8 Oct 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 14.0°C: Mainly cloudy. A brief early clear spell giving a sunrise of sort. Then dull with a spell of rain. Cleared with some sunny bits by 10:15. Light south-easterly wind. Mainly good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:24 BST

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:10

(211th visit of the year)

Numbers of birds on the water were probably affected by the contractors cutting the weed in the water. I am at the moment at a loss to know why they would be doing this now. Sure: the weed entangles the propeller of the safety boat but there will not be much activity on the lake for the next few months when the weed will tend to die off. It seems to me that cutting the weed will not get rid of the plants which will regrow next year.

Bird notes:
- now 17 visiting Mute Swans!
- a Reed Bunting was heard calling along the North side. This is my first record here since I noted one singing on 12 July. There seemed to be three territories in Spring. I never saw any juveniles though I did see an adult carrying food which could, of course, have been for a sitting partner or a brood of youngsters. A very poor year.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 131 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 335 Jackdaws
- 169 Rooks
- 1 Redwing
- 2 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit

Birds seen leaving roost around the lake:

None

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

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Goose: departed together
- *19 Mute Swans
- 14 (10♂) Mallard
- 10 (?) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 157 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 69 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Football Fields

Birds on the football field c. 07:35
- 34 Black-headed Gulls
- no Wood Pigeons

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

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

Flies:
- *4 female Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- *1 fly Opomyza florum

Beetles:
- *1 ground beetle Leistus spinibarbis

Arthropods:
- *1 House Centipede Scutigera coleoptrata

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius
- *1 male spider Neriene montana
- *1 as yet unidentified spider being predated
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- *3 male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli

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

Flies:
- *3 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.

Slugs, snails etc.:
- *1 White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
- *1 Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 48 spiders: none specifically identified
Are there more spiders or am I getting better at finding them?

Noted later:

Fungus:
- Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus
another 12 fruiting bodies not seen previously
- *unidentified fungus

The early low cloud broke for a very short time to give a sort-of sunrise. Sharp eyes will notice the Grey Heron standing on one of the piers.

Not easy to count: I think there are 18 Mute Swans here. The resident cob is on the right. His mate was out of picture letting him get on with it.

All four of the small Spotted-winged Drosophila flies Drosophila suzukii I saw today were females without the dark wing-tips.

A slightly larger fly with more markings in the wing is probably Opomyza florum. There are other species in this genus: this species is noted as "common in Autumn".

Winter craneflies Trichocera sp. are of course insects and should have six legs, not four...

...or five!

This ground beetle seems to be Leistus spinibarbis.

What I believe to be a House Centipede Scutigera coleoptrata identified by the 15 pairs of legs that are longer towards the rear (centipedes no more have 100 legs than millipedes have 1000) and the stripe along the body.

Not sure what is going on here. I assumed it was a spider attacking prey. Looking closer I suspect something, I know not what, is attacking the spider.

I believe this male spider is Neriene montana.

I found three of these male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli on the street lamp poles. Identify by the white eye-surrounds.

Here are the other two.

A strange-looking White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis with a large drop of water hanging from the apex of its shell.

My best suggestion for this is a Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella (with only one 'horn' apparently).

A different fungus I noted this morning. Here is the group.

The top view of one fruiting body.

From the underside showing the gill structure.

And the side-elevation. I have been unable to get any identification with Obsidentify giving a different result for each photo (and Common Pipistrelle – a bat – for this one).

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 1 plumed midge

Arthropods:
- 4 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

Spiders, harvestmen etc.
- 5 spiders not specifically identified

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:230

(214th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no sight or sound of yesterday's Water Rail. To be expected as it would very likely be lurking deep in cover – assuming its still here.
- a first winter Little Grebe was lurking, unusually, in one of the cut-offs beside a footbridge. It soon hid from view.
- a Grey Heron flew off East. About 10 minutes later it, or another, flew in from the East.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 Chiffchaff

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 116 Greylag Geese
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 51 (33♂) Mallard
- 137 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 21 Moorhens
- *138 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 or 2 Grey Herons: see notes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Flies:
- *2 blister galls of the gall-midge Dasineura urticae
- *1 Phaonia subventa
- also several unknown species

Bugs:
- 2 Common Green Shieldbug instars Palomena prasina

Fungus:
- Dark Honey Fungus Armillaria ostoyae: some now fading away

I have heard the phrase "bald as a Coot" (quiet at the back there) but this juvenile has taken it more literally. The phrase originates from the white shield not, as here, missing feathers on its crown. I noticed this on this juvenile when it was very small, assuming it had been attacked in the nest by a sibling and the feathers would grow back. Apparently not.

With grey stripes on the thorax and an orange abdomen this female is likely Phaonia subventa. There are of course "similar species": this is the most common.

Two blister galls on a nettle leaf. It looks as if the occupant of the tight hand one has emerged. Reference to Mr. Google notes "The gall-midge Dasineura urticae causes galls to form on the leaves of Common (Stinging) Nettle and Annual Nettle". Reference back to photos on NatureSpot support the identification.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Wigeon
2 Kingfisher
5 Redwing (Celestica Site)
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
51 Golden Plover
2 Siskins
8 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
45 Golden Plover
42 Lapwings
2 Wigeon
7 Pochard
6 Song Thrush
6 Redwings
3 Chiffchaffs
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)