23 Jun 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 15.0°C: Clear but rather hazy early. Light mainly NW breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST again

*** pictures will come tomorrow – other things to do today.

Priorslee Lake: 04:15 – 05:30 // 06:25 – 09:20

(127th visit of the year)

Surprise of the day was to find a Sedge Warbler carrying food in the same area where two bird were on 20th May and where a single bird was seen until 24th May. Once mated the male must have stopped singing. It means that several records of a non-singing Common Whitethroat were likely really this species – the calls are not dissimilar. It is some years since Sedge Warbler bred here.

Bird notes:
- Today's first Swift arrived 04:30 with seven soon after. All had left by 05:00 and no more were seen until after 07:15
- Three Lapwings flew straight through – well as straight as Lapwings fly anywhere – at 07:30.
- More or less on cue the first three returning Black-headed Gulls – all adults – were on one of the sailing club's piers when I arrived but almost immediately departed. (I had my first bird since 13th March over my Newport house yesterday).
- No idea why there were relatively few Blackcaps singing yesterday and many more today.

Overhead:
- 13 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 3 Lapwings
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: age not determined
- 3 Cormorants: single and duo
- 9 Jackdaws
- 4 Rooks
- 16 Starlings: two groups

Hirundines etc., noted:
- >15 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow again
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 16 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Sedge Warbler: see highlight
- 12 (8) Reed Warblers
- 17 (16) Blackcaps
- 3 (3) Garden Warblers
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats

Count from the lake area
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 7 (7♂) Mallard
- 5 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 39 + 22 (8 broods) Coots
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: departed 04:45
- 5 Great Crested Grebes

Moths on / around the street lamps pre-dawn:
- 1 Clay Triple-lines (Cyclophora linearia): a new species for me here. Species #32 in sighting order
- 1 Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata)
- 1 male Buff Ermine (Spilosoma lutea). Species #31 in sighting order

Noted later: I concentrated on the north side today where the vegetation produces different, but fewer species. Also I have a number of photos still to check with at least one rather small bumblebee and a puzzlingly small black cranefly.

Butterflies:
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Moths:
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
- Light Emerald (Campaea margaritaria). Species #33 in sighting order

Bees / Wasps:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
- Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)

Hoverflies:
- Cheilosia sp.
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Parhelophilus Sp.
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis)

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

Other Flies:
- Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- Crane fly sp.

Beetles:
- Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)

Mammals
- Grey Squirrel

Newly recorded plants / flowers:
- Rapeseed (Brassica napus): presumed – escaped from fields to E
- Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum): this is now in full flower. Last year Severn Trent contractors cut it all down.

The drake Mallards are moulting in to their dull so-called eclipse plumage where they become hard to separate from the ducks. This one is still showing a hint of the green sheen on the head. The best feature to separate these birds is that adult drakes retain pale yellow-green bills with ducks and immatures having mostly brown bills.

A 'grab shot' giving me the surprise of the morning – with a wide, creamy eye-brow this has to be a Sedge Warbler. About four weeks since I last recorded this species singing here. The male must have quietened down as soon as the female arrived and they started nesting. There are no competitors to chase away.

If I can get close I always try for a Goldfinch photo.

Many weeks since I last recorded a Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae). Looks like a fresh specimen with the blue spots in the border complete.

This is a Clay Triple-lines moth (Cyclophora linearia) and my first-ever in Shropshire. It is not a common moth. It is normal for only the central line to be obvious and the inner line to be almost absent. This was moth species #32 for me here in 2021.

This is a male Buff Ermine moth (Spilosoma lutea): females are white and separable from White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda) by the arrangement of the black marks. This was moth species #31 for me here in 2021.

This moth flushed in to the middle distance where the magic camera was able to get enough of a photo to identify it as a Light Emerald (Campaea margaritaria). In reality it is, as the name implies, a pale green colour. This was moth species #33 for me here in 2021.

A Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum).

I do like Early Bumblebees (Bombus pratorum).

So we had better have another!

These two hoverflies are from the genus Parhelophilus and likely P. frutetorum though photos need more details to confirm the identity. All species in this genus are more orange than the common Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) and the lines on the thorax are less contrasting. The heads of these two are at the wrong angle to be able to sex them – as with many flies the eyes of the females meet.

I often ignore these confusing Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis) hoverflies because unless I find a female and can see all the hind leg then they are inseparable. This is a good shot of one, whatever it is.

This black cranefly might be Dictenidia bimaculata. The only illustration I can find shows that males have pectinate (comb-like) antennae and the accompanying description suggests that if it was a female with simple antennae it ought to have some orange on the thorax (no photos though).

Growing on the dam is what I assume to be Rapeseed (Brassica napus). Likely it has come from fields to E. Whether the farmer has used hybrid seeds is impossible to know.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- A Chiffchaff was singing by the lower pool today.
- Meanwhile the Blackcap was singing from just above the upper pool/

Also
- Still two Common Pug moths (Eupithecia vulgata) on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel; yet again having moved location slightly.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:35 – 06:20

(112th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Could not find anything that looked like a juvenile Canada Goose, with or without its parents.
- A pair of Mallard seen mating – seems rather late in the season ...?
- The only juvenile Coot seen today was the well-grown bird by the island. An adult was standing by an empty nest where yesterday's new brood was seen in one of the cut-offs by a bridge: it is possible the other adult was with the juveniles lurking in the reeds but I could not hear any begging calls. Monday's new brood alongside the same bridge was again being brooded and the number extant not determined. No others seen or heard.
- Both Great Crested Grebes asleep by the island.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves
- 2 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 3 Swifts
- 2 House Martins

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

On /around the water:
- 115 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 24 (18♂) Mallard
- 9 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 1 juvenile Coots: see notes
- 2 Great Crested Grebe

Also noted:
- 1 instar shield bug on a lamp pole (to be identified from photo later).
- 1 dead Common Shrew (Sorex Ananeus) on the path by the academy.

 I have now identified this as a late instar of a Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes).

The dead Common Shrew (Sorex Ananeus) on the path by the academy. The pointed snout identifies it as a shrew and the only other likely candidate is the much smaller Pygmy Shrew.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day
2020
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
(Ed Wilson)

2016
Priorslee Flash
Today's News Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
Plover sp.
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake

Marsh Warbler
Unlikely as it seems I am pretty convinced about this on the basis of the song alone
I was walking along the W end path at c.06:15 when a strange song caught my attention: there had been young Reed Warblers flitting about the area away from the reeds and it sound 'Acro-like'. But it was far too fast and I then assumed it was a Sedge Warbler (especially after my bird in the town centre last week). But the sound was all wrong with what seemed more like Garden Warbler tones, though with the characteristic Acro dynamics.
The bird was singing from a small patch of bushes growing in the fence at the W end of the yacht compound and I had the choice of a close view directly in to the bright sun; or going the 'other side' and trying to see between the yachts at some distance. I decided to stay where I was and in response to gentle phishing I got a good-enough glimpse to confirm it was a  Reed / Marsh and not Sedge Warbler and certainly an Acro.
The song continued to puzzle and included all manner of oddities, sounding at times like juvenile Great Tit begging, all while singing at full volume.
I decided that the best thing would be to try and record the bird so I dashed back to the car for my digital tape recorder. When I returned the bird was not singing and phishing produced only a Wren and a pair of Bullfinches!
Revisited the area twice more for some 15 minutes on each occasion without success: was not too surprised as it was a small and rather unlikely spot for the bird to stay in.
Worth rechecking - but I went all around the lake twice without hearing anything untoward.
Only my second-ever UK Marsh Warbler - the last was as long ago as when they bred in Worcestershire! But familiar with the birds abroad as recently as May in Poland where I heard maybe 20.
I really cannot see what else it might have been: I am not that confident to say it WAS a Marsh Warbler song, only that I have no idea what else it could have been and it fits the general pattern of song.(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Village
A pair of Siskins
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
(Ed Wilson)