17 Feb 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 11.0°C: The 'hat' of the Telford micro-climate's low cloud only partially lifted and cleared. Light southerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:24 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:25 – 09:10

(36th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a duck Goosander back in the same area of water as two weeks ago. The same bird? Did she in fact go away?
- now three Great Crested Grebes, two of these giving a rather desultory display.
- a big count of at least 850 Black-headed Gulls. Rather few large gulls.
- Cetti's Warbler heard singing from West end and south-east area: same?
- my first Chaffinch song of the year: [19 February 2023; 5 February 2022] (two weeks behind those on the Ambridge soundtrack).
- a Reed Bunting heard calling. This species has been very scarce all winter with no roost departure seen since the turn of the year.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 17 Canada Geese: seven outbound as two pairs and a trio; 10 inbound together
- 4 Greylag Geese: two pairs outbound
- 20 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 5 Canada Geese: one pair throughout; a pair and a single arrived
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 24 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- *1 (0♂) Goosander
- 12 Moorhens
- 56 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- >850 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Herring Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *2 Cormorants: arrived separately

Noted on or around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- none

Flies:
- 1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp.

Other insects:
- *1 blueish-toned springtail perhaps Tomocerus minor

Spiders:
- *2 Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp.

Notes later:
- dancing columns of midges over my head in several places;
- *first flowers of Colt’s-foot (Tussilago farfara) [13 March 2023; 10 March 2022]

A duck Goosander was back on the lake. Here having a good scratch.

"I wonder if I can..."

"...I think I can..."

 "...There: I can". An immature Cormorant achieves buoyancy.

The Siskins seem to have eaten all the Alder seeds and here seven are attacking other catkins. I am not sure what species the catkins are from.

This blueish-toned springtail is perhaps Tomocerus minor.

One of the two Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp.

My first flowers of Colt’s-foot (Tussilago farfara). This plant flowers before the leaves appear – the leaves in this view are from yet-to-flower daisies and violets.

The Blackthorn [Sloe] Prunus spinosa is now in full flower alongside Teece Drive.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15– 10:30

(36th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- possibly more Greylag Geese than I have listed below: four of those logged, along with probably more, were lurking inside the island.
- it is also likely there were more Tufted Duck. At least 45 birds, uncounted at the time, took off and I am not certain they all landed back at all and if so whether they were all visible from my vantage point.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 7 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 28 Canada Geese
- 7 Greylag Geese at least
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 1 white feral goose
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 39 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- *3 (3♂) Pochard
- *85 (45♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: arrived

Of note.
Nothing else

A rather soggy-looking drake Pochard. There was a pair fewer here today than on my previous few visits.

A group of just five of the 40-odd Tufted Duck that took to the air together. Two drakes in the middle with flowing tufts. The other three are ducks.

A Long-tailed Tit amongst Blackthorn flowers.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Scaup
1 Grey Wagtail
8 Pochard
23 Tufted Duck
3 Great Crested Grebe
(Gary Crowder)

Telford Crematorium
2 Caspian Gull
c.500 Lesser Black-backed Gull
c.40 Herring Gull
(Gary Crowder)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
(Jim Almond)

2006
Priorslee Lake
6 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
5 Cormorants
2 Gadwall
9 Pochard
18 Tufted Ducks
121 Coots
741 Wood Pigeon
289 Jackdaws
108 Rooks
290 Starlings
1 Skylark
18 Robins
19 Blackbirds again
11 Greenfinches
6 Siskins
23 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)