14 May 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

6.0°C – 7.0°C: Overcast at low level and rather dull. Light E breeze. Moderate visibility.

Sunrise: 05:15 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:15 – 06:00 // 06:50 – 09:15

(91st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One juvenile seen from Coot brood #1; two from brood #2; two from new brood #3, only seen briefly before the parents took them back in to the nest.
- A juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker seen flying with a parent.
- *The Sedge Warbler was being vocal, visible and also did several of its bounding rather Common Whitethroat-like display flights.
- So where were many of the Reed Warblers?
- *There were at three Grey Wagtails on the dam-face. One adult male and one adult female: I suspect therefore that the third was a juvenile.

Overhead:
- 8 Canada Geese: three pairs outbound; one pair inbound
- 3 Greylag Geese: perhaps the same bird in; then out; and back again?
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Racing Pigeons: together
- 3 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 28 Jackdaws
- 7 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 1 Swift
- 2 Sand Martins
- c.10 Barn Swallows
- 4 House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 11 (11) Chiffchaffs
- *1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 8 (7) Reed Warblers only
- 15 (14) Blackcaps
- 4 (3) Garden Warblers
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat only

Count from the lake area
- *2 + 5 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 2 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens again
- 22 + 5 (3 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: first year, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron as ever

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:
- Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)

Noted later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

More information on yesterday's white crab spider Misumena vatia courtesy of the Shropshire Spider Recorder. As noted they can change colour with white, yellow, green and pink all possible. They may also have two red lines. It is only the females that can do this. It is not to hide from her prey as these can see only UV light and her colour is irrelevant. The colour is to hide from her predators. The much smaller male looks very different and does not change colour.

Somewhere under Mrs. Canada Goose's skirts are the five goslings being kept warm.

After two days of barely a glimpse I spied the Sedge Warbler sitting up. Even at this range the broad creamy eye-brow and lightly streaked back are evident. In the dull conditions this morning I am afraid that none of these photos is too sharp.

He moved around to several different locations, including the bushes between the lake and the M54. Here he is back at the lake-side.

Head-on we see the dark above the eye-brow is only on the side of the head. The crown is also lightly streaked.

"Give us a song"

 I don't think my legs go this far apart these days.

This Song Thrush had just found a worm but was 'bounced' off it by a male Blackbird.

A head-on view of a typical female Grey Wagtail with the grey throat - though some have only a yellow wash and are then difficult to separate from juveniles. In the breeding season the male's throat is black.

This female Pied Wagtail seems to have found a beakful of insects to take back to her brood. I do wonder what the success rate will be for tits and warblers this chilly Spring with so few insects about even if birds are better at finding insects than I am.

Food delivered and back to look for more.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash

- Strangely the Moorhens at the upper pool seemed to have built and occupied a new nest since I last saw one on the old nest on Tuesday. Since one bird was already sitting could they have moved the eggs from the old nest? Did the old one flood after the storms?
- The usual two Moorhens at the lower pool. The bird on the nest was again probably brooding the juveniles which were not seen.
- 1 Chiffchaff still singing at the lower pool.
- 1 Blackcap again singing beside the upper pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:05 – 06:45

(78th visit of the year)

Biggest surprise today was a Willow Warbler first heard singing and then seen. It was in almost exactly the same spot as this year's first arrival on 30 March. My previous record was a one day bird on 05 May after a good passage throughout April. I can't believe one has been here undetected all the while, yet it is very late for a new bird to be arriving ....

Other bird notes:
- The Canada Goose with the almost all-white head not noted.
- Four Mallard ducklings seen - this is only the second brood I have seen this year and the first this month.
- Three pairs of Tufted Duck.
- Three juvenile Coots seen. I only noted one of the adults from the nest with these so perhaps the fourth juvenile was somewhere with the other parent.
- One Great Crested Grebe was very visible in the middle of the water most of the time. Where do they go to?

Bird noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw only

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 4 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps

On /around the water:

- 32 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 24 (18♂) + 4 (1 brood) Mallard
- 6 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 19 + 3 (1 brood) Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe

Otherwise noted:
- 2 Grey Squirrels

(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

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

Hobby

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

Black-tailed Godwit

3 Whimbrel

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

Common Tern

5 Common Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

2006

Priorslee Lake

2 Ruddy Ducks

(Ed Wilson)