16 Jun 18

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake: 07:40 – 09:15
The Flash: 07:10 – 07:30 // 09:25 – 09:40

11°C > 13°C: Cloudy with spells of rain and some dryer interludes. Moderate SW wind. Very good visibility, especially later

Sunrise: 04:44 BST

Priorslee Lake: 07:40 – 09:15

(77th visit of the year)

Bird notes from today:
- the pair of Tufted Ducks that flew E was not the pair from the lake and neither were they from The Flash – unless they flew back again
- 9 Great Crested Grebes counted today: still no sign of nesting with most birds staying in pairs and close-together
- count of juvenile Coots might be incomplete: a burst of heavier rain sent some scurrying for cover before I had competed a detailed census
- a female House Sparrow made it from the estate to the Holy Trinity Academy fence

Today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 2 Collared Doves
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws

Hirundines seen today
- 8 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 4 House Martins

Warblers noted: figure in brackets is singing birds
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (4) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler again
- 3 (2) (Common) Whitethroats
- 5 (5) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 4 + 7 (2) Mute Swans remain
- 11 (11♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Ducks
- 9 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 35 + 18 (10 broods) Coots
- 1 Common Tern
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

In the cool, wet, breezy and cloudy conditions very few insects
- 1 moth flushed from the vegetation
- a Tortrix moth, probably a Plum Tortrix (Hedya pruniana)
- no damselflies – where do they hide?
- 1 species of hoverfly
- a Melanostoma scalare (Chequered Hoverfly)
- no flies identified
- no beetles or bugs
- 1 spider noted
- Common stretch-spider (Tetragnatha extensa)
- many slugs and snails

No new species of flowering plants

A rather dull day with rain is not the best conditions to take photos of flying birds and reveal all the stunning plumage details. But here we go anyway. A typical pose of a Common Tern as it searches for small fish in the water below.

Here is passes close-by. Note the fork in the tail – longer in Arctic Tern.

A slightly different angle. Looking at the trailing edge of the underwing we see that the outer secondaries and inner primaries are almost translucent. On Arctic Tern all the outer part of the wing looks translucent.

Same comment about the quality of the photos of this distant flying Lesser Black-backed Gull. But there are ID points to make here. Still ostensibly in summer plumage we see that one or more inner primaries and / or outer secondaries are missing. Note the brown tone to the inner primaries, caused by abrasion.

Here we see the underwing pattern with the all-dark but white-tipped trailing edge. In Herring Gull the dark on the underwing is less pronounced and restricted to the inner secondaries and outer primaries leaving a pale ‘window’.

Quite an aerobat. Here we see again the shape of the wing trailing edge due to the moult. Note also how broad is the white trailing edge to the secondaries.

The reason for the aerobatics was a desire to have a wash – almost total immersion.

See: it didn’t drown.

A White-lipped snail on a tight-rope.

I still get confused by the orchids at the lake. This spike is from an example with spotted leaves. The lip shape is spot-on for Common Spotted Orchid (Orchis (Dactylorhiza) fuchsii) but the colour and pattern looks nothing like any illustration in my books. But it cannot realistically be anything else (unless it is a new species to science – Priorslee Lake Orchid!).

Think I have rather over-enlarged this but step back a bit for best effect of the flowers in close-up.

This cranefly was resting on the roof of the tunnel under Priorslee Avenue. With wings closed like this and the need to ‘flash’ it in order to be able to see it any markings on the wing or the body are hard to discern. But by the same token only the species Tipula confusa regularly sits with its wings closed so that is likely what this is. (NB: the flash has given the image some ‘double legs’ – it has only got six!).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 07:10 – 07:30 // 09:25 – 09:40

(60th visit of the year)

Notes from today
- just one group of Mallard ducklings: only 6 of the well-grown party, hitherto of 7. Perhaps they are old-enough for the other to have gone wandering alone?
- in the chilly conditions many of the Coots, adults and juveniles, seemed to be staying in cover

Birds noted flying over or flying near The Flash
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Jackdaw again

Hirundines etc. seen today
- 3 Swifts
- 4 House Martin

Warblers noted: figure in brackets is singing birds
- 1 (1) Blackcap

The counts from the water
- 1 Mute Swan: the cob again
- 2 > 22 Greylag Geese
- 1 > 0? Greylag x Canada Geese
- 64 > 97 Canada Geese
- 10 (9♂) + 6? (1 brood) Mallard
- 7 (5♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 2 Moorhens
- 15 + 10 (5 broods) Coots

Of interest between the lake and The Flash
- 1 (1) Blackcap singing by the lower pool again
- a crane-fly sp., possibly Tipula confusa, sheltering on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

(Ed Wilson)

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Telford

I saw a Red Kite this morning at 10.30 am flying over A442 near town centre/railway station island.  My first in Telford.

(Diane Hankin)

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2008
Priorslee Lake
Spotted Redshank
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)