11 Nov 26

The Flash and Priorslee Balancing Lake

7.0°C > 7.0°C: Medium overcast lifting and breaking from the North. Light north-easterly breeze picking up slightly. Very good visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:25 GMT]

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

I avoided the early rain so it was another day starting at The Flash after the school-run mayhem.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 10:30 – 11:40

(252nd visit of the year)

Bird notes
Highlight today was a distant large skein of Pink-footed Geese flying north-west far to the North at c.11:30. A new species for the year here and one I do not see very often hereabouts. More often single lost birds with the geese at The Flash. Bird species #99.

The "what is it if it is not a Cetti's Warbler?" was heard giving the abbreviated version of its alarm call. It refused to call again after I had fired up the Merlin app. Nothing was seen. It does seem to be hanging around so perhaps tomorrow I will nail it – so as to speak.

Other bird notes:
The Model Boat Club were using the West part of the water and that may have affected some of the numbers.
- a pair of Mute Swans, including Blue '7JXV' flew off East at 11:35.
- among an increased number of Tufted Duck there were two Pochard, at first sight both ducks. In most sightings of this species drakes significantly outnumber ducks. My photos suggest both these might be immatures and I am uncertain as to their sex.
- three Great Crested Grebes today.
- the gull numbers are given as two values: the first taken at 10:30 as I arrived; and the second as I was about to leave at 11:40. There was a constant arrival and departure of gulls while I was walking around. The individuals almost certainly changed and there were more no accounted for.
- eight Cormorants were managing to cope with the disturbance.
- a small party of seven Fieldfare flew over – flying East again.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 80 *Pink-footed Geese
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 1 Wood Pigeon
- 2 Jackdaws
- 1 Skylark
- 7 Fieldfare
- 1 Redwing

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: throughout
- 2 *Mute Swans: departed
- 13 (9♂) Mallard
- 2 (?♂) *Pochard
- 70 (38♂) *Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 14 Coots only
- 3 *Great Crested Grebes
- 5 || 23 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 || 17 *Herring Gulls
- 61 || 81 *Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 8 Cormorants
- no Grey Herons

On the West end street lamp poles:

Flies:
- 1 *Muscid fly Phaonia subventa

Bugs:
thankfully the confusing shieldbug(s) were not visible!

Here are 80 geese in a sort-of skein. A long way away. What species?

The camera and the photo-editor did well to pull this amount of detail out. Clearly not Canada or Greylag Geese. They look small-headed with a small bill which fits the most likely species to be see in any number inland in this part of the country - Pink-footed Geese. Also this species often flies in rather ragged 'V's as here. Too far away to hear any calls.

The pair(?) of Mute Swans. The back one has a blue Darvic ring...

...this ring '7JXV'.

And away they go.

Some gulls to puzzle me of course. This one looked darker than a Herring Gull on its back and I wondered about Yellow-legged or Caspian Gull. The best way to separate these species is by the pattern of black on the wing-tip. Luckily the bird was bathing and then flapped its wings to dry off. It confirms that it is "just" a Herring Gull, the other two species having more of the primary feathers with black near the tips. It is noteworthy how the tone of the wing and back varies with the lighting.

Another clinching view. It would be most unusual for either Yellow-legged or Caspian Gull to ever show the extent of the head-streaking shown here, typical of many Herring Gulls in adult-winter plumage.

The three gulls on the right deserved a second look. Superficially Herring Gulls but looking "small". Herring Gulls are typically larger than Lesser Black-backed Gulls, though males of both species are larger than females. The bird back right looks spatially small and slightly darker. I wondered about Common Gull. In this edited photo I can see that the bill is too thick, yellow and not greenish, and the head is not sufficiently "rounded". None of these features could be seen with binoculars.

On the left is, what at first sight, looks like a duck Pochard along with three drake and one duck/immature Tufted Duck. The Pochard looks to have a pale area between the bill and the eye suggesting it might be an immature. But of which sex?

Here is the other, similarly marked. Again: which sex?

A Great Crested Grebe pattering across the surface. This an immature still a hint of streaking on the head and neck.

Certainly in a hurry to get somewhere.

In flight the extent of the white in the upper-wing is unexpected.

Lift-off eventually achieved. Note how far back the feet are set. Landing is achieved chest-first. This species cannot walk on land, only shuffle about.

The only daytime resident on the West end street lamp poles was this Muscid fly Phaonia subventa. Thankfully the confusing shieldbug(s) seen over the past week were not around.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:20

(250th visit of the year)

It remains very quiet here.

Bird notes:
- two drake Shoveler found. Only visible briefly: both moulting and neither looked like the bird seen yesterday.
- no (Common) Teal seen.
- a migrant party of 27 Wood Pigeons flew South overhead.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 27 Wood Pigeons

Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese
- 2 (2♂) Shoveler
- 27 (17♂) Mallard
- no (Common) Teal
- 15 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 12 Coot only
- 19 Black-headed Gulls: of these 17 arrived together
- 1 Cormorant
- no Grey Heron

Noted around the area:
still dull; slightly less cold than yesterday but wet vegetation

Moths:
- 1 *unidentified micro moth?

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 4 wasps Vespula sp. on the Ivy

Nothing else

How could I resist?

Not sure what to make of this. Found at the very top of a street lamp pole: less than ideal for a clear photo. The shape looks similar to many Tortrix moths. However the asymmetric markings make it difficult to match. It might be a Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana. This is a very variably-marked species that can be seen at any time of the year and is the top micromoth on the West Midlands Moths "flying tonight" tab. I have never seen one this pale. Obsidentify suggested hedgehog, beaver or badger!

(Ed Wilson)

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2009
The Wrekin
Firecrest
(Andy Latham)

2008
Priorslee Lake
10 Great Crested Grebes
10 Cormorants
8 Pochard
107 Tufted Ducks
c.1600 Wood Pigeons
c.1700 Fieldfare
c.460 Redwings
359 Jackdaws
124 Rooks
105 Starlings
c.12 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
140 Lapwings
150+ Golden Plover
1 Snipe
1 Gadwall
1 Shoveler
15 Pochard
60 Tufted Ducks
2 Water Rails
6 Meadow Pipits
21 Redwings
20 Fieldfare over
3 Goldcrests
c.400 Starlings
1 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
28 Pochard
58 Tufted Ducks
15 Lapwings
670+ Black-headed Gulls
2008+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1207 Wood Pigeons
88 Fieldfare
24 Redwings
254 Jackdaws
229 Rooks
795 Starlings
10 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

10 Nov 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 6.0°C: Low overcast throughout. Keen easterly breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:23 GMT

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

At last – I can see things. Not that there was much to see.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:05 – 09:00

(251st visit of the year)

Bird noes:
Hmm. What might – or might not – have been a Cetti's Warbler was heard intermittently but numerous times from dense reeds and sedges along the North side. Not the very distinctive (and LOUD) song; and not the single note contact calls, more like an abbreviated version of the alarm call. The Merlin app would not give me an ID either – it seemed to be struggling to overcome the background noise of the M54. I could see the call-notes showing on the sonogram but no identity came up on the screen. But neither did it for a quietly calling Wren. If it wasn't this species then what was it? Nothing was seen.

Other bird notes:
- a pair of Mute Swans did their disappearing act again.
- 17 Mallard flew in from the East together at 06:30. Many flew off again before it was light-enough to determine their sex.
- one of the two remaining Great Crested Grebes went for a prolonged fly-around before settling back down. There is always a gathering of this species in Winter off the Wirral peninsular and perhaps that is where our breeding birds go.
- the dark morning meant that the early gulls were dispersing before there was enough light to see them properly. About 150 each of Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls was all I noted.
- later gull arrivals comprised eight Herring, two probable *Yellow-legged and 61 *Lesser Black-backs.
- a Great (White) Egret flew East at 07:20.
- five Cormorants flew from the north-east with two pitching in to the water and three carrying on. Others arrived singly and later fly-over.
- otherwise very little seen flying over.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants
- 1 Great (White) Egret
- 9 Wood Pigeons only
- 215 Jackdaws
- 73 Rooks
- 1 Fieldfare

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: throughout
- 2 Mute Swans: departed? hiding?
- 17 (>3♂) Mallard
- 45 (29♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 19 Coots only
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- >150 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Herring Gulls
- 2 *probable Yellow-legged Gulls
- c.215 *Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants
- 2 *Grey Herons

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:

None

Later around the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere

Nothing found 

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 1 small male non-biting midge
- 2 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Springtails:
- 1 *very small globular springtail

Bugs:
- 1 *Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus

Beetles:
- 13(!) *Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

The back bird here looks to me like a Yellow-legged Gull. The back is significantly paler that the Lesser Black-backed Gull in front of it but darker than any Herring Gull.

The angle of light is important when looking at photos. This bird flew in with the Yellow-legged Gull and looked to my eyes the same darker tone. The photo suggests it is a tad paler. Worryingly neither of them showed the clean white head that is usually noted as a feature of this species in Winter when most other similar-sized gulls develop head-streaking.

 The back bird of this trio of adult gulls struck me as darker and larger than Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Could it be a Great Black-backed Gull? No. That species has an obviously large bull and adults never have streaking on the head, even in Winter. There are different races (populations) of Lesser Black-backed Gull and some are as dark as this. Normally, like the bird on the left, the folded wing tips are darker than the back.

A flying barn door otherwise known as a Grey Heron.

Goldcrests leaping about in poor light among small branches and twigs are not easy to photograph. But you have to try.

Regular readers will know... this is a Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus which I correctly re-identified on Saturday after mistaking it for a Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale. Yesterday on the same street lamp pole I photographed a real Hawthorn Shieldbug. Today that had gone and the Birch Shieldbug appeared again toward the top of the same pole. It clearly lacks the "power shoulders" of the Hawthorn. What are they trying to do to me?

Alongside this Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala, one of 13 I noted on the street lamp poles, is a tiny springtail. The beetle is c.4mm so the springtail looks to be about 1mm. What chance to identify that?

Two more of those 13 flea-beetles. I suspect there were probably more. They are not easy to spot when they are not standing on the white identity labels of the street lamp poles.

I have remarked on the lack of Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna berries this year. Earlier in the year the sloes on the Blackthorn Prunus spinosa looked to be developing well if not so abundantly as last year. I checked this morning with this as the result. Two very sad-looking sloes that I suggest you don't use to make slow gin. What is that between them? A very shrivelled sloe or a dead leaf? I could not decide when I picked it. It is just possible that there has been healthy sloes which have all been eaten by now...

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

The council (or their contractors) have once again painted over all the graffiti. Well done. I am not sure whether it was the fresh paint or the chill wind blowing through the tunnel that kept the totals low.

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 1 unidentified non-biting midge
- 1 *unidentified fly(?)

Arthropods:
none

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

Offers from my apps for this were a non-biting midge or a species of cranefly. Neither seems likely. It has long antennae reminiscent of an ichneumon but does not have a wasp waist. The abdomen looks strangely bristly and close examination shows the wings extend well beyond the abdomen (the shadow makes that less obvious). Any offers?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:05 – 10:15

(249th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the lone Mute Swan made several short flights within the confines of the water.
- one *drake Shoveler still present
- a *trio of (Common) Teal located
- a Grey Wagtail was working the branches overhanging the water from the island.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 1 (1♂) *Shoveler
- 24 (15♂) Mallard
- 3 (1♂) *(Common) Teal
- 12 (2?♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 3 Moorhens only
- 16 Coot
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: sub-adult, briefly
- 1 Cormorant: departed
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted around the area:
dull and cold so I was surprised...

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 5 wasps Vespula sp. on the Ivy

Nothing else

A drake Shoveler trying to hide. It was on these branches that I saw a Grey Wagtail hunting insects.

A trio of (Common) Teal. Today only one drake (on the right)

Marginally better than my effort at photographing the Goldcrest at the lake. These sprites are never still and the dull weather precluded getting a sharp image.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Teal
1 Wigeon
7 Gadwall
75 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
226 Coots
720+ large gulls over and c.50 on the lake
1 Yellow Legged Gull
c.3100 Wood Pigeons
159 Fieldfare
31 Redwings
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.170 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
146 Coots
c.700 Black-headed Gulls logged
c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
41 Redwings
10 Fieldfares
634 Jackdaws
198 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Trench Lock Pool
Yellow-legged Gull
(Martin Grant)

2008
Priorslee Lake
300+ Wood Pigeons
326 Redwings
652 Fieldfare
269 Jackdaw
136 Rooks
c.75 Starlings seen leaving roost
6 Pochard
78 Tufted Ducks
4 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Goosander
47 Greylag
95 Canada Geese
42 Tufted Duck
6 Redwings
1 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Gadwall
Shoveler
21 Starlings in the roost
12 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
c.80 Lapwing
192 Coot
500+ Black-headed Gulls
800+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Chiffchaff
26 lb Carp landed by one of the fishermen
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
20 Pochard
60 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
19 Lapwings
1700+ Black-headed Gulls
518+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
334 Wood Pigeons
14 Pied Wagtails
24 Robins
27 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
8 Song Thrushes
12 Redwings
52 Jackdaws
142 Rooks
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

9 Nov 26

The Flash and Priorslee Balancing Lake

5.0°C: Mist / fog. Very light wind. Poor / very poor visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:17 GMT]

A single photograph today

The usual "bad weather" circuit starting late at The Flash. The mist / fog did not clear much. Why did I bother?

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 10:20 – 11:15

(250th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- all numbers are the best I could muster from a walk-around. I obviously missed things and there was scope for double-counting, especially of the Tufted Duck that were mobile on the water.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 7 (4♂) Mallard
- 52 (27♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- Coots not counted
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:

Bugs:
- 1 Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale: re-re-identified?

Well: this is both confusing and embarrassing - again! A shieldbug on the same West end street lamp pole but lower down than on my sightings on previous days. The resultant clearer photo shows this is most definitely a Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale. The pointed "shoulders" mean that it cannot be a Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus. Did I get it right in the first place and then mis-correct it? Or have there been two individuals?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:10

(248th visit of the year)

The island remained almost invisible throughout.

Bird notes:
- the Mute Swan that was first seen yesterday was closer. It is not ringed so its identity cannot be positively established: it does look very similar to the bird taken in to care a week ago.
- a drake Shoveler seen.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 41 (25♂) Mallard
- 1 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 12 Coot only
- 9 Black-headed Gulls only
- no Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Around the area:

Nothing of note

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
1 Pochard
60 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
235 Coots
7 Song Thrushes
118 Fieldfare
30 Redwings
466 Jackdaws
139 Rooks
c.450 Starlings from roost
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.100 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
18 Tufted Ducks
153 Coots
c.500 Black-headed Gulls
c.450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
10 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
118 Wood Pigeons
103 Redwings
154 Fieldfares
809 Jackdaws
201 Rooks
7 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Pink-footed Goose
c.100 Greylag Geese
41 Canada Geese
41 Tufted Duck
12 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Yellow legged Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
28 Pochard
65 Tufted Duck
46 Greenfinches
5 Fieldfares
11 Redwings
12 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Goosanders
1 Pochard
45 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Great Black-backed Gull
1 Gadwall
1 Shoveler
2 Wigeon
Peregrine Falcon
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
23 Pochard
75 Tufted Ducks
950+ Black-headed Gulls
1204+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
499 Wood Pigeons
11 Meadow Pipits
23 Robins
23 Blackbirds
13 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
18 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
321 Jackdaws
241 Rooks
22 Greenfinches
9 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

8 Nov 26

The Flash only

5.0°C > 6.0°C: Mist / fog. Calm. Poor / very poor visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:19 GMT]

Nothing photographed today

Another late start in the hope that the mist might have thinned. Wrong again. I only had time to visit The Flash.

The Flash: 09:20 – 10:05

(247th visit of the year)

The island was barely visible. No birds on the main part of the water or on the island could be seen.

New bird species:
I managed an addition to my 2026 bird list for this site when a Linnet flew over calling and heading South. I do not record this species here every year. Bird species #76 this year.

Other bird notes:
- a single Mute Swan seen. Possibly the bird taken in to care a week or so ago? I did not get close-enough to see.
- also a single Siskin fly-over.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Linnet
- 1 Siskin

Noted on / around the water:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 1 Mute Swan
- 40 (25♂) Mallard
- 9 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 19 Coot
- 29 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: first-winter
nothing else seen

Noted around the area:
Predictably nothing found on the Ivy bank.

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

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Teal
1 Wigeon
7 Gadwall
75 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
226 Coots
720+ large gulls over and c.50 on the lake
1 Yellow Legged Gull
c.3100 Wood Pigeons
159 Fieldfare
31 Redwings
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.170 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
146 Coots
c.700 Black-headed Gulls logged
c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
41 Redwings
10 Fieldfares
634 Jackdaws
198 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Trench Lock Pool
Yellow-legged Gull
(Martin Grant)

2008
Priorslee Lake
300+ Wood Pigeons
326 Redwings
652 Fieldfare
269 Jackdaw
136 Rooks
c.75 Starlings seen leaving roost
6 Pochard
78 Tufted Ducks
4 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Goosander
47 Greylag
95 Canada Geese
42 Tufted Duck
6 Redwings
1 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Gadwall
Shoveler
21 Starlings in the roost
12 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
c.80 Lapwing
192 Coot
500+ Black-headed Gulls
800+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Chiffchaff
26 lb Carp landed by one of the fishermen
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
20 Pochard
60 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
19 Lapwings
1700+ Black-headed Gulls
518+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
334 Wood Pigeons
14 Pied Wagtails
24 Robins
27 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
8 Song Thrushes
12 Redwings
52 Jackdaws
142 Rooks
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

7 Nov 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 7.0°C: Mist / fog. Calm. Poor / very poor visibility.

Sunrise: 07:17 GMT

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

A late start in the hope that the mist might have thinned. Wrong.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:45 – 09:15

(248th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a duck *Shoveler was a new arrival.
- a Great White Egret flew off East at 07:10.
- at least 300 Starlings left their roost along the South side c.07:15 after many minutes of muttering to each other.
- single Redwings were seen leaving trees at several locations, probably too late for this to be roost dispersal, just single birds moving around.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
nothing much in the poor visibility
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Wood Pigeon
- 4 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 1 Starling
- 1 Greenfinch
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Counts from the lake area:
all counts affected by the poor visibility
- 2 Canada Geese: throughout yet again
- no Mute Swans
- 1 (0♂) *Shoveler
- 11 (6♂) Mallard
- 37 (20♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- *Coots not counted
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- >430 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: c.400 early; 31 visited later
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great White Egret: departed

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- >300 Starlings

Later around the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:

Nothing found 

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:
a later visit so many of the nocturnal species had departed

Moths:
- 1 *November Moth type Epirrita sp.

True flies:
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus

Bugs:
- 1 *!Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus: re-identified(!) and its third day
- 1 *unidentified aphid

Beetles:
- 1 Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

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

 It was a struggle in the mist. Behind the two drake Tufted is a duck (female) Shoveler.

Her bill is better seen in this later photo when the mist thinned briefly. Size comparison with a Coot.

For a change a November Moth type Epirrita sp. resting at eye-level allowing a direct plan-view photo.

Well this is embarrassing. What seems to the same shieldbug that has been present for the previous two days had shuffled around its favoured street lamp pole this morning and my better photo shows it is not after all a Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale but the very similar (that's my story) Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus . The feature to note is that the scutellum (the triangular bit at the top of the body) is tinged red whereas it is wholly green on the Hawthorn Shieldbug (there are subtle differences in shape as well).

As far as I can determine this is an aphid in it winged form. The legs appear at first glance to have very thick thighs. Not so: it is the shadow of my torch and / or the camera flash, more easily seen on the insects left legs. Aphids are bugs and not flies.

Just the one harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis this morning.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:25

(246th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no Shoveler or (Common) Teal located
- a single drake Goosander present again.
- a Kingfisher flew from the top end. I did not find it again.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese
- 33 (22♂) Mallard
- 12 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (1♂) *Goosander
- 8 Moorhens again
- 18 Coot
- 56 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: (near?) adult
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted around the area:

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

Nothing else.

The only positive outcome of the misty conditions was that an acceptable photograph of the drake Goosander was possible. There is usually too much contrast to show it properly.

Just four wasps seen around the Ivy this morning. This, a Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris, the only one that was not flying around and could therefore be positively identified.

Tucking in to what must be some nectar from the part that will develop in to the black fruit loved by, particularly Wood Pigeons, in the Winter.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
4 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
1 Teal
1 Pochard
56 Tufted Duck
23 Moorhens
233 Coots
600+ Wood Pigeons
6 Song Thrush
55 Fieldfare
55 Redwings
532 Jackdaws
167 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.150 Greylag Geese
2 Gadwall
9 Pochard
28 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
166 Coots
c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Great Black-backed Gull
c.300 Wood Pigeons
29 Blackbirds
63 Redwings
120 Fieldfares
709 Jackdaws
182 Rooks
c.70 Starlings
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
10 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Wrekin
Location
Firecrest
1 Crossbill
(Andy Latham)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
26 Pochard
86 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
1 Redshank
c.750 Black-headed Gulls
128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Kingfisher
20 Pied Wagtails
34 Robins
32 Blackbirds
16 Redwings
41 Greenfinches
1 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

6 Nov 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 8.0°C: Started with low overcast and the lightest spits of rain only visible in my torch beam. The cloud lifted somewhat and I even saw a blue patch before light rain after 10:00. Almost calm. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:16 GMT

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

I'll let you decide how many of the changes since yesterday might have been in response to the fireworks last night. And we have at least two more days to come.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:55 – 09:05

(247th visit of the year)

An even quieter day.

Bird notes:
- no Mute Swans on the water. *A pair flew high South at 08:20.
- a duck (Eurasian) Wigeon was a new arrival.
- no Pochard found and a reduced number of Tufted Duck.
- the water was devoid of all gulls until 06:45 when a rush of c.400 Lesser Black-backs descended.
- the first Black-headed Gulls were heard at 06:55. I was not in a position to see how many. I logged 153 on the football field at c.07:25
- later gull arrivals comprised eight Herring and 84 Lesser Black-backs.
- *a couple of gull puzzles as well for more research.
- 69 fly-over Wood Pigeons were in three groups all heading north/north-east. One group seemed to be setting off from somewhere just to the North of the lake. Otherwise low-level local movements.
- no Starlings, Fieldfare or Redwings were noted. It is usually a busy time of year for these species to be flying over.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Canada Geese: flew East together
- *2 Mute Swans
- 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 90 Wood Pigeons: of these 69 in three groups
- 445 Jackdaws
- 129 Rooks
- 2 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: throughout
- no Mute Swans
- 17 (10♂) Mallard: possibly more – much flying in and out
- 2 (1?♂) *(Eurasian) Wigeon
- no Pochard
- 41 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 18 Coots only
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- >150 *Black-headed Gulls
- 8 *Herring Gulls
- >480 *Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:

None

Later around the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:

Nothing found

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:

Moths:
- 1 November Moth type Epirrita sp.

True flies:
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 2 other smaller midges
- 1 male Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 1 wood gnat, probably Sylvicola cinctus
- 5 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Bugs:
- 1 Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale

Beetles:
- 6 Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

Arthropods:
- 1 *(Common) Striped Woodlouse Philoscia muscorum

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Garden Spider Araneus diadematus [Garden Cross Spider]
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- 5 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Two Mute Swans fly steadily South without even looking at the lake.

A (Eurasian) Wigeon in flight. Note the rounded head-profile, pale belly and pointed tail. In particular note the two-tone bill suggesting a possible drake.

A side-elevation view.

This implies there were two birds. This is a duck and her bill looks uni-coloured. This species often looks smudgy around the eye.

Gull puzzle #1. The bird in the centre looks small and dark-eyed as if it might be a Common Gull. A profile view would have clinched the ID with the distinctive rounded head of this species. It is a first-winter which I would have expected to show a paler back and a pale base to the bill.

Gull puzzle #2. From the left: a first-winter Lesser Black-back; a good question #1; two adult Lesser Black-backs; a Herring Gull behind; a Black-headed Gull; an adult Lesser Black-back; and a good question #2 with wings akimbo! Both the questionable birds look too dark for Herring Gulls and too pale for Lesser Black-backs. The wing-tip markings on #2 are a good fit for "just" a Herring Gull. #1 seems too streaked on the head to be either a Yellow-legged or Caspian Gull.

The group again. #1 looks to be a full adult with no black on the bill.

A slightly better view of #2 showing the wing-tip feathering. Certainly a Herring Gull but why did it look darker then usual on its back?

A ladybird that I cannot ID. For a start is there anybody home? There does not seem to be a head (pronotum) at either end! The spots look too large for a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis and the colour is paler than usual. This large spots are reminiscent of the Water Ladybird Anisosticta novemdecimpunctata which turns this colour in Autumn. This is a species I have not recorded previously and which I am reluctant to "claim" without seeing its diagnostic pronotum.

A (Common) Striped Woodlouse Philoscia muscorum.

This seems to be a Garden Spider Araneus diadematus, also known as the Garden Cross Spider though the "cross" is not evident on this somewhat tubby-looking individual (signalling its intention to turn left?)

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 3 unidentified midge

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

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *possible money spider Lepthyphantes minutus
- 3 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

This small spider may be the money spider Lepthyphantes minutus, one of the largest money-spiders apparently.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:10 – 10:15

(245th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- again only one drake Shoveler
- no (Common) Teal located
- a drake Goosander present when I arrived: two more with a brownhead flew in together
- a persistently calling *Chiffchaff was searching for insects at the top end. Surely the latest date on which I have heard this species calling?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 35 (24♂) Mallard
- no (Common) Teal
- 18 (9♂) *Tufted Duck
- 4 (3♂) Goosander: see notes
- 8 Moorhens
- 19 Coot
- 37 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted around the area:
dull with light rain starting.

Moths:
- 1 November Moth type Epirrita sp.
- 1 *Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria. Same place as yesterday

Bees, wasps etc.:
- >10 wasps Vespula sp. A surprising number in the rain.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Opilio canestrinii

That overhanging vegetation is a favourite place for ducks to hide. One duck Tufted Duck is easy to see. The eye and part of the flank feathering of another is to the right.

You will have to take my word for it – a Chiffchaff!

The Feathered Thorn moth Colotois pennaria was in exactly the same place as yesterday. I forgot to mention yesterday that this is my first-ever sighting of this species around The Flash and moth species #54 this year here.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
1 Teal
1 Pochard
64 Tufted Duck
21 Moorhens
235 Coots
5 Song Thrush
19 Fieldfare
18 Redwings
439 Jackdaws
89 Rooks
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.110 Greylag Geese
2 Gadwall
7 Pochard
32 Tufted Ducks
4 Moorhens
145 Coots
1 Great Black-backed Gull
c.1650 Wood Pigeons
51 Redwings
302 Fieldfares
c.375 Jackdaws
c.100 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
5 Pochard
40 Tufted Duck
18 Stock Doves
3800+ Wood Pigeons
6 Skylarks
1 Meadow Pipit
238 Fieldfare
19 Redwings
91 Starlings
3 Siskins
11 Linnets
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow Legged Gull
2 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
1 Yellow Legged Gull
2 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
26 Greylag Geese
Gadwall
5 Shoveler
3 Pochard
79 Tufted Duck
1 Lapwing
Snipe
2 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
16 Redwings
3 Fieldfares
9 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
4 Cormorants
3 Shoveler
3 Pochard
27 Tufted Duck
149 Coot
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
30 Pochard
111 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
47 Coots
c.562 Black-headed Gulls
63 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
89 Wood Pigeons
22 Pied Wagtails
20 Wrens
12 Dunnocks
27 Robins
31 Blackbirds
5 Song Thrushes
22 Redwings
16 Magpies
111 Jackdaws
68 Rooks
86 Greenfinches
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)