13.0°C > 14.0°C: Overcast with occasional light drizzle after overnight rain. Somewhat clearer to the north-west without getting any closer. Light northerly wind. Mostly very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:51 BST
* = a species photographed today
! = a new species for me here this year
!! = a new species for me in Shropshire
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:00 – 06:25 // 07:20 – 09:35
(176th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a tight group of 65 gulls flew East at 05:35 with most of them stopping off. I determined 35 Black-headed Gulls, two Herring Gulls, 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls with 14 unaccounted for and presumably flew on.
- at 06:10 there were 18 Black-headed Gulls (from the above?) and 73 Wood Pigeons on the football field. By 07:35 these had been replaced by just 1 Wood Pigeon, nine Starlings and 21 Pied Wagtails.
- no roost departure flights of Jackdaws or Rooks seen. They were either lost in the early light rain or were later than usual and I had departed for The Flash before they passed by.
Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 92 Canada Geese: 66 outbound in eight groups; 26 inbound in two groups
- 14 Greylag Geese: a single outbound; 13 inbound in four groups
- 2 (?♂) Mallard: together
- 1 Stock Dove
- 112 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 14 unidentified large gulls
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 5 Jackdaws
- no Rooks
Hirundines etc. noted:
- House Martin(s) heard over at 05:20 only
Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 8 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (0) Reed Warblers
- 4 (1) Blackcaps
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (0) Goldcrest
Counts from the lake area:
- 29 Canada Geese: arrived together
- 2 Mute Swans
- 10 (?♂) Mallard
- 5 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 72 adult and juvenile Coots
- 5 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 35 Black-headed Gulls on the lake c.05:35
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher
Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
Moths:
- none
- none
Flies:
- 1 unidentified caddis fly.
- 1 unidentified caddis fly.
Springtails:
- 3 springtails Pogonognathellus longicornis-type
- 3 springtails Pogonognathellus longicornis-type
Beetles:
- !1 Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata
- !1 Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata
Other things:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger
Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius
- 5 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 1 harvestman Opilio saxatilis
Noted later:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius
- 5 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 1 harvestman Opilio saxatilis
Noted later:
Butterflies:
- none
- none
Moths:
- none
- none
Bees, wasps etc.:
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Hoverflies:
The first name is that used by Stephen Falk. The name in square brackets is that given by Obsidentify or other sources if different. Scientific names are normally common. The species are presented in alphabetic order of those scientific names.
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- none
- none
Other flies:
- only unidentified flies noted
- only unidentified flies noted
Bugs etc.:
- Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina: instar
- Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina: instar
Beetles:
- none
- none
Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum
- Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum
New flowers:
- none
- none
Two duck Mallard. It is particularly obvious on the leading bird that the wing feathers are still growing and a long way from covering the back when the bird is at rest.
I have only ever seen the extant juvenile Great Crested Grebe with one parent. This morning a second adult appeared...
...with an eye to the chance of a mating. And in front of the child too. Tut, tut.
Not a brilliant photo but it was at 05:30 on a dull morning... A recently-fledged Black-headed Gull still with much dark markings.
I was not surprised to fail to identify this caddis fly. There are many species and only a few are distinctive-enough to identify from photos. A group that I do not see that often.
Neither can I say what this fly is.
While this one seems to have lost part of one antenna.
On a (grubby) street lamp pole pre-dawn I noted this Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata.
A Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius tackles breakfast.
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Moths:
- 2 Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata
- 2 Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata
Flies:
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- very many midges
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- very many midges
Other things:
- 17 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger
- 17 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger
Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
A Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata, the long proboscis identifying it as a female.
One of many midges in the tunnel. A particularly well endowed male of unknown species.
Obsidentify told me this is a Garden Cross Spider Araneus diadematus. I am sure it isn't and believe it to be a Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata.
The Flash: 06:30 – 07:15
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:15
(179th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a Common Teal was a surprise at this early date for a returning bird. I think a drake (or an immature) still in moult.
- in some ways the Coot totals are even more unreliable today. Other than the birds still with dependent young they had not yet begun to disperse from their roost along the East side of the island and hideaway in the vegetation. But they were all jammed together and were very hard to separate – count the white shields!
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.25 House Martins
Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 7 (1) Chiffchaffs
'nominal' warbler:
- no Goldcrests
Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 48 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Common Teal
- 29 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 + 2 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 78 + 10 (5 broods) Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed
Noted elsewhere around The Flash:
Moths:
- 2 Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
- 2 Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
Beetles:
- 2 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- 2 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 2 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 2 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
Another spider I believe to be a Missing Sector Orb-web Spider. With long palps this must be a male.
(Ed Wilson)
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Sightings from previous years
2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)