1 May 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

2.0°C > 6:0°C: Clear and slightly frosted when I arrived: a layer of low cloud soon spread from the NE to cover the sky. Began to lift after 08:00 and was starting to break as I departed. Calm. Moderate / good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:39 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:50 - 06:05 // 06:55 - 09:25

(80th visit of the year)

Generally rather quiet with few things flying around.

Bird notes:
- No Mallard ducklings seen.
- The Sedge Warbler not seen or heard.
- Just seven Reed Warblers singing. All these were from locations in the reeds where birds have been singing for several days. None in 'marginal' habitats.
- At least six and possibly seven singing Common Whitethroats - hard to know where the territories are with so many birds. One of these was along the N side and I cannot recall ever seeing a bird on the N side (other than 'over the fence' when what is now a housing estate was a brownfield site).
- A pair of House Sparrows seen, perhaps collecting nesting material, at the W end. They were taking whatever it was to the SW area. Also at least four other House Sparrow were in the hedges alongside Teece Drive, near the academy.
- *A pair of Grey Wagtails on the dam face, the male being the bird with the rings from Lancashire. Later a pair seen on one of the Sailing Club piers: I was not quick-enough to spot whether the male was ringed and hence they were the same pair.
- *A pair of Linnets eating the seeds from the distinctive flat 'clocks' of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) at the W end. I did not see where they went.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 4 Canada Geese: two pairs outbound
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 6 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Jackdaws only
- 1 Rook

Hirundines etc. noted:
Birds appearing and disappearing all the while: numbers are the highest 'spot counts' of each species with more birds likely involved.
- 2 Swifts
- 4 Sand Martins
- 8 Barn Swallows
- 1 House Martin

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- 14 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers
- 18 (13) Blackcaps
- *2 (2) Garden Warblers again
- 8 (6) Common Whitethroats

Counts from the water:
- 1 Canada Goose: both the presumed 'resident'; its partner not seen.
- 2 Mute Swans: the pen sitting on the nest throughout.
- 6 (5♂) Mallard
- 5 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe: heard only again
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpipers
- 1 Grey Heron once more

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Nothing

Nothing of note later.

A few things to catch up on

On the 25th April I pondered over a Chiffchaff uttering some notes reminiscent of a Siberian Chiffchaff. Having asked around the consensus is 'a funny sounding Chiffchaff'.

The following day I noted four different spiders on lamp poles pre-dawn. Thanks again to the Shropshire Spider Recorder there is at least a partial identification of them - many spiders cannot be specifically identified without examination under a microscope (which I tend not to carry in my back pocket). I have reproduced the photos below with suitable comments.

Garden Warbler #1 was rather good at hiding.

Garden Warbler #2 was more amenable. The distinguishing feature of Garden Warbler is that it has no distinguishing features. The song is the best clue. It is rather a chunky warbler with a stout black bill. A feature not easy to see 'in the field' but visible here is the grey around the nape.

At the moment this species is in the same genus as Blackcap and both whitethroats - the Sylvia warblers. When singing it shares the same 'puffed' throat. I say 'at the moment' because the taxonomists are at work and now think that this species and Blackcap are more closely related to the babblers of the Middle East and Asia and not really warblers. They want to place the whitethroats (and other species that do not occur here) in a different family.

Very elegant! Not easy to ID but this is ....

... a female House Sparrow. Looks to be eating grass?

Here is our old friend the ringed male Grey Wagtail posing on the 'boxing ring' on the dam.

A more natural habitat shot as he chases insects on the dam face.

But he did like posing and who am I to refuse ...

Grey Wagtails have the longest tails of all the wagtails and I chopped the end off.

There we are: tail and all.

A smart male Linnet not yet in full summer plumage when the red on the breast will be more extensive and it will get a red crown - The merest hint here. At the time I thought this and a female with it were collecting nesting material - fluffy down - but ...

... rather over-enlarged we see it is eating the seeds from the distinctive flat clocks of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). Linnets rarely allow close approach and I had to shoot from afar.

Another over-enlarged distant shot. In full plumage the back will be unmarked rufous-brown.

The first of the four spiders from 26 April. This is one of the 'stretch spiders' in the genus Tetragnatha, likely either T. extensa or T. montana.

A 'money spider' in the Linyphiidae. Not possible to go further in to the 280-odd species ....!

This is a Dictyna sp., probably either D. arundinacea or D. uncinata. This genus comprise mesh-webbed spiders.

Rather scrunched up this is a female Larinioides cornutus, the commonly known as the Bridge Orb-web Spider.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash

Highlight was a Garden Warbler singing by the upper pool - my first at either pool though they breed at the lake and have occasionally done so at The Flash. This and yesterday's Reed Warbler highlight the importance of the natural green corridor along the Wesley Brook.

Other things:
- A pair of Mallard in the recently cleared area of the Wesley Brook above the upper pool.
- A single Moorhen at the lower pool..
- 1 (0) Chiffchaff at the upper pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 - 06:50

(67th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- No Mallard ducklings seen. Indeed Mallard were in reduced numbers. I did see the drake Tufted Duck still with the duck Mallard (with the apparent drake Mallard of the relationship some way away).
- A Stock Dove calling from trees by the southern-most footbridge.
- No Willow Warblers heard (here or anywhere else)
- What I presume to be the same Sedge Warbler was singing alongside the footpath just as it leaves Derwent Drive to go clockwise around the water.
- I did not see or hear a Reed Warbler.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- 5 (4) Chiffchaffs again
- 4 (3) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler

Counts from the water:
- 24 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 3 + ? eggs Mute Swans
- 20 (13♂) Mallard
- 11 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 21 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes once again

Nothing else of note

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2020

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018

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

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

3 Great Crested Grebes 

6 Cormorants

3 Reed Warblers 

2 Common Whitethroat 

8 Blackcaps 

9 Chiffchaffs 

3 Willow Warblers 

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

2 Greylag Geese 

1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose 

17 Tufted Duck 

2 Song Thrushes 

3 Blackcaps 

4 Chiffchaffs 

3 Willow Warblers

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

16 Wheatears

1 Lesser Whitethroat 

3 Common Whitethroats 

1 Blackcaps 

2 Chiffchaffs 

3 Fieldfare

5 Linnets 

4 Yellowhammers

1 Raven

(Ed Wilson)

Long Lane, Wellington

2 Whimbrel

(JW Reeves)

2011

Priorslee Lake

2 Common Sandpiper

1 Sedge Warbler

2 Raven

(John Isherwood)

Priorslee Flash

1 Common Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

1 Whinchat

4 Wheatear

2 Garden Warbler

(John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake

5 Reed Warbler

(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

1 Whinchat 

1 Lesser Whitethroat

22 Wheatear

(John Isherwood)

2009

Priorslee Lake

7 Swans

3 Common Sandpipers

Sedge Warbler

Garden Warbler

9 Reed Warblers

Common Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat

(Ed Wilson)

Lanes to the E / SE of the lake 

2 Lesser Whitethroats

3 Whitethroats

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

8 Tufted Duck

2 Willow Warblers

1 Chiffchaff

2 Blackcaps

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

Lesser Whitethroat

Common Whitethroat

Garden Warbler

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

2 Linnets

2 Yellowhammers

5 Wheatears

4 Sky Larks

2 Jays

(Ed Wilson)

The Wrekin

5+ Tree Pipit

3 Redstart

Wood Warbler

Garden Warbler

Wheatear

7 Meadow Pipits

(Ed Wilson)

2008

Priorslee Lake

13 Mute Swans

(Martin Adlam)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Whimbrel

4 Great Crested Grebes

3 Tufted Ducks

Sparrowhawk

Kestrel

1 Common Sandpiper

2 Stock Doves

2 Grey Wagtails

2 Sedge Warblers

4 Reed Warblers

Chiffchaff

Willow Warbler

Lesser Whitethroat

Jay

119 Jackdaw

3 House Sparrows

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

4 Great Crested Grebes

1 Heron

1 Tufted Duck

2 Ruddy Ducks

1 Dunlin

1 Whimbrel

5 Common Sandpipers

8 Swifts

1 Sky Lark

97 Sand Martins

31 Swallows

3 House Martins

2 Grey Wagtails

1 Sedge Warbler

1 Reed Warbler

2 Lesser Whitethroats

1 Garden Warbler

10 Blackcaps

6 Chiffchaffs

2 Willow Warblers

6 Greenfinches

1 Linnet

4 Reed Bunting

Lanes to the east of the Lake

3 Mallards

1 Lesser Whitethroat

5 Whitethroats

3 Jay

3 Sky Larks

2 Blackcaps

2 Chiffchaffs

1 Willow Warbler

4 Greenfinches

3 Linnets

4 Bullfinches

8 Yellowhammers.

(Ed Wilson)