7 Nov 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C: More gloomy weather. Occasional light drizzle. Moderate southerly wind led to some very slightly brighter periods. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:19 GMT

* = a photo to be uploaded later: watch the blog for information.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:10

(240th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no change in the number of Mute Swans present this morning: 25 adults and 3 first years.
- another change from the Black-headed Gulls. Today they arrived in at least seven groups, all from the West. I reckon no more than c.400.

Birds noted flying over: in very misty conditions
- 1 Stock Dove: in with a group of Wood Pigeons
- c.420 Wood Pigeons: of these c.400 were in six migrant groups
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 8 Cormorants: a single; a trio and a quartet
- 155 Jackdaws
- 48 Rooks
- c.50 Starlings: together
- 18 Fieldfare: six small groups
- 44 Redwings: 11 singles / groups
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.150 Starlings: from the north-east area in five groups
- ? Redwings: at least six birds heard only pre-dawn. These may have been roosting or flying over.

Counts from the lake area:
- 34 Canada Geese: departed in two main groups
- 1 Greylag Goose
- *25 + 3 Mute Swans ['3' first year birds not '5' as I mistyped yesterday]
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- >194 Coots: again too dull for an accurate total
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- c.400 Black-headed Gulls
- 13 Herring Gulls
- 29 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons: the second only briefly

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla: probably for its eighth day and I overlooked it on 04 
- 2 November Moth-types Epirrita dilutata agg.
- 1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
- *1 Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria: as yesterday?
- 1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria: for its fifth day

Flies:
- *2 unidentified craneflies, probably Tipula sp.
- 1 wood gnat, perhaps Sylvicola fenestralis
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera regelationis

Springtails:
- *2 globular springtail sp., probably Dicyrtomina saundersi
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
- *1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris

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

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

Aphid:
- 1 Aphis sp.

Barkflies:
- 11 Valenzuela flavidus

Slugs, snails etc.:
- 1 'black slug' Arion sp.

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

Noted later:

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

Do you think Mute Swans wake up with a stiff neck?

Centre is the Common Plume moth Emmelina monodactyla:. It has been in more or less the same position on this street lamp pole since 31 October. I did not record it on either 03 or 04 November but I suspect I merely overlooked it. The other two insects are the craneflies that I cannot positively identify.

I promised to try for a better photo of the Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria I saw yesterday. Will this do? I assume it is the same individual though the way it is sitting prevents me seeing the antennae to confirm this one is a male. It was only a few inches away from where it was yesterday.

This globular springtail is probably Dicyrtomina saundersi based on the position of the pale areas. As previously noted my camera is not best for taking photos of 2-3mm [0.1" in old money] insects.

Staying in the springtail group this is likely Tomocerus vulgaris. It seems common for species like this to damage one (as here) or both antennae.

The longer antennae on this springtail suggest it is a Pogonognathellus longicornis. The patterning on the abdomen of this group is very variable. When fresh the abdomen is covered in scales which soon begin to wear off.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:45

(243rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a pair of Common Teal noted.
- some Tufted Duck have retuned or are new in. They remain unusually shy, never allowing close approach for a photo.
- the party of eight Fieldfare that flew over were a new species for me here this year having missed them in the first Winter period. Bird species #80.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 11 Wood Pigeons in a single migrant flock
- 2 Jackdaws
- 8 Fieldfare: together

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese: departed together
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 34 (23♂) Mallard
- 1 (?♂♀) 'feral-type' Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 29 (12?♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 147 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: adult, departed
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted around The Flash:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
is this the same lone wasp I have seen for the past few days?

Flies:
- *1 cranefly Tipula confusa

Barkflies:
- *1 Valenzuela flavidus

Bug:
- *1 Mirid bug of the Lygus group

Springtails:
- *2 species of globular springtail sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli

Two Common Teal, the drake on the left with the yellow under-tail, white flash along the flanks and chestnut and green outlined in yellow on the head. Typically the duck is camouflaged ready for ground-nesting and egg-sitting duties. She has a short white flash along the side of her tail. She is sitting with the wing held to show the green speculum that both sexes possess but is normally hidden when the wings are folded.

The important part of a cranefly in this instance the common Autumn-flying Tipula confusa with patterned wings.

I identified the mystery small flies on walls of the sailing club HQ at the lake as likely the barkfly Valenzuela flavidus. Those I could only find pre-dawn. This what looks the same species on a street lamp pole during day-time.

My best globular springtail photo so far. Probably also a Dicyrtomina saundersi.

Two springtails here: the larger looks to be another Dicyrtomina saundersi. If this is 2-3mm then the smaller one is 1mm at most. No idea as to its identity.

A Mirid bug of the Lygus group. This group requires macro photography to separate the species. Not easy when it is 15 feet up a street lamp pole! Bugs in this group hibernate as adults so can be found throughout the Winter whenever it warm-enough.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
4 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
1 Teal
1 Pochard
56 Tufted Duck
23 Moorhens
233 Coots
600+ Wood Pigeons
6 Song Thrush
55 Fieldfare
55 Redwings
532 Jackdaws
167 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.150 Greylag Geese
2 Gadwall
9 Pochard
28 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
166 Coots
c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Great Black-backed Gull
c.300 Wood Pigeons
29 Blackbirds
63 Redwings
120 Fieldfares
709 Jackdaws
182 Rooks
c.70 Starlings
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
10 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Wrekin
Location
Firecrest
1 Crossbill
(Andy Latham)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
26 Pochard
86 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
1 Redshank
c.750 Black-headed Gulls
128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Kingfisher
20 Pied Wagtails
34 Robins
32 Blackbirds
16 Redwings
41 Greenfinches
1 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)