1 Oct 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 14.0°C: Fine and clear. Moderate / fresh WSW breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:10 BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Lake: 05:45 – 09:10

(211th visit of the year)

Two highlights today:
- I noted an adult Common Gull in with a group of large gulls that arrived after 08:00. In this part of Shropshire Common Gulls belie their name and this is only my second record of this species here this year.
- At 08:50 I noted a House Martin feeding over trees in the north-west area. As fr as I can determine this is my first October record of this species in Shropshire. This was a few minutes after a Barn Swallow flew South, also a late record. The Belvide blog noted c.200 House Martins over that reservoir in the rain yesterday afternoon.

Other bird notes:
- A Song Thrush was again heard in VERY quiet song.
- Possibly more Skylarks overhead: the clear skies made locating small birds flying overhead a challenge.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 46 Wood Pigeons
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 38 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 10 Cormorants: a single, a duo and a septet
- 22 Jackdaws
- 54 Rooks
- 4 Skylarks
- 4 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 1 House Martin

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: in song at the West end
- 5 Chiffchaffs: one of these in brief song

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 (2♂) Eurasian Wigeon
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 11 (7♂) Mallard
- 16 (2?) Tufted Duck: at least three of these flew off
- 8 Moorhens
- 183 Coots
- 21 Great Crested Grebes
- c.175 Black-headed Gulls: of these 128 were on the football field at 07:10
- *1 Common Gull
- *4 Herring Gulls
- *26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 16 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately; neither stayed long
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on / around dew-covered street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 Brick moth (Agrochola circellaris)
- 1 plumed midge
- *two species of fly
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus sp.
- 1 Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)
- 1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *1 presumed Common House-spider (Tegenaria domestica)
- 1 male Leiobunum blackwalli harvestman

Noted later:
- pipistrelle-type bat
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *unidentified cranefly

The larger gulls can vary in size somewhat with males typically larger than females and Herring Gulls typically larger than Lesser Black-backed Gulls. However there is no way even a small female Herring Gull would look this size against even the largest male Lesser Black-backed Gull. The dark eye and the thin bill identify this as an adult Common Gull.

Isolated and enlarged probably more than I should have. The dark eye and weak bill are seen more clearly. Also is a hint of dark spotting on the nape that this species acquires in winter plumage.

A first winter Lesser Black-backed Gull with wings fully spread. The paleness of the inner primaries is confined to the exposed inner webs. In a Yellow-legged Gull at this age the whole feathers would appear pale. We cannot see the tail marking here....

...but we can here! On the bottom left is an adult Herring Gull. The other three are all adult or near-adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

A very smart moth. It is a Brick (Agrochola circellaris). At this time of year a number of yellow / orange species of moth emerge. I can but hope to see others. This is moth species #90 for me here this year.

I see orange flies most mornings. This looks rather different as the eyes seem further apart than usual. Perhaps it is just a female and I usually see males. In many species of fly the eyes of males meet.

I am not at all sure what this is. The front half looks like a fly but the banded legs and the well-marked abdomen are atypical.

This alternative view does not help.

I found this female cranefly on the sluice control box in the boxing ring on the dam.

It gave me a rare opportunity for a very close look. Sadly I forgot to take a plan view and from this angle I cannot specifically identify it.

This spider closely matches images on the web of Common House-spider (Tegenaria domestica). Whether this species would ever be climbing a street lamp pole is unclear.

Plane of the day. This is an Airbus A350-900 series of Lufthansa en route from Toronto's Lester B. Pearson Airport to Munich Airport. This 2018-build aircraft was originally delivered to Philippine Airlines. That troubled airline was forced to return it to the lessor after 18 months. It was stored for a year before Lufthansa took over the lease, no doubt at a favourable rate.

Here is the flight data courtesy of Flight Radar 24.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:20

(204th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The third adult Mute Swan does seem to have gone AWOL. No-one I spoke to could give me any clues.
- With better visibility I was able to confirm the three Great Crested Grebes are one adult and two juvenile, one of which was begging the adult to feed it.
- When I arrived there seemed to be just 2 Cormorants. One of the fishermen reported 13 seen together earlier. While I was present more birds were arriving and often displacing birds already sitting in the trees making the actual number of different birds hard to judge. I saw at least eight.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 1 Raven
- 2 Skylarks

Warblers noted:

None

Noted on / around the water
- 48 Canada Geese: 31 of these arrived together
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 31 (19♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 16 (2?♂) Tufted Duck
- 15 Moorhens
- 27 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Black-headed Gulls: no first winter birds
- *>8 Cormorants: see notes
- 2 Grey Herons

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- 1 cranefly, possibly Tipula rufina.

Noted later:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *Migrant Hoverfly (Eupeodes corollae)
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Terrapin sp. (Yellow-bellied Slider)

A very white-bellied Cormorant perched above one of the two Grey Herons here this morning.

Cormorants were flying around, all trying to find somewhere to perch. The light was good to take some shots. In no particular order here are flying shots.

This is an immature with pale on the belly. Birds get darker as they age.

Here is an adult.

Count those tail feathers. Only six on the adult?

Well 14 tail feathers on this immature.

This immature looks rather grumpy.

Must have been the angle as it looks OK here.

A different immature with more white on the belly.

A very pale-bellied bird. This one seems to have 12 tail feathers.

Someone thinks eating all the fish is funny. Try asking the fishermen!

The Ivy flowers are only just beginning to open but this Migrant Hoverfly (Eupeodes corollae) is trying to find some nectar.

Well: it was a long way away, hauled out on the island. A Terrapin sp., probably a Yellow-bellied Slider though hybrids are also sold in pet shops. This is my first sighting this year of one of these long-term residents. It will soon be time for them to hunker down on the bottom of the water for the winter. They can easily survive in our climate though it is thought to be too cold for them to breed. A smaller individual appeared two years ago so perhaps global warming....

It must be Winter! This is a stick bud of a Horse-Chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum). I can confirm it is very sticky. There are erudite papers on the web analysing the composition of the sticky secretion that can withstand heat, cold, drought and soaking yet remain more-or-less unchanged.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 3 owl midges Psychodidae sp. again
- 15 other midges of various sizes
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus-type
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- no White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)

(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

2009

Priorslee Lake

1 Kingfisher

Grey Wagtail

40 Mute Swan

(Mike Cooper)

2008

Priorslee Lake

Shoveler

Peregrine

(Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

1 Redwing

90 Golden Plover

87 Greenfinches

3 Chiffchaffs

Blackcap

Kingfisher

2 Willow Tits

(Ed Wilson)