23 Jan 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

1.0°C > 3.0°C: Yet another win for the Telford microclimate. Stars and the moon when I left Newport. Broken medium cloud when I arrived at the lake, this filling and lowering to cover the tops of the trees in mist and murk. Some light rain. Light / moderate south-easterly wind. Moderate visibility becoming poor.

Sunrise: 08:05 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:30 – 09:25

(20th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- unusual to see more duck Pochard (three) than drakes (one). Almost always drakes significantly outnumber the ducks.
- there were no gulls roosting here. The first c.50 of eventually >450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls started arriving at 07:22. About 30 Herring Gulls were noted with them.
- the first c.50 Black-headed Gulls arrived after 07:30. I paid them little attention, assuming many more would follow. In practice very few did!
- as usual almost all the gulls had gone by 08:30. Thereafter new(?) birds arrived from the North: I counted 11 Herring Gulls and 55 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
- *an egret flew over eastbound at c.08:00. In the gloom it was hard to say whether it was a Little or Great (White) Egret against the leaden sky. A series of very poor photos suggests it was most likely another Great (White). 'Ours' had arrived at 07:45 and was still present until 08:30 at least.
- I suspect a Kingfisher is roosting along the North side. I hear calls well before dawn and also well before I see and hear it in flight. In South America many bird species have what is know as a "dawn song" that they only give as they wake and before they set off on the day's activities.
- with slightly milder conditions there were four Song Thrushes singing [there was a Blackbird singing in my garden at 06:15].

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 13 Wood Pigeon
- 1 Herring Gull
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Great (White) Egret
- 34 Jackdaws
- 39 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 37 Canada Geese: none of these departed
- 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (2♂) Gadwall
- 15 (10♂) Mallard
- 4 (1♂) Pochard
- 19 (11♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 222 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebe
- >75 Black-headed Gulls
- >30 // 11 Herring Gulls
- >450 // 55 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons: arrived separately
- 1 Great (White) Egret: arrived
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on the street lamp poles pre dawn.

Nothing

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

Flies:
- *1 winter cranefly, likely Trichocera annulata

Barkflies:
- 2 barkfly Valenzuela flavidus-type: the exact same place as on Tuesday – I suspect they are dead

Noted later:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis on the Teece Drive fence.

New Bird Species
No additions to the bird species on my site for here in 2025:

Not very helpful in trying to identify the over-flying egret. Taken in light rain and very overcast conditions at 08:00. From the broad outer wing I have concluded it is most likely a Great (White) Egret. 'Our' bird was present before and after so this was a different individual.

The only insect I could find on the street lamp poles and on the walls of the Telford Sailing Club HQ was this winter cranefly, likely Trichocera annulata.

My best photo of the day. It is a harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis. The pale line down the abdomen and the thicker inner part of the (only seven!) legs clinch the ID. It is not often that I find a harvestman still about after the turn of the year.


(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:30

(18th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- just one Little Grebe noted: the individual previously noted as coming in to breeding plumage.
- a Stock Dove was heard calling from trees at the bottom of squirrel alley.
- a flock of c.50 finches were flying around the island. Both Siskins and Goldfinches heard. The visibility was too poor for any visual identification.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 40 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 4 Mute Swans
- 40 (27♂) Mallard
- 59 (39♂) Tufted Duck
- 17 Moorhens
- 46 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 141 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: one adult: one second winter
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult: one second winter briefly
- 1 Cormorant

Noted elsewhere:

Nothing

New Bird Species
No additions to the bird species on my site for here in 2025:

More light would have helped. A Long-tailed Tit staring me down. Its tail looks to have been "drawn through a hedge backwards" as my mother would have said.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
5 Cormorants
3 Grey Herons
8 Pochard
8 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
1 Kingfisher
6 Redwings
391 Jackdaws
217 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
201 Tufted Ducks
2 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
4 Great Crested Grebes
(Ed Wilson)

Hortonwood
21 Redwings
(Dave Tromans)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Glaucous Gull
(Observer Unknown)

The Flash
Drake Scaup
(Richard Vernon)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Caspian Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Observer Unknown)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Wigeon
55 Pochard
104 Tufted Duck
1 Common Gull
2 Ravens
22 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
200 Black-headed Gulls
400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
20 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
Glaucous Gull
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Iceland Gull
(Pete Nickless)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
3 Cormorant
5 Pochard
9 Tufted Duck
2 Kestrel
556 Wood Pigeon
27 Robin
23 Blackbird
1 Fieldfare
14 Redwing
47 Magpie
100 Jackdaw
96 Rook
16 Greenfinch
3 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
6 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
2 Cormorants
9 Pochard
36 Tufted Ducks
3 Water Rails
c.420 Wood Pigeon
c.60 Starling
29 Pied Wagtails
23 Blackbirds
6 Greenfinches
17 Siskins
1 Redpoll
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)