20 Apr 21

Priorslee Lake, Woodhouse Lane and The Flash

5.0°C > 9:0°C: Area of broken medium-level cloud overhead. Clearer to E gradually encroaching, but more slowly than the sun was rising so stayed cloudy. Calm / very light wind. Moderate visibility in haze.

Sunrise: 06:02 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 05:00 - 06:35 // 07:25 - 09:25 

(69th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One Canada Goose visible throughout and chased the Greylag Geese away as soon as they arrived. For a while two Canadas visible on the water - who was looking after the eggs?
- The Great Crested Grebes seemed to be two pairs and an interloper seen fighting with one of the pairs.
- After several weeks of hearing Reed Buntings mainly calling there were three in song as part of the dawn chorus. I saw three males later (as well as several females), all of which seemed likely to be different birds.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 2 Canada Geese: pair outbound
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 6 Wood Pigeons only
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 7 Cormorants: single and group of six
- 1 Jackdaw only
- 2 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >20 Sand Martins

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- 2 (2) Willow Warblers
- 17 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Reed Warbler again
- 19 (13) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:
- 2 Greylag Geese: once more quickly chased off by a Canada Goose
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 Mute Swans: pen sitting throughout
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck: briefly
- 5 Moorhens
- 24 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe: once more heard only
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Herring Gull: second or third year, briefly
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults, together, briefly

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn
- *1 Early Thorn moth (Selenia dentaria)
- *1 Bronze Shieldbug (Troilus luridus)
- *1 plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus)
- *1 ichneumon sp.
- 1 orb-web spider (and spiderlings) possibly Larinioides cornutus. Hid from camera.

Later noted:
- *1 Grey-patched Mining Bee (Andrena nitida)
- *1 Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)
- Hedge Garlic or Jack-by-the-Hedge (Alliaria petiolata) flowers: same first flowering date as in 2020
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Did I mention a branch ... This is not at all unusual with the wary Jays as they always try to hide.

Many weeks ago I noted a Blue Tit inspecting the top of a hollow notice pole on the dam. Seems it has decided to build a nest there. Probably unwise as there is no shelter from the rain.

An Early Thorn moth (Selenia dentaria). This group of moths all rest with wings held vertically or very slightly apart. I last recorded this species on the same date in 2019. Moth species #7 for me here this year.

At the top of a lamp pole it was not easy to get a good photo of what is obviously a shieldbug. Luckily it is only the Bronze Shieldbug (Troilus luridus) that has an orange band on the penultimate antennal segment.

With the background of my glove here is a Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale). Poor thing: its name is longer than it is.

This is a plumed midge (female so no plumed antennae) and probably the very frequent Chironomus plumosus. I have never noted the brown at the very base of the wings previously.

Ichneumon wasps are hard at the best of time and the necessary flash pre-dawn makes it harder still. The marks on the thorax suggests it might be Netelia virgatus which is one of the group that is known to come to light. However that species is reported to fly from August so I will have to pass.

I am reasonably confident this is a female Grey-patched Mining Bee (Andrena nitida). The bright reddish pile and shiny black abdomen point to either this species or to Cliff Mining Bee (A. thoracica). The latter does have an isolated Midlands population but has all black legs. The 'grey patches' of our bee are only at the sides of tergites 2 and 3 and these are covered by the wings in this view. Close examination reveals a few white hairs at the end of tergite 5.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane: 08:30 - 08:50

(14th visit of the year)

A very quick visit to the 'top of the hill'.

Notes:
- Two Mistle Thrushes bounded noisily in to the small copse in the middle of one of the fields. They soon departed, flying away S over the M54 and away.
- Have the Meadow Pipits finally departed?

Some numbers:
- 2 Pheasants heard
- 1 Jay
- 2 Mistle Thrushes
- 3 (2) Skylarks
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- no Meadow Pipits
- 1 Siskin over
- *3 (1) Yellowhammers
also noted:
- *Sun Spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia)
- *Hedge Garlic or Jack-by-the-Hedge (Alliaria petiolata)
both first in flower for me in 2021 (though Hedge Garlic seen at the lake later)

Makes a change to find a male Yellowhammer in the open.

Top down view of the 'flowers' of Sun Spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia).

Also a top-down view - Hedge Garlic or Jack-by-the-Hedge (Alliaria petiolata). The leaves, when crushed, smell of garlic and good to eat raw. If picking them take only a few from each plant and leave the flowers to develop and seed for next year.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash

- One Moorhen on the lower pool.
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler by the lower pool: a new bird?
- 1 (1) Blackcap by the lower pool again
also noted
- The Herald moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix) still in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel. Same place for at least six days

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:40 - 07:20

(57th visit of the year)

*Two Common Sandpipers were a new species for me here in 2021 - #65.

Other bird notes:
- Just two duck Mallard located today
- Tufted Duck all very flighty and hard to keep track of. Possibly more.
- The Great Crested Grebes gone - or hiding well.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Feral Pigeons

Hirundines etc. noted.
None

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

Counts from the water:
- 16 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese: three of these departed
- 3 + ? eggs Mute Swans
- 26 (24♂) Mallard
- 21 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens again
- 24 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- *2 Common Sandpipers

Also noted:
- *1 Earwig sp. exoskeleton (Forficula dentata)

A record shot of two Common Sandpipers on the island being examined by a Coot - the Coot may never have seen the sandpipers before. Its a long way to the island even for the magic camera.

I know it is (another) dreadful photo of what appears to be the exoskeleton of an earwig. It allows me to provide some information straight from the latest issue of British Wildlife magazine. The taxonomists have been at work and what used to be known as Common or European Earwig (Forficula auricularia) is now regarded as four different species with the form occurring in the UK named F. dentata. I am not aware that any vernacular name has been proposed for this species.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2020

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2017

Priorslee lake

Today's Sightings Here

2016

Local Area

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

2 Great Crested Grebe

7 Tufted Duck

1 Cormorant

40 Swifts

2 Jays

4 Chiffchaff

1 Great Spotted Woodpecker

(Tony Beckett)

2013

Priorslee Lake

2 Little Ringed Plovers

(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

1 White Wagtail

1 Common Redstart

41 Wheatear

1 Fieldfare

1 Raven

(John Isherwood)

The Wrekin

1 Wheatear

11+ Tree Pipit

7 Common Redstart

6 Pied Flycatchers

(JW Reeves)

2012

Priorslee Lake

2 Common Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

2 Wheatear

(John Isherwood)

The Wrekin

2 Ring Ouzel

2 Pied Flycatchers

(J W Reeves)

2010

Wrekin

2 Wood Warblers

3+ Common Redstarts

4+ Pied Flycatchers

2+ Tree Pipits

Tawny Owl

4 Green Woodpecker

1 Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

(J Reeves)

2008

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

5 Great Crested Grebes

4 Common Sandpipers 

20 Sand Martins

4 Swallows

2 Grey Wagtails

1 Wheatear

1 Redwing singing

8 Willow Warblers

9 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Tit

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

1 Common Sandpiper

Grey Wagtail

4 Sand Martin

House Martins

Chiffchaff

1 Lesser Whitethroat

(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

2006

Priorslee Lake

6 Great Crested Grebes

3 Greylag Geese

3 Tufted Ducks

2 Ruddy Ducks

2 Sand Martins

15 Swallows

House Martins

2 Stock Doves

26 Wrens

19 Robins

20 Blackbirds

10 Song Thrushes

1 Redwing

9 Blackcaps

9 Chiffchaffs

7 Willow Warblers

2 Sedge Warbler

10 Greenfinches

5 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

Lanes to east of Priorslee Lake

1 Sky Lark

1 Meadow Pipit

4 Blackcaps

3 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Warbler

2 Greenfinch

2 Linnets

2 Reed Buntings

8 Yellowhammers

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

2 Skylark

2 Meadow Pipit

1 Fieldfare

2 Wheatear

1 Blackcap

2 Willow Warbler

2 Chiffchaff

2 Linnet

(Martin Adlam)

Priorslee Flash

1 Common Sandpiper

(Ed Wilson)