13 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 19.0°C: Very low cloud with light drizzle. Beginning to lift and break after 10:00 with a few sunny spells. Almost calm. Eventually very good visibility.

[Sunrise: 06:39 BST]

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 07:55 – 09:20

(207th visit of the year)

A late start to avoid the worst of the drizzle

Bird notes:
- the single Mute Swan still.
- I have no idea where many of the Mallard had gone.
- the first Barn Swallows appeared overhead c.08:05 with up to ten seen high up and then a few, probably of the same, low over the water for a while. All seemed to have gone by 09:00.
- 12 Chiffchaffs with five singing in the drizzle.
- a trio of Blackcaps one of which was singing.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw
- 4 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Mute Swan
- 9 (?♂) Mallard only
- no Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 44 Coot
- 18 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- no Herring Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.10 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted:
- 12 Chiffchaffs: of these five in song
- 3 Blackcaps: of these one in song

Nothing else noted:
Even the wasps would not venture out in the drizzle

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Visited c.10:15 "just in case"

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 8 midges
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.
- 2 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

Probably the same Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp. that I photographed here yesterday but in better light.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:35

(204th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- six Mute Swans again.
- two Tufted Duck new in. Apparently not the two seen at the Balancing Lake yesterday and not today. Those were both immatures / ducks and one of these looked to be a moulting drake.
- now 26 brownhead Goosander.
- only one of the two full adult Great Crested Grebes was seen.

Note
Thanks again to Martin Grant I can give an update on the ringed Mute Swan:
- Blue 4IAN was ringed as a second year on 09/02/2026 on the Sankey Valley Canal at Waterways, Warrington.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 14 Canada Geese: of these nine arrived
- no Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans
- 29 (20♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂?) Tufted Duck
- 26 (0♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 20 Coot only
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe
- 7 Black-headed Gulls only
- 3 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons again

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song again

Noted around the area:

The weather was brightening up.

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 6 Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 5 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

True flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
a few other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- 1 *Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Beetles:
- 1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Spiders:
- 1 *Garden Spider Araneus diadematus [Garden Cross Spider]

Fungus:
- *presumed Field Mushroom Agaricus campestris
- *unidentified species #1, probably from the Parasola genus
- *unidentified species #2

No identification problems with Dock Bug Coreus marginatus.

A Garden Spider Araneus diadematus also known as the Garden Cross Spider though the cross marking on this specimen is none too obvious. Top side...

...and from underneath.

I was not able to see the stem or underside of this fungus without destroying it. It looks to me like a Field Mushroom Agaricus campestris.

These delicate toadstools are from the Parasola genus which is all one can say from a photo.

These fungi look to have been trampled and I cannot get any identity for what they might have been

(Ed Wilson)

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2007
Priorslee Lake
Shoveler
Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

12 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 18.0°C: Broken cloud with some sunny intervals. Clouding as I was leaving. South-westerly breeze increasing moderate. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:38 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:10 – 09:25

(206th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no geese recorded at all here.
- the single Mute Swan remains.
- Great Crested Grebes are becoming increasingly difficult to count. Most families have juveniles with each of the parents and are no longer staying near the nesting area but mixed up as they range widely across the water.
- c.50 Black-headed Gulls flew in from the West c.05:50. Eventually >200 were present. My count of birds on the football field c.06:40 was 102.
- my best estimate of the number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls first thing is 450. I was merrily counting a continuous small arrival from the West after 05:50 when at 06:05 a mass arrival on a broad front of at least 250 birds overwhelmed me. Thereafter small numbers followed. The Grey Heron flying across the lake always put them all up from the water with many leaving. I have no real idea whether c.75 that arrived together at 06:25 were new arrivals or returning birds. I am sure there ought to have been some Herring Gulls somewhere. Immatures are hard to spot but I noted no adults among them. Very few large gulls visited later.
- no Swifts seen.
- the first hirundine was a single Barn Swallow at 07:35. Thereafter up to 15 Barn Swallows low over the water and up to five House Martins high up. The swallows seemed to be going to and from the East as if they might be birds from the local farms rather than on migration.
- an even higher count of Chiffchaffs with at least 20 noted. Song only started when the sun came out with just four heard.
- a single calling Blackcap again.
- a loose party of 31 Starlings flew East across the football field c.06:50.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- c.30 Racing Pigeons
- 13 Wood Pigeons only
- 192 Jackdaws
- 166 Rooks
- 31 Starlings

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Mute Swan
- 31 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (0♂?) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens again
- 43 Coot
- 20 Great Crested Grebes
- >200 Black-headed Gulls
- >8 Herring Gulls: all later; one adult
- >450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 *Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >15 Barn Swallows
- >5 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 20 Chiffchaffs: of these four in song
- 1 Blackcap

Also noted:
A few things tempted by the sunny spells:

Butterflies:
- 2 *Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 1 *Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *presumed Syrphus sp.

Other true flies:
- *bluebottle Calliphora sp.
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *male Muscid fly Musca autumnalis aka Face Fly
- Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
- *European Cranefly Tipula paludosa
other unidentified flies.

Bugs:
- *Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 *Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 2 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

True flies:
- 1 female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 *male Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 1 *female Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- 1 *Tachinid fly Gastrolepta anthracina
- 1 *dance fly possibly Tachypeza nubila
- several other unidentified flies

Springtails:
- 2 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- 2 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Mammals:
- no bats seen

The sunrise did not look up to much until...

...suddenly and briefly.

A Cormorant looking at me and wondering what to do.

An almost side-elevation view of a Speckled Wood butterfly Pararge aegeria. I have never noted the markings on the abdomen previously.

A Red Admiral butterfly Vanessa atalanta that may be destined to fly in circles with one damaged wing?

I had high hopes for this moth. Not so. Just a faded example (note the "bald head") of a Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa.

How hairy can you get? A Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris enters the competition.

A male Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

I remain puzzled by this hoverfly. With the bright yellow face and scutellum is reminiscent of Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta which is what I thought it was at the time [the epithet Long Hoverfly is only appropriate for males and this is a female]. But it isn't: on that species all the yellow bands are horizontal and here the upper-band is hooked.

Another view shows it is also too robust for that species. Obsidentify suggested Syrphus sp. and it may be correct. But I cannot find any species in that family with five yellow sections and it also seems too small and too yellow.

A bluebottle from the Calliphora genus.

The strange antennae identify this as a male and the abdomen pattern define it as a Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata.

This small fly is a female Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii. Only the males have spots at the tip of the wings.

This black, narrow-bodied and hairy fly seems to be the Tachinid fly Gastrolepta anthracina [anthracina is from the Greek translating as "coal black" (anyone remember anthracite as a type of coal?) The Greek derivation illustrates why the terminology "scientific name" is preferable to "Latin name"].

This is a male Muscid fly Musca autumnalis aka Face Fly. Female have four pale stripes on their thorax. [Somebody else has been unwell on the street lamp pole].

Not a brilliant photo but this fly was doing what it is noted for – running away at speed rather than fly. Its is a dance fly possibly Tachypeza nubila. A slender body, a small, rounded head almost detached from the thorax and legs with swollen thighs and the front legs also with a swollen femur.

It is Autumn: we will be seeing many of these European Craneflies Tipula paludosa in the next few weeks.

An adult Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 16 midges
- 7 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 1 Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *spider Clubiona sp.
- 1 *Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 9 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 *harvestman Opilio canestrinii

This is a spider Clubiona sp. An unusual find in the tunnel but common enough elsewhere. The shape of the end of the abdomen defines this genus.

Another spider genus I do not find very often in the tunnel: a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

A harvestman Opilio canestrinii. This species seems to be almost a permanent resident in the tunnel.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:35

(203rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- six Mute Swans again.
- probably more Mallard than I have logged. When I arrived there was a swirling melee being fed and many of these them dispersed before I could check other parts.
- now 18 brownhead Goosander.

Thanks to Martin Grant I can report the Mute Swan with the blue Darvic ring is showing a Lancashire code. Martin is awaiting further ringing details and I'll report them when I have them.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 25 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans again
- >33 (?♂) *Mallard
- 18 (0♂) *Goosander
- 5 Moorhens
- 18 Coot only
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) *Great Crested Grebe
- 28 *Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: of these two arrived
- 2 Grey Herons

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
- 4 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 4 Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 1 *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- 3 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

True flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
various other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- 1 *instar Hairy Shieldbug Dolycoris baccarum [Sloe Bug]
- 1 *instar Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina
- 1 adult Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina

Beetles:
- 6 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Table manners guys! Mallard and Black-headed Gulls battle for the proffered corn.

Thirteen of today's 18 Goosanders. Every day there are more. How do they find out where to come? Do birds have social media?

It is the turn of the right-most juvenile Great Crested Grebe to be fed.

Down it goes.

A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum has found a late-flowering Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra.

An instar of a Hairy Shieldbug Dolycoris baccarum. Compare with...

An instar of Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
9 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 immature Peregrine Falcon
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
3 Wheatear
Yellow Wagtail
(John Isherwood)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Arctic Tern
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Albino Wood Pigeon
3 Swifts
1 Sedge Warbler
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

11 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 17.0°C: Clear early. More cloud after c.08:15 still with sunny intervals. Light westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:36 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:10 – 09:10

(205th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a small arrival of Canada Geese.
- still just a single Mute Swan.
- a Common Sandpiper flushed off the concrete ramp c.06:10 and then what I assume was the same bird, flushed off the North side c.07:30.
- c.80 Black-headed Gulls flew in on a more traditional flightpath – low from the West – at c.05:55. Eventually c.150 were present which was the number I noted on the football field c.06:45 when something spooked them and only 49 returned.
- it appears that as soon as any Lesser Black-backed Gull is prepared to settle on the water all the erstwhile flying over birds decide it is safe for them to visit as well. I estimated 180 arrived by 06:15, also from the West.
- a single Grey Heron flew West at 08:00. Another, in addition the bird at the lakeside, flushed off the football field c.09:05.
- a single Swift was very briefly over the North wood at 06:30. Later two were over the Castle Farm Way area after c.08:00.
- the first hirundines were seen high over at 06:20 but could not be identified – too high to hear any calls. Later I noted at least two Sand Martins (an unusually late date), >30 Barn Swallows and at least five House Martins over the water after 08:00.
- another high count of Chiffchaffs with six of the 15 singing.
- a single calling Blackcap.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 17 Canada Geese: a duo flew East; 15 flew south-west together
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 11 Wood Pigeons only
- 197 Jackdaws
- 128 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 7 Canada Geese: arrived as a quintet and two singles
- 1 Mute Swan again
- 39 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 (1♂?) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 55 Coot
- 19 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 *Common Sandpiper
- >150 Black-headed Gulls
- >5 Herring Gulls
- >180 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 *Swifts
- >2 Sand Martins
- >30 *Barn Swallows
- >5 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 15 Chiffchaffs: of these six in song
- 1 Blackcap

Also noted:
Very little in now cloudy conditions.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
several other unidentified flies.

Thanks to Martin Adlam I now have a satisfactory identification of yesterday's moth. It was a very plain-looking example of a Sallow Cirrhia icteritia.

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 ! *Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Flies:
- 1 female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus

Springtails:
- 1 *springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]

Mammals:
- a single pipistrelle-type bat was flying above the south-west grass c.05:55.
- one Noctule-type bat was flying high over c.06:00.

Terrible photo as I flushed a Common Sandpiper – the leading bird here. I saw two birds out of the corner of my eye and assumed they were both sandpipers. The photo tells me otherwise, the second bird being a Barn Swallow.

I remain surprised to still be seeing Swifts at this date.

Micromoths at the top of street lamp poles are usually difficult to ID. This mainly black and white species is an exception. It is the very common Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana: moth species #68 here this year for me. I remain well down on the number of moth species seen here this year.

A springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type.

This Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius is eating its breakfast. No idea what though.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

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

True flies:
- 8 midges
- 1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- 1 ! *midge Psectrotanypus varius
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 1 Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 7 *Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

A distinctive midge that goes by the name Psectrotanypus varius. After much searching on the internet I discovered that "the genus name refers to the comb-like structures on the larval mentum". So now we know! I also discovered that positive identification to the species-level "requires examination of male genitalia and larval mouthpart structures" [thanks to bugswithmike.com].

One of the many Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata showing how it got the alternative name of Silver-sided Sector Spider. The "missing sector" is because the usual orb-web has one section without cross-strands. In the tunnel the spiders do not seem to make proper webs and it is difficult to illustrate this. It is also difficult to photograph them as they are usually close to the wall or ceiling and the camera has difficulty distinguishing between the real thing and the shadow cast by my torch.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:15

(202nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- six Mute Swans again.
- yesterday's Tufted Duck apparently all departed.
- eleven brownhead Goosander today.
- two adult and all four juvenile Great Crested Grebe present with one of the adults at the opposite end of the water and one of the juveniles frequently some distance apart from its siblings. The immature bird seen again, hiding in an inaccessible cut-off behind one of the out-of-bounds bridges.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 67 Canada Geese: of these 38 arrived in four groups
- no Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans
- 29 (20?♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 11 (0♂) Goosander
- 9 Moorhens
- 24 Coot
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe
- 13 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Cormorants: of these two arrived
- 3 Grey Herons

Warblers noted:
- 2 Chiffchaffs: no song

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 1 Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea [was Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 4 *Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 2 Buff-tailed Bumblebees Bombus terrestris
- >5 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- 1 *Syrphus sp.

True flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
various other unidentified flies of at least four species

Beetles:
- 1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

A Honey Bee Apis mellifera tucks in.

A Syrphus species of hoverfly. A female but as the hind legs are not visible to check the pattern of dark and light I cannot determine the species.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Snipe
Wheatear
3 Raven
(John Isherwood/Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Hobby
1 Sedge Warbler
3 Swift
2 Teal
1 Meadow Pipit
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Black Tern
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

10 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 14.0°C: Early broken high cloud giving a great sunrise. Cloud increasing and lowering. No sun. A very light southerly breeze increasing moderate. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:36 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:10 – 09:05

(204th visit of the year)

New bird species:
An unexpected addition to my 2026 bird list for here. One (or more?) Snipe heard departing at 05:55. Not seen but scanning for them revealed two medium-sized bats over the water, probably too high for Daubenton's Bats but different in flight characteristics from the pipistrelle over the south-west grass and two presumed Noctule-type bats with a much faster and more direct flight higher up. Bird species #96 here this year.

Bird notes:
- just a single Mute Swan.
- at various times I noted a trio of duck/immature Tufted Duck; a quartet of ducks/immatures; and the a quintet including at least one drake. I am inclined to think these were all the same birds moving around.
- 25 Black-headed Gulls had arrived by 06:00 at the West end. By 06:15 there were c.35 at the East end – some of the same? To confuse matters more I counted 107 on the football field at c.06:50.
- only three Lesser Black-backed Gulls visited early with a steady passage of 61 birds passing south-east overhead. Two visited later. A few more flew over.
- a single Herring Gull flew over.
- a trio of Grey Herons flew West together at 06:45.
- a (Common) Kestrel was hovering close to Castle Farm Way at 06:10 but not seen thereafter.
- Barn Swallows started to appear low over the water after c.08:00 with at least 30 much of the time. Then c.08:30 they all flew high in to the sky revealing c.100 birds before some of them dropped back down again.
- a Kingfisher was heard in flight.
- a bumper number of Chiffchaffs such that it was difficult to separate individuals at times. I reckon 17 with six of them singing.
- two Blackcaps calling only

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 6 Canada Geese: three flew East; a duo flew North and a single flew West
- 1 Herring Gull
- 65 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Grey Herons: together
- 21Wood Pigeons
- 168 Jackdaws
- 170 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Mute Swan only
- 59 (?♂) Mallard
- 5 (1♂?) *Tufted Duck: see notes
- 3 Moorhens
- 51 Coot
- 1+ Snipe: see notes
- 17 Great Crested Grebes
- >110 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 *Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >100 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted:
- 17 Chiffchaffs: of these six in song
- 2 Blackcaps

Also noted:
Very little in now cloudy conditions.

Moths:
- 1 *unidentified macro-moth

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 2 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

Flies:
- 2 *female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus

Beetles:
- 1 *ground beetle probably Paradromius linearis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 spider Clubiona sp.
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]

Mammals:
- a single pipistrelle-type bat was flying above the south-west grass c.05:55.
- two Noctule-type bats were flying high over c.05:55.
- two other bats were over the water at the same time.

The early sunrise, a bit wobbly as I was using a time exposure. Must take more water with it.

Now coloured up.

With the sun about to rise the colour has faded leaving an interesting cloud formation. A group of Mallard on the water bottom right.

A quartet of Tufted Duck. Looking closely I think it likely that the outer two are immature / moulting drakes.

A juvenile / first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. The feathers are more patterned than you think when examined in detail.

Here in flight. Would have better had the ripples on the water not been present but...

Most odd. I did not notice it at the time but this Common Buzzard seems to have lost much of the outer part of its right wing.

Long-tailed Tits are always worth a few photos.

So here is another.

And another.

For a change an adult Grey Wagtail. At this time of year the sexes are very similar with the male's black throat only developing in Spring.

It looks so easy... I found this moth sitting in full view on a leaf. Neither Obsidentify nor Google Lens gave me an identity that I am happy with (both suggested species not flying at this time of year). A search through the "flying tonight" tab on the West Midlands Moths web site has failed to help as has a trawl through my field guide. Yet it looks to be so clear!

About the only species of midge I can identify: this is a female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus and being a female she lacks the plumed antennae. Also like many species of midge she has wings that do not reach the tip of her abdomen.

This ground beetle is probably Paradromius linearis. It was, for a change, running about. Usually when I shine my torch on beetles on the street lamp poles they immediately drop to the ground and run away. I saw this species here back in January.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 *unidentified macro-moth

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

True flies:
- 6 midges
- 1 *crane fly Ilisia maculata aka Ocelot Twist-tail
- 3 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 1 *Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 6 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

I cannot get an identity for this moth either. The closest I can get is Small Rufous Coenobia rufa, a species that is uncommon in our area and associated with fens, marshes and bogs.

A Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea. It was only last week I noted my first here.

An unusual cranefly Ilisia maculata aka Ocelot Twist-tail. There is a very similarly-marked species though this has pale centres to the marks (they are solid on I. occoecata)

With antennae unusually pointing forward a Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:10 – 10:15

(201st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- six Mute Swans eventually located: two persisted in walking along Derwent Drive.
- 15 Tufted Duck in three groups.
- 13 brownhead Goosander noted, keeping together.
- two adult and all four juvenile Great Crested Grebe more or less together. I did not see the immature bird.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese: arrived together from the North
- 6 *Mute Swans
- 31 (19?♂) Mallard
- 15 (9?♂) *Tufted Duck
- 13 (0♂) *Goosander
- 8 Moorhens
- 19 Coot
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe: see notes
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: of these one departed
- 2 Grey Herons

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song

Noted around the area:
Cloud kept most things hiding.

Moths:
- 4 Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea [was Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer]: on four different street lamp poles.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 2 Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 2 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

I now understand why I could not read this ring on the flying Mute Swan yesterday. I can't read it here either! It seems to be a bit battered and from a sequence I do not know. I'll see whether Martin Grant can shed any light on it.

A mixed grouping of four Tufted Duck and seven Goosander.

There is no two ways about it: Wood Pigeons have strange eyes.

Yes: I am looking at you! A Carrion Crows wants to know what I am doing.

Trying again to show they are not really all-black.

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
2 Yellow Wagtail
1 Raven
(John Isherwood)

Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
The Flash
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
2 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Pochard
Common Gull
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
A juvenile Arctic Tern
(Ed Wilson)