8 Oct 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 13.0°C: Very misty start; lifted to low cloud. Calm / light E wind. Poor visibility, becoming moderate.

Sunrise: 07:22 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 05:45 – 09:10 yet again

(224th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- c.275 Black-headed Gulls were on the football field at 07:15 with another c.250 on the academy playing fields at the same time. No large gulls with them. A few minutes earlier there were c.150 Black-headed Gulls on the lake and how many of these had repositioned on to the grass is hard to say. There were very few left on the lake at 07:30.
- Very hard to see any birds before c.07:10 in the mist. The Jackdaws and Rooks passed largely unseen. There were c.200 large gulls on the water c.07:10. I noted fewer then 60 as they arrived and noted none passing over at this time (or later).
- It took me a long while to find the lone Chiffchaff I heard this morning. Just the dull weather? I would expect them to be around until the end of the month.
- Perhaps it was due to the mild weather: a Song Thrush was tempted to try and sing a few quiet phrases.

Overhead: (fog and mist reduced some numbers)
- 4 Stock Doves: together
- 82 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws only: others heard only
- 5 Rooks
- 11 Pied Wagtails
- 10 Meadow Pipits
- 1 Chaffinch
- 8 Goldfinches

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 16 (12♂) Mallard
- 9 (>1♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 71 Coots
- [Little Grebes not seen]
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- *>425 Black-headed Gulls
- 10 Herring Gulls
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- c.200 large gulls: see notes
- 1 Cormorant: arrived and departed
- no Grey Herons

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.)
with:
- *1 ichneumon sp.
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- *several Hairy Snails (Trochulus hispidus)
- 1 Walnut Orb Weaver spider (Nuctenea umbratica)
- 1 Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman again

In the sailing club hut pre-dawn

- *1 Tawny Pinion moth (Lithophane semibrunnea)

All the spiders looked to be the usual species and I did not log them.

Noted later:
- Bumblebee sp., in flight only.
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

This adult winter Black-headed Gull has just about completed its annual wing moult. On the right wing the last but one primary is missing and to be regrown. I suspect the outer primary is yet to be dropped as are the two outer primaries closest to us.

Gulls – grrr! I think this is a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull. The inner primaries are only slightly paler than the outers so it is not a Herring Gull. The secondary coverts are paler than the secondaries and show some paler markings so it is not a Lesser Black-backed Gull. This tends to be confirmed by the small amount of spotting in the upper-tail, though the angle is not helpful. Is the head perhaps not pale-enough? And Yellow-legged or Caspian? Photos on the web lead me to Yellow-legged Gull.

I am not 100% sure that this is the same bird – there were several chasing bread and they were hard to keep track of. The same species anyway.

I found this moth under the roof of the sailing club hut. It is a Tawny Pinion (Lithophane semibrunnea) and the literature suggests it is unusual this far north so I needed to get it checked. The Shropshire macro-moth recorder has confirmed my identification. A new moth species for me.

I see one or more of these insects almost every day at the moment and log them as ichneumon sp. even though I have never been able to see its 'wasp waist'. I tried a different angle and failed!

A bit of mist and the snails came out in force. When I looked at the photo I realised this was a Hairy Snail (Trochulus hispidus) – the first I have noted this year.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Moths
- *1 Brick (Agrochola circellaris)
with:
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- 1 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus): the very large specimen again.
- 1 male Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman
- plus various midges and unidentified spiders

On the ceiling I found this Brick moth (Agrochola circellaris). My only previous Shropshire record is one at the lake on 30 September 2019.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:00

(202nd visit of the year)

Highlight was the single Barn Swallow flying SW at 09:45

Bird notes:
- The two Mute Swan cygnets were seen flying strongly and confidently along the length of and well clear of the water. They obviously have been flying for some days.
- Definite excess of drake Mallards today (as there was at the balancing lake).
- A Teal was again seen flying low along the length of the water. Both at that time and then later when it was beside the island I confirmed it as a drake. I assume Wednesday's duck has gone.
- Tufted Duck numbers remain low. I cannot recall an Autumn period with so few.
- Only two of the three juvenile Great Crested Grebes located. They are confidently moving around and fishing for themselves and can be both hard to find and hard to keep track of.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 2 Chaffinches
- 2 Greenfinches

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song

On /around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese only
- *9 Greylag Geese: two of these arrived and then all flew off with..
- *1 Greylag? x ? Goose
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 32 (24♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Teal
- 12 (2+♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 (0♂) Goosander
- 8 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 28 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

On different lamp poles:
- *1 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestman
- 1 female Leiobunum blackwalli harvestman

Nothing noted elsewhere:

Not at all sure about this goose. It is slightly larger than the accompanying Greylag Goose. The bill is pink (with a black tip), quite large and closest to a first year White-fronted Goose. The head and neck, but not the bill (or anything else), has a passing resemblance to a Snow Goose. It probably originates from a farmyard. It flew off with the Greylags: although it called, apart from sounding 'different' I have no opinion.

A close-up of the working part of a Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestman. Its seems to have unplugged one of its legs!

If you were its prey this might be your last view of it.

(Ed Wilson)

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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
2 Wigeon
2 Kingfisher
5 Redwing (Celestica Site)
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
51 Golden Plover
2 Siskins
8 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
45 Golden Plover
42 Lapwings
2 Wigeon
7 Pochard
6 Song Thrush
6 Redwings
3 Chiffchaffs
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)