30 Apr 16

Priorslee Lake
Location

Early Morning Sightings: 06:30

1 Cetti's Warbler

1 Garden Warbler

1 Lesser Whitethroat

1 Sedge Warbler

2 Common Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

Morning Report: 07:15 – 10:20

Sunrise: 05:38 BST

1°C > 8°C Clear and frosty start under thin broken high cloud. Clouds built after 09:00 with big showers in distance. Moderate W wind. Very good visibility

An extended visit to fail to find either the Pied Flycatcher found by Martin Grant yesterday; or the possible Wood Warbler that I had described to me by a birder unsure of its ID

(66th visit of the year)

Other notes
- the Little Grebe only heard calling, but in the same area as I saw it two days ago
- not sure where all the Moorhens have gone: they are much more secretive when nesting and nests can be some way away from the water
- the Feral Pigeons were almost certainly Racing Pigeons on a mission this morning, flying N in groups, which is typical on Summer Saturdays after c.09:30
- 3 Swifts flew straight through at some height. Most of the hirundines flew through early on, but after c.09:00 up to 30 Sand Martins and 4 Barn Swallows stayed to feed over the water
- intermittent song from one Lesser Whitethroat near to the yacht club HQ. When I was buried in the copse in the NW area searching for the Pied Flycatcher another was sub-singing so quietly I could hardly hear it from c.10 feet! Later both were doing the same so certainly two birds
- 2 Sedge Warblers in the NW reeds and another in the main N side reeds. Managed a brief view of two of them
and
- my first Peacock butterfly of the year

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 41 Feral / Racing Pigeons (5 groups)
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks yet again
- 1 Starling again
- 3 Greenfinches

Hirundine etc. totals
- 3 Common Swifts
- >40 Sand Martins
- >10 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martin

Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 1 (1) Cetti’s Warbler
- 7 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 9 (7) Willow Warbler
- 15 (9) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Lesser Whitethroats
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats
- 3 (3) Sedge Warblers
- 4 (4) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (4♂) Mallard
- 28 (17♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe heard only
- 8 Great Crested Grebes yet again
- 4 Moorhens
- 34 Coots
- 3 Common Sandpipers

Partly obscured but a worthwhile singing Robin.

Not one of my best .... but you can make out the salient points of this typically elusive Lesser Whitethroat: the darker face providing more contrast with the white throat than on (Common Whitethroat); the pale grey-brown back; and the dark alula against grey (rather than brown) wings.

Typical male summer-plumage Pied Wagtail as seen in the UK. Continental birds (White Wagtail) are typically greyer.

A Common Sandpiper with an attractive patterned water as back-drop.

Allowed me quite close and we can see the delicate pattern on the feather-tips.

On this different individual we see the tail-pattern.

But this bird lacks the feather-tip pattern. Juveniles typically look more patterned so I guess the first bird is a first-summer with retained feathers.

One of the local Buzzards (a slight edit to improve the detail against the light).

The male Willow Tit was calling again this morning: here he is – though visually we cannot separate males and females.

My first Peacock butterfly of the year.

Meadow Buttercup, complete with fly sp.

Dandelion sp. complete with bumble bee sp., probably a female Bombus lapidarius – the male has a yellow collar.

She then moved off and started rooting about in the leaf-litter. She may well be a queen looking to start a nest in the base of grasses in this sunny spot.

(Ed Wilson)

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Nedge Hill: 07:30
Location

1 Ring Ouzel - a male in 'scruffy' paddocks at south end of Naird Lane

1 Redstart - in lower horsefields

6 Wheatear - horsefields, Naird Lane and Shaw Farm

(John Isherwood)

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Devil's Dingle: 09:30
Location

1 Lesser Whitethroat

2 Redstart

1 Swift

1 Little Ringed Plover

1 Oystercatcher

Some form of civil works have commenced here, unclear as to what but unlikely to be good.

(John Isherwood)

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Donnington

Location

Male Iberian Chiffchaff still singing c.100m west of the kissing gate south of Granville Road at c.SJ716123 this afternoon; from Donnington Asda roundabout take Granville Road for c.800m. Via BirdGuides Here.

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On this day in .....................

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
2 Raven
2 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Whinchat
1 Yellow Wagtail
1 White Wagtail
2 Common Redstart
40 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
3 Whimbrel
(JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Common Redstart
15 Wheatear
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Raven
(John Isherwood)

The Wrekin
2 Pied Flycatchers
Common Redstart
(Observer Unknown)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Hobby
2 Red-legged Partridge
Lesser Whitethroat
Cormorant
5 Lapwings
6 Reed Warblers
3 Whitethroats
8 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
4 Linnet
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
17 Mute Swans
(Martin Adlam)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Swift
c.20 Sand Martins
1 Swallow
6 House Sparrows
2 Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
2 Stock Dove
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Sedge Warbler
4 Reed Warblers
Chiffchaff
126 Jackdaw
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Buzzards
Swallow
Ring Ouzel
2 Common Whitethroat
1 Chiffchaff
2 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
3 Great Crested Grebes
Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
2 Greylag Geese
6 Tufted Ducks
2 Common Sandpiper
1 Cuckoo
1 Sky Lark
c.10 Sand Martins
c.8 Swallows
c.20 House Martins
1 Meadow Pipit
2 Grey Wagtails
32 Wren
26 Blackbirds
2 Sedge Warblers
3 Reed Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroats
2 Garden Warbler
10 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
1 Jay
11 Chaffinches
8 Greenfinches
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

29 Apr 16

Priorslee Lake
Location

Late Morning Update: 11:00am - 12:30pm

Highlights were:
100+ Sand Martins
6 Swallows
2 House Martins
A male Pied Flycatcher in the northwest wood
Cetti's Warbler singing near the Mute Swans nest also in the southwest corner of the reed bed, could there be 2?
11 Blackcap singing
3 Reed Warbler singing
3 Willow Warbler singing
4 Chiffchaff singing
3 Pied Wagtail.

(Martin Grant)

Early Morning Report: 07:15 – 09:55

Sunrise: 05:40 BST

3°C > 5°C Clear start but cloud building and light hail / soft hail showers. Fresh and keen W wind. Excellent visibility except in showers

New today for my site year list were two Common Swifts and a Yellow Wagtail on the SW grass briefly

(65th visit of the year)

Other notes
- the cob Mute Swan was off the nest for a while this morning, the cob apparently ‘encouraging’ her back in the nest
- a Sparrowhawk over was only my 4th sighting here this year and my first since 10 March
- 1 Common Sandpiper only seen but the fresh wind was encouraging things to hide away
- the same 3 Goldcrests were in song again this morning: another two birds, one with crest raised / open were at a 4th location
- one Blackcap was doing a very good impression of a Song Thrush, repeated phrases included. Had to hunt it down to make sure
- today’s Sedge Warbler was in a different location
- one of the Reed Warblers was also doing some mimicry, with very passable Blue Tit and Goldfinch part of its repertoire
- a pair of Pied Wagtails on the SW grass (with the briefly-stopping Yellow Wagtail): probably the same pair on the dam-top

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Wood Pigeons only
- 10 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks again
- 2 Ravens
- 1 Starling

Hirundine etc. totals
- 2 Common Swifts
- >75 Sand Martins again
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 3 House Martin

Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 1 (1) Cetti’s Warbler
- 9 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (5) Willow Warbler
- 17 (11) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 4 (3) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 10 (8♂) Mallard again
- 26 (15♂) Tufted Ducks
- 8 Great Crested Grebes again
- 5 Moorhens
- 29 Coots
- 1 Common Sandpiper

The cloud building after the clear start.

Goldcrests are ever-active sprites and hard to photograph. The ‘staring’ eye easily separates from the superficially similar Firecrest though with the later species it is a case of once you see one you wonder how you could confuse them – they look very different somehow.

Pretty classic view of a Willow Warbler here. This bird looks much less yellow- or olive-toned than many specimens but the long wings, the rather obvious supercilium, and pale flanks and belly are all good pointers. In the field this silent bird was moving much less frenetically than is usual in Chiffchaff and was not continually dipping its tail.

Apparently singing / calling here, but I heard nothing.

For some reason Chaffinches are never numerous at the lake: there seem to be 3 singing males at the moment and this is one of them.

Here is the Yellow Wagtail from this morning. This looks to be a female. Grey Wagtails are much more contrastingly marked – darker back and brighter yellow, especially in the vent. The call of Yellow Wagtail is nothing like either Pied or Grey Wagtails which can be appear similar: the Grey Wagtail has a much sharper call, presumably to carry better over its preferred habitat of rushing streams. This is the first year I have recorded Yellow Wagtail on the ground for many years – they used to be quite common on Spring passage on the grass here, but the last few years I have only heard birds passing over.

And here is the distinctive shape of a Raven – the huge diamond tail and heavy head and bill are distinctive. This bird looks to be already in wing moult with the inner primaries being re-grown. Ravens nest in February and March and it has likely also fledged its young.

Another view of the other bird of the two that flew over.

Spent a long while trying to get some half-decent pictures of the Sand Martins this morning, with some success.

There were many dozens in the bin to get these.

But the great thing about digital photography is that it is essentially free. This is a reasonable underneath shot.

This bird appears to be peering over its shoulder at me.

Seems they have 8 tail-feathers!

Quite a different shape, the very long narrow wings of Common Swift. This year one day earlier than in 2015.

These flowers are Primulas: exactly what they were doing flowering near the sluice exit is hard to figure: they are certainly a garden escape, but there are no gardens for more than half a mile.

These seem to be Ramsons (Allium ursinum), common in damp and shady places – and there are plenty of such places around the lake. Related to garlic they scent the air with a similar smell. I think I have misidentified these as Three-cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum) on the basis that the stem of these is triangular. But Three-cornered Leek has more bluebell-shaped flowers so Ramsons they are.

Another flower I noticed today is Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum). In the cranesbill family from the distinctive shape of the seed heads.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane: 08:35 – 08:50

A very brief visit to the sluice exit and adjacent wooded area – the only part sheltered from the keen wind.

Notes
- the Mistle Thrush is not normally in this area
some numbers (numbers in brackets are singing birds)
- no Sky Larks
- 2 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 1 (1) Blackcap
- 1 (1) Mistle Thrush
- 1 (1) Song Thrush

(Ed Wilson)

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Wyke
Location

A male Whinchat this morning. Via BirdGuides Here.

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Donnington: 12:50
Location

Male Iberian Chiffchaff still singing c.100m west of the kissing gate south of Granville Road at c.SJ716123 this afternoon; from Donnington Asda roundabout take Granville Road for c.800m. Via BirdGuides Here.

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On this day in..............

2014
Nedge Hill
2 Lesser Whitethroat
10 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Crested Grebes
1 Common Sandpiper
4 Reed Warblers
2 Common Whitethroat
18 Blackcaps
7 Chiffchaffs
5 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Greylag Goose
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
1 Pochard
11 Tufted Duck
4 Blackcaps
3 Chiffchaffs
5 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Red-legged Partridges
Swallows
7 Wheatear
2 Common Whitethroats
3 Blackcaps
1 Chiffchaffs
4 Bullfinches
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Common Sandpipers
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
The Wrekin
1 Wood Warbler
4 Common Redstart
1 Pied Flycatcher
(Paul Rutter)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
1 Sand Martin
2 Swallows
6 Reed Warblers
Common Whitethroat
3 Blackcap
4 Chiffchaff
3 Reed Buntings
3 Linnets
1 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebe
6 Tufted Duck
2 Ruddy Duck
3 Swifts
2 Sand Martins
4 Swallows
4 Cormorants
1 Kestrel
1 Sparrowhawk
3 Common Sandpipers
2 Grey Wagtail
6 Blackcap
1 Garden Warbler
2 Sedge Warbler
2 Reed Warblers
5 Chiffchaff
3 Greenfinch
2 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

Nedge Hill
1 Ring Ouzel
Common Whitethroat
2 Swallows
(Martin Adlam)

Priorslee Flash
2 Greylag Geese
1 Grey Wagtail here
2 Chiffchaffs
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
2 Ruddy Ducks
1 Common Buzzard
1 Kestrel
1 Swallows
1 Grey Wagtail
4 Sedge Warbler
2 Reed Warblers
4 Blackcaps
2 Garden Warbler
5 Chiffchaffs
3 Willow Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroat
4 Greenfinches
2 Reed Buntings
(Martin Adlam)

28 Apr 16

Priorslee Lake: 07:15 – 09:55
Location

Sunrise: 05:42 BST

1°C > 8°C Touch of frost yet again. Some high cloud faded away and clear for a while before puffy clouds after 09:00. Light / moderate WSW wind. Excellent visibility

A few changes as warblers continue to move through the lake. As expected the Wood Warbler seems to have moved on. A Grasshopper Warbler sang(? – reeled) briefly, my second here this year: and what was likely a different Lesser Whitethroat was very mobile around the W and SW area

(64th visit of the year)

Other notes
- Tufted Ducks again rather flighty today
- the Little Grebe was a surprise: I last logged one here on 15 March. This adult-plumaged bird was lurking off the main reed-bed and close to one of the Great Crested Grebe nests. This can be a very secretive species when breeding and it could well be nesting here
- 4 Common Sandpipers at least: for some reason they seem to favouring the dam-face at the moment rather than the SW grass and the boating platforms. Perhaps an effect of the removal of much of the vegetation from the dam. As a result they are harder to keep track of
- 3 Goldcrests were in song this morning: normally I record just 1 or 2
- one of the Sedge Warblers seems to have gone: the other is faithful to a very small area of scrub but refuses to show to have its picture taken – they are not usually very hard
- 4 Reed Buntings seen today. Three males in song: the fourth, which photos show was a well-marked female, rather confused me by flying in to the top of a >50’ tree and looking about. Females are usually in shrubby areas and can be quite secretive

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 6 Feral Pigeons
- 5 Wood Pigeons again
- 5 Rooks
- 1 Greenfinch

Hirundine totals
- >15 Sand Martins again
- 6 Barn Swallows
- 1 House Martin

Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 1 (1) Cetti’s Warbler
- 9 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Willow Warbler
- 22 (15) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats yet again
- 1 (1) Grasshopper Warbler
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 4 (4) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 11 (9♂) Mallard again
- 28 (17♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 33 Coots
- 4 Common Sandpipers

This inbound Cormorant was rather odd-looking from this angle. With the head and bill turned it is difficult to see the hook-tip and its looks more dagger-like. Then it seems the bird has already fed this morning and its crop is bulging giving the body and equally unusual look. The long tail more or less immediately rules out any other species.

A day for strange-looking but common birds: this is ‘just’ a Rook but looks very long-tailed from this angle.

Here is the female Reed Bunting sitting atop its 50’ tree. It does look rather odd and I had to check my books to confirm its identity. The confusion would be the very rare Rustic Bunting even though that is more likely on Autumn passage. Looking in detail the bill lacks and pink tones, and the wing bars are yellow rather than white. So it is ‘just’ a Reed Bunting.

Here is the cob Swan patrolling his territory: the pen has been on the nest for almost two weeks though I doubt she has been sitting on eggs all that time as she would not have had time to complete her clutch after the nest was built. As with most birds (owls are an exception) incubation starts only when the clutch is complete so that all the young hatch at more or less the same time.

4 drake and 3 duck Tufted Ducks flying about. It is easy to separate the sexes at this time of year.

2 drake and 1 duck Tufted Duck coming in to land

And another group lands: against the light less easy to sex these birds

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:40 – 09:15
Location

(41st visit of the year)

Notes
- had a good search in the distance over St. George’s for any Swifts – they nest in the area and often are seen here first: not yet
- after no Blackcaps recorded on the last visit they were in good number today: but then there were more than yesterday at the lake as well
- Reed Bunting singing here again – now around the field at the N end

Birds noted flying over
None

Hirundines seen here
None

Warblers seen / heard around the water: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 2 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Willow Warbler
- 4 (3) Blackcaps

The counts from the water
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 27 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 13 (10♂) Mallard
- 7 (4♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen
- 15 Coots

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in .....................

2014
Nedge Hill
2 Lesser Whitethroat
10 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2013

Priorslee Lake
2 Cormorants
2 Swans
5 Greylag Geese
1 Common Sandpiper
8 Swallows
1 Swift
2 Reed Warblers
2 Common Whitethroat
17 Blackcaps
8 Chiffchaffs
4 Willow Warblers
1 Common Redstart
1 Nuthatch
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Greylag Goose
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
1 Pochard
11 Tufted Duck
4 Blackcaps
3 Chiffchaffs
5 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

2012

Priorslee Lake
6 Goosanders
6 Greylag Geese
2 Tufted Duck
6 Goosander
1 Grasshopper Warbler
2 Sedge Warbler
18 Blackcaps
4 Willow Warblers
14 Chiffchaffs
1 Wheatear
1 Swift
Swallow
House Martin
Sand Martin
1 Sky Lark
1 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson, Phil Walters)

Priorslee Flash
4 Greylag Geese
27 Tufted Duck
5 Blackcaps
4 Willow Warblers
3 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake
5 Reed Warblers
2 Common Whitethroat
10 Blackcaps
10 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash
3 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake
1 Sedge Warbler
2 Reed Warbler
2 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Whinchat
2 Lesser Whitethroat
18+ Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2007

Priorslee Lake
6 Great Crested Grebes
6 Tufted Ducks
Ruddy Duck
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
1 Grey Wagtail
1 Lesser Whitethroat
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warblers
2 House Sparrows
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
2 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Duck
1 Kestrel
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Cormorant
1 Stock Dove
3 Sand Martins
10 Swallows
1 Grey Wagtails
5 Sedge Warbler
2 Reed Warblers
7 Blackcaps
1 Garden Warbler
4 Chiffchaffs
4 Willow Warblers
1 Lesser Whitethroat
3 Reed Buntings
(Martin Adlam)

27 Apr 16

Priorslee Lake: 07:15 – 09:55
Location

With Woodhouse Lane [08:40 – 09:15]

Sunrise: 05:44 BST

1°C > 5°C Frost again to start. Increasing cloud with showers visible in distance later. Light NW wind, increasing moderate. Excellent visibility

Highlight of the day (and for me highlight of the year so far) was my first-ever Wood Warbler at the lake. The bird was heard in sporadic song and briefly seen twice over a 30 minute period in the Teece Drive gate area. This summer visitor is normally found amongst old beech and oak woods in N and W Britain and requires a clear under storey to breed. In our area the nearest breeding birds are few pairs on The Wrekin. This sighting was a major surprise as this species is almost never seen on migration, just ‘appearing’ on its breeding sites from early / mid-April

Thanks to Martin Adlam for pointing out that I had a ‘one that got away’ record of a possible Wood Warbler at The Flash three years ago to the date – 27 April 2013!

(63rd visit of the year)

Other notes
- Mallard everywhere this morning with more on the lake; some flying over; and, later, birds seen in the Wesley Brook from my Woodhouse Lane circuit
- even more Tufted Ducks today
- 3 Common Sandpipers with display seen again: perhaps the same birds? perhaps not!
- no gulls again: I would not expect to see more than the odd Black-headed Gull until mid-June. Small numbers of large gulls are likely to fly over at any time
- House Martins were back over the Priorslee Estate this morning
- yesterday’s Lesser Whitethroat seem to have moved on

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 4 (2♂) Mallard
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 4 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

Hirundine totals
- >15 Sand Martins
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 12 House Martins

Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 1 (1) Cetti’s Warbler
- 8 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (4) Willow Warbler
- 1 (1) Wood Warbler
- 18 (13) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats again
- 5 (4) Reed Warblers
- 2 (2) Sedge Warblers again

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 11 (9♂) Mallard
- 31 (18♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons
- 6 Great Crested Grebes again
- 8 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 3 Common Sandpipers again

At this time of year and in the early light perhaps they should be called Yellowfinches and not Greenfinches! A male uttering his unmusical wheezy song.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane 08:40 – 09:15

A full circuit of the field and lane failed to produce much of note
- the Red-legged Partridges are becoming less frequent: Grey Partridges seem to be a thing of the past
- rather fewer warblers than I expected but the area around the sluice was less sheltered with today’s wind
- only 1 Common Whitethroat is disappointing
- both the Yellowhammers were males, but neither was singing: perhaps the birds are already nesting and singing is not needed
some numbers (numbers in brackets are singing birds)
- 3 (1♂) Mallard
- 2 Red-legged Partridges
- 2 (2) Sky Larks
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Willow Warblers
- 5 (3) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 3 (2) Song Thrushes
- 2 (0) Yellowhammers

Possibly the last year we will be able to enjoy these views with planning permission for 100s of houses having been granted for these fields.

The current narrow backwater of Woodhouse Lane will be entirely unsuitable for access to any new houses.

Not all these fields are at risk ... yet.

England’s green and pleasant land ...?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash

Finally a postscript to the Mute Swan records from The Flash yesterday. What I thought was the cob has been confirmed by Martin Grant as Orange 17H, in fact a pen and ringed at Bewdley, Worcestershire in August 2013, having hatched in 2012. It and its companion, cob Blue 7HLP, were seen as here as pair in November 2015 also being chased off.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in .....................

2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
2 Greylag Geese
3 Common Sandpipers
1 Reed Warblers
1 Common Whitethroat
11 Blackcaps
10 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
Wood Warbler
2 Great Crested Grebe
1 Greylag Goose
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
16 Tufted Duck
5 Blackcaps
Wood Warbler
1 Chiffchaff
6 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Wrekin
3 Wood Warblers
1 Redstart
5 Pied Flycatchers
2 Tree Pipits
2 Redpolls
1 Siskin
(Ed Wilson, JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
6 Tufted Duck
6 Swift
50 Swallow
25 House Martin
2 Sand Martin
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 Wheatear
1 Sedge Warbler
6 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood, Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
1 Lesser Whitethroat
26 Wheatear
1 Greenland Wheatear
1 Fieldfare
1 Raven
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Wood Sandpiper
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Sedge Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Swift
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
1 Lesser Whitethroat
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
3 Sedge Warblers
6 Reed Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroats
2 Whitethroats
1 Garden Warbler
9 Blackcaps
9 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
1 Little Grebe
2 Common Sandpipers
c.10 Sand Martins
c.45 Swallows
1 House Martin
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Sand Martins
12 Swallows
2 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
4 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The lane to the E of Priorslee
6 Whitethroats
1 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
2 Linnets
3 Yellowhammers
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
9 Great Crested Grebes
5 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
1 Kestrel
2 Stock Doves
2 Swallows
House Martins
2 Grey Wagtails
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
1 Jay
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Swallows
House Martin
Ring Ouzel
Fieldfare
Common Whitethroat
Blackcaps
Chiffchaff
Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
1 Swallow
6 Willow Warbler
Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
3 Greylag Geese
2 Ruddy Ducks
3 Common Sandpipers
1 Stock Dove
7 Swallows
3 Grey Wagtails
26 Wrens
17 Robins
30 Blackbirds
9 Song Thrushes
1 Sedge Warbler
3 Reed Warblers
8 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
5 Greenfinches
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

26 Apr 16

Priorslee Lake:
Location

Early Morning highlights: 06:00

1 Cetti's Warbler along Wesley Brook
1 Reed Warbler
2 Sedge Warbler
4 Common Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

Morning Report: 07:15 – 09:35

Sunrise: 05:46 BST

1°C > 6°C Frost to start in sheltered areas. Scattered / broken cloud driven by increasing and keen N / NW wind. Excellent visibility

After 10 or so days away quite a change: Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat and several Reed Warblers all new in at the lake where there were high numbers of Blackcaps. Near the Teece Drive gate it was possible to stand and here six of the seven species of warbler concurrently in song

All three hirundine species – Sand Martin, Barn Swallow and House Martin at both the lake and The Flash

Of the regular summer visitors we are only short of Swift and Garden Warbler. Swifts typically start arriving in the last few days of April though odd birds have already been around the Midland for a week or so

(62nd visit of the year)

Other notes
- surprising number of Tufted Ducks remain: I had expected most to have left by now. Rather oddly it was The Flash that was lacking most of its Tufted Ducks, a location where they have bred in the past
- other Great Crested Grebes may have been hidden in the reeds on nests
- two (of the three) Common Sandpipers were displaying today – behaviour I do not see at the lake every year
- the split between hirundine species is a best effort. Just a few Sand Martins and Swallows were present when I was at the dam-end with the light behind me. Many more had arrived by the time I was back at the W end but I was looking in to the light
- while some of the Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers seem to have moved on Blackcaps were in profusion with several birds obviously paired up and more singing birds
- the singing Lesser Whitethroat was once again in the Ricoh hedge alongside the footpath at the W end where a bird nested for at least seven successive years, but not apparently in 2014 or 2015
also
- a Small White butterfly was my first butterfly of the year here

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 4 Canada Geese
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks

Hirundine totals
- >35 Sand Martins
- >6 Barn Swallows
- >10 House Martins

Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 1 (1) Cetti’s Warbler
- 9 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (5) Willow Warbler
- 23 (16) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 4 (4) Reed Warblers
- 2 (2) Sedge Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 24 (13♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 32 Coots
- 3 Common Sandpipers

A Blackcap in full song. Unusually in bare branches high in a tree. More often these are low down in big shrubby areas where the leaves are already making photographs hard.

Another view with beak shut.

Same bird in song at different angle.

This female Blackcap was not so obliging.

And probably her mate: as they were likely paired he had no need to sit high and sing, just stay close to his mate in the vegetation.

The leaves presented more of a problem for this Chiffchaff – almost certainly a female as it uttered no song or call while I was stalking it.

Classic side-on view showing the typically weak supercilium of Chiffchaff.

What we can see here is the rather olive tone to the rump area of the same Chiffchaff – not always easy to see and not present on all birds, especially when passage birds may include sub-species from other parts of Europe that have subtle differences in plumage tones.

A view of Chiffchaff you will not see illustrated in field-guides!

And again. Note that this bird does not have the classic ‘black legs’, though they are quite dark and certainly not pinkish. In practice this was easier to ID in the field as it was constantly dipping its tail, something Chiffchaffs seem to do all the time but Willow Warblers only ever seem to do to recover their balance.

This is a different bird – it was singing so it is a male – and it even has black feet. As far as I know the leg and foot colour variations are not related to the sex of the bird.

This, in contrast, is a Willow Warbler. Note how much stronger the supercilium is and also how long the folded wings look.

“are you pointing that at me?”

One of the new species this morning: an obliging Common Whitethroat. The brown in the wings distinguishes it from Lesser Whitethroat. This latter species also shows darker sides to the face.

There were two Common Whitethroats this morning. This other bird was less obliging, peering at me from cover. The eye-colour and the white throat were sufficient to identify (though it was sub-singing which helped).

Now Lesser Whitethroat is MUCH more skulking than Common Whitethroat. There is one singing from the middle of all this scrub but where I could not see!

A male Reed Bunting. The head is still not 100% jet-black but that was only really apparent in the photo.

Even the throat is a bit blotchy.

And this is what his partner looks like in breeding plumage.

Get the angle right and persuade the camera to focus on the right thing and here we see a Great Crested Grebe on its nest.

My first butterfly photo this year: a Small White – the gardener’s scourge when trying to grow brassicas.

The pussy willow is about over now.

Usual caveat over my flower ID capabilities: I think this is Borage (Borago officinalis) growing under the fence of the new Academy, no doubt as a result of the ground being disturbed during the building. A member of the Forget-me-not family (Boraginaceae) and likely a garden escape.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Flash: 09:40 – 10:00
Location

(40th visit of the year)
Rather a canter around as I mistimed my arrival and had to shoot off for the bus

Notes
- two adult Swans being chased by the resident cob. One, with an orange Darvic ring (from Worcestershire) flew off but the other landed on the N end grass from where she was unable to take off, the resident cob preventing her from entering the water to get a run-up
- the lone Great Crested Grebe was sleeping alongside the putative nest site and I assume its mate was probably on the hidden nest
- all three species of hirundine were hunting in the lee of the island
- more of the Chiffchaffs seemed to have moved on, but five Willow Warblers is a good sign – last year none stayed to breed
- strangely no Blackcaps heard

Birds noted flying over
None

Hirundine totals
- 4 Sand Martins
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 8 House Martins

Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 3 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (5) Willow Warbler
- no Blackcaps

The counts from the water
- 4 Mute Swans (see notes)
- 26 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 11 (9♂) Mallard
- 5 (3♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- no Moorhens
- 14 Coots

The interloper cob Swan: just cannot read the number on the orange Darvic ring.

A bit of fiddling about reveals it as 17H. This bird was ringed at Bewdley, Worcestershire in 2013.

The cob landed on the grass and there is no problem ID-ing him as Blue 7HLP

(Ed Wilson)

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Nedge Hill: 07:00
Location

1 Curlew at Wyke - first here for several years
2 Lesser Whitethroat
3 Wheatear - horsefields & Shaw Farm

(John Isherwood)

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Donnington

The male Iberian Chiffchaff still singing c.100m west of the kissing gate south of Granville Road at c.SJ716123 this morning but no sign this evening; from Donnington Asda roundabout take Granville Road for c.800m. Via BirdGuides Here

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On this day in .....................

2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Cranes
(Observer Unknown)

The Wrekin
3 Wood Warbler
(Damon H, Jim A, Yvonne C)

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Cormorant
1 Dunlin
1 Common Sandpipers
1 Yellow Wagtail
1 Wheatear
3 Reed Warblers
12 Blackcaps
7 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Greylag Goose
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
3 Pochard
7 Tufted Duck
4 Blackcaps
2 Chiffchaffs
4 Willow Warblers
2 Swallows
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool
3 Great Crested Grebes
28 Greylag Geese
1 Tufted Duck
1 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaffs
3 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
3 Great Crested Grebes
6 Tufted Duck
2 Swifts
c.5 Sand Martins
c.30 Swallows
c.40 House Martins
1 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler
Sparrowhawk
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
19 Wheatear
Swallows
(Richard Camp)

Long Lane, Wellington
c10 Ringed Plover
c10 Dunlin
Spotted Redshank
(JV Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Swift
12 House Martin
7 Swallow
(Martin Grant)

2011
The Wrekin
3 Pied Flycatcher
1 Common Redstart
2 Marsh Tit
1 Wood Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Swift
3 Common Sandpipers
1 Sedge Warbler
6 Reed Warblers
9 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

East of Priorslee Lake

6 Whitethroats
2 Sky Larks
1 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
7 Greylag Geese
1 Tufted Duck
3 Swallows
3 Blackcaps
1 Chiffchaff
2 Jays
28 Magpies
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
1 Ring Ouzel
(Peter Nickless)

Priorslee Flash
1 Cormorant
Swallows
34 Blackbirds
6 Willow Warbler
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

Lanes to the east of Priorslee Flash
5 Mallard
1 Buzzard
1 Heron
Sky Larks
Blackcaps
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
7 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
1 Kestrel
1 Common Sandpiper
6 Stock Doves
1 Swift
2 Sand Martins
2 Swallows
1 Yellow Wagtail
2 Grey Wagtails
26 Wrens
26 Blackbirds
1 Sedge Warbler
3 Reed Warblers
1 Lesser Whitethroat
7 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
17 Magpies
1 Raven
7 Greenfinches
5 Reed Buntings.
(Ed Wilson)