25 Jun 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash and Woodhouse Lane: 

17.0°C > 24.0°C: Fine and clear. Light ESE breeze increasing somewhat. Good visibility becoming very good, remaining somewhat hazy.

Sunrise: 04:47 BST again

Priorslee Lake: 04:05 – 05:45 // 06:50 – 07:25 // 08:25 – 09:37

(120th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- One of the juvenile Coots is fully independent and has now joined the post-breeding group of adults.

- The group of 18 Feral Pigeons likely Racing Pigeons on a practice – Thursdays are a good day to see groups pass.

- Jackdaws and Rooks significantly fewer today. Why?

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 16 Cormorants (3 groups and single)

- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

- 18 Feral / Racing Pigeons

- 1 Stock Dove

- 8 Wood Pigeons

- 23 Jackdaws

- 87 Rooks

Hirundines etc. logged:

- 9 Swifts

- 4 House Martins again

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

Most of the juveniles seen in the last few days seem to have dispersed and are quiet

- 14 (13) Chiffchaffs

- 10 (10) Blackcaps

- 2 (2) Garden Warblers

- 4 (4) Common Whitethroats

- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler still

- 9 (7) Reed Warblers

Counts from the lake area:

- 2 + 5 Mute Swans

- 14 (11♂) Mallard

- 2 (1♂) Tufted Ducks: pair arrived 04:30; left 04:50

- 1 Grey Heron

- 7 Great Crested Grebes

- 5 Moorhens

- 35 + 9 (7? broods) Coots

- 1 Common Tern: arrived c.08:50

- 1 Black-headed Gull: first-year bird, flew off 05:00

NB: a prefix * means there is a photo today.

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:

- 1 Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata)

- 2 Common Green Lacewings (Chrysoperia carnea)

- 2 spiders of different species.

NB: there were eight grass moths, likely all Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella), on the wall of the academy beside a security light.

Insects / other things etc. noted later:

After my return from Woodhouse Lane I only re-examined the N side which is different habitat with few, though sometimes different, insects.

Butterflies:

- Large White (Pieris brassicae)

- Small White (Pieris rapae)

- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

- Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

- Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

- caterpillars of Peacock (Aglais io) again

- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Moths:

- Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Bees / wasps:

- Andrena sp (Mining bee)

- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Damsel-/Dragon-flies:

- Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)

- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

- unidentified dragonfly sp.

Hoverflies

- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

- Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)

- Pellucid (Hover)Fly (Volucella pellucens)

Bats

- 1 Pipistrelle-type bat

Other things:

- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis): just a single pupa noted

- unidentified small pill beetle.

- Spotted Longhorn beetle (Rutpela maculata)

Additional plant species recorded in flower for the year at this site:

None

Why will this Kestrel not hover while I am closer and with the light better placed! The tail is lightly barred so this is a female

They have amazing control to keep their eyes stationary so they can detect movement more easily. I read a letter from a surveyor who put the cross-hairs of his theodolite on the eyes of a Kestrel hovering in gale force winds. He noted the Kestrel was better than his set-up.

One of four Starlings that landed in trees alongside the football field. I was trying to decide what age it was: an adult; a juvenile moulting? I did not expect to see a black bill. It seems this is an adult going through its moult in to winter plumage - a new set of spots, the old ones having worn away in the frenetic activity of breeding and feeding young. The bill is indeed black in the winter. At this date juveniles would only have a few spots on basically grey plumage. Their most obvious feature is a 'bandit mask' across the eyes.

A fresh specimen of a Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria). The underwing is less often seen as this species usually perches with wings open.

My first Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata) in my lake recording area this year and the smartest example to date. Of the form remutata with only cross-lines and not the central band.

Another bee that is not quite what it seems at first glance. The lack of any orange segment at the top of the abdomen means it is not a Honey Bee and that is not a pollen sac on its hind tibia (leg). It is a pollen brush that present on some species of Andrena mining bees. Which species though I would not hazard a guess at without more experience.

A damselfly flew in to this spider's web and the spider was on it in a trice - before I could rescue it. The spider looks like one of the Metellina species, at this time of year more likely M. mengei, though the markings of all the family are very variable.

A tiny pill beetle on the surround to the sluice. Despite its size the antennae are still serrated. I have no way to identify this.

If you could not quite disentangle the mating Spotted Longhorn beetles (Rutpela maculata) yesterday here is one on its own. Impressive horns.

Head-down tucking in to nectar from the Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:45

(106th visit of the year)

Notes:

- Seems the 2018 Mute Swan juvenile is still here after all – keeping out of the way!

- Many more geese today. Unsure whether they can fly at the moment – perhaps most had vacated the island. Did not find any of the Greylag x Canada hybrids.

- The two Canada Goose goslings are beginning to acquire adult plumage – the white chin-straps are starting to show.

- The new brood of Mallard ducklings is now eight-strong (and perhaps always was – hard to count yesterday).

- Both adult Great Crested Grebes close to the juveniles.

- One new brood of Coots to a long-sitting pair – I assume they never hatched the first brood? Also a new and second brood for another pair.

- The Reed Bunting was singing again at the top end

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

- 2 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. logged:

- 2 Swifts

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs

- 3 (2) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:

- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans

- 46 Greylag Geese

- 116 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese

- 16 (12♂) + 8 (1 brood) Mallard

- 4 (3♂) Tufted Duck

- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes

- 4 Moorhens

- 13 + 19 (7? broods) Coots

Otherwise of note:

- 1 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) on a lamp pole

- 1 Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale) on a different lamp pole

- 1 Grey Squirrel again

Eight little bundles of fuzzy Mallard ducklings.

Mum shepherding them out of the way of Mr. Angry – the cob Mute Swan on the war-path of one of the Canada Geese again.

About to be launched in to space is this Nuthatch rocket.

Here he is: the Reed Bunting decided to sing again.

A top of lamp pole special. With the wings open this shows the markings of Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) rather better than the one at the lake a few days ago.

Another top of pole special. This is a Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale). The first clue is the length and curvature of the antennae. The photo just about reveals the red across the shoulders as well as the side of the wing cases. The red-tipped abdomen is usual on this species though it is sometimes green. Never black like the not-dissimilar Birch Shieldbug.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Of note

- 1 Light Emerald moth (Campaea margaritaria) on a lamp pole

- Perch and Roach (at least) in a group of fish in a small pool in the Wesley Brook by the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

Difficult: a pale green moth 20 feet up a lamp pole with flash needed and vegetation in the way. It is a Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata). I see this species many years. Why do so many moths rest head-down?

Another attempt to photograph the fish in the Wesley Brook. Those with red eyes are [Common] Roach (Rutilus rutilus). Not sure why one is red-coloured. Towards the top left is a banded fish. This is a Perch (Perca fluviatilis).

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane area: 07:25 – 08:25

(9th visit of the year)

Notes from here:

- A Mallard duckling in the Wesley Brook by the sluice exit – indeed it went behind the sluice gate. I wonder whether this is one of the ducklings from the lake that was perhaps swept over the sluice and in to the brook. Much larger than when I last saw ducklings on the lake and seemed quite happy paddling about.

- A lone Barn Swallow, presumably from one of local farms. Scarce this year - I read they are scarce most places, thought to have encountered bad weather coming through the Mediterranean on their way back from South Africa.

- The perching stone used by the Yellow Wagtails on my previous visits is now overgrown with wheat. Two birds at least seen in flight. Now seem to be using the wheat field rather than the rape field.

- A very good count of Linnets – my highest-ever breeding season count here.

- One of the two singing Reed Buntings also moved to the wheat field.

Notable species counts (singing birds in brackets):

- 0 + 1 (1 brood) Mallard

- 4 (1) Skylarks

- 1 (1) Goldcrest

- 1 Barn Swallow

- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs

- 1 (1) Blackcap

- 5 (4) Common Whitethroats again

- 1 (1) Song Thrush

- 2 (0) Yellow Wagtails

- 3 (2) Chaffinches

- 6 (0) Greenfinch: family party?

- 2(0) Goldfinches

- 11 Linnets at least

- 7 (3) Yellowhammers

- 2 (2) Reed Buntings again

Insects etc. noted:

Rather fewer than I expected, perhaps because the verges have been trimmed – luckily not all the way back to the hedges.

Butterflies:

A veritable blizzard of Large and Small White butterflies

- Large White (Pieris brassicae)

- Small White (Pieris rapae)

- Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Identified moths:

None

Bees / wasps:

- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Damsel-/Dragon-flies:

- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

- Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)

Hoverflies

Marmalade Hoverflies abundant.

- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

- The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)

Other things

- Ichneumon sp. likely Ichneumon sarcitorius

Additional plant species recorded for the year at this site:

None

The Mallard duckling apparently happily on its own at the sluice exit. Was it swept down?

The birds in the lane were all busy doing things and not posing for photos. This female Common Whitethroat did pause. A male would show a greyer head and any juvenile a dark eye.

It seems that Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) like Bramble flowers. There were dozens and dozens of these pretty little hoverflies everywhere.

A frustrating dragonfly. It was in the road and moved ahead of me – against the light. When it eventually decided to go back it disappeared. There is enough to identify this as a Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) - the black tail at the end of a rather flattened-looking blue body.

An exciting-looking insect. I suspect it is a male Ichneumon sarcitorius though none of the photos on the web neither matches the exact pattern of yellow or the black areas on the legs. It is a the most frequently recorded yellow and black species of ichneumon.

At this angle the 'wasp waist' is well seen.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2013

Priorslee Lake

Willow Tits

(Ed Wilson)

2012

Priorslee Lake

Probable Grasshopper Warbler

(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash

Peregrine Falcon

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

The water level was the highest I have seen it for many years and the rows of marker buoys just off the southbank had all disappeared under the water. The full effect of Wesley Brook downstream has been devastating for Shifnal, with so much water in the reservoir it was no surprise to hear that many premises alongside the brook were under 2 to 3 feet of water for the second time this month.

(Martin Adlam)

2006

Priorslee Lake

Ruddy Duck

(Ed Wilson)