2 Oct 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 13.0°C: Cloudy, often at low level. Light / moderate south-easterly breeze. Good visibility mostly with one period of murk when moderate at best.

Sunrise: 07:13 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 09:25

(240th visit of the year)

Bird notes
The good run of wildfowl sighting continues through I am not entirely sure the 140+ Canada Geese that departed from the lake c.07:00 qualify as "wild"fowl. Today, in addition to the Mallard, there were: a pair of Shoveler; four Common Teal and at least four duck Tufted Duck. I saw groups of three, four and two of the latter without ever being in a position to see more than one of their locations at any one time.

Other bird notes:
- the gull arrival was somewhat delayed as with all the Canada Geese on the water preparing to leave there was not much room for them.
- there were no Black-headed Gulls on the football field when I visited c.07:15.
- a calling Blackcap was somewhat unexpected. Not quite my "latest date" for this species. No doubt a few will over-winter in the area. These will typically remain silent and largely undetected. I am told they like M&S Christmas cake on bird-tables.
- a single Siskin was just about the only fly-over on a quiet morning.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 19 Greylag Geese: inbound together
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 15 Wood Pigeons
- 28 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 61 Jackdaws
- 134 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Siskin

Counts from the lake area:
- >140 Canada Geese: departed in nine groups
- 2 Mute Swans
- *2 (1♂) Shoveler
- 19 (10♂) Mallard
- *4 (?♂) Common Teal
- 4+ (0♂) Tufted Duck: see highlight
- 7 Moorhens
- 39 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- c.500 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls only
- c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons: the second eventually chased away

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Scalloped Tortrix Acleris emargana [was Notch-wing Button]

Springtails etc.:
- *1 barkfly Ectopsocus briggsi agg.
- 2 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis

Four-winged flies:
- *1 Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea

Other flies:
- 1 female Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- 1 European Cranefly Tipula paludosa
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Beetles:
- *1 ground beetle Nebria sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- *1 possible Metellina sp.
- *1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 female and *1 male harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Flies:
- *1 unidentified midge sp.

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 47(!!) spiders: usual suspects

Slugs, snails etc.
- 1 unidentified snail

Noted later elsewhere:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: still a few around the nest site

Flies:
- 1 cranefly Tipula confusa

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

Fungus:
- *Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus
- *$ Weeping Widow Lacrymaria lacrymabunda
- *Brown Rollrim Paxillus involutus

Today it was the turn of Mrs. Shoveler to pose for a photo. The drake had paddled off in to the middle distance.

A "safety shot" of just four Common Teal taken at 07:45. I tried again later and they were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps in the reeds?

A Coot with a severely damaged wing. It seems to manage OK though obviously cannot fly.

It was only 07:10 and there was not much light on a cloudy morning. A Common Buzzard has a vantage post....

 ...from which it pounced on a creature in the grass. I could not see what.

Yes: well! This moth has seen better days with just one antenna and rather battered wings. Though the wings are not quite so battered as appears at first sight as this is a Scalloped Tortrix Acleris emargana. The previous name of Notch-wing Button describes its unusual wing-shape.

The first barkfly of this "Winter!" season. It is one of the Ectopsocus briggsi agg. (aggregate) that require microscopic examination to identify to species level.

A better angle than yesterday and no dew to spoil the view of a Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea.

"Unidentified non-biting midge" was Obsidentify's answer. An unusual midge with stripes and spots on the thorax and a dark spot in shaded wings.

A ground beetle from the Nebria species group. It would require a much better photo than this to get to species level. I was going to try a closer approach but being a ground beetle it dropped to the ground.

Not really a headless spider. It just looks that way with its very small head. Probably one of the Metellina group though here the legs do not look banded as they do on most NatureSpot web site photos of the two commonest species.

A Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata coming out fighting!

Clearly a male with "boxing glove" palps ready for action. On some spider species the males use these when courting females to hold her jaws open so as not to get bitten.

A close-up of a male harvestman Leiobunum rotundum. Note the black oculum that separates the males of this species from L. blackwalli which has a white oculum. Females are easier as the dark saddle markings differ.

Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig fungi Coprinus comatus are popping up all around the football field and in the academy grounds – careful with the camera around the academy!

Obsidentify believes these to be Weeping Widow fungi Lacrymaria lacrymabunda and I am not qualified to argue. So-named because black droplets form around the edges as they age.

I decided that I was not going to be able to do any "gardening" to better expose these Brown Rollrim fungi Paxillus involutus without damaging them.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 57 midges of various species

Arthropods:
- 4 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 9 spiders: usual suspects
Had I totted up all he midges on the ceiling then the total would have been >100.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:30

(240th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I had a report that Cuan Wildlife Rescue had been called out yesterday to one of the Mute Swans. More information on the Priorslee Facebook group I am told. Whatever the call-out was for there were two additional swans today!
- at least nine Cormorants. As usual they were flying around, becoming submarines and generally making life difficult.
- I did hear distant House Sparrows today: I think from the "other side" of Priorslee Avenue.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 9 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese: more(?) calling inside the island
- 12 Mute Swans
- 37 (21♂) Mallard
- 5 (0?♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens again
- 86 Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes: not all aged
- 13 Black-headed Gulls
- 9 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Warblers recorded:
None

Noted around the area:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: just one again

Flies:
- *1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- *1 female European Cranefly Tipula paludosa

Bug:
- *1 Parent Bug Elasmucha grisea

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

Fungus:
- no new fungus

Dryomyza anilis is a very striking fly and looks a lot better in a photo taken in daylight, albeit with fill-in flash, than recent photos I took at the Balancing Lake.

This is a female European Cranefly Tipula paludosa: a female because of the ovipositor. There are two similar species, this and T. oleracea. Males are difficult to separate visually. T. oleracea is more common in Summer while T. paludosa is abundant but not exclusive seen in Autumn. Females are easy to separate because, as here, on T. paludosa her wings are shorter than her abdomen.

A Parent Bug Elasmucha grisea. Most specimens are rufous-toned. Here the dark area at the top of the scutellum confirms its identity.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

1 Oct 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 12.0°C: Early light rain from broken could under medium-high overcast. Brighter after of 08:00. Calm start with light southerly breeze developing. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:12 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 09:30

(239th visit of the year)

Bird notes
Another "duck" day. It is proving to be a good Autumn for duck passage after a better than average Spring and the best Mallard breeding season I can recall. Today, in addition to a good number of Mallard, there were: drake Shoveler; five Common Teal and three duck Tufted Duck.

Highlights
Also worth highlighting is the party of five Meadow Pipits seen flying South. My first of the year here and bird species #102 for 2025. Historically this species was an occasional Winter visitor, a Spring passage migrant in small numbers and a sometimes abundant Autumn passage migrant I have noted many fewer in recent years.

Other bird notes:
- Lesser Black-backed Gulls were the first arrivals at 06:39 but were reluctant to settle with at least 50 flying off without doing so. Whether all the c.150 eventually settling were new birds or included some the earlier birds returning is hard to say. I have assumed not. Arrivals after 08:00 included, as usual, a sprinkling of Herring Gulls, a species not noted among the early birds and are assumed to be all new birds.
- when I went to check the football field I noted just 15 Black-headed Gulls dodging the automated grass cutting machines.
- a "large thrush" flew West c.09:10 without calling. A bit early in the year for it to be a Fieldfare while Mistle Thrushes would normally still be out in the fields and unlikely to return to their nesting areas much before the end of the year. A mystery.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 42 Greylag Geese: single outbound; 41 inbound together
- 6 Feral Pigeons: together
- 33 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 95 Jackdaws
- 169 Rooks
- 1 Sky Lark: flew North
- 1 large thrush sp.: see notes
- 5 Meadow Pipits: together
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- *1 (1♂) Shoveler
- *20 (12♂) Mallard
- *5 (1?♂) Common Teal
- *3 (0♂) Tufted Duck again
- 11 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- >300 Black-headed Gulls again
- 11 Herring Gulls
- >225 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 3 (1) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- none

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis

Four-winged flies:
- *1 Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea

Other flies:
- 1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- *1 possible Scoliocentra villosa red eyes, grey thorax, orange abdomen
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Bugs:
- *1 Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius

Beetles:
- *1 probable Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- 1 Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 37 spiders: usual suspects plus, unusually
*1 Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted later elsewhere:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: a few around the nest site

Flies:
- 1 cranefly Tipula confusa

Beetles:
- *1 Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis pupa

Fungus:
- Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus

As noted it was a "duck morning". Here is a drake Shoveler still to fully moult in to breeding plumage. The white crescent in front the eye will be lost as the whole head becomes bottle-green. Interestingly a similar species, albeit in a different genus, occurs in Australasia – the Australasian Shoveler. Drakes of this species have the white crescent in the breeding season.

Here are the five Common Teal. The left two birds with orange on the sides of their bill are likely immatures. Number three with a dark bill and more pale on the side of the tail may well be a drake in transition plumage. I can't suggest anything for the other two with their heads turned away.

The five Teal joined some (noisy) Mallard.

And here is a trio of duck or immature Tufted Ducks.

Almost like a Japanese painting? Well, perhaps not. A Great Tit among leaves.

It was a week or so ago I note I had not or heard any Song Thrushes for a while. This morning two were chasing around and this is one of them.

A Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea. This species over-winters as an adult during which time it turns brown to blend in with the leaf litter.

This fly is a possible Scoliocentra villosa with its red eyes, grey thorax and orange abdomen. There are probably confusion species.

Obsidentify's suggestion for this was a Red-breasted Carrion Beetle Oiceoptoma thoracica. It is not a beetle as there are no visible antennae. I suspect it is one of the many forms of Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius.

This is a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis pupa. Whether anyone is at home is debatable.

This is a flea beetle and probably a Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala.

On the wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ I noted this small spider, a Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus. I often find this species there during daylight: I have not previously noted one mixing it will all the nocturnal spiders.

A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. A male with long palps.

One of the street lamp poles has always had what appears to be a lump of concrete on it. For many years I have tried to turn the lump in to a moth etc. without success and I have begun to ignore it. This harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis was taking advantage of that and nearly eluded me.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Warmer weather so more spiders.

Flies:
- *1 cranefly Tipula lateralis
- *1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 54 midges of various species
- *1 unidentified fly

Arthropods:
- 8 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 12 spiders: usual suspects

This cranefly Tipula lateralis is one of the easiest cranefly species to identify with the pale line down the abdomen and combination of strongly- marked vein with a pale area in the wings.

This one of the winter craneflies Trichocera sp. The background colour is provided courtesy of a graffiti artist(?).

I wish I had a better photo of this unidentified fly. It looks to be overall orange with black bars on the abdomen. Not easy to see and harder to identify!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:35

(239th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- back to 10 Mute Swans.
- yesterday's duck Common Teal not seen.
- where have most of yesterday's Tufted Duck gone?
- now at least 11 Cormorants.
- two Skylarks heard and seen flying South high overhead. One (or more?) heard over but not seen.
- it occurred to me a few days ago that I could not recall seeing or hearing House Sparrows in any of their usual sites here. It is one of the species, like Robins and tits, that I expect to see or hear on every visit and do not log unless there is some unusual behaviour. Both yesterday and today I made a point of trying to see or hear this species without success. Where are they?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Jackdaws
- 3 Skylarks at least

Noted on / around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese
- 26 Greylag Geese
- 10 Mute Swans
- 32 (22♂) Mallard [yesterday's figure should have read 33 (20♂)]
- no Common Teal
- 4 (1?♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 89 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes: not all aged
- 10 Black-headed Gulls
- 11 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons: one chased away

Warblers recorded:

None

Noted around the area:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: just one

Fungus::
- *Field Mushroom Agaricus campestris

An adult Moorhen. The plumage colouration is more subtle than it appears at first glance.

A group of Magpies were making a lot of noise alongside Derwent Drive. Here are eight on one of the roofs and there were more on adjacent roofs. On a previous occasion when I noted a large congregation their ire was directed at a prowling cat. I could not see what was upsetting them here.

I found several Field Mushroom Agaricus campestris next to the path along the East side. I assume they had not fallen from someone's shopping.

Plane of the day: this 1985-build 2-seat Cessna 152 is owned by an individual with an Enstone, Oxfordshire address. He own multiple aircraft which seem to be hired-out, usually to flying clubs and flying schools. This one flies from Wolverhampton's Halfpenny Green Airfield and was on a local flight.

(Ed Wilson)

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2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Kingfisher
Grey Wagtail
40 Mute Swan
(Mike Cooper)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Shoveler
Peregrine
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
1 Redwing
90 Golden Plover
87 Greenfinches
3 Chiffchaffs
Blackcap
Kingfisher
2 Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)

30 Sep 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 12.0°C: Clear early with only a few patches of cloud and light mist over the water. More broken cloud later. Calm. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:10 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 09:10

(238th visit of the year)

Update
Yesterday I showed a photo of four flying ducks and noted "You will probably have to take my word for it that these are four Common Teal". You should not have taken my word for it and thankfully Tom Lowe didn't either. He has pointed out the long thin necks identifies them as $ Pintail. I am enormously grateful to Tom for putting me back on the straight and narrow yet again. As my school report use to say so often: "must try harder"! This brings my bird species total this year to 101 – so far.

Today's bird notes:
- eight Mallard (I hope!) flew off to the East around dawn. They may or may not have returned but are not included in the counts.
- back to four Great Crested Grebes. None of them is an immature.
- another large arrival of gulls commencing with at least 350 Lesser Black-backed Gull by 06:50 with up to 300 Black-headed Gulls by 07:00. There may have been more: a low-flying helicopter put them all to flight with many leaving. Among those settling back on the water could well have been new arrivals.
- when I went to check the football field I noted 45 Black-headed Gulls flying off: there was none on the grass.
- a small later arrival of large gulls after 08:00 produced the only Herring Gulls on the water.
- the Jackdaws and Rooks different again with three sizeable groups of Rooks and only a scatter of Jackdaws.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 32 Greylag Geese: inbound in three groups
- 49 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 43 Jackdaws only
- 176 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 13 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 39 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- >300 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- >350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: seen briefly

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 5 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana: same as yesterday

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis

Other flies:
- 1 Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- 1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 cranefly Tipula confusa
- *1 unidentified fly

Slugs, snails etc.:
- 1 snail, not identified

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 27 spiders: usual suspects

Noted later elsewhere:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: at least 10 around the nest site

Flies:
- 2 craneflies Tipula confusa
- *1 dead European Cranefly Tipula paludosa in a spider web

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Fungus:
- *Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus

Around dawn this was the view looking westward with cloud approaching. Mist hangs over the water. The disturbed area in the middle of the water is several hundred mainly Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Here looking at the unspectacular sunrise. The disturbed area of water on the left is the few remaining Black-headed Gulls.

Well after sunrise with the cloud closer. The lake flat calm with all the gulls departed.

Confusing Mallard. Superficially they look like ducks but certainly the plain pale bills on the left two means they are drakes, likely from one of this year's broods. Both show long, plain primary feathers, also an indication of them being drakes.

An adult "king of the castle" Goldfinch.

Another chance to see....yesterday's Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana was still in the same place but slightly less dew bespattered. The species part of the scientific name indicates it has a variety of forms. Most have the a significant part of the forewing white, wholly so in some instances.

The springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis. The dew is covering the banding normally obvious on the abdomen.

I found this fly on one wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ. It looks a lot like a female Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii but is at least twice the size. Unidentified!

Neatly wrapped up is a dead European Cranefly Tipula paludosa in a spider web. It was a female – note the ovipositor.

A classic harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis. A small species with a pale line down the abdomen and legs that change width half way along.

I intended to show the progressive decline in the Shaggy Inkcap Coprinus comatus I photographed on Sunday and Monday. I could not locate its collapsed remains this morning. Here is a new one, split open (not by me!) to show the innards.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 80 midges of various species

Arthropods:
- 14 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 5 spiders: usual suspects

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:20

(229th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- only eight Mute Swans noted.
- *a duck Common Teal (honest!) lurking by the island.
- ten Cormorants counted.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese
- *8 Mute Swans
- 33 (10♂) Mallard
- *1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 23 (5?♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 91 Coots
- *7 Great Crested Grebes: not all aged
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 10 Cormorants
- no Grey Heron

Warblers recorded:

None

Noted around the area:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: just one

Flies:
- moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli

Little and large. In front of the Mute Swan is a duck Common Teal.

The juvenile Great Crested Grebes still show stripes on the head when close-to. Birds can be hard to age at a distance.

A view of a female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli showing her unique dark saddle marking to good effect. Less obvious is the white around the oculum, present on both sexes.

(Ed Wilson)