13 Sep 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 11.0°C: Fine with just a few patches of medium-high cloud. Mist over the water. Light south-westerly breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 06:41 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 09:20

(199th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- when I returned from checking the football field c.07:10 there were four Mute Swans in two loose pairings by the dam seeming happy together. Some ten minutes later what I presumed to be the resident pair appeared from the West reeds heading for a confrontation. After a brief skirmish all six, as three pairings stayed peacefully somewhat apart. Strange.
- two Goosanders circled over the water for almost 10 minutes c.06:15 before moving on.
- an unprecedented number of large gulls on the football field c.06:55 with plenty of Black-headed Gulls. Sadly something spooked them before I had completed the counts and most of the large gulls and many of the Black-headed Gulls did not return.
- there were also very many, mainly Lesser Black-backed Gulls dropping in before 06:30. My counts are likely an under-recording.
- another late record of a Common Sandpiper.
- the lone Sand Martin that circled around the south-west area c.08:30 was also a late record. This species is usually long gone by now.
- the Cetti's Warbler sang once from the north-west reeds. Unusually I then heard and saw it persistently calling at least 20' feet up a tree along the North side. Sadly not persistently enough for me to get the camera on it.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 34 Canada Geese: 20 flew South; 14 inbound in two groups
- 2 (?♂) Goosander
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 32 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 49 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 158 Jackdaws
- 67 Rooks
- 3 Starlings
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Sand Martin

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 12 (3) Chiffchaffs
''nominal' warbler:
- no Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 35 Canada Geese: arrived as five groups
- *6 Mute Swans: see notes
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 19 (?♂) Mallard: most flew off
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 166 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 5 Black-headed Gulls: at least 185 on the football field c.06:55; most gone by 07:00
- *19 Herring Gulls: at least 4 on the football field c.06:55; most gone by 07:00
- *>350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: at least 58 on the football field c.06:55; most gone by 07:00

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata.
- *1 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba: for its fifth day

Flies:
at least three species of unidentified flies

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 3 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- *1 female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

Sailing Club

Around the outside of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni: adults

Spiders:
- 9 spiders: species not determined.

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- White-footed Hoverfly (Platycheirus albimanus) [aka Grey-spotted Sedgesitter]

Other Flies:
- *Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina.
- *long-legged fly of the genus Dolichopus
- *Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
- *European Cranefly Tipula paludosa
other unidentified flies

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni: adult

Bugs:
- *Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale
- Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Sunrise part 1.

Sunrise part 2.

The Mute Swans did have a brief skirmish.

The immature Great Crested Grebe. It has been feeding itself for several weeks but is not afraid to try begging calls when any adult passed close by.

This first winter Herring Gull was one of the few large gulls that returned to the football field after all the gulls spooked.

One of many hundred gulls this morning. This is a first winter Lesser Black-backed Gull.

A Common Marbled Carpet moth Chloroclysta truncata on a street lamp pole with a "Coronation Walk" sticker. Surprisingly this is my first of this species around the lake this year – I have seen them in the tunnel and at The Flash: not here.

 The Large Yellow Underwing moth Noctua pronuba in the same place for its fifth day. I did wonder whether tucked up at the top of a street lamp it might have been 'got at' by the many resident spiders. It looks to be OK.

A Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare and for once it is a male with square yellow spots.

Probably best not to eat of the remaining Blackberries. As they begin to rot the blow flies are ready. This seems to be a Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina.

This seems to be one of the long-legged flies of the genus Dolichopus but I cannot get any further despite the clear abdomen markings.

A Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis on the boxing ring. It seems late in the year for this species to be flying.

This female cranefly is a European Cranefly Tipula paludosa. Females can be separated from the similar L. oleracea because her wings are clearly shorter than her abdomen.

A Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale.

The parallel-sided dark saddle on this harvestman indicates it is a female Leiobunum rotundum. She has lost three of her legs somewhere.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata

Flies:
- 7 plumed midges

Centipedes & Millipedes:
- 2 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders:
- 1 spider only not specifically identified:

Yet another Flame Carpet moth Xanthorhoe designata, this time on one wall of the tunnel.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30

(200th visit of the year)

Bird Notes

Other bird notes:
- the drake Wigeon from Wednesday remains.
- many fewer Tufted Duck though my count may be low: many of them were continually diving. That would not entirely explain the discrepancy.
- also fewer Coots. There were more at the Balancing Lake today: perhaps some relocated?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- *1 Sparrowhawk

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 3 (0) Chiffchaff
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (1) Goldcrest

Noted on / around the water:
- 62 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 4 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- *1 (1♂) Eurasian Wigeon
- 29 (19♂?) Mallard
- 65 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 6 + 6 (4 broods) Moorhens
- 124 + 6 (2 dependent broods) Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 24 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:
With the sun out ahead of an incoming shower I made the most of the sheltered area.

Butterflies:
- *Large White Pieris brassicae
- Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- *Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]

Flies:
- *Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum
otherwise only unidentified flies

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni: adults
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Bugs:
- *2 Dock Bugs Coreus marginatus
- *c.20 Nettle Groundbugs Heterogaster urticae
- 6 Common Green Shieldbugs Palomena prasina

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

Two rather better photos of the drake Wigeon. Here is one...

...and the other.

A fighting trio. At the top a Carrion Crow: below a Magpie of course: and at the bottom the source of the kerfuffle - a Sparrowhawk.

The Magpie adopts a strange angle to attack or escape from the Sparrowhawk.

A Large White Pieris brassicae.

After many weeks with no sightings there seem to be many Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris around now.

A Meadow Field Syrph hoverfly Eupeodes latifasciatus.

This Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum flew past me and landed on an Oak leaf.

A Dock Bug Coreus marginatus. The two marks in the centre of the abdomen suggests to me this must be a late instar.

An adult Dock Bug shares a leaf with an adult Nettle Groundbug Heterogaster urticae.

Plane of the day: this is a Romanian-built example of the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-52. It was used in the 1970s and 1980s as a basic trainer. It is based at Manchester City Airport (or Barton as it also known). It is showing this UK identity under the wing and therefore does not show the exemption data on the Civil Aviation's Register so I cannot say whether the scheme represents the Soviet or the Russian livery.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2007
Priorslee Lake
Shoveler
Redwing
(Ed Wilson)