1 Apr 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C: A low overcast with rain after 07:30. Almost calm. Mainly good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:43 BST

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 06:50 // 07:45 – 09:30

(70th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- male Pheasants were heard calling from both the Ricoh copse and to the East of Castle Farm Way.
- the pair of Gadwall still here.
- *a Coot was seen circling above tree-height over the water. I could not determine whether it was arriving, departing or just flying around. Coots at such height are most unusual.
- Siskins heard again. I am not sure whether they were in the trees or flying over.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 9 Canada Geese: a single and four pairs outbound.
- 2 Greylag Geese: pair outbound
- 3 Wood Pigeons
That's all folks!

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.25 Sand Martins: eight by 08:50 increasing to c.25 by 09:30
- 2 Barn Swallows flew through 07:50

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 18 (17) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: one pair throughout; a pair arrived and were chased away
- 2 Mute Swans
- *2 (1) Gadwall
- 2 (2♂) Mallard: also 1 (1♂) on the lower pool and 5 (5♂) on the upper pool
- 19 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- *Coots not counted
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- *1 Grey Heron: arrived and departed

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 2 male plumed midges

Beetles:
- *1 unidentified flower beetle.
- *1 unidentified ground beetle.
- *1 unidentified ladybird

Arthropods:
- *1 Blunt-tailed Snake Millipede Cylindroiulus punctatus

Spiders:
- *1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius

Later:

Nothing noted

The duck Gadwall on the south-west grass.

A dark bird against a dark sky. This Coot was, most unusually, flying around and around at tree-top height.

The Grey Heron is standing on the dam itself with the path, the crash-barrier and Castle Farm Way just behind it. It won't find any fish there. Possibly there were frogs or toads? I could not see any.

Very smart.

This individual is slightly different from all the other male plumed midges I noted today in that it has two dark marks on the edge of each wing. I cannot provide an identity.

Two beetles and a ladybird on the street lamp poles have evaded identification. I will see whether the Shropshire recorder can help. This is possibly a flower beetle – if so it is probably unlucky as there are very few flowers around at the moment.

This is a ground beetle. Both beetles were too high up the poles for me to get photos with good detail.

The newly-installed lamp pole is of a different design with vertical folds in the metal in to one of which a ladybird has crawled. I can see no markings on the wing-cases (elytra), just a few drops of dew. Harlequin Ladybirds sometimes have no spots but the base colour seems wrong even for that variable species.

A different millipede today. This is a Blunt-tailed Snake Millipede Cylindroiulus punctatus. The many cylindrical bands end in a darker spot (hence the scientific name); and the face appears to be 'masked'.

A rare low(er) level appearance of a Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius, normally lurking around the LEDs at the top of the street lamps.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

Flies:
- *1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- *2 male and 2 female plumed midges

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 07:15 – 08:05

(72nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a new (or at least not seen for a long while) feral drake Aylesbury/Mallard seen. It showed an extensive white breast.
- the Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming at the top end again.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (5) Blackcaps

Noted on / around the water:
- 34 Canada Geese
- 7 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 17 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 1 (1♂) white-fronted Aylesbury-type feral duck
- 24 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 30 Coots
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: second year; same as yesterday? departed

Noted elsewhere:

Flies:
- 2 male plumed midges on street lamp pole

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni on fencing

An owl midge Psychodidae sp. There were 99 species to choose from, none specifically identifiable from photos. No doubt a few new species have been found since DNA analysis became more common. So far I have seen many fewer of these insects this year than I did in 2023.

A male...

...and what I presume is a female of the same species of plumed midge. The narrow body seems to eliminate the very common species Chironomus plumosus. The head shape also differs. So I do not know what species they are.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Sand Martin
4 Great Crested Grebes
9 Tufted Duck
2 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
127 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Sand Martin
2 Teal
45 Tufted Ducks
1 Blackcap
4 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Woodhouse Lane
1 Chiffchaff
2 Linnets
4 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Kittiwake
5 Gadwall
7 Wigeon
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Willow Tit
(John Isherwood, Jim Almond, Arthur Harper)

Horsehay Pool
2 Mandarin Ducks
(Jim Almond)

2009
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebe
8 Tufted Duck
3 Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)

Trench
2 Great Crested Grebe
2 Cormorant
32 Tufted Duck
2 Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
33 Tufted Duck
2 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Warbler

2007
The Flash
1 Shoveler
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
9 Tufted Ducks
1 Ruddy Duck
184 Wood Pigeons
2 Stock Doves
1 House Martin
5 Sand Martins
1 Curlew
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Skylark
2 Meadow Pipits
25 Wrens
20 Robins
27 Blackbirds
1 Redwing
2 Willow Warblers
3 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Tit
10 Greenfinches
2 Siskins
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)