6 Nov 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 11.0°C: The gloomy weather continues, especially early when there was light drizzle again. Light southerly wind. Poor to moderate visibility.

Sunrise: 07:17 GMT

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:15

(239th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- some Mute Swans may have been seen leaving the last two mornings but there were even more present this morning: 25 adults and 3 first years.
- a frustrating glimpse of a tight group of c.20 fast-flying ducks emerging from the mist and almost instantly flying behind trees and away to the West at 07:05. From the glimpse I had they were too large for e.g. Tufted Duck: they seemed too bulky for Goosanders. Beyond that I cannot say.
- the Black-headed Gulls arrived in three tranches of c.350, c.250 and then c.50. Thereafter they were too mobile to tell whether there were any further arrivals/
- perhaps the most unusual sighting of the morning was a female Common Kestrel flying East.

Birds noted flying over: in very misty conditions
- c.20 unidentified ducks
- 14 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Common Kestrel
- 13 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:

None

Counts from the lake area:
- no Canada Geese today
- *25 + 5 Mute Swans:
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 5 (1♂?) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- >190 Coots: too murky for accurate total
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- c.650 Black-headed Gulls
- 19 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 30 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla
- *4 November Moth-types Epirrita dilutata agg.
- *1 male Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria: moth species #90 for me here this year; same 'first day' as in 2023
- 1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria: for its fourth day

Larvae:
- *1 larva, just perhaps a caterpillar of a Goat Moth Cossus cossus

Flies:
- 2 female plumed midges Chironomus plumosus
- 1 male cranefly Tipula pagana
*2 unidentified craneflies, probably Tipula sp.
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera regelationis

Barkflies:
- 1 Valenzuela flavidus

Springtails:
- *2 globular springtail sp., probably Dicyrtomina saundersi
- *1 smaller sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 1 male harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

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

Lacewings:
- *1 brown lacewing probably Micromus angulatus

Aphid:
- *1 Aphis sp.

Barkflies:
- 1 Ectopsocus briggsi agg.
- *19 Valenzuela flavidus

Flies:
- *1 female cranefly Tipula pagana

Slugs, snails etc.:
- 3 'black slugs' Arion sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
not counted: concentrated on the flies etc.

Later:

Nothing noted

There was an additional first year Mute Swan present this morning. I see from the photo that it is wearing a blue Darvic ring. I'll try to read the code if the bird is still present tomorrow. Strange as I was told the man who did the swan ringing had moved away: being a blue ring it means it was ringed in Shropshire.

A bit of a dispute between the Great Crested Grebe on the left and the pair(?) on the right...

...who seem pleased with themselves.

Two moths here: the upper is a well-marked female November Moth-type Epirrita dilutata agg. (with the more rounded wings than males); the lower is a male Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria. Not sure why it appears so blurred: I'll try again tomorrow if it is still there.

This larva is just perhaps a caterpillar of a Goat Moth Cossus cossus. I'll see whether the Shropshire macro moth recorder can help. I have not recorded the adult moth here even though it is not uncommon.

I suspect I have given several different and likely incorrect identities for this cranefly. I cannot find any photos of species with long thing antennae as shown here.

One I have got correct is this female cranefly Tipula pagana.

A brown lacewing probably Micromus angulatus

A full-winged version of an aphid Aphis sp. These are all very similar and most easily identified by the food plant on which they are feeding. I don't think the Telford Sailing Club HQ counts whatever the walls are made of.

At last: I think I have an identity for these insects that have been puzzling me for some days. This better photo has enabled me to match it with the barkfly Valenzuela flavidus. I counted 19 of these on one wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ only pre-dawn: they disappear later. There was also one on one of the street lamp poles.

Two springtails here: the left one is most likely Dicyrtomina saundersi . This is only 3mm so the one on the right is really small and I can see no identification features.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue Tunnel pre dawn:

Not visited this morning

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:40

(242nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- just the one drake Common Teal noted.
- more Tufted Duck have departed. Where too I wonder?
- a Little Grebe was out in the open for a change today.
- a charm of c.30 Goldfinches were feeding in trees on the island.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 22 Greylag Geese: arrived together
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *39 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (?♂♀) 'feral-type' Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Common Teal
- 16 (9?♂) Tufted Duck
- 18 Moorhens
- 144 Coots
- *1 Little Grebe
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *21 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Herring Gull: adult
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: second winter
- 1 Cormorant
- *1 Grey Heron

Noted around The Flash:

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

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
- *1 female ichneumon sp., perhaps of the family Xorides.

Springtails:
- *2 globular springtail sp., probably Dicyrtomina saundersi

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Metellina sp., probably M. segmentata
- 2 male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli

Mallard bath time.

Or perhaps shower time.

Unusual: the Little Grebe came out in the open and seemed little concerned about my presence.

Here is skittering across the water: this species is rarely seen in full flight.

Its feet are set so far back it has no alternative but to skid to stop on its belly.

And now regaining cover.

On the right an adult winter Herring Gull. The dark smudge on the lower mandible is an indication that it might be a third winter bird. I would need to have seen it fly to tell. On the left a first winter Black-headed Gull.

The second winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. The bill is typically all-black unlike second winter Herring Gulls that would typically show pale at the base. Not all birds are typical!

I think this Grey Heron is looking slightly sad.

"Is that food I see?". You cannot have a bad back and do this. Note the position of the eye: the eye points down the slightly off-set dark line running back from the bill which auto-compensates for the refractive index of water that makes objects underwater to appear not quite where they really are.

Some of the many Feral Pigeons on one of the local roofs. Most are of the typical form known as blue morphs which are most closely related to their wild progenitors, Rock Pigeons.

Something has clearly sparked the interest of these 15 Magpies. A cat perhaps? Four of them are calling.

One of the (fairly) friendly Robins.

"This is my best side"

Sometimes you get lucky: a flying Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

A female ichneumon sp. Google Lens suggests from the family Xorides of which there are over 150 species.

I found several globular springtails on a street lamp pole here during the day. The markings are more clearly seen. I think it is probably Dicyrtomina saundersi, the only species in the group with a small pale area in the antennae.

A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Metellina sp., probably M. segmentata which is more numerous in Autumn than other Metellina sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
1 Teal
1 Pochard
64 Tufted Duck
21 Moorhens
235 Coots
5 Song Thrush
19 Fieldfare
18 Redwings
439 Jackdaws
89 Rooks
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.110 Greylag Geese
2 Gadwall
7 Pochard
32 Tufted Ducks
4 Moorhens
145 Coots
1 Great Black-backed Gull
c.1650 Wood Pigeons
51 Redwings
302 Fieldfares
c.375 Jackdaws
c.100 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
5 Pochard
40 Tufted Duck
18 Stock Doves
3800+ Wood Pigeons
6 Skylarks
1 Meadow Pipit
238 Fieldfare
19 Redwings
91 Starlings
3 Siskins
11 Linnets
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow Legged Gull
2 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
1 Yellow Legged Gull
2 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
26 Greylag Geese
Gadwall
5 Shoveler
3 Pochard
79 Tufted Duck
1 Lapwing
Snipe
2 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
16 Redwings
3 Fieldfares
9 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
4 Cormorants
3 Shoveler
3 Pochard
27 Tufted Duck
149 Coot
1 Yellow-legged Gull
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
30 Pochard
111 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
47 Coots
c.562 Black-headed Gulls
63 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
89 Wood Pigeons
22 Pied Wagtails
20 Wrens
12 Dunnocks
27 Robins
31 Blackbirds
5 Song Thrushes
22 Redwings
16 Magpies
111 Jackdaws
68 Rooks
86 Greenfinches
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)