2 Dec 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 8.0°C: Mostly cloudy with two showers. Some brighter spells. Moderate north-westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:01 GMT

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:15

(263rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a Greylag Goose came from the East, circled twice over the water and then left to the West.
- five Great Crested Grebes today. There probably usually are: finding these submarines is always a challenge.
- *the Great (White) Egret again.
- *a Common Kestrel was seen hovering to the far North at 08:15 and then presumably the same hovering over the dam a few minutes later.
- I have now made five pre-dawn visits to the traditional Redwing roost in the north-east area without hearing or seeing a single bird.
- a Song Thrush was heard singing quietly. *Two others were seen.

Birds noted flying over:
- 1 Greylag Goose: inbound, eventually
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: together
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 13 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks
- 3 Starlings
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 5 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose
- 20 + 2 Mute Swans
- 13 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 234 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- >350 Black-headed Gulls
- >5 Herring Gulls
- >150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron
- *1 Great (White) Egret

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
The rain shower did not help.

Moths:
- *1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata

Flies:
- *2 winter craneflies Trichocera sp., one possibly T. annulata

Springtails:
- 2 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris-type
- *1 globular springtail from the genus Dicyrtomina group.

Around the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:
A quick dash around in the rain produced:

Moths:
- *1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata

Flies:
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- several species: not counted much less identified

Later:

Nothing noted

Not a chance of a sunrise today. The early shower departing to the East.

 No better later.

Still here: the Great (White) Egret seems happy. I am a bit surprised that this and the local Grey Heron seem to tolerate each other. I assume they are after the same food.

Another tribute to MS Photos. This hovering male Kestrel was just a silhouette when I started the editing.

More of the chestnut on the upper wing visible here.

Song Thrushes can be hard to spot when they are among the leaf litter.

Note how the crown of this species is a warmer brown colour.

"Come in 2023". This Winter Moth Operophtera brumata stayed on its street lamp pole until well after dawn.

This one was resting wings closed on a wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ.

This is one of the winter craneflies Trichocera sp., and possibly the clear-winged species T. annulata.

This looks to me to be a species of gnat. I can't trace a species that has long curved antennae and pale 'knees'.

One of the globular springtails, this from the genus Dicyrtomina group.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:45

(266th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a trio of Shoveler seen again. But no Common Teal found!
- the Pochard were mostly staying well away from me and in several groups making both counting and, particularly, determining the sex of ducks / immatures a challenge.
- a Grey Wagtail seen in Derwent Drive and then presumably the same bird on the East side grass.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Redpolls

Noted on / around the water:
- 8 Canada Geese
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *3 (2♂) Shoveler
- 36 (24♂) Mallard
- *9 (>5?♂) Pochard
- 57 (30?♂) Tufted Duck
- 19 Moorhens
- 99 Coots
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls: one adult, two immatures, all briefly
- 2 Cormorants: both arrived

Noted around The Flash:

Moths:
- 1 Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria: presumed same as yesterday

Springtails:
- 1 globular springtail

A duck Shoveler. The bill shape makes it look as if she is smiling.

The smiling effect is less apparent on this immature drake.

One of the two adult drake Pochards has an itch. The third bird is somewhat of a puzzle. The two pale areas leading back from the bill are stronger than any duck illustrated in my literature and a duck would normally show a pale spectacle-effect around and behind the eye.

The profile view here shows the typical head shape of this species so she must just be an atypically-plumaged bird rather than a hybrid – this species freely hybridises with Tufted Ducks, Scaups and other species in the genus, creating identification challenges. I cannot explain why the two drakes show differing amount of pale on their bills.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall.
8 Pochard.
51 Tufted Ducks
156 Coots.
1st-winter Great Black-backed Gull on the water.
35 Redwings
c.407 Jackdaws
82 Rooks.
4 Siskins
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Yellow-legged Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
Caspian Gull
(John Isherwood / Another Observer)

2009
The Wrekin
Firecrest
(Pete Nickless)

2006
Priorslee Lake
21 Pochard
50 Tufted Ducks
1 eclipse drake Ruddy Duck
73 Coots
>750 Black-headed Gulls
1904 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
29 Robins
25 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
6 Song Thrushes
31 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
258 Jackdaws
248 Rooks
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
1 Cormorant
3200 Black-headed Gulls
700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1st-winter Great Black-backed Gull
7 Pochard
36 Tufted Duck
208 Coot
246 Jackdaws
83 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)