29 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake only

13.0°C > 15.0°C: Initially thin low cloud with the moon visible; soon more extensive low cloud; a few breaks after 07:15 but very hazy and they did not last. Light 'N' wind. Good visibility at best.

Sunrise: 06:15 BST

* = a photo today

Only visited the lake today, the idea being to see the balloons lift from the Telford Town Park. Thwarted by low cloud and they did not fly!

Priorslee Lake: 04:45 – 09:00

(189th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- The Mute Swans are still behaving oddly. One of the adults was asleep well apart from the others. Later the two adults were seen some way apart with the three cygnets well away. The fourth cygnet joined it siblings from somewhere and then disappeared again. Later the adults and three cygnets were all together on the concrete ramp.

- A drake Tufted Duck has been present for about 10 days in the NE area. I failed to find it yesterday but it was back in its usual location this morning. There was another (of indeterminate sex) at the W end later.

- Another large number of Wood Pigeons, today in both directions.

- No Grey Heron seen for the first day in a long while.

Overhead:

- 31 Canada Geese: all outbound in three groups

- Greylag Geese heard only

** All the geese went out early, low and to the N where I could not see them

- 1 Feral Pigeon again

- 237 Wood Pigeons

- 2 Herring Gulls

- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

- 1 Jackdaw

- 1 Starling

Hirundines etc., noted:

- 2 Barn Swallows flew S 08:25

Warblers noted:

- *9 Chiffchaffs: one noted in spluttering song

- 1 Reed Warbler

- 5 Blackcaps again

Count from the lake area:

- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans

- 12 (8♂) Mallard

- 2 (1♂) Tufted Ducks

- 8 Moorhens again

- 69 Coots

- 9 + 5 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes

- 105 Black-headed Gulls only

- *3 Herring Gulls: adult, third summer, first summer

- *14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all stopped only briefly: included a juvenile

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths

- 2 Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata)

- 1 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria)

And

- 1 cranefly Tipula lateralis

- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)

- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)

- 3 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:

Spiders etc.:

- *2 unidentified spiders sps. amongst all the usual suspects

Things seen later: back to mainly dull weather: a few things sunning in a brief brighter spell

Bees / Wasps etc.:

- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

- *Knopper Gall created by the Knopper Oak Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalicis) on an Oak tree

Hoverflies:

- *Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

- Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)

- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Bugs:

- *Anthocoris sp., perhaps Common Flower Bug (Anthocoris nemorum)

Spiders etc.:

- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

Molluscs:

- White-lipped Snails (Cepaea hortensis) as ever

Mammals:

- 1 Grey Squirrel

- [Pipistrelle-type bats not looked for]

Herring Gulls of different ages here. On the left a very worn third summer bird: the mantle looks like an adult but the wings that were moulted last winter are now very much the worse for wear. On the right a first summer with some signs on the mantle of moulting in to second winter plumage. Large gull area a challenge with eight distinct plumages until they are full adults, but of course much of the time they are in transition anyway.

A juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull. It is darker overall than a same-age Herring Gull but the clinching plumage feature is that the tertials (the feathers immediately in front of the black tail) are evenly edged white. On a Herring Gull these feathers have the black notched with white. It is a very strikingly-marked bird with neat white edges to the dark-centred feathers. [Adult winter Black-headed Gulls lurk in the foreground]

Makes a change to find a Chiffchaff out in the open – albeit briefly.

A Knopper Gall created by the Knopper Oak Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalicis) on an Oak tree. The wasp oviposits it the bud and the gall distorts the acorn. The wasp is rarely seen. Wikipedia suggests this only occurs on Pedunculate Oaks but the NatureSpot web site suggests all oaks are affected. Anyway Pedunculate Oak freely hybridise with Sessile Oaks (and I can't tell the difference anyway!)

I did a double-take on this rather chunky-looking hoverfly. It is 'only' a Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax) but it is unusual in that it is a female. The vast majority of the hoverflies I see are males (the eyes meet). Its bulk is in part due to the angle leading to foreshortening but it seems from photos on the web that females do look broader than males.

One of the Anthocoris sp. of flower bugs, perhaps Common Flower Bug (Anthocoris nemorum). The members of the genus cannot be separated from photos.

A yet to be identified spider that was in the sailing club shelter.

And another. The legs are covering the markings on the back of the abdomen but the white crescent on the side might be enough of a clue. I suspect it is a Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius).

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 presumed Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea) again

- 3 different caddis flies of unknown species.

- *1 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)

- *1 other unidentified spiders

- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

This is a spider I can identify. The cross at the top of the abdomen identifies it as a Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus).

Whereas this isn't!

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.

Sightings from previous years without links are below

2013
Priorslee Lake
Whinchat
(John Isherwood)

2011
Nedge Hill
Peregrine
(John Isherwood)