5 Mar 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

4.0°C > 7.0°C: The Telford micro-climate wins again. Clear when I left Newport. Mist, occasionally lifting at the lake. Clearer at The Flash with blue skies above. Light south-easterly breeze. Mostly poor visibility.

Sunrise: 06:47 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:20

(47th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no Canada Geese found.
- the / a duck Goosander flew in from the East at 07:05.
- two Great Crested Grebes behaving as a pair, though no display seen.
- after yesterday's low total of Black-headed Gulls a much larger arrival today.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
NB: only birds flying low and more or less directly overhead were visible.
- 36 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 15 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- *1 (0♂) Goosander: arrived
- 7 Moorhens
- Coots not counted
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- c.300 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: immature, briefly
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the street lamp poles pre-dawn.

Moths:
- none

Flies:
- 1 small male plumed midge

Springtails:
- 5 Tomocerus sp.
- 4 globular springtails
- 1 tiny globular springtail

Millipedes
- *1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Other things:
- *1 possible Horse Leech Haemopis sanguisuga

Noted later:

New flowers:
- *Common Field-speedwell Veronica persica

Mollusc:
- *Garden Snail Cornu aspersum: empty shell only

New fungus:
- *probable Glistening Inkcap Coprinellus micaceus
- *Blushing Bracket Daedaleopsis confragosa
- *more either Scarlet or Ruby Elfcup Sarcoscypha sp.

The duck Goosander swimming away with what is probably a Perch Perca fluviatilis in her bill – the red gills suggest this species.

She was some way away on a misty morning when the fish was at the correct angle to swallow.

 Gone (more or less).

Dark bird against a dark tree-trunk. A Treecreeper living up to its name. An annoying out-of-focus twig in the foreground spoils the view somewhat.

For some reason Dunnocks have not been happy to pose for me. This one did but refused to sing. A very smart and underrated bird.

My first White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger of the year.

Not at all sure about this. It has no keel so is not a slug. It looks too fat and squat to be an earthworm. I can only suggest a Horse Leech Haemopis sanguisuga. It is certainly not larvae of the moth Coleophora vacciniella as suggested as a 99% certainty by Obsidentify. Even had it looked like a moth larvae the identity was clearly wrong as the genus are all micro-moths and the species is unknown in the UK.

There is nobody home in this Garden Snail Cornu aspersum

About to fully open are flowers of Common Field-speedwell Veronica persica.

Probably Glistening Inkcap Coprinellus micaceus though there are similar species. However this species appears from 'early Spring through to Autumn' so is the most likely candidate.

I cannot recall seeing this fungus before. It is Blushing Bracket Daedaleopsis confragosa

These are either Scarlet or Ruby Elfcup fungus Sarcoscypha sp. A microscope is needed to separate them.

 And more. I noted them in five different locations along the North side.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25– 10:30

(49th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
Two additions to my 2024 bird list from here:
- *a Tree creeper was seen (and photographed) near the top of squirrel alley.
- two Starlings flew over.
Bird species #52 and #53 here for me this year.

Other bird notes:
- no Gadwall seen yesterday: two pairs today.
- *at least 20 Siskins in Alders at the bottom end.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Starlings

Noted on / around the water:
- 15 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- *4 (2♂) Gadwall
- 18 (13♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 57 (35♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: third year
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: second year

Also noted:
- *flowers of a Berberis sp.
- *flowering Gorse Ulex europaeus

One of the two pairs of Gadwall present today.

Probably the same second year Lesser Black-backed Gull that was here yesterday.

Making another close pass.

There was a Treecreeper here as well as at the Balancing Lake. Note how it uses its tail as a 'prop'. The tail feathers on this species are especially strong. The long, thin and curved bill is well adapted to get into crevices in the bark.

Note here the long claws, ideal for climbing up – always up – trees. There is no chance of confusion with the very similar Continental species Short-toed Treecreeper (though that seems only ever to be seen at Dungeness in the UK).

It seems to have found a morsel.

Not a bad portrait on a dull day.

A Long-tailed Tit looking wistful.

The flock of about 20 Siskins contained several females. Here is one.

The same bird.

A different female.

And another. Rather soggy and / or dishevelled.

Of course there were males as well. I had hoped there might be a Redpoll or two amongst them. Not this year.

Another male.

These are flowers of a Berberis sp., probably a cultivated plant in the hedge between the medical practice and The Priorslee.

Near The Priorslee there are several flowering Gorse bushes Ulex europaeus. There used to be one at the lake near the Sailing Club HQ but it seems to have been chopped down. Now I wonder who could have done that?

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2013
Horsehay Pool
4 Great Crested Grebes
20 Goosander
1 Glaucous Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Paul King)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Peregrine
4 Great Crested Grebes
2 Pochard
21 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers
4 Great Crested Grebes
8 Pochard
51 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
6 Gadwall
28 Pochard
57 Tufted Duck
c.1000 Black-headed Gulls
55 Magpies
1 Linnet
2 Siskin
12 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Glaucous Gull
c.200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.10 Herring Gulls
2 Common Gulls
9 Mute Swans
12 Tufted Duck
8 Great Crested Grebe
(Mike Cooper)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
7 Great Crested Grebes
2 Herons
1 Cormorant
11 Pochard
90 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
607 Wood Pigeon
11 Greenfinches
23 Siskins
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)