28 Feb 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

0.0°C > 6.0°C: Almost clear apart from a few low cloud patches around dawn. Light and variable winds. Mostly very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:59 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:15

(49th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two pairs of Gadwall with one pair seen mating.
- no Pochard found.
- Water Rail was heard calling along the North side.
- fewer Moorhens. This is normal when their breakfast of the south-west grass is frosted.
- now seven Great Crested Grebes: two pairs and three singles apparently.
- yesterday I noted c.150 Black-headed Gulls arriving after 06:40. Today at least 350 were put up from the water at 06:05 having likely roosted here. I did not see what had spooked them but whatever it was caused even more of a commotion than usual in the Magpie roost.
- a Chiffchaff was singing near the Wesley Brook bridge. My first record of a bird singing in February here.
- yesterday's singing Reed Bunting was not heard this morning. One was calling along the North side – the first I have heard at this traditional breeding site this year.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Canada Geese: single inbound; trio outbound
- 15 Wood Pigeons
- 11 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 36 Jackdaws
- 17 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 8 Canada Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 9 (6♂) Mallard
- no Pochard
- 13 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Water Rail: heard only
- 6 Moorhen
- 69 Coots
- *7 Great Crested Grebes
- >350 Black-headed Gulls
- *16 Herring Gulls
- 37 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- *5 Cormorants: all arrived separately; two of them departed
- 1 Kingfisher: heard: then another(?) seen

Seen later:
Nothing

Of note:
Nothing
***the frost on the street lamp poles meant no insects or spiders again.

Well pre-sunrise: patchy cloud to the East. Note the frost on the south-west grass.

The cloud breaking up as the sun rose giving some colour...

...spreading across the sky.

Last year I took several photos of Great Crested Grebes dealing with large fish. This is the first one I have seen with a fish of any size this year.

Two other Great Crested Grebes having a brief display.

One of today's newly arrived Great Crested Grebes.

A typical first year Herring Gull leaving.

Not sure about this pale-headed bird. The inner primaries are pale, but not that pale or extensive. The visible upper wing is otherwise all dark-toned while the under wing is pale and has no strong markings and the bill is mainly pale. These could suggest Caspian Gull but I am far from sure.

A typical second year Herring Gull with a bill recalling the otherwise smaller and New World Ring-billed Gull.

A Cormorant drying its wings / aiding digestion? As it had just flown in it seems unlikely that it needed to dry its wings.

Now leaving us. "Thanks for all the fish"?

I could not find any Siskins on the Alder cones today: just Goldfinches.

Plane of the day: guess the airline?

The FlightRadar24 data for the flight. It is unusual for this flight to route over us: normally the flight routes East overhead Manchester and out over East Anglia.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:30

(47th visit of the year)

Bird notes
A Grey Wagtail was briefly in the road at Derwent Drive. My 54th bird species here this year.

Other bird notes:
- no idea why there were so many Herring Gulls today: all of them were immatures.
- *Long-tailed Tits seen collecting lichen(?) as nesting material.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 21 Canada Geese
- 4 Mute Swans
- 29 (22♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral 'Aylesbury Duck'
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 50 (29♂) Tufted Duck
- 18 Moorhens
- 33 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebe
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- *11 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult; one second year
- 1 Cormorant

Of note:
*Early Crocus Crocus tommasinianus.
the Ivy was in full sun but the ambient temperature was perhaps still too low to temp any insects out.

At this time of year gulls, usually (always?) immatures, pick up objects and 'play' with them. An immature Herring Gull here.

Other birds usually join in a chase. Both seem to be first year birds.

Another puzzling gull. Basically a second year Herring Gull from the back colour. The tail band is stronger than I would expect and the secondary coverts are darker than I would expect. So?

I was trying to photograph a Goldcrest when this noisy Blue Tit popped up.

This Goldcrest!

Giving unusually good views for a change.

It didn't stay!

Two Long-tailed Tits seemed to be collecting lichen, perhaps for a nest.

Easier to see it has something in its bill. But what?

The "beseeching" look.

I still can't see what is in the bill.

Nor here....

...here...

...or indeed here!

Not sure whether these are garden escapes as I found them in one of the wooded area. They are Early Crocus Crocus tommasinianus.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
2 Iceland Gulls
(Observer Unknown)

2013
Priorslee Lake
31 Wigeon
7 Gadwall
5 Pochard
18 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
2 Lapwings
c.1600 Black-headed Gulls
c.800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.100 Herring Gulls
1 Iceland
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Caspian Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
38 Redwings
2 Fieldfare
15 Siskins
(Ed Wilson, Martin Grant, Tom Lowe)

The Flash
1 Little Grebe
10 Pochard
123 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
21 Tufted Duck
1 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)

Horsehay Pool
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Tom Lowe)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
2 Yellow-legged Gulls.
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
3 Pochard
32 Tufted Duck
4 Curlew
2 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock
26 Tufted Duck
9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
13 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
6 Great Crested Grebes
4 Gadwall
39 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
99 Coots
29 Blackbirds
4 Redwing
8 Song Thrushes
22 Siskins
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Common Gull
6 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

Woodhouse Lane
Stonechat
(John Isherwood)

2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Cormorant
2 Pochard
15 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
1 Peregrine Falcon
26 Robin
11 Redwing
63 Magpie
196 Jackdaw
12 Greenfinch
10 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
6 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
7 Pochard
35 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
800 Wood Pigeon
142 Starlings
14 Pied Wagtails
18 Robins
20 Blackbirds
11 Fieldfare
10 Song Thrushes
2 Willow Tits
15 Greenfinches
11 Siskins
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)