3 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 11.0°C: Early cloud cleared and then mostly sunny. Light westerly breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 07:10 GMT

+ = my first sighting of this species at this site this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.
* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:25

(228th visit of the year)

Best in very busy skies was a Kestrel briefly over the dam at 07:20

Other bird notes:
- a best-effort count of Wood Pigeons with the passage starting early at 07:10 and fading away after 08:45. There were only five groups of >100 birds and most groups could be counted. However multiple concurrent groups to the East, to the West and overhead made that a challenge. Unusually there were more passing to the East.
- c.50 large gulls, almost all Lesser Black-backs, arrived c.07:00 from the East. Almost no other large gulls visited. Thereafter a steady stream passed over. They were mostly flying north-west.
- the Jackdaw passage, presumed roost-dispersal, started at 06:50 and small groups were still passing at 09:10 (and even later at The Flash). Only one group of >10 birds (42).
- in addition to the seven Starlings overhead a single flew out of a West end roost at 07:04 and two more from elsewhere around the water at 07:14.
- at least two Reed Buntings were calling from the West end roost site. I saw one fly off very low apparently staying close-by. Shortly afterwards another(?) was heard calling from the South side reeds.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 37 Greylag Geese: single outbound; two groups inbound
- 4 (0♂) Goosanders: together
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 4 Stock Doves: together
- 3545 Wood Pigeons: of these 3493 counted in 65 migrant flocks heading South.
- 18 Black-headed Gulls: South together
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 155 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: a single and a duo
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 234 Jackdaws
- 1 Kestrel
- 19 Rooks
- 1 Skylark
- 7 Starlings: two groups
- 54 Fieldfare: three groups
- 43 Redwings: three groups
- 4 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit
- 4 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- *4 (3♂) Mallard
- 29 (17♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 151 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- c.90 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 50 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: one apparently roosted and departed; another visited briefly; the third arrived separately and stayed

The (semi) nocturnal community on or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

Moths:
- 1 November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.)

Otherwise:
- *1 caterpillar possibly of a Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli)
- *1 Spotted-winged Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii)
- 1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- *1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- *2 springtails Tomocerus vulgaris
- 1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis

Later I noted these all on the fence alongside Teece Drive.:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

It was a day for looking 'up' so no new fungus noted.

 Mainly cloudy when I arrived: the moon popped out between the clouds briefly.

My weather app said "wall to wall clear". Not pre-dawn it wasn't. After all the recent rain I though "that will do". It did clear soon after.

A drake Mallard almost in its breeding finery: just a few brown feathers still on the crown.

Very funny.

My app's second choice on this was "Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli)". I dismissed that as the first suggestion had been "caddis fly". But then I thought "well perhaps it is suggesting the caterpillar of a Ghost Moth. This seems a good option though I don't have much literature on often similar caterpillars.

It is some days since I last recorded a Spotted-winged Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii). This, with the dark tips, is a male.

The patterned wings identify this cranefly as Limonia nubeculosa.

A couple of springtails Tomocerus vulgaris.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:55

(213th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- after the hectic time at the Balancing Lake it was peace and quiet here with nothing unusual.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 18 Jackdaws: 16 of these together

Noted on / around the water:
- 11 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 44 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 54 (26♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 (3♂) Goosander
- 14 Moorhens
- 48 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 43 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: third winter
- 1 Kingfisher

On / beside the street lamp poles etc. around the water etc.:

Nothing noted

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Butterflies:
- *Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta): at least three

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

Hoverflies:
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- *Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- *Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Other flies:
- Common Blow-fly (Calliphora vicina)
- *++Noon Fly (Mesembrina meridiana)
- *Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
- *++the fly Thricops diaphanus
- and many unidentified flies of several species.

Fungus found

No new ones

This pair of Mallard were spinning around....

...ahead of (are we after the watershed?) a quick mating.

I have heard this described by an embarrassed parent to his small child as "giving her a ducking". Close.

A drake Mallard coming to splash down.

A gentle set-down by this different drake.

This duck Mallard makes a somewhat less gentle set-down!

And another drake.

Not a bird I see in flight too often. This is all-white feral duck, usually to be seen paddling about.

An adult Black-headed Gull.

Another also showing off its plumage. Not often noticed are the thin dark leading edges to the outer primaries.

Very aerobatic.

Another adult though the bill seems rather more orange than on many.

Two first-winters.

A first-winter looking for crumbs.

Always good to log butterflies in November. This is one of at least three Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta).

A Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).

Another. Not sure what is wrong with its left wing.

A Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax).

And another.

One more. Not sure how many more days these will be flying this year.

And a Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax).

With orange markings on the wing and orange on the face identifies this as a Noon Fly (Mesembrina meridiana).

This Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) seems to be blowing a bubble!

This unusual fly is a Thricops diaphanus. One of the many and very varied Muscid flies.

(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
Shifnal, Lizard Wood
2 Hawfinch
(Arthur Harper)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Several Herons
>3800 Wood Pigeons
11 Skylarks
2 Meadow Pipits
199 Fieldfare
32 Redwings
9 Siskins
1 Linnet
Brambling
(Ed Wilson)

Wrekin
Location
1 Crossbill
Several Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
21 Pochard
58 Tufted Ducks
2 Buzzards
>900 Black-headed Gulls
176 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
807 Wood Pigeons
16 Pied Wagtails
26 Wrens
14 Dunnocks
34 Robins
24 Blackbirds
213 Fieldfares
6 Song Thrushes
150 Redwings
5 Mistle Thrushes
1 Blackcap
447 Starlings
2 Siskins
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)