16 Jan 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

0.0°C > 1.0°C: The local micro-climate strikes again. Clear at Newport: mist and fog coming and (rarely) going. Light and variable wind. Mostly poor / very poor visibility though somewhat better at The Flash.

Sunrise: 08:13 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:25 – 09:15

(14th visit of the year)

Still >50% iced-over

I am afraid to say that Severn-Trent has strimmed and trimmed all the vegetation around the dam area. They tell me this is to protect the integrity of the dam itself. How this works with the saplings are cut off at ground-level. Will these not regrow from the roots? Surely it is the roots that will affect the dam structure? But what do I know. Several nest sites used by Reed Warblers last year are no more.

Bird notes:
- Water Rail heard calling along the North side.
- no chance of obtaining a sensible count of the Coots.
- estimated gull counts taken in poor visibility. No possibility of identifying any Caspian or Yellow-legged Gulls given the poor visibility.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 28 Greylag Geese: outbound
- no Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws
- 8 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 39 Canada Geese: most (all?) departed
- 1 Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 7 (3♂) Gadwall
- 11 (8♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 21 (12♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Water Rail: heard only
- 4 Moorhens
- ?? Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- >150 Black-headed Gulls
- >50 Herring Gulls
- >300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived 07:10
- 1 Great (White) Egret: arrived 07:45

Telford Sailing Club
Nothing noted on the frosted street lamp poles and Telford Sailing Club HQ pre dawn.

New Bird Species
Additions to the birds on my site for here in 2025:

None

When I arrived there was a clear view of the Wolf Moon, just beginning to wane with a few craters visible.

Later it disappeared in the mist, shining through the trees.

Mist closing in. Looking at the street lights along Castle Farm Way.

Was the sun about to break through? Answers on a postcard...

I don't think the Reed Warblers are going to be too impressed with the remnant stand as a potential nest site when they fly home from Africa in May.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:20

(11th visit of the year)
still >50% ice cover

Bird notes:
- probably more gulls than I have shown as birds were very mobile and likely flying in and out through the mist.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- 108 Canada Geese: 97 of these arrived in two groups
- 4 Greylag Geese: two of these arrived
- 4 Mute Swans
- 42 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral Aylesbury Duck
- 78 (49♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 49 Coots
- *123 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Great Black-backed Gull: first year
- 11 Herring Gulls: two adults: rest immatures
- *4 Lesser Black-backed Gull: three (near) adults; one immature

Noted elsewhere:

Nothing

New Bird Species
Two additions to the birds on my site for here in 2025:
42 Chaffinch
43 Great Black-backed Gull

Mist here too.

Though it was coming and going. The Derwent Drive side is mainly clear with mist clinging to the hill side opposite. Mallard and Canada Geese on the ice. If you have good eyesight there are Tufted Duck in the open water!

Little and large - or should that be large and little? A first winter Great Black-backed Gull on the left and an an adult Black-headed Gull on the right. Recognise the GBBG by the massive bill, the pale head at all ages and at this age the chequered appearance.

Here is the GBBG on its own. As far as I can tell from my summary records my last sighting of this species here was almost exactly 11 years ago – 19 January 2014.

Here with a winter adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. This latter bird is supposed to have yellow legs. I have queried the colour reproduction of my camera previously.

And here with a very mean-looking third-winter Lesser Black-back.

Two adult winter Lesser Black-backed Gulls among a group of apparently all-adult winter plumaged Black-headed Gulls. It is marginally accentuated due to their slightly different angles but note the bill on left-hand bird is more robust (the black markings suggest this could be a third winter rather than a full adult).

I am used to friendly Robins. Today the Dunnocks were in attendance. One looking pensive.

Another singing on a frosty branch. Why can I not a "winter scene" Robin?

An another! A much under-appreciated bird with a jaunty song.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(Gary Crowder/Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Drake Scaup
1 adult Yellow legged Gull
6 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 Goldeneye
(Ed Wilson/ Jim Almond / John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Bittern

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Black-backed Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Ed Wilson)