted Duck
c.280 Coots
c.1500 Black-headed Gulls
c.500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.60 Herring Gulls
Caspian Gull
2 Buzzards
1 Siskin over
(Ed Wilson/Unknown Observer)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
(Paul King)

2008
Priorslee Lake
1 Yellow-legged Gull
500+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
23 Herring Gulls
(Martin Adlam)

2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Crested Grebes
3 Pochard
28 Tufted Ducks
>1050 Black-headed Gulls
51 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
34 Herring Gulls
10 Great Black-backed Gulls
31 Robins
13 Blackbirds
32 Fieldfares
34 Redwings
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
1 Little Grebe
1 Kingfisher
1500 Black-headed Gulls
1 Common Gull
c.84 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
8 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
22 Pochard
54 Tufted Duck
210 Coot
2 Water Rail
1 Reed Bunting
21 Robins
20 Blackbirds
10 Greenfinches
(Ed Wilson)