27 Sep 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 10.0°C: Fine and clear apart from cloud to very far E. Moderate NNW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:05 BST

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 05:41 – 09:35

(204th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- The Mute Swan family were having more flying practice. The cygnets just about lifting off.

- A trio of drake Tufted Ducks flushed from the NW area seemed to be circling to land at the E end. Not noted for sure thereafter though just two small unidentified ducks seen flying off W much later.

- The six Goosander flew very low W over the W end while still quite dark at 06:30 so unable to sex them. Just possible these had departed the lake.

- One adult Little Grebe seen. Perhaps another heard calling. The first calls I have noted from several weeks.

- Both adult and juvenile Great Crested Grebes doing a lot of flying about. Birds not specifically aged when I did the count.

- Another decrease in Coot numbers.

- The first Lesser Black-backed Gull arrivals were three from the SE. Soon after a tight group of 51 flew in very low from the W suggesting that they had been roosting together somewhere close-by. These all stopped off at the lake. Over 250 more flew E, mainly to the N with a few of these peeling off to join those on the water. Very few seen later.

- A passage of Skylarks W. These pass over just higher than my visual range and I rely on sound to then find them in binoculars. I am sure there were under-recorded.

- A Song Thrush was heard quietly sub-singing.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 3 Greylag Geese (duo and single outbound)
- 20 Canada Geese (19 in three groups outbound; single inbound)
- other geese heard only
- 6 (?♂) Goosander
- 262 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 24 Wood Pigeons
- 63 Jackdaws
- 37 Rooks
- 13+ Skylarks
- 12 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit
- 1 Siskin
- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 7 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Counts from the lake area:

- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 9 (6♂) Mallard
- 3+ (3♂) Tufted Ducks (see notes)
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 1 Little Grebe: adult
- 21 Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 7 Moorhens again
- 127 Coots
- >120 Black-headed Gulls
- 84 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

Birds on academy playing fields c.07:05:

[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]

- 146 Black-headed Gulls

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

- 1 Opilio canestrinii harvestman

Insects etc. noted later in very cool conditions

- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
- *Syrphus sp. hoverfly

Mammals:

- 2 Grey Squirrels

This photo tends to suggest that the Mute Swan cygnets did just about achieve lift-off.

What's known as tail-dragging.

A lot of this going on this morning. A juvenile Great Crested Grebe doing a test-flight. Still very stripey on the head.

All the year I struggled to find juvenile Bullfinches to photo... Not so exposed as my first effort and some out of focus greenery in the way. Junior is munching away. Just a hint of adult black feathers on the crown.

There were two birds. I rather lost track of who was who and I am not sure whether this is the other one – a sibling perhaps?

As this a male Syrphus hoverfly the two species S. ribesii and S. vitripennis are more or less inseparable. The former has tiny hairs on the basal cells of its wings but a better camera is needed to show that. So Syrphus sp.

(Ed Wilson)

I met Phil Nock at the lake this morning and he sent me a few pictures he had taken. 

Here is the cob Mute Swan showing his cygnets how it is done.

As I have noted recently some of the Great Crested Grebes are still a bit frisky.

Post-breeding Grey Wagtails are around in force with one or more frequently to be found, as here, on the dam-face.

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The Flash: 09:37 – 10:45

(188th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- The cygnets were behaving rather oddly. Six seen together with the seventh some way away – the bird returned from care? Later just five seen when food was provided. Several of them were attacked by the 2018 immature bird. The parents were of course elsewhere.

- Not sure why the Mallard numbers fluctuate. I suspect that birds are flying about and some days I count some twice and other days I miss some. I do try and keep track of them.

- More Tufted Duck today and difficult counting them as many were continually diving. I did not even attempt to sex them.

- Highest number of Black-headed Gulls of the season so far.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

- 1 Common Buzzard

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 1 (0) Chiffchaff

Counts from the water:

- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans

- 2 Greylag Geese

- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose

- 18 Canada Geese

- 37 (16♂) Mallard

- 73 (?♂) Tufted Duck

- 3 Great Crested Grebes

- 9 Moorhens

- 46 Coots

- 73 Black-headed Gulls

- 1 Kingfisher

On one lamp pole:

- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestman

Elsewhere:

- Small White (Pieris rapae)

- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) (including a nest site in an old Ash tree)

- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)

- Nowickia ferox (a Tachinid fly)

- Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)

The 2018 cygnet attacking one of the Mute Swan cygnets. It typically grabbed the cygnets by the neck but here is biting the tail. The cygnets did not seem too bothered – there was food on offer. The parents of course were nowhere to be seen.

The good thing about The Flash is that many birds get habituated to humans and provide close photo opportunities. Here a drake Tufted Duck that is now almost in full breeding plumage with white flanks and a long crest ('tuft'). Note the hint of mauve on the side of the head – the light needs to be at the correct angle to see this. From another angle it can look greenish.

And here an immature Tufted Duck with some white around the base of the bill and just a hint of a 'tuft'.

With practice and many bird-less images photos of flying Black-headed Gulls are possible. Here a first-winter shows its upper-wing pattern.

One of the few distinctive flies. Nowickia ferox has a brown abdomen with a zig-zag black band down the middle. One of Tachinid flies that are typically 'bristly'.

Another view. Here on the as yet unopened Ivy flowers. Over the nest few weeks this area will be full of bees, flies and butterflies.

Er? Was this helicopter lost? Looks like someone is about to jump out of the rescue hatch.

Tilted like this he might even fall out. The helicopter is a Sikorsky S-92A G-MCGK owned by Bristow Helicopters. They are based in Aberdeen but they operate a fleet of these helicopters based around the coast of the UK. Shropshire is NOT the coast!

If there is food on offer... a Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) tucks in.

Did not seem particularly fazed by my presence.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2017

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

1 Teal

3 Wigeon

1 Kingfisher

(John Isherwood)

2011

Priorslee Lake

13 Meadow Pipits

3 Redpoll

Siskin

Common Sandpiper

(Ed Wilson)

2010

Priorslee Lake

Juvenile Common Scoter

3 Little Grebes

Drake Pintail x Mallard

(Ed Wilson/Andy Latham)