24 Jan 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

8.0°C: Mostly high cloud with areas of lower cloud later. Fresh westerly wind, abating slowly after overnight storm. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:04 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Storm Jocelyn meant there were more twigs and small branches down at the lake. One tree and one large bough had been felled by the wind at The Flash.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:40 – 09:25

(23rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A pair of Canada Geese seemed to have set up home on the dam top. Seems a risky idea: in the previous two years the cob Mute swan has drowned all the goslings.
- *A quartet of Mute Swans flew over toward the lake while I was walking back down Teece Drive. It is just possible these were the residents on an extended flight. It seems unlikely they were four cygnets from The Flash as these were sitting on the island there some five minutes later. A 'grab photo' seemed to suggest at least three were possibly adults.
- A duck Goosander seemed quite happy here. This is the third such record this year. Previously I have only ever noted this species as a very transient and often wary visitor.
- I could not find yesterday's Great Crested Grebe. There was an additional bird at The Flash. The same?
- c.60 Black-headed Gulls swirled in at 07:33 and almost immediately left. I noted 48 some five minutes later. Some of the same?

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 24 Canada Geese: outbound in six groups
- 1 Greylag Goose: inbound
- *4 Mute Swans: see notes
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 57 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 3 Redwings

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese
- 4 (2♂) Mallard
- 39 (21♂) Tufted Duck
- *1 (0♂) Goosander
- 10 Moorhens
- 77 Coots
- c.60? Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 7 Herring Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 3 Cormorants: arrived separately
- *2 Grey Heron: arrived separately; one chased away again

Noted on or around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Pale Brindled Beauty Phigalia pilosaria: same, tucked well up against the wind
- *1 female Northern Winter Moth Operophtera fagata

Other insects:
- 1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris

Spiders:
- *1 Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica
- *1 Pardosa genus of Wolf Spider or perhaps Xerolycosa nemoralis

Note
Thanks to Caroline, the Shropshire Recorder for beetles, I can add:
- the two Rove Beetles from the 21st are confirmed as of the genus Stenus, not further identifiable from photos.
- the weevils seen on 21st and 22nd were almost certainly Nedyus quadrimaculatus. This species is associated with nettles Urtica and noted by NatureSpot as active from "early Spring until July". Spring is here!
- yesterday's small brown beetle was, as I surmised, a Meadow Ladybird Rhyzobius litura.

An unusual view from here of the nearly full moon with craters showing to the left. That is because the Wolf Moon is still waxing and will not be full until 17:54 tomorrow.

No colour in the sunrise this morning. This was the most cloud-free it was all morning.

The four Mute Swans I noted in flight. After editing the photo I would judge the left three, at least, are adults, though I would not be held to it.

The duck Goosander wing-flapping.

Seems to have enjoyed it – the same expression as I have after a good back-scratch.

Having seen off the second Grey Heron the 'resident' bird returns to it feeding location.

Better light this morning so a clearer and brighter Redwing photo. This side or...

 ... the other side (and no: I did not 'flip' the photo).

A moth of those winter-occurring species where the female has no or only vestigial wings. The wings on this specimen are longer with a dark band across them which seems to indicate it is a Northern Winter Moth Operophtera fagata. There are no records around this date on the West Midlands Moths web site: I have had it confirmed by the Shropshire Recorder.

Most unusually she went for a wander – mostly I record such moths at rest, waiting for a male to happen along. However they do have to climb the street lamp poles I find them on. Not a moth species I see very often and the males are harder to separate from the much more common Winter Moth Operophtera brumata.

Although rather smaller than many I find this spider seems to be a Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica.

I am even less sure about this spider. Probably one of the Pardosa genus of Wolf Spider. Obsidentify also gave the option of Xerolycosa nemoralis which does look promising, in particular because of the pale mark on the side of the abdomen. The UK Arachnid site suggests that this species has a predominantly south-eastern distribution though there are a couple of outlier dots on the map for records in this general area.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30– 10:30

(22nd visit of the year)

New Bird Species
*Another bird species added to my 2024 bird list from here with my first Nuthatch of the year heard and then seen at the bottom of squirrel alley. Species #48. [yesterday's Redwing should have been #47: #46 was Jay on 11 January if you are keeping notes.]

Other bird notes:
- A pair of Goosander today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 12 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose: seen inside island; others with it?
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- *2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 43 (29♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 3 (2♂) Pochard
- 37 (19♂) Tufted Duck
- *2 (1♂) Goosander
- 19 Moorhens
- 48 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Of interest elsewhere:
- *Velvet Shank fungus Flammulina velutipes

The pair of Gadwall are still here and were somewhat closer. The duck shows another identification feature: the folded wing is held to show the white speculum, a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the secondary wing feathers of dabbling ducks.

The drake looking coy.

And here showing his wonderful feather patterning.

Good to see a drake Goosander more or less in full breeding plumage – it will acquire a delicate pink suffusion on its breast during the actual breeding period.

It is a vicious-looking hook on the end of his bill.

My first Nuthatch of the year was working through the trees at some speed but I managed one shot as it passed.

Of course there was a Robin.

I have been looking every day for many weeks on the fallen trunk of a Silver Birch without seeing any fungus. Today I noted this Velvet Shank fungus Flammulina velutipes.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
12 Pochard
56 Tufted Duck
1 Velvet Scoter
108 Coots
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
95 Tufted Ducks
4 Goosanders
9 Bullfinches
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
31 Wigeon
8 Gadwall
26 Pochard
99 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
>1200 Black-headed Gulls
>2200 large gulls
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
23 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Cormorant
16 Swans
2 Gadwall
1 Shoveler
5 Pochard
37 Tufted Duck
1 Goosander
117 Coots
96 Black-headed Gulls
42 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
38 Herring Gulls
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

Horsehay Pool
1 Caspian Gull
(Jim Almond)

2010
Priorslee Lake
>300 Jackdaws
36 Swans
4 Gadwall
26 Pochard
64 Tufted Ducks
315 Coots
>300 Black-headed Gulls
39 Lesser Black-backed
28 Herring Gulls
11 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Iceland Gull
(Jason Buckley)

2008
Priorslee Lake
120 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
16 Herring Gulls
50 Black-headed Gull
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
3 Wigeon
2 Gadwall
14 Pochard
23 Tufted Ducks
151 Coot
370 Jackdaws
118 Rooks
250 Wood Pigeon
15 Robins
14 Blackbirds
47 Siskins
3 Redpolls
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)