14 Apr 21

Priorslee Lake, The Flash and Nedge Hill area

3.0°C > 8.0°C: Very foggy until c.08:00: clear for a while: later puffy clouds. Variable mostly light wind. Very poor visibility, gradually becoming good.

Sunrise: 06:15 BST

* = a photo today

Big clear-out of Willow Warblers. Nothing to replace them as yet ....

Priorslee Lake: 05:20 - 06:45 // 07:35 - 09:45

(64th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The lone visible Canada Goose seemed quite agitated when a Grey Heron flew in to the reeds - perhaps where its partner is brooding?
- One of the fishermen reported at least two Common Sandpipers later yesterday: I saw none on my early visit.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
***not much with the early fog
- 2 Canada Geese: pair outbound.
- 5 Greylag Geese: two singles and pair outbound; single inbound
- 4 Stock Doves: pairs passing each other in opposite directions
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Meadow Pipit

Count of hirundines etc. noted:
- c.25 Sand Martins

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- 3 (3) Willow Warblers
- *16 (10) Chiffchaffs
- 13 (11) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:
- 1 Canada Goose again
- 2 Mute Swans: pen sitting throughout
- 6 (5♂) Mallard
- 4 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 25 Coots
- 2 Little Grebe: both heard only
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult briefly
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 1 Common Sandpiper

Also noted:
- *1 Clouded Drab moth (Orthosia incerta) on the lamps pre-dawn.
- many Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)
- *1 Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombilius major)
- *1 Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- *first flower of Lady's Smock / Cuckoo-plant / Milkmaid (Cardamine pratensis)
- 2 Grey Squirrels

A Chiffchaff working the vegetation very close to the ground. I surmise a female around an intended nest site. (it does have a bill - it is just hard to see against the black background).

A male Reed Bunting still destroying last year's Great Reedmace (Typha latifoli)

Hooray! A moth on the lamps pre-dawn. A hard one too as this species is very variable. I am certain it is a Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta). I'll get it checked as it is a new species for me in Shropshire, though common and widespread.

A female Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax). A female because the eyes do not meet and a Tapered Drone Fly because the front two pairs of legs are pale. Only on the male is the body sufficiently tapered that no other features are needed to confirm the ID

Almost tucking her front legs under a leaf so I cannot see how pale they are.

A splendid and quite harmless nectar-sucking fly - a Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombilius major).

The delicate colours of Lady's Smock / Cuckoo-plant / Milkmaid (Cardamine pratensis). This is the food-plant for the caterpillars of the Orange-tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines) - hence the read-across in their scientific names. Apparently the name Cardamine is derived from the Greek kardamon though that is the name of the quite unrelated Cardamom plant of the ginger-family used as a spice. Confused? Me too. Though it makes a useful point that names for living things can be derived from Greek as well as Latin and therefore the epithet of 'scientific name' is more correct than 'Latin name'.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Between the lake and The Flash

- A drake Mallard under the Priorslee Avenue tunnel that flushed to the lower pool today (it was a duck Mallard on Monday).
- The Moorhen at the upper pool again
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff at the lower pool
- 2 (1) Blackcaps: pair at the lower pool

also noted
- *1 Herald moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix) in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel
- 1 Grey Squirrel

his moth was resting half on and half off the strip light in the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel. It was a challenge for me and the camera and this photo does not do justice to a really handsome moth. It is called a Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix) for fairly obvious reasons. I last saw one in the area in September 2015. This moth flies in Autumn and then over-winters as an adult to emerge in Spring.

No better from the other way. At rest it is well-camouflaged as a brown leaf.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash: 06:50 - 07:30

(52nd visit of the year)

Best effort in what was quite thick fog - the island only visible from Derwent Drive/

Bird notes:
- The two Great Crested Grebes seen displaying

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

None

Hirundines etc. noted.

None

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- 2 (2) Willow Warblers
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (1) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:
- 17 Canada Geese again
- 4 Greylag Geese
- 3 + ? eggs Mute Swans
- 26 (22♂) Mallard
- 24 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- [Coots not counted]
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Also noted
- 1 plumed midge on a lamp pole
- 1 Grey Squirrel

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nedge Hill: 09:50 - 10:50

(3rd visit of year)

Another wander around the lanes that overlook the fields in this area.

Highlight was one VERY distant Wheatear ....

A few other notes:
- Three Red-legged Partridges flushed.
- Five Canada Geese and a pair of Mallard at the small very muddy 'water feature' outside the new M54 Magma site.
- No Lapwings noted though a horse-rider told me she sees them regularly.
- A calling Green Woodpecker again.
- Two Barn Swallows seemed to be back on territory around the farm buildings.
and
- At least four Rabbits noted

Of the warblers
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 5 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Blackcaps
Just the one Willow Warbler - perhaps mostly gone through.

Otherwise
- 3 (3) Skylarks
- 1 Meadow Pipit
no Linnets or Yellowhammers seen or heard.

Also noted
- *Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- *Andrena mining bee sp.
- *possible furrow bee sp.

A busy bee - a Honey Bee (Apis mellifera). Note that the pollen load is actually comprised pollen and nectar attached to the hairs on the hind leg. Honey Bees are therefore of less value in pollination than other species of bees and flies where the pollen that rubs off on the body and any hairs on the legs is readily available for transfer to the next flower.

And here is one such bee - indeed if you look closely there are two bees here, one very much smaller than the other and both smaller than a Honey Bee. The bee on the left looks like one of the Andrena mining bees - there are 67 species to choose from! The small bee on the right is likely a furrow bee. As I have never knowingly seen one before and the photo is none too clear (I didn't know it was there until I enlarged the picture) then I will pass!

Perhaps a better photo than last time I was at Nedge showing the deeply divided five petals that help ID Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea).

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On this day

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2016

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Local Area

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

3 Great Crested Grebes

12 Cormorants over

3 Grey Herons

2 Tufted Duck

4 Common Sandpipers

c.6 Sand Martins

1 Swallow

Green Woodpecker

9 Blackcaps

7 Chiffchaffs

2 Willow Warbler

193 Jackdaws

(Ed Wilson)

The Wrekin

Tree Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Willow Tit

Marsh Tit

5 Pied Flycatchers

2 Common Redstarts

Willow Warblers

Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

2013

Priorslee Lake

2 Little Ringed Plover

6 Willow Warbler

5 Chiffchaff 

1 House Martin

4 Sand Martin

(Martin Grant)

2012

Priorslee Lake

Willow Warbler

Chiffchaff

Blackcap

Willow Tits

2 Jays

(Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill

4 Common Redstart

31 Wheatear

(John Isherwood)

The Wrekin

5 Pied Flycatcher

1 Common Redstart

2 Tree Pipit

6 Willow Warbler

Marsh Tit

Goldcrest

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Siskin

Lesser Redpoll

Crossbill

(Glenn Bishton)

2011

Priorslee Lake

4 Common Sandpiper

1 Reed Warbler

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

4 Wheatear

(Ed Wilson)

2008

Priorslee Lake

1 Osprey

4 Gadwall

12 Sand Martin

2 Swallows

6 Willow Warblers

4 Chiffchaffs

1 Blackcap

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

1 Common Sandpiper

6 Willow Warbler

4 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock

5 Sand Martin

Swallows

4 Willow Warbler

2 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

2 Swallows

1 Willow Warbler

2 Chiffchaffs

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

1 Pintail x Mallard

17 Tufted Duck

1 Grey Heron

2 Willow Warblers

8 Chiffchaffs

5 Blackcaps

20 Wrens

2 Linnet

6 Reed Bunting

(Martin Adlam)

Nedge Hill

2 Willow Warblers

1 Blackcap

2 Chiffchaff

1 Fieldfare

1 Great Spotted Woodpecker

1 Swallow

1 Buzzard

4 Skylark

2 Meadow Pipit

4 Yellowhammer

3 Greenfinch 3 

4 Linnet

(Martin Adlam)

2006

Priorslee Lake

5 Great Crested Grebes

1 Heron

7 Tufted Ducks

2 Ruddy Duck

1 Water Rail

3 Common Sandpiper

8 Chiffchaff

5 Willow Warbler

5 Blackcaps

1 Garden Warbler

3 Swallows

1 Kestrel

2 Great Spotted Woodpecker

1 Sky Lark

1 Willow Tit

2 Siskin

5 Reed Bunting

(Martin Adlam)