12 Mar 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 9.0°C: Early cloud clearing from the West. Later a Telford 'hat' of low cloud spoilt things somewhat. Moderate SW wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:32 GMT

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:30 – 08:40

(60th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A male Pheasant was calling at the West end pre-dawn. A female was flushed from the South side soon afterwards.
- Yesterday's drake Pochard not seen: perhaps the bird noted later at The Flash?
- None of the five Jackdaws seen was at the time of, or on the path of, the traditional post-roost flights.
- I did not hear anything of the Cetti's Warbler.
- Many Siskins flying around again with at least 20 seen flying off West towards The Flash (though only one was seen there later).

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 10 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Collared Doves: singles
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Jackdaws
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 9 Canada Geese: of these seven arrived
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall only
- *11 (7♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 21 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 64 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- c.75 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *several small flies
- *several winter midges
- *many springtails
- *1 larva sp.
- *1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- *1 other spider sp.

Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel
Nothing

Later.
Also nothing of note

Early cloud clearing away. Not much of a sunrise.

An unusually large (for here) and unusually peaceful gathering of six drake and two duck Mallard. A Coot gate-crashes the party.

This small fly with dusky wing tips is typical of the small flies I saw on the street lamp poles pre-dawn. This clearer image was taken much later of a fly resting on the wall of the sailing club HQ.

This small creature with patterned wings may be a female plumed midge Psectrotanypus varius: or not! Alongside it a springtail.

At the time I assumed this was a slug. I now think it is a larva, of what I have no idea. The protuberances from the head (I assume it is the head at the bottom of the photo) do not look like slug 'horns'. Also the shadow cast on the street lamp pole looks as if there might be typical caterpillar legs. I should have taken a side-on view as well.

This spider is a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis). It seems to have been in the wars as it apparently is missing its right palp and the foreleg on its left side. Top of the view on the left is a springtail: there are three more springtails of different sizes at the right edge of the view; and possibly a fifth springtail lurking under the spider's right-side third leg. The green patch is lichen.

A different species of spider. Whatever species it is this is a male with 'boxing gloves' for palps. There are two other unidentified things here. What I assume is a midge is top left and alongside the spider is yet another springtail.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:45 – 09:40

(55th visit of the year)

Another addition for my 2023 site bird list: a first year Common Gull. I identified this from a photo after I noted a rather small-looking immature gull flying with the Herring Gulls. Bird species #55. I have only two earlier records from here in the last eight years. This far from common species in this part of Shropshire was noted on 01 January 2021 and 05 October 2017.

Other bird notes:
- The drake Pochard was perhaps the bird missing from the Balancing Lake this morning.
- A tight group of 12 Wood Pigeons was noted flying very high North.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese
- 12 Wood Pigeons

Noted on / around the water
- 30 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 Mute Swans [last year's cygnet not noted]
- 35 (23♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 46 (26♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (1♂) Goosander
- 16 Moorhens
- 27 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 54 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Common Gull: first year
- 5 Herring Gulls: two third years, two second years and one first year
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult, one second year and one first year
- 5 Cormorants

On / around the street lamp poles
Nothing noted

Noted elsewhere:
- 3 Grey Squirrels

I had been watching the five Herring and three Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying around when I noticed a bird that appeared smaller: yet clearly not a Black-headed Gull. As it flew along the length of the water I took this shot. It then circled at the far end and headed away North, not giving me a decent view of the upper wing pattern. It can be identified as a Common Gull by the rather thin and weak-looking bill: and as a first year by the 'necklace' of spotting. The under wing shows none of the heavy markings shown by immature Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

It is good to know that some of the Long-tailed Tits have survived the cold snap. None was seen nest building.

What another Robin? Yes: and in a very different location around the footpath.

This must be its mate as it was less than a foot away from the previous bird. Good luck in deciding which is the male. I am sure they know

(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

1 Iceland Gull

3 Common Gulls

2 Yellow-legged Gulls

1 Great Black-backed Gull 

2 Gadwall

3 Shoveler

29 Wigeon

1 Cormorant

1 Little Grebe

1 Willow Tit

(J Reeves, John Isherwood)

The Flash

1 Greater Scaup

4 Pochard

(John Isherwood)

2011

Priorslee Lake 

Mallard x Pintail

7 Pochard

31 Tufted Duck 

1 Chiffchaff singing

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock

Chiffchaff

2 Siskins

1 Redpoll

(Ed Wilson)

2010

Priorslee Lake

2 Shoveler

10 Swans

4 Gadwall

4 Pochard

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

Mallard x Pintail

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake 

3 Cormorant

13 Tufted Duck

1 Ruddy Duck.

5 Stock Dove

10 Pied Wagtail

27 Wren

38 Robin

20 Blackbird

43 Fieldfare

7 Redwing

5 Chiffchaff (3 singing)

42 Magpie

6 Greenfinch

3 Reed Bunting

(Ed Wilson, Martin Grant)

The Flash

8 Great Crested Grebe

2 Pochard

34 Tufted Duck

1 Buzzard

1 Chiffchaff singing

1 Reed Bunting

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake 

Peregrine

2 Little Grebes

6 Great Crested Grebes

2 Cormorants

7 Pochard

46 Tufted Ducks

2 Ruddy Ducks

275 Wood Pigeons

28 Pied Wagtails

20 Wrens

17 Blackbirds

3 Fieldfares

7 Redwings

11 Greenfinches

(Ed Wilson)