2 May 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

2.0°C > 8:0°C: Clear and frosty. Some cloud to the W later though remaining sunny. Calm. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:37 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:40 - 06:10 // 07:10 - 09:15

(81st visit of the year)

On National Dawn Chorus Day it was certainly noisy at 05:00. Nothing unusual in the mix.

Bird notes:
- *Three Mallard ducklings seen, probably a new brood for me.
- *A pair of Tufted Duck dropped in. A drake joined them and then they all flew off.
- After days with relatively few Jackdaws passing early a group of 56 flew out at 05:09 with 21 following later.
- A Sedge Warbler was singing right alongside the Sailing Club slipway at 05:30 but was not heard later. Probably a different bird to the one on the N side early last week.
- A third Garden Warbler was singing from the Ricoh copse by the Belisha beacon in Teece Drive. It seemed very mobile as if perhaps moving through.
- House Sparrows again at the W end.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 6 Canada Geese: three pairs outbound
- 1 Stock Dove
- 16 Wood Pigeons
- 77 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Barn Swallows

Count of warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds)
- *11 (10) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 8 (8) Reed Warblers
- *18 (13) Blackcaps again
- *3 (3) Garden Warblers
- 5 (4) Common Whitethroats

Counts from the water:
- 2 Canada Goose: both the presumed 'residents' seen.
- 2 Mute Swans: the pen sitting on the nest throughout.
- *4 (3♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- *3 (2♂) Tufted Duck, briefly
- 3 Moorhens only
- 20 Coots
- 2 Little Grebe: both heard only
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron

Still nothing on / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Noted later:

Insects:
- *Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria): my first in 2021.
- *Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- *presumed Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

The following flowers noted for the first time here this year:
- *Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)
- *Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)
- *Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
- *Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)

Also
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Calm and frosty sunrise today.

"Eyes left". Mrs. Mallard and three ducklings. The last brood I saw had but one duckling remaining. One of the fishermen reported a brood of seven on Thursday: perhaps this is the remnant of that brood.

A pair of Tufted Duck dropped in for a while. Here they are. Another drake arrived soon after and they all then departed.

The Reed Warblers are still refusing to pose for the camera so back to some 'old faithful's - a Chiffchaff here.

Male Blackcaps still singing away though harder to photograph with all the leaves opening.

 Not so much a branch in the way, more half a tree. Yesterday's hiding Garden Warbler still hiding.

But eventually came out to sing for me.

Martin Adlam who does a splendid job putting my narrative and photos on the web recently commented that in his training as an RAF photographer he was told to 'fill the frame'. Will this song Thrush do? I had to wind the zoom back for this shot. These birds are very active at the moment. I hear nine or ten singing birds first thing and then often see up to five non-singing birds later. This is one of they.

Goldfinches are seed-eaters. Not easy to find seeds at this time of year. Here attacking last year's willowherb.

A male Reed Bunting being king of the castle. As I have noted previously the head is not completely black - it has brownish eye-brows.

My first Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) in 2021 here or anywhere else.

This Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris) looks as if it is trouble. In fact it was just giving its face a good clean with its legs.

A male and therefore 'tapered' Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax). Note when seen well just how hairy it is. Ideal for doing a good pollination task.

I have logged this as a male Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare) but looking closely I am not so sure. The thorax looks rather wide for that species and I am taking advice.

Do I need to say this is a Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)? It is a 'real' Bluebell too, not one of the Spanish Bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica) garden escapes because the flowers are all on the same side of the stem.

Its apple blossom time - well I assume this is a Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) but then again how did it get here?

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) was in flower at Trench earlier this week. Today was the first I saw any at the lake.

The flowers of Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum). The leaf rosettes of this plant are usually tinged red.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash

- A pair of Mallard were again in the recently cleared area of the Wesley Brook above the upper pool.
- A pair of Moorhens with one juvenile were on the lower pool: the juvenile was with an adult and the other adult was on the nest, perhaps brooding other juveniles.
- A Moorhen was sitting on the nest at the upper pool.
- No warblers seen or heard.
- House Sparrows seen at the lower pool. Hard to tell whether they were food hunting or looking to strip the old reeds for nest material.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 - 07:05

(68th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- No sign of any Swifts wheeling over St Georges in the distance as yet - a traditional breeding site.
- An adult Herring Gull dropped in, using the usual perch on the island. Stayed less than 10 minutes.
- A bird I have logged as a non-singing Chiffchaff gave me some difficulty. It had a very prominent supercilium and when I first glimpsed it I momentarily thought "what is a Sedge Warbler doing high up in a tree". It was too distant to check the leg colour. On the basis of the way it pumped its tail as it moved around it seems likely to have been a Chiff - but that supercilium..... It did not call either.
- I could not find the Sedge Warbler.
- Two Nuthatches around the putative nesting hole in the 'pollarded' Ash tree. I had not seen these here for nearly two weeks and wondered if the threat of the chainsaw had moved them on (thanks to Phil Nock for persuading the men to desist with the chainsaw).
- Two single fly-over Starlings. Despite the number using the football field near the main lake and then flying off in all directions to nests in the estate I have seen very few here this year.

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

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Barn Swallow flew N

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

Counts from the water:
- 20 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 3 + ? eggs Mute Swans
- 25 (17♂) Mallard
- 11 (7♂) Tufted Duck again
- 4 Moorhens only
- 20 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only
- 1 Herring Gull: adult, briefly

Otherwise:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Rather up close and personal with this Long-tailed Tit

(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

2016
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Wrekin
6 Tree Pipits 
1 Wheatear 
5 Pied Flycatchers 
2 Common Redstarts 
3 Wood Warblers 
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Whimbrel
Grasshopper
5 Common Sandpiper
Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

Wrekin
1 Wood Warbler
1 Common Redstart
3 Tree Pipit
2 Pied Flycatcher
(J Reeves)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Common Sandpipers 
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)