17 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 13.0°C: Amazing: both the almost full moon and the sun seen! Some mainly high cloud. Light southerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:40 BST

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:55 – 09:20

(220th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- generally there were fewer gulls despite / because of the clearer conditions.
- I have no idea why there were so few Rooks.
- after very few recent Reed Bunting records there was a small roost seen dispersing from their traditional West end site.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 9 (?♂) Tufted Duck: five flew West; four flew East and presumed same flew West a few minutes later
- 1 Stock Dove
- 85 Wood Pigeons: of these 54 in just three migrant flocks
- 38 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: single and duo
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 331 Jackdaws
- 16 Rooks
- 1 Skylark
- 55 Redwings: of these 52 in five groups; at least three heard flying over pre-dawn
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Birds seen leaving roost around the lake:
- 3 Reed Buntings

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler

Counts from the lake area:
- 10 Canada Goose: of these four departed
- 19 Mute Swans
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 8 (3♂+) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 194 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 72 Black-headed Gulls
- 10 Herring Gulls
- 135 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths
- 1 November Moth-type Epirrita dilutata agg.

Flies:
- 1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp.
- *1 unidentified cranefly

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 3 Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 2 male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli

Sailing Club
Around the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:

Flies:
- *13 craneflies

Slugs, snails etc.:
- *2 unidentified slugs
- 1 White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
- *2 Girdled Snails Hygromia cinctella

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 17 spiders of several species

Noted later:
- Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus: one more has appeared

The setting full moon according to my phone camera. Note that at this time the visiting Mute Swans escape being penned in to the south-east corner.

Look! A sunrise! This in my 'big' camera.

And this from my camera phone.

A spectacular cloud as part of the sunrise.

Later the high cloud produced this dramatic sky.

Yesterday's deluge produced the usual mud-stained water from several of the sluices running in to the Wesley Brook. Here gunge has been stopped in its tracks by branches jammed against the supports of the bridge.

I did not have much luck identifying craneflies this morning. This apparently dark-winged specimen was on a street lamp pole pre-dawn.

The main problem was dew. One of 13 craneflies on the walls of the Telford Sailing Club HQ. all of which evaded identification.

What exactly are these two doing?

Or these two come to that. All the photos on the web of mating pairs shows them end-to-end rather than with one contorted which would be the only possibility here.

Also somewhat dew-spattered is this Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. in its web.

I cannot suggest an identification for the slug on a wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ. I can find no photos of. essentially. black slugs with paler spots.

Also on the Telford Sailing Club HQ was this Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella, one of three similar-looking snails probably all this species.

Plane of the day. This is what the RAF called an Airbus Voyager KC.2. Airbus know it as an A330-243MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) indicating it can be use for trooping, freight-carrying and air-to-air refuelling of any aircraft with NATO-conformant recipient capability.

The FlightRadar24 data. Typically the aircraft will not publish a flight plan so the destination and purpose of any flight will not be revealed. Air Traffic Control (ATC) will be given sufficient data to ensure separation from commercial traffic.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 3 midges / gnats of various species

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
2 unidentified spiders

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30

(223rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I have no idea why there were so few Moorhens. I hope they have not all been run over.
- Skylarks passing in Autumn do so just above my visual range, often in small groups. I have to try and point my binoculars in the direction of their flight calls to determine how many there are.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 132 Jackdaws: in four groups
- 4 Skylarks at least: see notes
- 1 Redwing

Warblers noted.

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese: four of these arrived together
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 37 (26♂) Mallard
- 117 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 154 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Cormorant

Noted around The Flash:

Butterflies:
- *1 Comma Polygonia c-album

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 3 Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- 1 Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Beetles:
- 2 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Bugs:
- *1 Common Flower Bug Anthocoris nemorum
- 8 Nettle Groundbugs Heterogaster urticae
- 1 adult Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina
- *1 possible Gorse Shieldbug nymph Piezodorus lituratus

A Comma Polygonia c-album on the about-to-flower Ivy bank. Only the third butterfly species I have seen here all year – a truly dire year for this group of insects.

A Common Flower Bug Anthocoris nemorum. Seems late in the year: not many flowers around now.

Not positive about this. It is a nymph of a bug. My best suggestion is a Gorse Shieldbug Piezodorus lituratus. Not a species I am familiar with. The nearest Gorse plants are around the upper car park of The Priorslee which is not that far from where I found this.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Shoveler
3 Wigeon
12 Pochard
1 Little Grebe
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
182 Wood Pigeons
10 Skylarks
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
16 Pochard
84 Tufted Ducks
1 Ruddy Duck
1 Kingfisher
21 Wrens
11 Dunnocks
38 Robins
22 Blackbirds
9 Song Thrushes
139 Redwings
30 Starlings
3 Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

16 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 15.0°C: Overcast at medium-low level. Light south-easterly wind. Moderate visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:38 BST]

Another rain-affected late start at The Flash first before moving on to check the Balancing Lake from the dam-top area only.

No photographs today. The camera stayed dry even if I didn't.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 11:10 – 11:45

(219th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- another quiet morning with just a few gulls flying in and out.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Greenfinches

Counts from the lake area:
- 19 Mute Swans
- 10 (8♂) Mallard
- 6 (4♂?+) Tufted Duck
- 1 Moorhen
- 178 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Herring Gulls
- 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:40

(222nd visit of the year)

Yet again the visibility was too poor to count the birds on the water from any one location. Numbers presented with the usual caveat of possible under- or double-counting.

Bird notes:
- I could only find one drake (Common) Teal.
- a / the Water Rail was alarm-calling along the East side again. No cat flushed out when I investigated. Neither did I glimpse the bird.
- I see the challenge for the Moorhens. A plum tree across the road from the water has dropped some of its fruits. Those that have fallen on the roadway and been squashed are an attractive food-source placing the Moorhens in danger of also being squashed.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 1 Canada Goose
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 41 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) (Common) Teal
- 111 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 141 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull

Around The Flash:

Nothing else noted

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2011
Priorslee Lake
14 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Common Gull, though it could have been Mew/Ring-billed Gull!
Yellow Legged Gull
(Mike Cooper/Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
42 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
1 Shoveler
8 Pochard
64 Tufted Ducks
30 Robins
(Ed Wilson)

15 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 10.0°C: Another murky morning with low overcast / mist and occasional light drizzle. Light easterly wind. Moderate, often poor, visibility.

Sunrise: 07:37 BST

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:15

(216th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a party of 23 Feral Pigeons flew East across the football field c.09:05. They seemed to be flying with intent rather than the local birds which I do not enter in this log unless they are doing something unusual.
- most of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls again arrived from the South / south-west where they will silhouetted against very bright light pollution from the town or Stafford Park. My count is therefore more accurate than it necessarily is on other days.
- by contrast after the first 50 or so Black-headed Gulls arrived a group of c.200 skimmed in across the M54 and were less amenable to providing an accurate count.
- it seem to be a feature that nearly all the early large gulls are Lesser Black-backs with Herring Gulls arriving in small groups later.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 23 Feral Pigeons: together – see notes
- 28 Wood Pigeons: no migrant flocks
- 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 211 Jackdaws
- 45 Rooks
- 11 Redwings: together
- 4 Pied Wagtails

Birds seen leaving roost around the lake:
- 1 Starling (again)
One or more Redwings were heard calling from the hedge between the lake and the M54 pre-dawn but were not seen,

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 Chiffchaff

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Goose: departed
- 19 Mute Swans
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 10 (4♂+) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- >150 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- c.250 Black-headed Gulls
- 27 Herring Gulls
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull
- *c.275 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed 08:20

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths
- 2 November Moth-types Epirrita dilutata agg.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 unidentified ichneumon

Flies:
- 2 Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- *1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- 1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius
- 2 male harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli
- *2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis

Sailing Club
Around the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:

Flies:
- *1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- *1 cranefly Tipula luteipennis
- *1 cranefly Tipula sp.
- *1 unidentified winter cranefly
- 5 midges of several species

Slugs, snails etc.:
- 1 White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
- *2 Hairy Snails Trochulus hispidus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 28 spiders of several species

Noted later:
- *1 Muscid fly Helina abdominalis on the boxing ring
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus on the Teece Drive fence

The gull on the left is a Yellow-legged Gull. The back is darker than any Herring Gull. Obsidentify gave me Caspian Gull as the preferred species (42% against 35% for Yellow-legged and the balance for Herring Gull). I dismissed Caspian Gull as the back of that is only slightly darker than Herring Gull. Also the Caspian Gull's the head is less rounded and it has a longer, narrower bill than this bird. The gull on the right is an adult winter plumage Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Note too the typical clean white head with almost none of the dark head streaking that most large gulls show in winter.

This unidentified ichneumon was moving around too quickly for me to get a better photo.

This fly is Dryomyza anilis. To quote NatureSpot (with due credit) "A striking orange fly with large red eyes, infuscated cross-veins on the wings and dark orange 'tramlines' on the thorax". Exactly.

This fly I noted on the boxing ting on top of the dam. The grey thorax and orange body suggests it is the Muscid fly Helina abdominalis.

Many craneflies this morning with a confusing array of species. This one with patterned wings and abdomen is Limonia nubeculosa. It was on the wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn.

This cranefly also on the wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ looks to be Tipula luteipennis. As is so often with craneflies a leg is missing – and another is at a rather strange angle.

Another five-legged cranefly. On size it is probably one of the Tipula species but which I could not say.

Another cranefly I cannot identify. Smaller than many, with apparently dark and unmarked wings. It also has longer antennae than many species. Google Lens suggested Trichocera annulata, one of the winter craneflies. I can see why: the general shape is a good match but images of this species elsewhere show clear wings. Unidentified in the log.

One of two harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis. This angle shows the diagnostic feature: the legs are much thicker in the half nearest the body.

Another find on the wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ was what seems to be a Hairy Snail Trochulus hispidus.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- *1 wood gnat, perhaps Sylvicola fenestralis
- *10 other midges / gnats of various species

Arthropods:
- 2 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
2 unidentified spiders

Among a number of gnats and midges (what exactly separates these groups?) was this specimen with patterned wings. It seems most likely to be a wood gnat Sylvicola fenestralis. Other members of this genus have wings with only venation.

"Unidentified non-biting midge" was all I could divine about this long-legged insect.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:15

(221st visit of the year)

Numbers of Tufted Duck and Coot are 'best effort'. The visibility did not allow a count from any one location so there is always scope for double-counting and / or missing some.

Bird notes:
- I could not find yesterday's duck Shoveler or Little Grebe. The latter could well have been sheltering under overhanging vegetation and the former sitting inside the island. The two drake (Common) Teal were just about identifiable through the murk.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 9 Jackdaws: together

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 Chiffchaff

Noted on / around the water:
- 1 Canada Goose
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 45 (30♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) (Common) Teal
- 103 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 19 Moorhens
- 144 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Black-headed Gulls

Noted around The Flash:

Moths
- *1 November Moth-type Epirrita dilutata agg.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 1 female harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli

Just one of the November Moth-types remained. This well-marked example may be the one that was present Sunday and which had been joined by a less well-marked individual yesterday.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2013
Nedge Hill
2 Fieldfare
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Gulls
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
12 Pochard
87 Tufted Ducks
1 Kingfisher
23 Pied Wagtails
32 Robins
12 Blackbirds
8 Song Thrushes
11 Redwings
c.130 Starlings
(Ed Wilson)

14 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 7.0°C: Overcast at medium-low level. Moderate easterly wind. Good visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:35 BST]

As is usual when it is raining at my usual start time I wait until the school run nonsense is over and then visit The Flash first before moving on to check the Balancing Lake from the dam-top area only.

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 10:35 – 11:15

(217th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a very quiet morning with just a few gulls flying in and out.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 1 Wood Pigeon
- 1 Jackdaw

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese
- 19 Mute Swans
- 15 (10♂) Mallard
- 8 (1♂?+) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 198 Coots [oops: yesterday should have read 168 and not 18]
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 15 Black-headed Gulls
- 14 Herring Gulls
- 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

One of the visiting Mute Swans – this one a cob judging by the size of the knob at the base of its bill – seems to be delighting in taking a bath.

And then needs to get rid of the water...

...and get its feathers back in to alignment.

That's better.

It is not all peace and quiet among the visitors.

16 of the visitors begin to congregate as the resident cob heads their way (the 17th was out of view behind the vegetation).

"My lake and don't you forget it!"

The resident cob means business.

A first winter Herring Gull.

Skimming through the low cloud was this Grob G115E Tutor T.1. These are operated by Bournemouth-Headquartered Babcock Aerospace Ltd. on behalf of the Royal Air Force (RAF) who employ them on AEF (Air Experience Flight) duty. This one operates out of RAF Cosford with the University Air Squadron (UAS) of Birmingham University.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:25

(220th visit of the year)

I was told by one of the residents that a group of at least five drake Pochard were noted during one daytime walk recently. A good record: this species is primarily a visitor only in the depth of Winter.

Bird notes:
- several apparent new arrivals were lurking alongside the island: a duck Shoveler; two drake (Common) Teal and a winter plumage Little Grebe. Whether these were genuine new arrivals or birds sometimes resting inside the island is hard to say.
- a further decline in the number of Tufted Duck.
- singles of both Grey and Pied Wagtail noted.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 1 Canada Goose
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 (0♂) Shoveler
- 37 (24♂) Mallard
- 2 (2♂) (Common) Teal
- 66 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 16 Moorhens: one of these a road casualty
- 141 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: immatures, arrived
- 1 Cormorant

Noted around The Flash:

Moths
- 2 November Moth-type. Epirrita dilutata agg.

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- 1 Harlequin Ladybird pupa Harmonia axyridis

 One of a trio of long-range specials with birds tucked up against the island. Here is a duck Shoveler.

Two drake (Common) Teal. The left bird with the yellow under-tail and green and brown head separated by a yellow line is easy to sex. The other bird is more difficult with its head tucked up. At first glance the patterned flanks might suggest a duck. Close examination of the head just about reveals it too has a drake head-pattern.

Smallest of the trio is this winter plumage Little Grebe.

Don't say I didn't warn them about learning the Green Cross Code. A sad end for a juvenile Moorhen.

Yesterday's November Moth-type has acquired a friend. These may, or may not, be the same species. None of four possibilities - Autumnal Moth; Small Autumnal Moth; November Moth; and Pale November Moth - has any recognised sexual difference in markings though females have more rounded wings All species are very variable in markings. [It was only while double-checking these facts that I realised there are now four confusion species and not three as I thought. The Small Autumnal Moth is associated with heathlands so is unlikely to trouble us.]

Not sure there is anyone home in this Harlequin Ladybird pupa Harmonia axyridis.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years.

2011
Priorslee Lake
14 Redwing
(Glenn Bishton)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
2nd winter Common Gull
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
54 Mute Swans
3 Wigeon
6 Pochard
12 Tufted Ducks
15+ Lapwings
203 Coots
Meadow Pipit
3 Skylarks
1 Siskin
6 Redwing
Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Cormorant
Water Rail
Lapwings
37 Robins
21 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
6 Song Thrushes
48 Redwings
Siskin
300 Starlings
(Ed Wilson)

13 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 7.0°C: Clear early with a good sunrise. Medium level cloud soon spread from the West followed by a spell of low cloud. Light westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:33 BST

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:15

(216th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- perhaps the most unexpected record today was a Mistle Thrush giving its rattling call notes and then heard singing quietly from near the Telford Sailing Club HQ. Is it thinking about setting up its 2025 breeding territory already?
- my first Siskins of the Autumn were a tight group of five flying West. This is almost a month later than last year, though that was exceptionally early.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 1 Greylag Goose: inbound
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 197 Wood Pigeons: of these 176 were noted in seven migrant flocks heading South, all to the East
- 31 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 196 Jackdaws
- 93 Rooks
- 8 Redwings: three small groups, none calling
- 5 Pied Wagtails
- 5 Siskins: together

Birds seen leaving roost around the lake:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 Chiffchaff

Counts from the lake area:
- 24 Canada Goose: 17 when I arrived; singles / small groups drifted in
- 19 Mute Swans
- 20 (13♂) Mallard
- 10 (4♂+) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 18 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 89 Black-headed Gulls
- 17 Herring Gulls
- 138 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths
- *3 November Moth agg. Epirrita dilutata agg. [Autumnal, November, Pale November Moths]

Flies:
- 1 male Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- *1 Muscid fly of the Hebecnema group
- *1 Phaonia subventa
- 1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp.

Hoverflies:
- *1 Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris
- *1 globular springtail

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 1 unidentified spider
- *1 female harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum
- *3 male harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli

Sailing Club
Around the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 female ichneumon Pimpla rufipes

Flies:
- *1 unknown cranefly
- 8 midges of several species

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 17 spiders of several species

Noted later:
- 2 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus on the Teece Drive fence

Early dawn. Clear to the East. A few of the Canada Geese that had likely spent the night here are in the foreground.

 Colouring up.

Cloud approaching from the West.

One of three individuals of the November Moth group Epirrita dilutata agg. comprising Autumnal, November and Pale November Moths. Reference to the West Midlands Moths internet site shows that most specimens that have been specifically identified by genitalia examination at this date are November Moths E. dilutata.

I found this female ichneumon Pimpla rufipes one wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn. The short and thick ovipositor and the rufous legs identify this species.

Another example of what is probably a Muscid fly of the Hebecnema group with the brown shaded wings. Included here are because at the bottom of the photo is a tiny globular springtail.

 Resting on a street lamp pole pre-dawn was this fly, a Phaonia subventa.

This cranefly was also on one wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn. It has eluded identification. There are very few craneflies illustrated with antennae as long as this specimen and those that are shown have very different wing patterning.

Also at rest pre-dawn was this Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus.

Three male harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli: there is not enough detail in the photo to get a positive identity.

Female harvestmen of the Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli group are easier to separate using the shape of the dark area on their abdomen. The parallel-sided area indicates it is L. rotundum.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

The wall of the tunnel had been repainted since my last visit to (temporarily) obliterate the messages of undying love scrawled on it.

Flies:
- 5 midges of various species
- 1 fungus gnat

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- *1 spider, probably Metellina merianae
2 other unidentified spiders

This spider is very probably Metellina merianae.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:40

(219th visit of the year)

Bird notes
There was a new bird species for me at this site when I espied a Great (White) Egret flying over. It becomes bird species #78 for me here this year. A few minutes later I was asked about a "big white heron" that had been seen here a few days previously. It is tempting to ascribe these sightings, as well as those recently noted at the Balancing Lake, to a single bird. However later today there were three of this species seen together at Venus Pool, just South of Shrewsbury. Incidentally there were also more than 200 Greylag Geese at Venus Pool along with six feral 'white' geese that looked suspiciously like those seen here some 10 days ago. So perhaps we know where 'our' Greylags have gone.

Other bird notes:
- another slight decline in the number of Tufted Duck. The adult drakes, at least, are showing much white on their flanks perhaps indicating that their moult is almost complete and this is allowing birds to move around to other locations.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 29 Redwings: together

Warblers noted

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 35 (25♂) Mallard
- 81 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 14 Moorhens
- 130 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant

Noted around The Flash:

Moths
- 1 November Moth agg. Epirrita dilutata agg. [Autumnal, November, Pale November Moths]: moth species #42 for me here this year.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *2 Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris

Bugs:
- 1 Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina: adult
- *2 Leafhoppers: not reliably identifiable from photos; just possibly Ribautiana tenerrima or similar

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- *1 spider, probably Metellina merianae
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 4 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- *1 male and 1 female harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli

Fungus:
- Dark Honey Fungus Armillaria ostoyae: reduced to a soggy mess

A Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris tucks in.

At just 2mm [0.075"] leafhoppers are tricky to photograph without special close-up attachments. And most species are not reliably identifiable from photos. This one is just possibly Ribautiana tenerrima or similar.

Most of the photos from here were of things on the street lamp poles. This is another Metellina merianae spider. It was sitting half in deep shade and the camera flash did not produce an acceptable result. So this was taken using my LED torch which has produced a strange colour cast. In reality the abdomen has rufous brown markings.

This is a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Detail of a male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli. This can be identified as the surround to the two black eyes is pale. It is black on L. rotundum.

And here is the detail of a female. The dark area on the abdomen widens posteriorly and then ends abruptly. Same pale surround to the eyes.

Plane of the day. This is a Van's RV-7A, an aircraft built from a kit of parts and first registered in 2007. Its current owner lives in Liverpool and keeps the aircraft in a hangar at Liverpool's John Lennon International Airport bravely competing with big jets from the likes of Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2 for runway space.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2011
Nedge Hill
1 Fieldfare
100+ Redwing
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
10 Cormorants
3 Wigeon
15 Pochard
84 Tufted Ducks
Snipe
Kingfisher
8 Redwings
5 Jays
Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
7 Wigeon
500+ Lesser Black-backed Gull
52 Mute Swan
1 Little Grebe
(Mike Cooper)

2007
Priorslee Lake
3 Pochard
42 Tufted Duck
Treecreepers
19 Blackbirds
57 Robins
7 Song Thrushes
5 Redwings
2 Chiffchaffs
Siskins
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Skylarks
Several Redwings
3 Pochard
46 Tufted Ducks
50 Robins
9 Song Thrushes
8 Redwings
1 Treecreeper
(Ed Wilson)