10 Jun 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 18.0°C: Low cloud lifted somewhat with a very few early breaks. Light SW breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:47 BST again

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:20 – 05:40 // 06:35 – 09:45

(115th visit of the year)

Best today was a pair of Mandarin Duck on the SW grass when I arrived back from The Flash. This naturalised species breeds locally along the River Severn south of Bridgnorth and in many other places in the UK. I do not have the date of my last record of this species here, though I know it is more than eight years ago. A drake was reported here on 18 February this year. Mu 101st species of bird here this year.

Other bird notes:
- The cob Mute Swan was kept busy with Canada Geese. When I returned from The Flash there was a group of 41 that were ignoring his attempts to shoo them away. 24 of them left together with the other 17 staying at least 30 more minutes. Some while later a group of 20 birds flew N low over.
- Two Swifts turned up at 04:45 and stayed only a few minutes. Several small parties came and went with eight being the highest number together. Exactly how many birds there were is hard to say.
- A female Linnet flushed out of the hedge alongside the academy.

Overhead:
- 21 Canada Geese: single outbound; 20 N together
- 8 Greylag Geese: pair outbound; pair and quintet inbound with one peeling off to splash down.
- 3 Stock Doves: single and pair
- 7 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Common Buzzards again
- 3 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: not all aged
- 2 Cormorants: duo
- 18 Jackdaws
- 31 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- >8 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 4 House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 9 (8) Reed Warblers
- 17 (15) Blackcaps
- 3 (3) Garden Warblers
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats

Count from the lake area
- *43 + 3 (1 brood) Canada Geese: see notes
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Mandarin Duck, briefly seen on the SW grass
- 7 (7♂) Mallard
- 1 Moorhen again
- 23 + 4 (2 broods) Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes again
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull: one adult, briefly; two first years from Ricoh and then on football field briefly

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:
- *1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)

Noted later:

Butterflies / Moths:
- Plain Gold (Micropterix calthella)
- *Yellow-barred Longhorn (Nemophora degeerella)
- *Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
- Timothy Tortrix (Zelotherses paleana)
- Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata)

Bees / Wasps:
- Field Cuckoo Bumblebee (Bombus campestris)
I am not complaining but very few wasps this year so far

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
These flies mostly like sunny weather

Damselflies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Other Flies:
- *Caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
- Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- Snipe fly sp. (Rhagio sp.?)
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- *Cranefly (Tipula fascipennis)

Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- *Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)

Spiders:
- Stretch spider sp (Tetragnatha sp.)
- *to be identified spider (perhaps Dictyna arundinacea)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Newly identified flowers for the year:
- *Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis)
- *Great(er) Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum)

Careful observation shows 41 Canada Geese. This might just be the largest number I have ever seen on the lake.

A few birds started calling and then 24 of them took off, leaving 17 behind. Not quite all of them in view here.

The drake Mandarin Duck on the SW grass taken from the N side as soon as I saw it. I was not quick enough to beat a dog-walker to the area for a better photo. I could not get an acceptable shot of the duck. This species surprises most people as it nests in holes in trees often some way from water. It is not the only duck species to do so – Goldeneye do. It is claimed that these birds are now more numerous in the UK than in the Far East – China, Japan, Korea and parts of Russia. They are widely kept in captivity. These birds seemed very shy flying off on approach and disappearing out of sight so seem likely to be wild birds.

A juvenile Pied Wagtail on the security fence of the Holy Trinity Academy. The yellow gape-line of the juveniles makes them look glum.

A new moth for my year list is this Yellow-barred Longhorn (Nemophora degeerella). I only ever see this species in a single location along the N side though the place looks no different from several other sites. I missed it last year so made a point of checking. Long horns indeed.

Another moth that is easily flushed from vegetation during the day is this Common Marble (Celypha lacunana). Another species new for the year taking my total here to twenty.

This might look like another longhorn moth but it isn't. It is the caddis fly Mystacides longicornis. Like butterflies and moths and unlike true flies all caddis flies have two pairs of wing. I am not too sure what separates a caddis fly from a moth. One of the very few easy to identify caddis flies.

I thought I had found another caddis fly but when I looked at the photo it is a wing and an antenna only!

This is the cranefly Tipula fascipennis: the large head compared with the rather slim body suggests this species and the dark mark in the wing confirms. This is a male. Females have an ovipositor and the abdomen is pointed.

A handsome fly. It turns out many species of fly have brown bases to their wings so we will have to admire it unnamed.

This seems to confirm that female weevils are consistently larger than males. I think Nettle Weevils (Phyllobius pomaceus) here though they are not on nettles. Has he worn the dusting off the female's back? Apologies for small amount of finger and thumb, used to orientate the weevils for the photo.

The only thing found on the lamp poles pre-dawn (where are all the moths) was this Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber). Somewhat unexpectedly this appears to be the first I have recorded here.

A tiny spider inside the centre of a buttercup. It seems to match photos of Dictyna arundinacea on the web. I will take advice.

Just about to open is this Great(er) Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum). Not very 'great' here as this specimen is growing in the rather impoverished soil amongst stones on the dam. No doubt the warmth from these stones is why it is ahead of plants elsewhere.

The soon-to-be-common yellow vetch is this Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis).

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Adult Moorhen seen and juvenile heard at the upper pool.
- Adult Moorhen seen at the lower pool.
- Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers flying together – adult and juvenile – back to a known nest site in the Ricoh copse.
- Both Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing more or less between the pools.

and
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) around the lower pool – unusual this early on a cloudy morning
- *Caddis fly sp. on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel.

On the roof of the tunnel was this caddis fly sp. There are almost 200 species known from the UK and they are mostly very difficult to ID – things like the number and layout of the spurs on each pair of legs help to get to the family. Then ... I'll leave it as caddis fly sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:45 – 06:30

(100th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I was told that a duck Mallard and her brood of 'nine or ten' ducklings had been brought from one of the local gardens where they had hatched. This was probably the group of seven ducklings I saw,.
- No sign of the drake (Greater) Scaup. All the six drake Tufted Ducks had 'tufts'!
- One small juvenile Moorhen on the island; a well-grown bird by one of the bridges.
- Just the two well-grown Coot juveniles seen.
- All the known Blackcaps were singing away this morning – unlike the lake where they were quieter than yesterday.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Starling

Hirundines etc., noted:
- c.20 Swifts
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 3 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (5) Blackcaps

On /around the water:
- 64 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- *15 (9♂) + 7 (1 brood) Mallard
- 7 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 + 2 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 2 juvenile Coots (2 broods)
- 1 Great Crested Grebe still

Also noted
- And again presumably the same Figure of Eighty moth (Tethea ocularis) on the same lamp pole in squirrel alley for its third morning.

Mrs. Mallard and her seven ducklings. Probably the survivors from the 'nine or ten' brought from a local garden. This is only the third brood of Mallard that I have seen here this year and none of the others has survived. Attrition is always greater from early broods so fingers crossed for these.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day
2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2009
Priorslee Lake
12 Swift
1 Lesser Whitethroat
Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
9 Greylag Geese
5 Tufted Duck
Kestrel
22 Swift
4 Swallows
6 House Martin
5 Reed Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Common Whitethroat
2 Garden Warbler
8 Blackcap
5 Chiffchaffs
2 Jays
10 Greenfinch
6 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)