Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:20
The Flash: 09:25 – 10:355.0°C > 7.0°C: Clear until medium / low cloud arrived from the North c.09:00. Light westerly breeze. Good visibility, somewhat hazy.
Sunrise: 07:30 GMT
* = a photo to be uploaded later: watch the blog for information.
Priorslee Balancing Lake:
(246th visit of the year)
Best this morning was a very lucky sighting of my first Common Snipe of the year here. I was doing my daily complete sweep scan around the lake from the dam-top, counting the Coots and looking for anything else I had not seen. The Common Snipe flew through my view flying from the South side across to the North Side. I did not see it again. Bird species 102 for me here this year.
Other bird notes:
- again some action amongst the Mute Swans. Three adults were seen to fly off East. But how long for?
- a drake Eurasian Wigeon was calling while it was still too dark to see. It apparently took off to join two ducks overhead with all three splashing down to reveal two drakes and one duck.
- Just one small migrant party of Wood Pigeons noted. Not many others seen.
- No more than 100 Black-headed Gulls. Strangely there were over 120 Lesser Black-backed Gulls early and I could not find any Herring Gulls among them (there were a few later)
Birds noted flying over:
- 2 Canada Geese: inbound together
- 44 Wood Pigeons: of these 14 in one migrant party
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 108 Jackdaws
- 18 Rooks
- 5 Starlings
- 55 Fieldfares: three groups
- 13 Redwing: three groups
- 7 Siskins
Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 9 Starlings: six and then three
Counts from the lake area:
- 43 Canada Geese: 21 of these flew off in three groups
- 1 Greylag Goose: departed
- *23 + 2 Mute Swans: a trio flew off
- 3 (2♂) Eurasian Wigeon
- 10 (8♂) Mallard
- 18 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Water Rail: heard only
- 6 Moorhens
- 228 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- c.100 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- c.125 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: departed
Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
Most things still hiding from the cold: all poles dew-laden
Flies:
- 2 craneflies Tipula fulvipennis
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 3 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis
Around the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:
Also affected by the cold temperature
Flies:
- 2 male small midges
Springtails:
- 1 unidentified globular springtail
Barkflies:
- 7 Valenzuela flavidus
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 5 spiders of several species not identified
Nothing noted later:
The Flash:
(249th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- now four Shoveler: two drakes and two ducks.
- only a single duck Common Teal noted by the island.
- a second drake Pochard was a new arrival.
- a second Great Crested Grebe was noted.
- small parties of both Fieldfare and Redwing flew over.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Jackdaws: two groups
- 1 Sky Lark
- 6 Fieldfare: together
- 13 Redwings: two groups
Noted on / around the water:
- 8 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose: departed
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 (0♂) Gadwall
- *4 (2♂) Shoveler
- 42 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (?♂♀) 'feral-type' Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Common Teal
- *2 (2♂) Pochard
- 40 (21♂) Tufted Duck
- 15 Moorhens
- 121 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 23 Black-headed Gulls
- *2 Herring Gulls: adult and second winter coming and going: presumed same
Noted around The Flash:
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 3 Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris
Hoverflies:
- *1 Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Other Flies:
- *1 male small midge
Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
(Ed Wilson)