14 May 23

Priorslee Lake, Woodhouse Lane and The Flash

8.0°C > 15.0°C: The Telford microclimate wins again: apart from one brief clearer spell around 06:30 – 07:00 it was mist / fog / low cloud until c.09:00. Light easterly wind. Poor / very poor visibility until c.09:00 then very good.

Sunrise: 05:15 BST

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:10 – 06:20 // 07:20 – 09:50

(97th visit of the year)

All totals affected by the poor visibility.

Bird notes:
- The cob Mute Swan attacked the Canada Geese family and killed another of the goslings.
- One of the pairs of Greylag Geese has also lost a gosling since yesterday.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 10 Canada Geese: three duos and a quartet outbound
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 13 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 9 (8) Reed Warblers
- 9 (8) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 10 + 4 > 3 (1 brood) Canada Geese: one of the goslings was killed by the cob Mute Swan; six additional adults early only; two more later
- 4 + 9 (2 broods) Greylag Geese
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 4 (4♂) Mallard again
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck: departed
- 1 Moorhen
- 11 + 2 (1 brood) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
-1 Grey Heron: departed

On the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 Clubiona sp. spider

Noted later: a reasonable haul despite the chilly and misty conditions:

Moths:
- Plain Gold (Micropterix calthella)
- Common Tubic (Alabonia geoffrella)
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)

Damsel- / Dragon-flies
- Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Broad-barred Fleckwing (Dasysyrphus venustus)
-. Migrant Field Syrph or Migrant Hoverfly (Eupeodes corollae)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Other insects:
- Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

New flowers for the year:
- Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
- Common Hawkweed (Hieracium vulgatum)
-. Hybrid Bluebell (Hyacinthoides x massartiana)
- Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus)
- Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (Tragopogon pratensis minor)

The Canada Geese family when there were still four goslings.

The Greylag Goose with seven goslings.

The other Greylag Goose family when they still had three goslings.

I remain confused about the Great Crested Grebes. There seem to seven with little sign of nesting and just occasional desultory display. This one seems to be on always its own.

The two Black-headed Gulls that flew through on Saturday. At the top an adult; and below it a first year bird.

A Long-tailed Tit carrying food for its brood.

In the grounds of the academy was a lone Starling looking for food to take to its nest in the estate. We can't see what it has found but it looks a good meal.

In their favourite habitat are two Plain Gold moths (Micropterix calthella). Several other moths feed inside buttercups but this species is the only one with yellow on the head.

I believe this moth to be a Common Tubic (Alabonia geoffrella). This is a new moth species for me. It seems to have lost one of its antennae.

A Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius).

My first Broad-barred Fleckwing (Dasysyrphus venustus) hoverfly of the year.

This Migrant Field Syrph or Migrant Hoverfly (Eupeodes corollae) is also my first of this year. Not all individuals of this species are true migrants.

On the dam there is a small Alder tree growing. There are few leaves and the Alder Leaf Beetles (Agelastica alni) are making short work of them. I was going to remark "don't tell Severn-Trent about the tree: they will chop it down". But perhaps the beetles will do the job for them.

A Common or Red-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis) in my hand. No beetles were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Beetlemania? Jammed in a buttercup an unknown number of what I believe to be Raspberry Beetles (Byturus tomentosus).

I put this in Saturday's log as Wood Avens (Geum urbanum). My Flora gives the vernacular name as Herb Bennet. It is now that time when yellow flowers start to dominate.

I think this is Common Hawkweed (Hieracium vulgatum). There are many different 'hawk-things' which are difficult even for experts to identify. The way the flowers appear in clusters make this the most likely species.

The distinctive shape of an about-to-open Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon flower (Tragopogon pratensis minor).

And here it one open with the long sepals protruding beyond the petals. As its vernacular name implies this species closes its flowers in late morning only for them to reopen the following day.

The first Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus) of the year about to open.

This plant is Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum). Avoid it. If you get any sap on your skin then sunlight will cause the skin to blister very painfully. Washing spreads the effect. I do not know how it affects other animals. I have provided Severn-Trent with detailed locations for all the plants growing here. Specialist contractors will be employed to deal with the plants, as they have done for the past three years. The leaves are larger and more deeply incised than the harmless Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) which provides nectar for a myriad of insect species.

Well it is blue and bell-shaped but it is not a real Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta). The rather open flower identifies it as a Hybrid Bluebell (Hyacinthoides x massartiana), a cross between out native Bluebell and the Spanish Bluebell.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane 07:50 – 08:25]

(4th visit of the year)

In the mist I logged:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 2 Skylarks, both singing
- 2 Chiffchaffs: one singing
- 2 Blackcaps: both singing
- 4 Common Whitethroats: three singing
- 1 Song Thrush: singing
- 4 Chaffinches: all singing
- 2 Linnets
- 4 Goldfinches
- 3 Yellowhammers: two singing

plus:

Blackbirds, tits, Dunnocks, Wrens which I don't specifically log.

also:
- first Yellow Archangel flowers (Lamium galeobdolon)
- first Common Poppy flowers (Papaver rhoeas)

Here I found many Yellow Archangel plants (Lamium galeobdolon) in flower.

And this Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- 1 White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
other midges not counted

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:15

(89th visit of the year)

The visibility was good throughout my visit here.

Bird notes:
- The only item of real interest was a pair of Gadwall tucked up against the East side of the island.
- Also noted was a pair of Bullfinches busy eating buds making calls that were unfamiliar to me. I did wonder whether there were juveniles with them: if so I did not see any.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw
- 1 Starling

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Blackcaps

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water
- 14 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Goose
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans: ? cygnets
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 17 (15♂) Mallard: no ducklings
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 8 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 26 + 2 (1 brood) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Cormorant: departed

On / around the street lamp poles:

Nothing noted

Noted elsewhere:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)
- Rowan / Mountain Ash (Sorbus sp., perhaps S. aucuparia) in flower

From yesterday (Saturday) here a duck Mallard with two ducklings. For some unknown reason I typed '4' as the number of ducklings. No sign of any ducklings today.

Lurking in the tree is a female Great Spotted Woodpecker – a female because there is no red on its nape.

Not sure what this male Bullfinch is doing. Is it about to proffer a gift to...

...this female? What is she eating?

Seems to be lichen.

The leaf helps identify the flowers as from Rowan / Mountain Ash (Sorbus sp., perhaps S. aucuparia). There are many horticultural cultivars of this tree so specific identification is not possible.

(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
Hobby
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Black-tailed Godwit
3 Whimbrel
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
5 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)