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)

12 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 7.0°C: Early light rain from a medium overcast. Later more persistent rain with low cloud and mist. Light easterly wind. Good visibility becoming poor in mist and rain.

Sunrise: 07:31 BST

There are no photos from today due to the rain and poor light.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 07:05 – 09:30

(215th visit of the year)

A rain-delayed start and a rain-affected visit.

Bird notes:
- the 17 visiting Mute Swans remain.
- fewer large gulls dropped in early for a drink and bathe with other unidentified gulls passing South to the East at about the same time.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 42 Wood Pigeons: of these c.30 were noted in a single migrant flock at the very edge of visibility before the mist descended
- c.60 large gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 276 Jackdaws
- 160 Rooks
- 2 Redwings

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
They did not like the wet weather!
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- no Chiffchaffs
- 1 Goldcrest

Counts from the lake area:
- 12 Canada Goose: departed together
- 19 Mute Swans
- 13 (11♂) Mallard
- 6 (2+♂) Tufted Duck: all but one drake flew off
- 6 Moorhens
- 152 Coots: low count in poor visibility
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 132 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 193 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

I did not visit the football field early

I did not check the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

I did not look round the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:

Nothing noted later

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Not checked today.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:30

(218th visit of the year)

Bird notes
A small highlight here: four Redwings were in trees around the medical centre car park. My first of Autumn here.

Other bird notes:
- where are all the geese? Just the Canada Goose with the deformed wing with one other.
- one of the Mute Swan cygnets is often to be found on its own. It seems fit and well and occasionally flies.
- once again fewer Tufted Duck though the low light level did not help.
- I fear for the juvenile Moorhens alongside Derwent Drive. They appear not to have been taught the Green Cross Code. Cars had to swerve to avoid several of them.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Jackdaws

Warblers noted

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans: one cygnet not located
- 40 (26♂) Mallard
- 85 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 16 Moorhens
- 150 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- no Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted around The Flash:

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

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

Fungus:
- Dark Honey Fungus Armillaria ostoyae: almost all deliquesced in to a messy heap

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Shoveler
1 Wigeon
2 Raven
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
12 Song Thrushes
Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Bittern
Redwing
Siskin
1 Chiffchaff
53 Swans
Wigeon
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Tawny Owl
Stonechat
Common Gull
29 Redwings
27 Fieldfare
6 Siskins
1 Redpoll
3 Chiffchaffs
29 Greenfinches
4 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
9 Pochard
18 Lapwings
17 Meadow Pipits
36 Robins
24 Blackbirds
8 Song Thrushes
9 Redwings
2 Chiffchaffs
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

11 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

1.0°C > 8.0°C: Early frost though ground not frozen. Mist over the lake took a while to clear. Essentially calm. Very good visibility away from the mist at the lake.

Sunrise: 07:29 BST

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:25

(214th visit of the year)

Bird notes
Many more large gulls (almost all Lesser Black-backs). Fewer Black-headed Gulls. A smaller Wood Pigeon passage though perhaps in part because it took me by surprise that many of the groups were passing South to the East – all were to the West yesterday

Other bird notes:
- the 17 visiting Mute Swans still present.
- 17 Tufted Duck were seen circling over at 06:55 and appeared to leave to the West. I have assumed that the 11 birds on the water later were different individuals.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Canada Geese: inbound together
- 17 (?♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 402 Wood Pigeons: of these 366 were noted in migrant flocks heading South
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls!
- 5 Cormorants together
- 307 Jackdaws
- 115 Rooks only
- 2 Skylarks

Birds seen leaving roost around the lake:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
They did not like the cold weather!
- no Cetti's Warbler
- 1 Chiffchaff

Counts from the lake area:
- 13 Canada Goose: stayed
- 19 Mute Swans
- 10 (8♂) Mallard
- 11 (4♂+) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 2 Moorhens
- 190 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- *35 Black-headed Gulls
- *11 Herring Gulls
- c.335 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Cormorant: arrived and departed
- 1 Grey Heron

Football Field

I did not visit the football field early

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
Not much on the frost-covered poles

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

Flies:
- 1 cranefly Tipula confusa

Slugs, snails etc.;
- 1 Wrinkled Snail Xeroplexa intersecta

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 1 (part of a) running crab spider Philodromus sp.: same as yesterday
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Sailing Club

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

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 8 spiders only: only the smaller individuals noted

Noted later:

Nothing

"I spy a buoy". A first winter Herring Gull wishes to land on a buoy occupied by a first winter Black-headed Gull.

That seems to be a good move by the Black-headed Gull.

"My buoy".

A Cormorant arrives to look for fish. The outer part of the left wing is in the sun which is why it looks so pale.

The belly is not jet-black suggesting this is not yet full adult. Perhaps three or four years old. Note the long tail.

They always splash-down tail-first even though the feet are pushed forward to bring the bird to a halt.

The early rising mist.

Right at the top of a street lamp pole, perhaps getting some warmth even from the LED lamps, was a member of the November Moth aggregate. Epirrita dilutata agg.

Planes of the day and nowhere near as dangerous as it looks. The lower one is a Boeing 737-800 Series of Jet2. The upper an Airbus A320 of eazyJet.

Not much lateral separation.

Apologies for the blurred photo - it freezing out there. The FlightRadar24 data shows the Jet2 flight is taking passengers from Newcastle to sunny (they hope) Palma. Note it is flying at 37,000 feet. The call-sign 'EXS' originates from way-back in 2002 when Jet2 when what was Channel Express changed its name to Jet2.

A slightly less blurred photo with FlightRadar24 showing the easyJet Airbus is taking its passengers from Edinburgh to Zurich - too early for skiing? Note it is flying at (more or less) 39,000 feet illustrating the standard 2,000 feet separation for aircraft flying the same direction (South in this instance). Aircraft flying in the opposite direction fly at even thousands of feet so there is always a 1,000 separation. In practice the air-lanes would normally be slightly off-set so the separation would be lateral as well. One day I'll explain why EZY58LZ is the same as U23291 - it would take too long here.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- *1 cranefly Tipula lateralis
- *3 plumed midges
everything else hiding

Not my best-ever photo of the cranefly Tipula lateralis, included here as it illustrates well the halteres, the pin-shaped bodies that are the reduced hind wings on all true flies which act as gyroscopes. These are far more noticeable on craneflies than most species of fly. This male can be assigned to species by the combination of a pale line down his abdomen and a pale mark just about visible in his wing.

With 'simple' antennae this is a female plumed midge. It could be one of several species.

Here is a male with his plumed antennae, primed to sniff out the pheromones given off by the female. His abdomen is longer and more slender than the female above. He might, or might not, be the same species.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:35

(217th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- slightly fewer Tufted Duck today.
- another big number of Moorhens. Many of then juveniles now out and about and becoming bold.
- this date last year I logged 41 Coots. I have no idea why there are so many this year and have been for weeks: many more that bred around here.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 55 Jackdaw: a quartet and a groups of 51
- 1 Skylark

Warblers noted

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- *8 Greylag Geese: two of these arrived together
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans: one cygnet not located
- 27 (19♂) Mallard
- 108 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- *25 Moorhens
- 151 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant

Noted around The Flash:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- *3 Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris

Bugs:
- *>30 Nettle Groundbugs Heterogaster urticae
- 1 Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina: instar

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 2 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- *1 male harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli

Fungus:
- Dark Honey Fungus Armillaria ostoyae

The Greylag Goose has just called loudly with its breath visible in the chilly conditions.

Two Mute Swans splash down. These are not the residents: they lack the Darvic leg ring and also have paler bills suggesting they are not yet of breeding age (five to seven years).

Some of the immature Moorhens are becoming bold. This was one of three on the path alongside Derwent Drive and seemed unconcerned about my presence.

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris investigating the first just-opening flowers of the Ivy.

And a Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris has the same idea.

Perhaps a better photo of the fly with grey stripes on the thorax and an orange abdomen that I believes to be Phaonia subventa.

Well it is one way to keep warm. What is the collective noun for Nettle Groundbugs Heterogaster urticae? A heap? Of course it could be an orgy.

A male harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli. This can be separated from the similar L. rotundum by looking at the two eyes on the top front of the abdomen. This one shows a white surround: on L. rotundum they are black. You do need to get close!

(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)