27 Aug 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 17.0°C: A good sunrise. Afterwards mostly cloudy. Moderate southerly wind, gusting fresh at times. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:13 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a new species for me here this year
!! = a new species for me in Shropshire

After the good sunrise it was mostly a fruitless trudge around.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 06:40 // 07:55 – 09:40

(186th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the number of Black-headed Gulls remains at a very low level. There was none on the football field again and today, strangely, there were no Wood Pigeons either at c.06:25. There were however 18 Pied Wagtails at c.09:30 so there must be food to eat.
- in addition to the Kingfisher calling and then leaving its West end roost pre-sunrise I saw it, or another, fly along the dam c.08:40.
- very few warblers heard or seen.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 27 Canada Geese: 25 outbound in five groups; a single inbound; and a single flew South
- 38 Greylag Geese: all outbound in three groups
- 5 Feral Pigeons: together
- 102 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 59 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 144 Jackdaws
- 51 Rooks [yesterday's total should have read 111 and not 11]

Hirundines etc. noted:
- House Martin(s) heard calling high and / or distantly: not located

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 4 (2) Chiffchaffs
- no Reed Warblers
- no Blackcaps
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat: a single call note
''nominal' warbler:
- 2 (0) Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 54 Canada Geese: arrived in at least seven groups
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived with a group of Canadas
- 2 Mute Swans
- 10 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 86 adult and juvenile Coots
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Black-headed Gulls on the lake by c.05:45: none on the football field at c.06:20 or later
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 64 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
- *1 Small Phoenix Ecliptopera silaceata

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Beetle:
- 1 Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: same place as yesterday

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- *3 Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius

Sailing Club HQ

I again prowled around the outside of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Copper Underwing agg. Amphipyra pyramidea agg.: same place for five days but a third noted tucked up: perhaps there always has been?

Flies:
- *1 male plumed midge

Spiders:
- *1 or more Walnut Orb Weaver spider Nuctenea umbratica
- 15 other spiders of at least two other species

Noted later:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum

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.
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Other flies:
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Less than half a moon now. I doubt, even if it is clear tomorrow morning, I will be able to persuade the camera to focus on the sliver remaining.

The sunrise beginning to colour.

About as good as it got with the brightest part...

...highlighted here.

 Maximum spread across the sky.

The Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella on one of the street lamp poles pre-dawn.

A Small Phoenix moth Ecliptopera silaceata also on a street lamp pole pre-dawn.

The wall of the sailing club HQ makes a good background to this male plumed midge.

The banding on the abdomen suggests that this springtail is not just a "Pogonognathellus longicornis-type" but actually the real deal.

Chomp: today a Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius has breakfast. No idea what it is eating though.

Another creature contrasted against the sailing club HQ was this Walnut Orb Weaver spider Nuctenea umbratica, one of 16 spiders I counted on the walls.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata

Other things:
- 6 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders:
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

Yet another Flame Carpet moth Xanthorhoe designata. My best year for this species.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:45 – 07:50

(189th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the two 'extra' Mute Swans flew a circuit, apparently not responding to the resident cob's intermittent chases. They returned.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs
'nominal' warbler:
- no Goldcrest

Noted on / around the water:
- *27 Canada Geese: of these 22 flew in together and another in with the Greylags
- 59 Greylag Geese: 58 of these arrived together with one Canada Goose and...
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- 4 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 33 (?♂) Mallard
- 42 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 + 3 (3 broods) Moorhens
- 81 + 4 (2 dependent brood) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *23 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: briefly
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: also briefly
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Moths:
- *1 Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea [was Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer]
- *2 Single-dotted Waves Idaea dimidiata
- *1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 4 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

After yesterday's miscount of the Greylag Geese it is now camera 2: Mk. 1 eye-ball 0. I thought 21 Canada Geese in this group. The camera clearly(?) shows 22.

A first winter Black-headed Gull. It has finished its post-fledging moult and will look like this until it moults in to first summer plumage starting in late March next year.

A juvenile / first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull seems to be taking ballet lessons.

In the circumstance not bad. A Treecreeper climbing up (always up for this species) a very shady tree trunk looking against the light.

My first Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea at this site this year.

One of two Single-dotted Wave moths Idaea dimidiata I found. This one was on the fencing surrounding the academy here.

And the other one was lying in the vegetation at the base of a street lamp.

A rather washed-out Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata likely because I had to use flash to get any picture at all. It too was lying in the vegetation at the base of the same street lamp/ Indeed the same lamp as I photographed, perhaps this individual, at the top of the pole yesterday.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2013
Priorslee Lake
Green Sandpiper
3 eclipse Teal
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Greenshank
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Black Swan flew over
233 Canada Geese over
11 Greylag Geese over
123 Jackdaws
234 Rooks
143 Greenfinches
1 Willow Warbler
2 Blackcaps
Cormorant flew over
(Ed Wilson)