16 Dec 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 11.0°C: Cloudy early, Sunny intervals later. Moderate westerly wind abated somewhat. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:17 GMT

* = a species photographed today

After a plethora of moths and other insects yesterday there were many fewer despite the continuing mild conditions,

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:30 – 09:35

(273rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the trio of Gadwall returned – or perhaps had been lurking in the reeds yesterday?
- I assume the sailing club were on the water yesterday as most of the Pochard had departed – probably mostly to The Flash.
- so where were all the large gulls? The early arrivals might have been put off by the c.500 restless Black-headed Gulls flying up and down. That said there were no later arrivals and very few overhead. Puzzling.
- *a Mistle Thrush was singing from a tree top near the Teece Drive gate.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 66 Greylag Geese: inbound at various times
- 18 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 54 Jackdaws
- 57 Rooks
- 1 Starling

Counts from the lake area:
- 11 Canada Geese: five of these departed
- 16 + 2 Mute Swans
- 3 (1♂) Gadwall
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 17 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 243 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- c.400 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- *1 Great (White) Egret

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Redwing

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria

Flies:
- 1 plumed midge
- *1 gall midge
- 3 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Beetles:
- 1 Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 other unidentified spider

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

Barkflies:
- 6 barkflies Valenzuela flavidus
- *1 unidentified short-winged female barkfly

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 3 spiders:
1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
other species not determined

Noted later:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

One day after being full the Cold Moon is already showing a few cross-lit craters. A lucky shot as it was cloudy for the next two hours!

It is still here: the Great (White) Egret looking for breakfast.

Not good conditions for photography this morning. A distant Mistle Thrush was singing from the tree-tops. Small-headed and the spotting more blotchy than Song Thrush. The song is quite different, lacking the repetition of Song Thrush and definitely in a minor key.

A male Siskin in the same dull conditions.

Another one munching on Alder seeds.

Yet another variation in the male Mottled Umber moths Erranis defoliaria: this one without any obvious mottling and no cross-bars either.

"Gall midge" is all I can say about this insect. There are many species and the wing venation is important to identify even the genus. Not obvious here!

I have not noted any insect like this before. It is most likely one of the barkfly species in which some or all of the females are short-winged. All the species shown on the NatureSpot web site show dark markings on the abdomen which this lacks. They are also differently shaped.

This springtail is a Pogonognathellus longicornis-type. I am not sure the antennae are long-enough. The banding on the abdomen in these insects is far from diagnostic and the scales wear away quickly making all species variably marked.

With a pointed abdomen and a slightly silky appearance this is a Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.

A harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis on the Teece Drive fence.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 4 spiders, species not determined
Perhaps the spiders have eaten all the midges seen on Saturday!?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:40 – 10:45

(275th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- more Greylag Geese uncounted inside the island.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 9 Canada Geese
- >14 Greylag Geese
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 32 (21♂) Mallard
- *11 (5♂) Pochard
- 100 (>54♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- 92 Coots
- 51 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: second winter
- 1 Grey Heron

Also noted:

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

Hoverflies:
- *3 Marmalade Hoverflies Episyrphus balteatus
- 1 drone fly Eristalis sp., seen briefly and species not determined

Other flies:
- >15 flies of at least three species

 Some welcome sun and almost blue skies.

 A female Pochard, one of what were several refugees from the Balancing Lake's disturbance yesterday.

This soggy Pochard is an immature drake. Many bird books tell you that Pochard are nocturnal feeders and spend the day loafing and asleep. The problem is that the birds have not read the books and don't know how to behave.

A Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris looks to be trying to break in to the Ivy. The flowers are over and are turning in to berries on which Wood Pigeons will gorge upon in the Spring.

Hmm: could this be a German Wasp Vespula germanica? It would be if the yellow on the thorax is slightly triangular-shaped rather than parallel sided. I find it hard to be sure. Google Lens thought it a Hornet, which is isn't. Obsidentify came out more or less 50:50 for Common and German which is where I stand.

One of three Marmalade Hoverflies Episyrphus balteatus inspecting the Ivy for nectar. Does not look as is there is much remaining with the flowers now over.

No visible means of support!

Plane of the day. A Lockheed-Martin C-130J-30 operated by the Canadian Forces 436 Squadron based at Trenton in Ontario.

Data from ADS-B (FlightRadar24 is not always accurate for military aircraft). It is an example of the latest variant of the venerable Lockheed C-130 Hercules first flown in 1954. There is a detachment of Canadian Forces based in Europe. This particular aircraft (that I first saw in Anchorage in 2012) is currently operating from Prestwick in Ayrshire on re-supply duties.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
5 Gadwall
3 Pochard
49 Tufted Ducks
238 Coots
6 Fieldfare
>256 Redwings
3 Siskins
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Teal
2 Pochard
167 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
2 Goosanders
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebe
35 Tufted Ducks
4 Gadwall
7 Pochard
149 Coot
1 Water Rail
25 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
6 Great Black-backed Gulls
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
5 Great Crested Grebes
23 Swans
34 Pochard
84 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
Snipe
273 Coots
25 Goldfinches
7 Linnets
50 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
4 Cormorants
9 Pochard
46 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
Woodcock
70 Coots
c.220 Black-headed Gulls
104 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
2 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
5 Buzzards
20 Pied Wagtails
1 Willow Tits
561 Jackdaws
149 Rooks
c.190 Fieldfare
c.120 Redwings
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson / Martin Adlam)