14 Jan 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 9.0°C: Early low overcast broke from time to time with a few sunny periods. Light south-westerly wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:15 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:30 – 09:45

(12th visit of the year)

Still at least c.75% iced-over

Bird notes:
- a Water Rail was on the ice in the north-east area at 07:10. It saw me before I saw it. Anyway much too dark for a photo. Later it (or another) was calling in the central area of the North side.
- by 07:10 there were at least 500 gulls on the ice and the open water having presumably roosted here. Most of these were large gulls with many of the Black-headed Gulls flying in later. Almost all the gulls had departed by 08:00 with a few large gulls flying in (or back?) after 09:00
- my first Mistle Thrush of the year was sporadically singing near the Castle Farm Way gate. A Song Thrush was doing the same a few yards away.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: outbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: inbound
- 21 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 53 Jackdaws
- 20 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 28 Canada Geese: 26 present at dawn all departed in several groups; a pair arrived much later
- 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (2♂) Gadwall
- 12 (9♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 36 (25♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 243 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- >400 Black-headed Gulls
- >50 Herring Gulls
- *1 Caspian Gull: near(?) adult?
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull: second winter
- >380 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great (White) Egret

Noted on the street lamp poles pre dawn.
I expected more on the mild morning

Flies:
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus sp.
- 1 wood gnat, perhaps Sylvicola sp.
- *1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Springtails
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
- 2 other springtail
- 1 globular springtail

Beetles:
- 1 Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata: still here

Spiders:
- *1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius

Telford Sailing Club
Noted around the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre dawn.

Barkflies:
- *1 barkfly Ectopsocus briggsi agg.
- *2 other barkflies of unknown species

Springtails
- 1 springtail
- 4 globular springtails

Slugs, snails etc.:
- 1 'black slug'

Spiders
- 4 spiders, species not determined apart from
*1 Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica

New Bird Species
Two additions to the birds on my site for here in 2025:
56 Mistle Thrush
57 Feral Pigeon: flying around over the estate area

Looking West pre-dawn when it was overcast. The plume on the left emanates from Stafford Park. I am never sure whether it is water vapour from a heating system or a chimney discharge. Sometimes in the past I detected an acrid smell when the wind was in an appropriate direction. I did get the local environmental people to investigate. They found nothing.

The full Wolf Moon did break through the cloud briefly.

Later the cloud broke more extensively. No colour though.

Well is this dark-eyed gull a Caspian Gull? I am not sure it should show a necklace of spotting unless it is a third winter and not a full adult.

The mantle (back) of the furthest bird is darker than the Herring Gulls in the foreground and much paler than the Lesser Black-backed Gulls. That would suggest a Yellow-legged Gull. I expected this species to have a white head at all ages but checking with the literature this bird looks exactly as a second winter Yellow-legged Gull should.

A Coal Tit doing its best Tree Creeper impression as it searches the moss and lichen for morsels.

 A pensive-looking Long-tailed Tit.

A male Bullfinch always brightens the day...

...even when twigs get in the way.

A winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

This barkfly is one of Ectopsocus briggsi group.

Not too sure about this. I suspect it is a wing-less female from the same barkfly group.

I think I am safe in identifying this springtail as Pogonognathellus longicornis.

Around the Telford Sailing Club I found this Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica.

Another spider I am confident to identify: a Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:50 – 10:55

(10th visit of the year)

Still c.75% ice cover

Bird notes:
- yesterday's Goldeneye not seen.
- a Little Grebe was noted again.
- all the large gulls were present for only a few minutes.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Stock Dove
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese
- 10 Greylag Geese
- 4 Mute Swans
- 41 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral Aylesbury Duck
- *83 (52♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 55 Coots
- 122 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult

Noted elsewhere:
Nothing 

New Bird Species
Additions to the birds on my site for here in 2025:
None

A duck Tufted Duck shows off her feet.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Scaup
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
Willow Tit
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
15 Pochard
76 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
1 Goldeneye
>114 Coots
72 Black-headed Gulls
176 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
53 Herring Gulls
Yellow-legged Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Ed Wilson/Tom Lowe)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Caspian Gull.
5+ Yellow-legged Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Lapwing
5 Great Crested Grebes
26 Pochard
23 Tufted Duck
12 Redwing
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Pool
141 Canada Geese
3 Pochard again
57 Tufted Duck
102 Coot logged
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Yellow-legged Gull
(Mike Cooper)

2007
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
16 Cormorants
24 Pochard
39 Tufted Ducks
3 Goosanders
1 Water Rail
200 Lapwings
>640 Black-headed Gulls
66 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
7 Herring Gulls
25 Robins
18 Blackbirds
14 Fieldfares
7 Song Thrushes
19 Redwings
7 Mistle Thrushes
42 Magpies
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
600 Wood Pigeons
13 Great Crested Grebes
12 Pochard
26 Tufted Duck
216 Coots
1 Water Rail.
219 Jackdaws
210 Rooks
62 Siskins
3 Reed Bunting
1 Brambling
(Ed Wilson)