26 Aug 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 14.0°C: Mostly cloudy with a few sunny spells after 08:45. Light south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:10 BST

+ = my first sighting of this species at this site this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.
* = a species photographed today: pushed for time so fewer and with abbreviated comments.

Note different timings. I stayed at the lake to watch the morning lift from the Telford Balloon Festival and was consequently at The Flash when the geese returned.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 08:20 // 09:40 – 10:00

(172nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One adult with a begging well-grown juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen or heard. Where were they yesterday? I judge that the juvenile is not yet fledged.
- The fly-over Mistle Thrush was atypical. At the end of the breeding season this species usually gathers in groups of c.20 – c.30 birds in open country, roaming around with arriving winter thrushes, especially Fieldfare, until the begin to reclaim their territories at the turn of the year.

Counts of birds noted flying over here:
- 17 Canada Geese: 16 outbound as five singles / small groups; single inbound
- 2 (?♂) Mallard
- 171 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: most adults but not all ages determined
- 4 Jackdaws
- 3 Starlings: together
- 1 Mistle Thrush

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 12 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (0) Reed Warblers
- 4 (0) Blackcaps

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 8 (?♂) Mallard
- 7 Moorhens
- 82 Coots
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 58 Black-headed Gulls on the football field area c.06:35. Eight (of these?) noted at the lake later.
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 14 adults; three juveniles / first winters
- 1 Grey Heron: departed 06:00
- 1 Kingfisher, briefly

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

Moths:
- *12 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)

Other things
- 1 female plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus)
- several unidentified small flies
- *1 Clubiona spider
- 1 Common Candy-striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata)
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum harvestman

Around the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Nothing noted

In the sailing club shelter around dawn:
- *1 Common House Spider (Eratigena atrica)

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Moths:
- none

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *female sand wasp Crabro sp., possibly Intermediate Shield Wasp (C. pelatarius)

Hoverflies:
- *Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- none

Other flies:
- greenbottles

Beetles:
- larva of Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Bugs:
- Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina): *adult and *instar

Also
- Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- new flowers of White Dead-Nettle (Lamium album)

It did not look too encouraging for a decent sunrise.

As good as it got with little colour.

A juvenile Goldfinch.

It will be October before it acquires the red face of the adult.

There were no fewer than 12 of these Common Grass-veneer moths (Agriphila tristella) on the street lamp poles this morning. It is rather strange as the 'flying tonight' tab on the West Midlands Moths web site indicates that Hook-streak Grass-veneer moths (Crambus lathoniellus) should outnumber them. I have seen but one of the Hook-streak moths in the last few weeks.

Covered in dew but the diagnostic markings of this Straw Dot moth (Rivula sericealis) show through.

All wasps and ichneumons are a challenge to photograph as they are typically constantly on the move (looking for a victim). Obsidentify suggested this was one of the sand wasps Crabro sp., most likely C. pelatarius. I checked this identification on Steven Falk's web site. It has to be a female: males of this group have a disc-shaped enlargement of the front tarsus. It looks the best fit for the group. Steven names it "Intermediate Shield Wasp".

A male Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax) in close-up. You could be forgiven for thinking it is a Stripe-faced Dronefly (Eristalis nemorum). This latter species would never show as much orange on the abdomen, nor would it show a thickened hind tibia. What a long tongue.

I have been logging these spiders I find on the street lamp poles before dawn as Clubiona species. I am encouraged that the Obsidentify app. agrees and refuses to be drawn further.

A Common House Spider (Eratigena atrica) in the sailing club shelter.

Perhaps I ought to try again though the contrast is difficult to handle. It is a White Dead-Nettle (Lamium album). At The Flash I see this in flower throughout the Winter. This seems to be part of a second (or more) generation that will last at least until the first hard frosts.

A few shots of some of the more colourful balloons leaving the Telford Balloon Festival this morning. There were a few 'special shapes' which eluded the camera as the light was poor and they were rather distant. This is a Cameron Concept C-80 balloon.

Another Cameron balloon: a Z-105. The number refers to the cubic capacity (size) of the envelope, though I am not sure what the metric is. Cameron Balloons of Bedminster, Bristol has made more of the UK balloons than any other manufacturer.

Another Cameron Z-105.

And one from the other major balloon manufacturer. This is a Lindstrand Technologies LTL Series 2-80. This company is based in Oswestry.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:25 – 09:35

(160th visit of the year)

Highlight was another late Swift record. A lone bird spent at least five minutes over the East side before departing to the North (its nesting area in St. Georges?)

Bird notes:
- Goose numbers approximate. They arrived back in several large groups with many birds splashing down the other side of the island from where I was.
- No Mallard ducklings seen: and very few adults either.
- I noted just two adult Great Crested Grebes together. The fast-growing two juveniles were by the island as usual but did not seem to be with any adults. That said there were >150 geese in the immediate vicinity and it was a challenge to find anything else.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 44 Jackdaws in six concurrent small groups

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 7 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 1 Swift
- c.15 House Martins

Noted on / around the water
- >100 Canada Geese
- c.100 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 9 (?♂) Mallard only
- [no all-white feral duck]
- 37 (>11♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 80 Coots
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on / beside the street lamp poles etc. around the water etc.:

Moths:
- 2 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)

Other things
- 5 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestmen
- 1 Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum harvestman

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Butterflies:
- +Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Moths:
- +Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa)

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- +Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)

Other flies:
- greenbottle

Bugs:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

Just a few of the 200+ geese that arrived while I was present. These all Canada Geese.

In order to 'spill air' to splash down on the water and avoid all the others some of them adopt crazy angles, even upside down. Aren't you glad that commercial airliners are better regulated!

A rather battered-looking Sparrowhawk in wing (and probably everything else) moult.

A 'grab shot' of the Swift as it sped past me. Just about the latest date I have seen one in Shropshire. As it headed away towards St Georges where this species breeds I wonder whether there is a late replacement brood there.

The broader and shorter wing of House Martin is apparent here.

My first Angle Shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa) here since September 2019. It was resting in full view on nettles. A unique wing shape and the bold markings make this an easy moth to identify.

This Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare) had found one of the very few flowers in the area.

My first Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) here this year with a greenbottle fly getting in on the action.

Harvestmen like this are very common at the moment. It is one of the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus/D. caudatus that are not separable from photos. Note the very long second (and less-so fourth) pair of legs. The main distinguishing feature are the large forked pedipalps.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash on / around street lamp poles:

Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- +1 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria)

Nothing else

My first Green Carpet moth (Colostygia pectinataria) of the year. As with most green moths the colour soon fades.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata): same place as yesterday

Other things
- 32 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- three unidentified spiders
- 1 Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum harvestman


(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
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)