13 Mar 25

The Flash and Priorslee Balancing Lake

4.0°C: Mostly cloudy. Moderate northerly wind. Very good visibility.

[Sunrise: 06:29 GMT]

* = a species photographed today

Another lazy start I am afraid.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 10:45 – 11:10

(60th visit of the year)

Viewing only from the dam-top area only.

A few sailing club members were present though no boats had been launched at the time of my visit.

Bird notes:
- yesterday's Shoveler and Gadwall gone.
- six Tufted Ducks back in, behaving as three pairs. [vide increase at The Flash]
- try as I might I could not find more than seven Great Crested Grebes.
- the Grey Heron was present on my first scan of the whole area: I did not see it again.

Counts from the lake area:
- 8 Canada Geese
- 3 Mute Swan: plus one dead
- 3 (2♂) Mallard
- 6 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 54 Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 15 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Of note:

Nothing else

A smart-looking male Pied Wagtail. This species has been in very low numbers all winter after a small congregation of up to 30 birds on the 'football field' some days last Autumn. There seems to be no nearby Winter roosts nowadays to provide early morning fly-overs on dispersal.

A pair were on the dam. I only managed to photograph the male. We will soon need to look out for the Spring passage of the Continental (sub-)species of White Wagtail. Males with their grey backs are relatively easy to separate. For females you need a view from this angle: the only definitive separation of the two species is the tone of the lower back – always black on a Pied Wagtail and always grey on a White Wagtail.

White Wagtails also have 'cleaner' flanks with paler, or no, dark smudging. This can be hard to judge on females where it is never so obvious.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:35

(58th visit of the year)

*If confirmed then Caspian Gull would be a new species for me at this site.

Bird notes:
- *yet another Canada Goose casualty with a well-chewed body on the bank.
- a group of five geese overflew but were too far away before I saw them to get a positive identification.
- *I am close to solving the Mute Swan puzzle. The fifth bird on the island was standing there today and was clearly wearing a green Darvic ring though I was unable to decipher the lettering. This means it is almost certainly the long-term pen and it was her male partner that was killed and taken away. The question now remains as to whether they had mated and whether she will lay fertile eggs and what might happen then.
- a small increase in Tufted Duck numbers.
- what I presume are the same two adult Herring Gulls dropped in. Then two immatures large gulls arrived. By the time I was about to depart there were 23 Herring Gulls circling at various heights around and overhead. I have treated 19 of these as fly-overs in the log but...
- two Stock Doves were calling from deep inside Ivy-covered trees at the top end.
- a calling Chiffchaff was heard from the island.
- *the nest-building Long-tailed Tits were seen again but neither was noted with nesting material. Has the nest been completed?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 unidentified geese: see notes
- 19 Herring Gulls: see notes
- 2 Siskins

Noted on / around the water:
- 17 Canada Geese: plus *one dead carcass: see notes
- *5 Mute Swans
- 26 (19♂) Mallard
- 22 (18♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 28 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls: two adults, one immature: see notes
- 1 possible Caspian Gull
- no Cormorants

Of note:

Nothing else

A gruesome end for a Canada Goose. Unlucky 13th for this one.

At extreme range, maximum zoom and a fair bit of photo-editing it is just about possible to make out the green Darvic ring on the Mute Swan's left leg suggesting it is the long-term pen now without here partner of the last few years.

Both the immature large gulls have presented me with a problem. This one is ostensibly a first year Herring Gull still with the all-black bill. I would have expected the paler inner primary to be more extensive and I would not have expected the pale bits to be mottled as they are here. Much of my literature concentrates on 'winter plumage' apart from 'adult breeding plumage' meaning that immature birds in Summer are not well-illustrated. Obsidentify was 99% sure this is a Herring Gull so...

A very different looking gull, the almost adult-looking bill (albeit without a red spot) somewhat at odds with the immature plumage of the wings. Many inner primaries are obviously pale as are at least two of the primary coverts. Obsidentify is split 47:37 Caspian vs. Yellow-legged. The extent of the pale inner primaries rules out Yellow-legged Gull in my book. The long parallel-sided bill and the somewhat dark eye both suggest a Caspian Gull. The white head is probably not a useful feature as we come in to Spring.

Safer ground now. Lets have another gallery of Long-tailed Tit photos before leaves enable them to hide away.

#2

#3. I photographed two different birds jumping about. I can't tell you which is which.

 #4

 #5

#6. Last one – for today.

The same 'plane' of the day off to Cheltenham Race Course again from the same place near Market Drayton that it picked-up from yesterday (and to where it returned whomever last evening)

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
1st winter female Greater Scaup
20 Tufted Duck.
1 Kingfisher
(Gary Crowder)

2013
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebe
37 Tufted Duck
27 Wigeon
2 Gadwall
1 Cormorant
24 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
4 Herring Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Martin Grant)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Water Rail
(John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash
1 Chiffchaff
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
30 Fieldfare
1 Redwing
7 Lapwing
2 Stock Dove
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
6 Gadwall
4 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
1 Lapwing
>1100 Black-headed Gulls
c.30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls, all on the water
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Woodcock
5 Cormorant
6 Grey Heron
19 Tufted Duck
4 Stock Dove
25 Robin
22 Blackbird
8 Redwing
3 Chiffchaff
47 Magpie
143 Jackdaw
5 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
4 Great Crested Grebes
7 Pochard
45 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
1 Lapwing
148 Jackdaws
34+ Siskins
6 Redwings
14 Greenfinches
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)