Priorslee Lake:
Map
Late Morning Update: 10:15am
Jay, Buzzard, Long-tailed Tit x 4 juveniles, Whitethroat pair + 1 adult, feeding young at 2 nest sites, Great Crested Grebe + 2 juveniles, Reed Bunting pair, Reed Warbler 8 singing and Mute Swans pair.
Map
Late Morning Update: 10:15am
Jay, Buzzard, Long-tailed Tit x 4 juveniles, Whitethroat pair + 1 adult, feeding young at 2 nest sites, Great Crested Grebe + 2 juveniles, Reed Bunting pair, Reed Warbler 8 singing and Mute Swans pair.
(Martin Grant)
Early Morning Report: 6:38am - 9:09am
Telford sunrise: 4:44am
7.5°C > 14.0°C. Some low cloud dispersing otherwise scattered thin high cloud only. Light SE wind. Good visibility and rather hazy.
After PC problems last evening kept me up till all hours my usual early start was not sensible!
Best today was my first Painted Lady butterfly of the year
(80th visit of the year)
Notes
- 3 immature Mute Swans overhead today: 2 together and then another later.
- the resident Mute Swan cob soon chased off the 3 Greylag Geese.
- single juvenile Coots from broods #1 and #3: 2 juveniles from brood #6 again. Several other birds looked as if they were taking food inside the reeds and sedges but whether this was for juveniles or partners brooding replacement clutches was hard to say.
- my first spotty juvenile Robin seen this morning.
- a very new juvenile Pied Wagtail on the boat launching platform.
and
- Common Blue Damselflies again.
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake).
Badly affected by my late arrival.
- 3 immature Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 7 Jackdaws
- 15 Rooks
Count of hirundines etc
- c.10 Swifts
- 2 House Martins
Count of singing warblers
Less affected by the late start.
- 7 Chiffchaffs again
- 1 Willow Warbler
- 13 Blackcaps again
- no Common Whitethroats (but 4 birds seen)
- 6 Reed Warblers
The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 3 Greylag Geese, briefly
- 5 (4♂) Mallard
- 8 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 40 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
The breeze blowing all the leaves of the poplars along the S side and making the undersides glisten in the sun.
Only a Robin and nothing special other than rather attractive in the dappled sun.
Rather unusual I would have thought: this white-tailed bumblebee has got caught in a web. Managed to fight its way out.
A distinctive spider that I have yet to ID from the web – very dark with green body.
One of the immature (1st year?) Mute Swans flying over the lake. Must be a ‘mute’ swan as despite its open bill the only sound was the heavy wing-beats.
A ‘grab-shot’ from the car window as I was about to leave so not sharp, but a good illustration of a Sparrowhawk in wing-moult. Still possible to make out the warm rufous tones in the breast area indicating this is an adult male. The female, as in most birds of prey, is larger – significantly so in this species. She lacks the rufous tones and the barring on the chest would appear sharper as a result. Juveniles are streaked on the chest and not barred.
Early Morning Report: 6:38am - 9:09am
Telford sunrise: 4:44am
7.5°C > 14.0°C. Some low cloud dispersing otherwise scattered thin high cloud only. Light SE wind. Good visibility and rather hazy.
After PC problems last evening kept me up till all hours my usual early start was not sensible!
Best today was my first Painted Lady butterfly of the year
(80th visit of the year)
Notes
- 3 immature Mute Swans overhead today: 2 together and then another later.
- the resident Mute Swan cob soon chased off the 3 Greylag Geese.
- single juvenile Coots from broods #1 and #3: 2 juveniles from brood #6 again. Several other birds looked as if they were taking food inside the reeds and sedges but whether this was for juveniles or partners brooding replacement clutches was hard to say.
- my first spotty juvenile Robin seen this morning.
- a very new juvenile Pied Wagtail on the boat launching platform.
and
- Common Blue Damselflies again.
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake).
Badly affected by my late arrival.
- 3 immature Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 7 Jackdaws
- 15 Rooks
Count of hirundines etc
- c.10 Swifts
- 2 House Martins
Count of singing warblers
Less affected by the late start.
- 7 Chiffchaffs again
- 1 Willow Warbler
- 13 Blackcaps again
- no Common Whitethroats (but 4 birds seen)
- 6 Reed Warblers
The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 3 Greylag Geese, briefly
- 5 (4♂) Mallard
- 8 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 40 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
A fine portrait of a Goldfinch.
Painted Lady butterfly on the valerian.
Intense concentration on its face: Kestrel searching for a meal.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day in 2006, 2007 and 2013
2013
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
c500 Lesser Black-backs
6 Herring Gulls