18 Mar 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

1.0°C > 6.0°C: Clear with a frosty start. Keen easterly wind. Good visibility with haze.

Sunrise: 06:17 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:30 – 06:35 // 07:30 – 09:25

(65th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *the recent 'new' pair of Mute Swans were chasing a first year bird and later were keeping it out of the water on the dam face. This pair seem to mostly ignore the erstwhile lone resident though that one does occasionally raise its wings in threat.
- now apparently twelve Great Crested Grebes.
- two Siskins noted at the West end. These have been very scarce recently (a friend in Herefordshire reports a dearth of Siskins in their area this year)
- one Reed Bunting in song and another calling from a different site.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 Canada Geese: single and quartet outbound
- 18 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gulls
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 24 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese
- *4 Mute Swans: plus one long dead
- 9 (6♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂?) Pochard
- 4 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 46 Coots
- 12 Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Black-headed Gulls
- *11 Herring Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *2 Cormorants: arrived together and departed more or less together

West end street lamp poles
Nothing pre-dawn:
Frosted poles so nothing seen.

Of note:
Nothing else

Two days ago the moon looked almost circular. No longer.

Haze at dawn.

Sunrise. A question: what, astronomically, defines sunrise? When the first part of the sun is visible? When the sun's equator is on the horizon? Or when...

...the whole disc is visible? Mr. Google does not seem to understand the question ans tells me 06:17 GMT.

A first year Mute Swan on the dam face. Could this be one of the two birds not seen at The Flash yesterday or today?

The pair of recently arrives Mute Swans had chased it out of the water and were not about to let in back in. "Teenagers not wanted".

Unless you look very, very carefully this looks a smart first year Herring Gull. It was unusually approachable perhaps because...

...it is poor condition! I am not surprised it was reluctant to fly. Feather loss does not appear to be an indication of avian flu.

I am not sure what might have caused this.

Very scruffy. With the feet showing it has obviously lost most of its tail as well,

A Cormorant departing and perhaps the same bird I photographed yesterday – with the ill-defines whit thigh patch. In this view there appears to be a few white or white-tipped feathers in the belly confirming that it is not a full adult.

A dark morph Feral Pigeon on one of the roofs in Teece Drive. This species seems to be spreading closer and closer from the core population that originated in St Georges.

A singing Chiffchaff unhelpfully against the light. Even my photo-editor could do no better than this.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25

(63rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- one Greylag Goose seems to be paired with a Canada Goose.
- no Great Crested Grebe noted today.
- *now two singing Chiffchaffs. One bird was seen descending deep in to bushes at a traditional nest site. This might have been a third, non-singing, bird suggesting a female.
- a Mistle Thrush was singing far away at the top end, too faintly to get a positive direction. My second record of this species here this year and one I do not record every year.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- *34 Canada Geese
- *7 Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 25 (18♂) Mallard
- *1 (1♂?) feral Mallard
- 13 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- *2 Herring Gulls: both immatures, arrived together

Of note:
Nothing else

The odd couple. Canada Geese are larger than Greylag Geese however there seems to be a greater size disparity here than I would expect. As males average larger than females I assume a male Canada Goose paired with a female Greylag Goose. I might comment that there are already too many hybrids kicking about in the area.

I have not noted this strange drake Mallard-type for a few weeks. Now it is, I assume, in full breeding plumage I am no nearer identifying what genes it has, apart from Mallard which gives it the curled tail-feather.

A first winter Herring Gull proves you can walk on water – if you have wings.

A Chiffchaff shouting its head off but no willing to be seen!

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the Balancing Lake and The Flash:

Of interest 
- 3 (3♂) Mallard: two on the lower pool; one on the upper pool.
- 4 Moorhen: one pair on each pool.
- 1 Chiffchaff singing by the lower pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
2 Teal
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
2 Lapwing
Green Woodpecker
Linnet
Meadow Pipit
Red-legged Partridge
Stock Dove
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Mediterranean Gull
1 Iceland Gull
4 Great Crested Grebes
5 Wigeon
2 Gadwall
7 Wigeon
21 Tufted Ducks
Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
2 Pochard
1 Greater Scaup
69 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
20 Linnets
Meadow Pipit
Fieldfare
Redwing
Lapwing
(John Isherwood)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
1 Caspian Gull
(Tom Lowe)

2010
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebe
6 Gadwall
22 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Crested Grebe
1 Pochard
23 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
4 Tufted Duck
1 Green Woodpecker
9 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Tit
4 Buzzard
24 Wren
24 Robin
21 Blackbird
33 Redwing
39 Magpie
6 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
c.2500 Black-headed Gulls
605 Lesser-black backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
3rd Winter Lesser-black backed Gull Larus fuscus race: heuglini (Siberian Gull)
7 Pochard
34 Tufted Duck
6 Great Crested Grebe
2 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
7 Siskins
(Martin R Adlam)