29 Mar 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

2.0°C > 8.0°C: Clear start with mainly high cloud to the West gradually encroaching. Just frosted. Light / moderate south-westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:51 GMT

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:30 – 06:15 // 07:20 – 09:50

(76th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- four Mute Swans: the new pair; the erstwhile resident pen and the first year bird..
- yesterday's pair of Common Teal not seen.
- the duck Pochard still here.
- ten Great Crested Grebes for certain though most counts I made were of fewer.
- *an Oystercatcher was on the south-west grass when I arrived in the area c.05:35. It flew off East but presumably the same bird returned within a few minutes. During this time it did not call. As I arrived back from The Flash c.07:20 I assume the same bird flew noisily off West only to fly back equally noisily a few minutes later though where it then went is a mystery.
- no sight or sound of yesterday's Marsh Tit.
- at least eight Redwings seen flying out of trees at various locations.
- a pair (I assume) of Mistle Thrushes were making din apparently chasing away a Magpie. This early-nesting species will likely have eggs at this date. I assume two birds flying together along the South side were a different pair? And one was heard singing, albeit distantly, from within the Ricoh grounds: another?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Canada Geese: a pair outbound; a pair inbound
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 24 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Herring Gulls again
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- 2 Grey Herons: flew West together 08:35
- 15 Jackdaws again
- 4 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 7 Canada Geese: six of these arrived
- 4 Mute Swans: plus one long dead: see notes
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- *10 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 10 Great Crested Grebes
- *1 Oystercatcher: see notes
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: arrived while I was at The Flash

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

On the West end street lamp poles

Pre-dawn:

Moths:
none

Flies:
several, mainly female midges.

Noted later:

Bees, wasps etc.:
*mining bees Andrena sp.
*Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
*Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
*Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Beetles:
*7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Flowers:
*flowering Wild Cherry Prunus avium

Sunrise on the way.

And here it is.

Record shot: Oystercatcher (and Moorhen) on south-west grass at 05:35.

One of the 21 (21!) singing Chiffchaffs here today.

"This is my better side".

"Are you pointing that camera at me?". This Chiffchaff was very cooperative.

His best side!

Possibly my best-ever portrait of this species.

Did we fall off out perch?

Composure regained.

Field Guides tell you this species has black legs. That depends! They are darker than those of Willow Warbler but not always black.

"Give us a song".

This was a "walk away" bird. I think I could have gone on taking photos but other things called.

This Blackcap required a lot more patience to get any sort of of view.

Eventually...

I managed it.

 I will leave this as a mining bee Andrena sp.

Not my best shot of a Honey Bee Apis mellifera but the first I have seen this year.

And not my best-ever shot of my first Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris of the year. This species because the yellow along the side of the thorax is parallel-sided.

A female Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax.

I can only think this is a male Tapered Dronefly. It did seem smaller than usual,

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

I believe this to be flowering Wild Cherry Prunus avium.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:15

(74th visit of the year)

Bird notes
Two singing Willow Warblers were a new bird species for me here this year. Species #62. A few days later than both 2023 and 2024.

Other bird notes:
- both adult Mute Swans seen with one sitting on the island for long periods.
- a Great Crested Grebe seen again and once more touring the water calling.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 23 Canada Geese
- 9 Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 18 (18♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) feral Mallard x?
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral Mallard [’Aylesbury Duck’]
- 11 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 30 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 2 (2) Willow Warblers
- 9 (8) Chiffchaffs
- *2 (2) Blackcaps

Of note:

Nothing

Find the Great Spotted Woodpecker! Its red "trousers" are dead-centre.

A Robin with its tail at a jaunty angle.

Not as much light as the photos of this species that I took later at the lake. However this view of a Blackcap clearly shows that it is well-named.

Sometimes it more or less works. A singing Goldcrest.

Takes off still singing.

And flies on. I needed more light in squirrel alley to 'freeze' the action here.

Also lurking in squirrel alley was a Treecreeper. Is that a small piece of feather it is carrying?

Treecreepers always climb up using their strong feet to grip and their tail feathers as a prop.

A good view of one of the feet here.

"Up" can mean "along"!

Or even "upside down". A morsel found.

Not my best but note the tail shape.

Where next? Indeed.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the Balancing Lake and The Flash:

Of interest
- 2 (2♂) Mallard on the lower pool again
- 4 Moorhen: one pair on each pool

(Ed Wilson)

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2014

Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
3 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
1 Grey Heron
31 Tufted Duck
3 Redwings
5 Sand Martins
7 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cackling Goose
2 Common Teal
49 Tufted Ducks
3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers
4 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
3 Great Crested Grebes
17 Tufted Ducks
1 Blackcap
2 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool
3 Tufted Duck
3 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
7 Wigeon
Iceland Gull
(John Isherwood and et al)

The Flash
1 Shoveler
2 Pochard
(John Isherwood)

Horsehay Pool
2 Mandarin Ducks
(Paul Spear)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
16 Tufted Duck
2 Blackcaps
12 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Great Crested Grebes
47 Tufted Duck
1 Blackcap
5 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Red-legged Partridges
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Oystercatcher
Blackcap
5 Chiffchaffs
Sand Martins
7 Gadwall
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
6 Skylarks
1 Fieldfare
3 Redwings
Lapwing
Green Woodpecker
14 Linnets.
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Barn Owl
25 Sand Martins
3 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
47 Redwings
4 Meadow Pipits
12 Tufted Duck
4 Jays
433 Wood Pigeons
(Ed Wilson)

28 Mar 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 9.0°C: Clearing after overnight rain. Then a light shower. Moderate north-westerly wind gusting fresh at tomes. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:53 GMT

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:25 – 06:20 // 07:20 – 09:35

(75th visit of the year)

The felling on trees alongside the first part of Teece Drive continues. I might suggest that the men would be better employed filling the pot-holes there.

Bird notes
*Definite highlight today was a singing Marsh Tit near the Wesley Brook bridge. Other than a one-day bird heard calling only on 16 June 2022 I have no other dates for this species here though I do recall seeing it many, many years ago. The almost identical-looking species, Willow Tit, bred here prior to 2017. The two species were only recognised as separate species in the early 1900s. Like Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler they may look almost identical but the songs and calls of these species are very different. My 81st bird species here this year.

Other bird notes:
- six Mute Swans initially. Only four, three adults and the first year bird later.
- as they do at this time of year Mallard are turning up in strange places. Four drakes and a duck were marching around the football field at 06:15 with two more drakes and a duck on roofs in Teece Drive.
- *a pair of Common Teal were new arrivals
- the duck Pochard still here. I suspect she has a damaged wing or similar preventing her from flying.
- nine Great Crested Grebes!
- *I noted 20 Redwings flying out of West end trees c.05:50. At c.09:20 birds were seen flying between the West end and the south-west copse from where I counted 42 flying out in two groups. It is possible that there were more as when I was counting the second group I could see at least 15 birds further away. These could easily have been birds from the first group circling around. This number is about the highest day-count I have had of this species all Winter.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Canada Geese: a pair and a quintet outbound; a pair flew North.
- 2 Greylag Geese: pair outbound
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 13 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 15 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: five of these arrived
- 6 Mute Swans: plus one long dead: two of these departed: see notes
- 4 (3♂) Mallard: see also notes
- *2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 10 Moorhens
- 48 Coots
- 9 Great Crested Grebes
- *5 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: arrived while I was at The Flash
- 2 Grey Herons: one departed East 05:50 and presumably another flew off West at 06:00

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

On the West end street lamp poles

Pre-dawn:

Moths:
none

Flies:
*many, mainly female midges.

Springtails:
*1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris
*>5 globular springtails.

Noted later:

Bees, wasps etc.:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Flies:
female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus

A post-script to yesterday's Dark-edged Bee-fly Bombylius major. By coincidence there was information about this species on the Guardian's web site where it is one of the nominations for "Invertebrate of the Year". The web site noted: "this sleek insect hums like a bee, pollinates flowers like a bee and is cute and fluffy like a bee. But it’s a fly, and it scatters its eggs near a solitary bee’s nest so the larvae can feed off the bee's offspring".

For a change it wasn't clear skies to the East but the overnight rain moving away.

A record shot! A pair of Common Teal.

Small ducks in the middle of the water do not make good photos.

Another one of those gull puzzles. After much searching through various identification guides I have concluded it is 'just' a first year Herring Gull, mainly because of the extent of the mottling on the upper tail. It seems unusually 'scaly' with a more extensive tail band and less contrast on the inner primaries than I would expect. Neither does it show any of the pale grey feathers on the back as yet even though the base of the bill is pale.

Here is the underside. It looks somewhat pot-bellied.

From this angle this bird looks like a cross between and Blackcap and a Nuthatch. It is a Marsh Tit.

A rear view. Many identification guides will tell you that pale in the wings suggests Willow Tit rather than Marsh Tit. Note however that it only the very tips of the feathers that are pale.

This view shows the 'bib'. On Willow Tit this would usually appear neater.

Not so much a branch in the way, more like half a bush obscuring a singing male Blackcap.

A fairly typical view as this species tries not to be seen.

Good luck identifying these. They are just four of the 42+ Redwings that flew out of trees.

I took several photos of female midges and each photo showed (out of focus) globular springtails, none of which I noted at the time.

Obsidentify has this as the springtail Tomocerus vulgaris. Checking with NatureSpot it seems spot on.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:15

(73rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the geese were much less noisy today with almost no sound from inside the island.
- it is possible one adult Mute Swan was always the other side of the island from me. I only noted one bird today despite searching the island from several directions.
- yesterday's Great Crested Grebe presumably had no response from touring the water and calling and had apparently gone again.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 29 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan: see notes
- *17 (14♂) Mallard
- 11 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 1 Cormorant

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 10 (10) Chiffchaffs

Otherwise of note:

Flower:
- *probable Early Dog-violet Viola reichenbachiana

A trio of Mallard that decided they owned the footbridge and were not moving for anyone.

The dark bars on the folded wings identify this as a Stock Dove.

My old friends the Long-tailed Tits. Not being very cooperative.

A Jenny Wren – well probably Jeremy Wren as he was singing.

Another Wren...

...has been watching how Treecreepers manage.

I thinks these are probably Early Dog-violets Viola reichenbachiana.

Between the lake and The Flash I came across these White Dead-Nettle flowers Lamium album. In recent years a small number of these plants has been in flower all Winter near the surgery. It occurs to me that I have not seen them there this year.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the Balancing Lake and The Flash:

Of interest 
- 2 (2♂) Mallard on the lower pool
- 4 Moorhen: one pair on each pool

Flowers:
*White Dead-Nettle Lamium album

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
4 Great Crested Grebes
9+ Cormorants
1 Grey Heron
2 Swans
2 Shoveler
30 Tufted Duck
10 Chiffchaffs
5 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cackling Goose
51 Tufted Ducks
3 Chiffchaffs
1 Meadow Pipit
2 Fieldfare
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
7 Meadow Pipits
c.150 Fieldfare
c.30 Starlings
1 Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
7 Wigeon
22 Tufted Duck
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
1 hybrid Ring-billed x Lesser Black-backed Gull
1 Mediterranean Gull
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
63 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
4 Herring Gulls.
(Tom Lowe, Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
2 Lapwing
(Martin Grant)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
1 Glaucous Gull
Iceland Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull.
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
10 Chiffchaffs singing
4 Blackcaps singing
1 Skylark
1 Willow Tit
1 Raven flew over
3 Great Crested Grebes
11 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers
38 Tufted Duck
5 Chiffchaffs singing
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
6 Gadwall
c.15 Tufted Duck
1 Fieldfare
11 Linnets
5 Chiffchaffs
c.40 Sand Martins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Great Crested Grebes
30 Tufted Ducks
Siskins
2 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
10 Meadow Pipits
Linnets
Skylarks
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
14 Tufted Ducks
3 Ruddy Ducks
1 Kittiwake
242 Wood Pigeons
4 Stock Doves
2 Buzzards
1 Kestrel
3 Meadow Pipits
3 Grey Wagtails
9 Pied Wagtails
26 Wrens
3 Fieldfare
94 Redwings
2 Swallow
13 Sand Martins
1 Blackcap
1 Willow Warbler
7 Chiffchaffs
18 Magpies
4 Jays
127 Jackdaws
13 Greenfinches
7 Siskins
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)