22 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 12.0°C: Mainly broken medium-level cloud apart from a spell of showery rain between c.07:00 and c.08:00. Light south-westerly wind. Very good visibility but only good during rain.

Sunrise: 07:49 BST

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:05 – 09:30

(223rd visit of the year)

Bird notes
A big passage of Wood Pigeons – c.2950 logged passing South in 26 groups. The first few Black-headed Gulls arrived earlier than usual and it was perhaps their presence that persuaded the Lesser Black-backed Gulls to settle this morning. The Herring Gulls again mostly arrived later. Still no Redwings.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 20 Greylag Geese: inbound loosely together
- 5 (♂?) Tufted Duck: circled once, together
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- *c.2974 Wood Pigeons including the c.2950 in 26 migrant groups
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: single and duo
- c.268 Jackdaws: one group too tight to specifically count
- 26 Rooks
- 1 Skylark
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Birds seen leaving roost around the lake:
None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
Early the Cetti's was heard from the South side. I assume it was the same bird singing along the North side later.

Counts from the lake area:
- 20 Canada Goose: 11 throughout; group of nine arrived
- 19 Mute Swans
- 8 (6♂) Mallard
- 7 Moorhens
- 213 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- c.130 Black-headed Gulls
- 17 Herring Gulls
- 85 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Cormorant: visited for c.15 minutes
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 6 November Moth-types Epirrita dilutata agg.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 black ant, perhaps Negro Ant Formica fusca

Flies:
- 6 Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- 1 plumed midge
- 1 male mosquito sp.
- 1 female cranefly Tipula pagana
- *2 winter cranefly Trichocera regelationis

Bugs:
- *1 unidentified nymph, possibly a Mirid bug of the large Orthotylus group

Springtails:
- *1 springtail, possibly Lepidocyrtus cyaneus
- *1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 male harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

Telford Sailing Club
Around the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:

Flies:
- *7 craneflies, some Tipula pagana
- 9 other midges / craneflies
- *1 fly of the Heleomyzidae group

Lacewings:
- *1 unidentified brown lacewing

Slugs, snails etc.:
- *1 Black Slug Arion ater agg.
- *1 possible Large Red Slug Arion rufus
- 1 White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- ?? spiders of several species: not counted

Noted later:
Nothing

The waning Hunters Moon (not Harvest Moon – I got that wrong) was more or less overhead when I took this photo. Strangely it was raining at the time.

The clear sky moves away to the East as the rain sets in around dawn.

There have been no recent frosts but the foliage has turned very autumnal in the last few days.

An immature Cormorant arrives.

A rather scruffy bird clearly in moult.

Touching down tail-first of course.

And sliding elegantly(?) to a halt.

Most of the big groups of Wood Pigeons were too far away for the camera to 'see' and hocus on them. Just part of one of the closer groups.

A black ant on a street lamp pole. On size I am inclined to think Negro Ant Formica fusca but I am not really sure.

The length of the antennae seems to be a good clue to the identification of this as a male cranefly Tipula pagana. It is the females of this species that have only vestigial wings.

A delicate-looking cranefly with a long neck and small, rounded head looks to be one of the winter craneflies Trichocera sp., perhaps T. regelationis.

Both Obsidentify and Google Lens were pointing me at Drosophila fruit flies for this. Those all have an un-striped rufous thorax so this is different. I think from a closely-related Heleomyzidae group but which I could not begin to say.

A nymph of a bug. Google Lens suggests a Mirid bug of the large Orthotylus group, most of which cannot be identified visually.

I don't recall seeing an all-dark springtail previously and this is smaller than the usual 'tube-shaped' species. It might be Lepidocyrtus cyaneus.

A springtail, probably Tomocerus vulgaris.

An unidentified brown lacewing.

 This Black Slug Arion ater agg. was one of two slugs on the walls of the Telford Sailing Club HQ.

Here is the other slug. It may be a Large Red Slug Arion rufus but it seems it is just as likely another Black Slug. The Arion group can only positively identified by examination of the genitalia. All members of the species-complex can occur in various colour forms.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 November Moth-type Epirrita dilutata agg.

Flies:
- *1 cranefly Tipula pagana
- *1 female plumed midge

Woodlice:
- *3 Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
8 unidentified spiders

This November Moth-type Epirrita dilutata agg. was at rest directly under one of the strip lights that (vaguely) illuminates the area.

I think the cranefly is Tipula lateralis – a bit hard to be certain with the angle of the wings. At the time I thought the small creature was a David spider about to take on the Goliath cranefly. I now see it only has six legs so is not a spider at all. Hmm.

A Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus shares a moment with a female plumed midge – female do not have plumed antennae.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:40

(227th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- just two migrant groups of Wood Pigeons. With the sun now higher in the sky it was harder to spot the groups.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 6 Canada Geese: flew North together
- c.160 Wood Pigeons in two migrant groups
- 3 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese
- 9 Greylag Geese
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 47 (30♂) Mallard
- *118 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 14 Moorhens
- 131 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- *5 Black-headed Gulls

Noted around The Flash:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *4 Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris

Flies:
- 1 female cranefly Tipula pagana
- *1 Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina

Bugs:
- *>10 Nettle Groundbugs Heterogaster urticae

Slugs, snails etc.:
- *1 Kentish Snail Monacha cantiana
The Ivy bank, now beginning to flower, was disappointingly devoid of anything other than the odd wasp despite being in the sun and out of the wind.

Despite the larger than usual number of Tufted Ducks it has often proved difficult to get close to any. This trio were an exception and many of the drakes are now coming in to breeding condition with white flanks as shown be the front two. Neither has the long head plume (the 'tuft' of the species name) as yet. The third bird seems likely to be a first winter bird.

Normally there are many Black-headed Gulls here. Today there were five, which is my highest count for at least a fortnight. This is an adult in winter plumage though many of those I have seen have been first winter birds.

Can you scratch your back with a leg? A Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris shows how.

A Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina

How many Nettle Groundbugs Heterogaster urticae can you see. I think eight. Cosy.

What seems to be a Kentish Snail Monacha cantiana.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
1 adult Great Black-backed Gull
4 Gadwall
1 Teal
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
A Raven tussling with Sparrowhawk
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
389 Fieldfare
6 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
15 Pochard
34 Tufted Duck
13 Moorhens
232 Coots
1 Redwing heard
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
A male Stonechat the west end
2 Gadwall
A drake Shoveler
14 Pochard
44 Tufted Duck
Siskin
Redpoll
C.350 Starlings in the roost
20 Redwings
209 Coot
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)