20 Mar 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 7.0°C: Mist slowly lifting and beginning to clear to this high overcast. Light easterly breeze. Poor visibility: very poor to start.

Sunrise: 06:13 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:10

(64th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a late *Fieldfare was seen and heard calling from trees near Castle Farm Way. Later five Redwings flew out of West end trees.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 10 Canada Geese: three flew South together; seven flew West together
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair flew South
- 7 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw

Anything else lost in the mist.

Counts from the lake area:
- 9 Canada Geese: a pair throughout; one pair departed; two pairs and a single arrived separately
- 2 Mute Swans
- 14 (10♂) Mallard
- 16 (11♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 22 Coots: partial count in the mist?
- 5 Great Crested Grebes remain
- 1 Black-headed Gull: first-year, briefly
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult for c.20 minutes
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons: one departed 06:35

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler still
- 11 (11) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Dew-covered poles did not help.

Moths:
- *1 unidentified moth

Flies:
- *plumed midges Chironomus plumosus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later:

Flies:
- *1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp., probably S. fenestralis
- small plumed midges

Flowers:
- *Red Dead-nettle Lamium purpureum
- *either Sweet Violet Viola odorata or Early Dog-violet V. reichenbachiana

Dreadful light – indeed what light? This is a Fieldfare. Visible here is its grey rump and the yellow on the bill.

A slightly better view shows that the spotting is only on the throat and the sides of the breast. Also that the spotting is against a warm buff background.

A pair of Pied Wagtails, the female on the left. This pair have been regular visitors to the dam-top for ten days or so. I often also note a pair on the south-west grass. Are these the same?

Bother. This dew-covered moth on a street lamp pole pre-dawn will have to remain unidentified. I went back later when the dew might have gone but so had the moth. There are several candidate species of moth with this general shape that are on the wing at this date.

Also dew-covered is this male midge. I think the size and the banded abdomen mean it is likely Chironomus plumosus.

One without dew.

Here a wood gnat Sylvicola sp. The three stripes of the thorax, the patterned wings with dark tip means it is probably S. fenestralis though (all together now) "there are several similar species".

Do I need to say? A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. also found on a street lamp pole pre-dawn.

Just appearing on flower is Red Dead-nettle Lamium purpureum. The leaves of Lamium species do look somewhat similar to Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica though none of them stings – hence "dead nettle".

My photo does not show the specific identification feature to separate Sweet Violet Viola odorata from Early Dog-violet V. reichenbachiana. I have logged each of these species in previous years. I'll try and clinch the ID with a side-on photo of a single flower (if I remember!)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:

(62nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- one pair of Mute Swans. For a long while I was not sure which of yesterday's two pairs these might be as neither seemed interested in visiting the nest site. Eventually one did..
- two adult Great Crested Grebes today

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 23 Canada Geese: of these two pairs departed
- 4 Greylag Geese: arrived as two pairs at different times
- 2 Mute Swans
- 25 (19♂) Mallard
- 25 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 28 Coots
- *2 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: one adult and two first-years
- 1 Herring Gull: second year
- 2 Cormorants: one adult and one immature in trees only

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 6 (6) Chiffchaffs

Of note around the area:

Flies:
- *1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp., probably S. fenestralis
- *several species of midge on street lamp poles

Springtails:
- *1 unidentified springtail

Water of a grebe's back. Great Crested of course.

It seems odd that while the plumage looks wet there are beads of water on the feathers.

Two Cormorants in trees on the island. The bird on the left with the white belly is an immature. The other bird was showing white thigh patches (not visible from this angle) and thus an adult.

It was very quiet around the wooded areas but I did find this Great Tit willing to pose.

As at the Balancing Lake a wood gnat probably Sylvicola fenestralis. Hickory's Smokehouse apologises for the split in their wooden post not being vertical.

A midge and a puzzling one – but then aren't they all. The antennae are not plumed suggesting this is a female. But those antennae are unusually long for a female.

Another midge: much smaller and stouter with an obvious mark in the wing. There seem to be no internet sites with more than token illustrations of midges.

This is a side-elevation view of an unidentified springtail on the edge of a sign. I included it because it shows that the body of this insect, like most springtails, is hairy.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
7 Wigeon
2 Gadwall
27 Tufted Ducks
6 Redwings
138 Jackdaws
1 Chiffchaff
1 Redpoll
7+ Siskins
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Great Crested Grebe
7 Mute Swans
1 Pochard
56 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Long Lane, Wellington
133 Lapwing
17 Golden Plover
1 Redshank
3 Dunlin
2 Oystercatcher
3 Teal
c.600 Black-headed Gulls
5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Herring Gull.
(Martin Grant)

2011
Priorslee Lake
17 Tufted Duck
11 Golden Plover
17 Meadow Pipits
5 Chiffchaffs (4 in song)
Raven
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
40 Golden Plover
11 Lapwing
1 Red-legged Partridge
2 Green Woodpeckers
8 Meadow Pipits
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
32 Tufted Duck
1 Curlew
2 Brambling
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
5 Great Crested Grebe
6 Gadwall
39 Tufted Duck
146 Jackdaws on roost dispersal
c.35 Greenfinches
c.15 Goldfinches
c.10 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Great Crested Grebe
36 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Yellow-legged Gull
435 Lesser Black-backed Gull
(Peter Wilson)

2007
Priorslee lake
3 Great Crested Grebe
12 Cormorant
24 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
1 Merlin
1 Buzzard
2 Kestrel
1 Great Black-backed Gull
188 Wood Pigeon
1 Green Woodpecker
26 Wren
5 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Tit
55 Magpie
14 Greenfinch
5 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

The Flash
9 Great Crested Grebe
2 Pochard
26 Tufted Duck
1 Chiffchaff singing
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
c.250 Black-headed Gulls
146 Lesser-black Backs
15 Herring Gull
2 Yellow-leg Gulls
2 Common Gulls
36 Tufted Duck
6 Great Crested Grebe
1 Cormorant
2 Water Rail
3 Siskins
2 Redpoll
3 Linnet
3 Reed Bunting
(Martin R Adlam)

19 Mar 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake, Woodhouse Lane and The Flash

4.0°C > 11.0°C: Fine with early haze. Light and variable, mainly easterly breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:15 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 06:25 // 07:45 – 09:15

(62nd visit of the year)

New bird species:
New for my 2025 bird list from here was a Meadow Pipit heard passing over c.06:20. Species #67.

Other bird notes:
- seven of the 90 Wood Pigeons noted overhead were flying very high North as did many more yesterday. Many of them were flying East today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 10 Canada Geese
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 90 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 13 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Meadow Pipit
- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: of these a pair arrived
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair arrived and much later departed
- 2 Mute Swans
- 11 (8♂) Mallard
- 11 (8♂) Tufted Duck also
- 10 Moorhens
- 26 Coots again
- 5 Great Crested Grebes remain
- no gulls
- no Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- no Great (White) Egret

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler again
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs again

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Frosted poles did not help.

Moths:
- *1 Red-eyed Buff Agonopterix ocellana [was Red-letter Flat-body]
- *1 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda

Flies:
- *male and female plumed midges Chironomus plumosus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Clubiona sp.

Noted later:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 Tawny Mining Bee Andrena fulva
- 1 Buff-tailed Bumblebees Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
- *2 Tapered Droneflies Eristalis pertinax

Other flies:
- *greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- small plumed midges

A hazy glow over the water at dawn.

This moth is a Red-eyed Buff Agonopterix ocellana, previously known as Red-letter Flat-body. It is not a common moth though I have records from 16 March in both 2021 and 2022. The "red eye" that separated this species from several similar species that fly at this time of year is just visible in the centre of the mark on the left wing. It seems to have worn off from the right wing.

This Small Quaker moth Orthosia cruda was very high up one of the street lamp poles pre-dawn and not easy to photograph. This species is the most abundantly recorded moth around this date. My 2026 moth species count here moves on to #9.

Obsidentify was 100% sure this is a Tawny Mining Bee Andrena fulva. Who am I to argue?

This is a male hoverfly – the eyes meet and it has short antennae. The leg colour means it is a Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax even though the abdomen does not look at all "tapered" as they usually do.

This is a greenbottle, one of many Lucilia sp.

My first Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria of the year. This is a female: males are larger and more obviously yellow.

They are a very odd shape.

This midge with the banded abdomen and plumed antennae is I believe to be a male Chironomus plumosus.

This would seem to be the female of the species.

The tip of the abdomen suggests this spider is a Clubiona sp. The pattern on the abdomen suggests it might be C. corticalis though as usual NatureSpot urges caution: "one of several very similar Clubiona species"

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane area: 06:25 – 07:45

(2nd full visit of the year)

The inhabitant of the two storm pools were:
- 2 Canada Geese on the lower pool
- 1 (1♂) Mallard on the upper pool
- 2 Coots: one on each pool

Otherwise noted in the area (common garden birds omitted) (the number in brackets refers to birds singing)
- 2 Pheasants: seen
- 1 Stock Dove
- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs again
- 2 (2) Skylarks
- 4 (4) Song Thrushes
- 2 Meadow Pipits
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 2 (1) Chaffinches
- 1 (1) Greenfinch
- 4 Goldfinches
- 2 Linnets
- *1 Yellowhammers: both males (no song)

Nothing else of note.

Looking toward Woodhouse Lane with majestic old trees marking the line of the lane. Sadly the regular flailing of the hedges means there are no replacements for these trees and as they die the scene will irrecoverably change.

Here looking down the lane.

At the bottom of the lane just before the bridge under the M54 is a composting site. Water vapour from the site is here spread out across the low-lying area. Note the frost-dotted spoil heap on the right. Full of insects and attractive to birds.

Yesterday it was a Blue Tit after morsels in the trees. Today a Great Tit. With a narrow black 'zip' down the abdomen this is a female.

Another very smart Yellowhammer.

"This is my better side"! The warm background colour is actually houses in the new estate.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:15

(60th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a second pair of Mute Swans again. The resident cob chased them down the other end and then gave up.
- where were many of the Mallard hiding?
- only one adult Great Crested Grebes seen. The nest (site?) was not in use
- every time I looked another Black-headed Gull had arrived!
- the feeding station was devoid of birds. I will only report usual sighting from now on.
- no Siskins seen or heard.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 28 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 4 Mute Swans
- 12 (10♂) Mallard
- 27 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 7 Black-headed Gulls eventually: two adults and five first-years

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs again

Of note around the area:

Butterflies:
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

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

Hoverflies:
- *1 Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax

Other flies:
- 5 midges on street lamp poles
- otherwise very few for some reason

Beetles:
- 1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

The leg colour again identifies this as a Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax. This is a female (the eyes do not meet) and so her abdomen would not look tapered.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
7 Wigeon
2 Gadwall
18 Tufted Ducks
127 Jackdaws
158 Black-headed Gulls
22 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
1 Chiffchaff singing
6 Redwings
1 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Great Crested Grebe
7 Swans
2 Pochard
1 Greater Scaup
81 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Chiffchaff singing
1 Little Grebe
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
25 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool
1 Great Crested Grebe
3 Cormorant
6 Tufted Duck
2 Goosander
5 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
2 Sand Martins
(Martin Adlam)

2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Crested Grebe
2 Cormorant
22 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
1 Green Woodpecker
8 Meadow Pipit
25 Wren
20 Blackbird
5 Redwing
5 Chiffchaff
34 Magpie
8 Greenfinch
8 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
8 Great Crested Grebe
2 Pochard
32 Tufted Duck
1 Chiffchaff singing
(Ed Wilson)

18 Mar 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake, Woodhouse Lane and The Flash

4.0°C > 13.0°C: Fine with just wisps of high cloud to the West. Light mist early. Very light north-easterly breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:18 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 06:30 // 07:40 – 09:05

(61st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a trio of Black-headed Gulls dropped in c.08:20 to hawk insects. No other gulls noted.
- of the 88 Wood Pigeons noted flying over 28 of them were in two loose groups flying very high North. There were more I am sure: I had seen a few singles before I realised there was a movement and they were flying so high as to be difficult to find.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Stock Doves
- 88 Wood Pigeons: see notes
- 18 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 9 Canada Geese: of these three pairs and a single arrived; the single departed
- 2 Mute Swans
- 14 (9♂) Mallard
- 22 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes still
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: two adults and a first year
- 3 Cormorants: see notes
- no Grey Heron
- no Great (White) Egret

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Shoulder Stripe Earophila badiata

Nothing else on dew-covered poles

Noted later:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 2 Buff-tailed Bumblebees Bombus terrestris

Beetles:
- 2 7 Spot Ladybirds Coccinella 7-punctata

The misty / hazy lake pre-sunrise.

A female Pied Wagtail standing on a rock on the dam. It is the rock that slopes.

Now in full plumage with black bib. On the female the black of the bib does not join with the black head. She has a grey, not black, back (though it seems that older female may have black speckling). Separate from the Continental race/species White Wagtail we may see passing in the next few weeks but the grey on the flanks - pure white in both sexes of White Wagtail.

What a difference a few hours make. This is the dew-covered Shoulder Stripe moth Earophila badiata at 06:00.

By 09:00 the dew had gone and all the markings are revealed.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane area: 06:30 – 07:40

(1st full visit of the year)

The only inhabitant of the two storm pools was:
- 1 Coot
All the Mallard were flying in to the inaccessible pool in the large field.

Otherwise noted in the area (common garden birds omitted) (the number in brackets refers to birds singing)
- 2 Pheasant: heard only
- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (2) Skylarks
- 3 (3) Song Thrushes
- *3 Meadow Pipits
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 5 (2) Chaffinches
- c.6 Linnets
- *3 Yellowhammers: 2 males, 1 female (no song)

Also noted:

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

A few atmospheric sunrise type photos from the Woodhouse Lane area.

Another.

A third.

Not sure what the Blue Tit had just plucked to eat. Was it the bud itself on a morsel in the tip of the bud?

On the spoil heap from the composting plant I noted several Meadow Pipits. Here is one.

Another. Compare the tone of this bird with...

...this one. All to do with light and shade. As I recall the birds were the same colour in reality.

Good to see Yellowhammers still in the area despite the encroaching housing. A male.

Another almost glowing in the early light.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:10 – 10:40

(60th visit of the year)

New bird species
Highlight of the day was a calling Curlew heard flying West well to the North at 09:15. My first at this site since one on the 23 June 2019. Bird species #57 here this year for me.

Also worth highlighting:

My second-ever *Brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni here. my previous sighting was on 31 March 2021. Not that unusual I am sure: butterflies mostly start flying after I have departed.

Other bird notes:
- *two adult Great Crested Grebes seen together and later with one on a nest (site?)
- the feeding station had a lone Wood Pigeon present.
- two Siskins at least heard in trees at the top end with several more heard above the feeding station.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: together
- 2 Greylag Geese: together
- 1 Curlew
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- *19 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese: these arrived together
- *6 Mute Swans: two pairs were separately "seen off"
- 23 (17♂) Mallard
- 28 (17♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 28 Coots
- *2 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: one adult and two first-year
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near?) adult, very briefly

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- *4 (4) Chiffchaffs

Of note around the area:

Butterflies:
- *1 (or 2?) Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 mining bee Andrena sp.
- 3 Buff-tailed Bumblebees Bombus terrestris
- 2 wasps Vespula sp.

Hoverflies:
- *1 Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Other flies:
- *1 clusterfly Pollenia sp.
- otherwise very few for some reason

Beetles:
- 2 7 Spot Ladybirds Coccinella 7-punctata

Plant:
- *White Dead-Nettle Lamium album

Somewhere in there a Canada Goose is having a shower!

The resident cob Mute Swan was not happy!

This visiting pair take the hint a leave.

Another pair to go. One leaving...

...and the other. Note this bird is ringed. I cannot read the metal ring on its right leg. All I can make out on the blue (hence Shropshire) Darvic ring on the left leg is '7...' which does not help. Its leg was tucked up in all my other photos of this bird.

The resident cob making sure they leave.

A bit obscured in the dappled shade. One Great Crested Grebe on a nest platform with its partner in close attendance.

An unusual duck: a Wood Pigeon duck! I often see Wood Pigeons at the water's edge taking a bath. I am not sure I have ever seen one in the open water before.

A Chiffchaff with a morsel it has caught.

I don't know about the Chiffchaff but it was making my neck ache trying to follow its antics overhead.

A Song Thrush with a grubby beak. It was but a few feet from a noisy playgroup at Priorslee Academy and seemed oblivious.

My best attempt at photographing the ever-flying Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni. I read that there is some suggestion that this "butter-coloured insect" is the origin of the term "butterfly".

One of the pesky mining bees Andrena sp. again

Very late to be seeing my first hoverfly of the season: a Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

A clusterfly Pollenia sp., perhaps even the same one as yesterday but with its wings closed to obscure the abdomen markings.

Not a new plant for the year: the flowers of White Dead-Nettle Lamium album that were present throughout December and early-January took a battering from the snow and rain. This is a new generation.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
2 Teal
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
2 Lapwing
Green Woodpecker
Linnet
Meadow Pipit
Red-legged Partridge
Stock Dove
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Mediterranean Gull
1 Iceland Gull
4 Great Crested Grebes
5 Wigeon
2 Gadwall
7 Wigeon
21 Tufted Ducks
Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
2 Pochard
1 Greater Scaup
69 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
20 Linnets
Meadow Pipit
Fieldfare
Redwing
Lapwing
(John Isherwood)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
1 Caspian Gull
(Tom Lowe)

2010
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebe
6 Gadwall
22 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Crested Grebe
1 Pochard
23 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
4 Tufted Duck
1 Green Woodpecker
9 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Tit
4 Buzzard
24 Wren
24 Robin
21 Blackbird
33 Redwing
39 Magpie
6 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
c.2500 Black-headed Gulls
605 Lesser-black backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
3rd Winter Lesser-black backed Gull Larus fuscus race: heuglini (Siberian Gull)
7 Pochard
34 Tufted Duck
6 Great Crested Grebe
2 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
7 Siskins
(Martin R Adlam)