3 Feb 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 7.0°C: Early low cloud and drizzle also had a few brighter moments. Clearing after 09:30. Light W wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:49 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:35 – 09:20

(32nd visit of the year)

Still quiet but a few changes from yesterday.

Bird notes:
- I now have slight concerns about one of the adult Mute Swans. At first light the adults were in the SE area together and the cygnets scattered about. These soon joined the adults and none of them moved towards their usual place at the bottom of the concrete ramp. One of the adult was tucked up as if asleep more or less throughout and neither adult took any notice of the three Canada Geese that often passed very close. Is it unwell?
- A drake Gadwall back.
- An extra duck Tufted Duck.
- My second record of Great Crested Grebe here this year (the first on New Year's Day). It looked to be a first winter bird lacking any sign of head plumes.
- More gulls this morning. c.70 Black-headed Gulls arrived over the water at 07:10. Numbers quickly built to c.125 and these were joined by three Lesser Black-backed Gulls. They all flew around and around for ages and I never actually saw any of them on the water though I have logged them doing so. The highest counts of gulls I specifically noted on the water was 31 Black-headed Gulls and, much later, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 83 Wood Pigeons: 34 of these flew W in two groups
- 2 Collared Doves: again together
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 16 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 136 Jackdaws
- 1 Starling again
- 3 Redwings

Counts from the lake area:
- 3 Canada Geese: throughout; as a duo and single
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 3 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- c.125 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: all arrived separately

On or around the street lamps: a better morning.
- *1 Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria)
- 1 'winter cranefly'
- several midges / gnats
- *two different fly sps.
- *three different springtail sps.
- *1 unidentified larva, perhaps of a cranefly
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

Is this the same drake Gadwall that keeps coming and going?

A male Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria) [females are almost wingless]. This species has the same wavy outer cross line as Mottled Umber (Erranis defoliaria) but only has a faint smudgy black spot in the forewing and shows a much stronger inner cross line as well as a more prominent dotted border – hence its name. This is moth species #7 so far this year. I am doing much better than last year probably because of the mild weather and fewer Covid restrictions.

A fly that seemed different from many that I see. The wings are translucent and it has small reddish eyes on the side of its head. No idea as to species.

It is not easy to see what this might be as the open wings are casting a shadow on the lamp pole making it look as if it has two pairs of wings. It looks the wrong shape for a midge or a gnat and is likely a fly. Beyond that...

One of the three springtails I recorded this morning. This one is a close match for Orchesella cincta.

Springtail #2. This was at least twice the size of the previous example and lacks the pale (yellow?) cross band. One of the Tomoceridae that can only be identified under a microscope.

And the third springtail of the 'other' basic shape. I've now worked out how to get the camera flash to give me better detail of the markings on this tiny critter. The greenish-yellow and maroon markings suggest it might be Dicyrtomina saundersi.

I thought this was a slug until I noted what appear to be legs (at the bottom here). I suspect it is a cranefly larva. There are no guides to help me further.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:20

(31st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The cob Mute Swan is getting somewhat aggressive toward both the 2019-born white adult and toward some of the Canada Geese.
- Rather fewer Mallard located.
- The drake Teal was again out in the open.
- Bumper number of Tufted Duck, mostly out in the open today.

Birds noted flying over here:

None

On /around the water:
- 20 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 30 (19♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 1 (1) Teal again
- 2 (2♂) Pochard still
- 86 (41♂) Tufted Duck
- 15 Moorhens
- 25 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 79 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Herring Gulls: several of these departed and the ages were not checked
- 2 Grey Herons again

On /around street lamp poles:
- *1 beetle sp.
- *2 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spiders

Note elsewhere:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Most species look like 'angry birds' when seen head-on. A Song Thrush.

Does not exactly happy from this angle. Note the black nails on its claws.

All right: turn your back on me. I am always struck by how feathers can have such delicate markings on the tips, shown well on the primaries here. I wonder what the purpose of them is in evolutionary terms?

I saw a leg sicking out from under the identity label of a lamp pole – the label is slightly peeling. I gently prodded the leg and both a Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider and a beetle emerged.

The beetle did not fully emerge – I don't blame it. This shows it reasonably well. I am fairly sure it is one of the Pterostichus (ground beetles) and just perhaps P. vernalis on the basis of the black femur and orange legs.

(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

2014

Priorslee Lake

1 Yellow-legged Gull

1 Viking, or possibly a dark Iceland

(J Reeves)

Telford Crematorium

1 Caspian Gull

1 Yellow-legged Gull

(Tom Lowe)

2013

Priorslee Lake

12 Wigeon

6 Gadwall

3 Pochard

32 Tufted Duck

2 Reed Bunting

(Tony Beckett)

The Flash

15 Pochard 

53 Tufted Duck

3 Goosander

(Tony Beckett)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site

1 Glaucous Gull

1 Glaucous x Great Black-backed Gull

1 Yellow-legged Gull

(Tom Lowe / Andy Latham)

2012

Priorslee Lake

26 Pochard

29 Tufted Duck

>5000 gulls

Ring-billed Gull hybrid

2 Yellow-legged Gulls

4 Great Black-backed Gulls

(Roger Clay / Ed Wilson / John Isherwood / Martin Grant)

Trench Pool

Snipe

(Dave Tromans)

2011

Priorslee Lake

8 Pochard

14 Tufted Duck 

77 Herring Gull

5 Pale Brindled Beauty moths

(Ed Wilson)

2010

Priorslee Lake

Merlin

(Observer Unknown)

2009

Priorslee Lake

3 Sky Larks

4 Fieldfare

c.55 Redwings

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

17 Pochard

37 Tufted Ducks

1 Goldeneye

3 Lapwings

30 Robins

14 Blackbirds

1 Fieldfare

11 Song Thrushes

3 Redwing

3 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

2 Gadwall

2 Wigeon

19 Pochard

77 Tufted Ducks

151 Coots

1 Water Rail

15 Robins

13 Blackbirds

90 Siskin

5 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

5 Reed Buntings.

(Ed Wilson)