11 Oct 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 11.0°C: Overcast at low level with early very light drizzle. The cloud lifted somewhat later. Light westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:29 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

No builders so lake and The Flash.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:25

(247th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the only wildfowl today were Mallard and Tufted Duck. Eight Mallard were seen flying off East and had probably not returned when it was light-enough for a complete count of birds on the water.
- a large arrival of large gulls with over 500 at the peak. Birds started arriving at 06:50 though I had heard some calling overhead the Ricoh area as early as 06:00 while I was checking the West end street lamp poles.
- three Cormorant arrived with two of them staying.
- three Grey Herons were disputing who would stay and none of them wanted to leave.
- in contrast to the larger than usual count of gulls there were almost no Jackdaws or Rooks. Strange as Jackdaws are usually noisy so despite the gloomy conditions it is unlikely that I missed them.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 73 Greylag Geese: inbound together
- 23 Wood Pigeons
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Jackdaws only
- 4 Rooks only
- 1 Siskin

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- *31 (16♂) Mallard
- 13 (>4♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 35 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- >150 Black-headed Gulls: 103 seen on the football field c.07:30,
- 12 Herring Gulls: one first winter was on the football field c.07:30.
- >500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *3 Cormorant: see notes
- *3 Grey Herons: see notes

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla
- *3 November Moth types Epirrita sp.

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Flies:
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- *1 unidentified midge, perhaps a gall midge

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 2 other spiders
- 6 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis

Sailing club HQ
I gave the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn a miss today as there only seems to be the usual species of spider at the moment:

Noted later elsewhere:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- *Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: just one noted in one minute watching the nest site

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

Mrs. Mallard looks to be smiling as she leave the lake.

A typical photo I take of Cormorants. One minute they are in the surface and by the time I have pressed the shutter they are not!

Apologies for the poor quality of these Grey Heron photos taken in low light. Here two of the sparring birds head off in different directions.

More sparring. At least twice one of the birds settled on the water. I was surprised how easily it took off with soggy wings.

This one had the decency to make a slow, close pass.

A Common Plume moth Emmelina monodactyla. Although single-brooded the adults fly between September and May and will fly during any warm spell during that time.

One of three November Moth types Epirrita sp. noted. Only when I edited the photo did I note the small, unidentified, spider lurking close by.

This Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris I noted on the Teece Drive fence seemed to moribund (though I didn't poke it to chack!).

A springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type and probably a real one with the long and curving antennae.

I see these small flies from time to time during Autumn and Winter. Obsidentify suggests a gall midge. This family is closely related to craneflies. Adults are difficult to identify. All the photos on NatureSpot are of the galls that the larvae produce on their particular host plant.

A bright splash of colour on a dull day: some remnant Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris.

One of three harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus I found on the Teece Drive fence. This one sporting five legs.

 Better. This one with six legs.

Yay! Best! One with all eight legs!

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 38 midges of various species

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 7 spiders: usual suspects plus
*1 Snake-back Spider Segestria senoculata [a tube spider]

Not a species of spider I see very often: it is a Snake-back Spider Segestria senoculata so-called from the abdomen pattern recalling that of a snake. It is one of the tube spiders, from the design on the web.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:35

(245th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 12 Mute Swans noted.
- a duck and a drake Shoveler seen separately
- 12 Goosanders including one drake
- once again only five Great Crested Grebes: they seemed to be all adults

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Sparrowhawk

Noted on / around the water:
- 3 Canada Geese
- *52+ Greylag Geese: at least 46 along the edge of the island; six more flew in
- 12 Mute Swans
- *2 (1♂) Shoveler
- 24 (18♂) Mallard
- 3 (2?♂) Tufted Duck
- *12 (1♂) Goosander
- 10 Moorhens
- *93 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- *18 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gulls: arrived together
- *2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adult present throughout; first winter arrived
- 7 Cormorants
- *1 Grey Heron

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (0) Chiffchaff

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- *1 November Moth type Epirrita sp.

Springtails:
- 1 perhaps Tomocerus vulgaris

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Mrs. Shoveler. I have no idea why the bill looks speckled. None of my Field Guides show this.

Disappearing stage-right is Mr. Shoveler, mixing it with the Greylag Geese.

A drake Goosander leads a "brownhead" Goosander. At this date immatures of both sexes and well as the ducks have brown heads and are often impossible to ascribe to age and sex. A Coot photo-bombing (hard not to when there are so many).

One drake and three brownheads. The bird wing-flapping is a duck – on drakes of any age the white panel seen here in the trailing edge of the wing extends across whole width of the wing, albeit paler in immatures. A Black-headed Gull photo-bombs here.

Four brownheads ignore the sparring Coots.

The drakes often show a different head-shape with a very steep crown. I have never noted it on any brownhead.

Not facing the right way! A trio of Herring Gulls, left to right: a first-winter; an adult-winter; a second-winter

 Here is the adult just beginning to get the, sometimes extensive, head streaking.

One the left the second-winter with dark in the centre part of the bill and extensive pale on the back and folded wings. On the right the first-winter with an all-dark bill and little, if any, pale only behind the nape.

A closer view of the first-winter.

For comparison an adult-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull, also beginning to acquire the head streaking.

Last of the gulls (for today!). A first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. A neat tail band with no marks on the upper tail. All dark wings with no paler inner primaries, just a small amount of pale on the outer webs when the primaries are, as here, fully-spread.

I think the adjective "stately" was invented for this.

My first November Moth type Epirrita sp. here this year.

This springtail is a puzzle. Obsidentify suggested Tomocerus vulgaris and it may be. That is reported to have "transverse iridescent bands of scales: however the scales are easily lost". Which suggests this is a fresh individual. The puzzle is that none of the springtails of this general form is shown as having a pale band across the basal antenna segment. Perhaps Tomocerus wilsonii?

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Priorslee Lake
14 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Common Gull, though it could have been Mew/Ring-billed Gull!
Yellow Legged Gull
(Mike Cooper/Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
42 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
1 Shoveler
8 Pochard
64 Tufted Ducks
30 Robins
(Ed Wilson)

10 Oct 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake only

12.0°C > 13.0°C: Overcast at low level with intermittent light drizzle. The cloud lifted somewhat later. Very light north-westerly breeze. Moderate to poor visibility early; eventually good.
Where do they get the weather forecasters from? "No rain" my apps said. Look out the window!

Sunrise: 07:27 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Abbreviated visit to the lake only.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:10

(246th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- after yesterday's trio of Mute Swans flying West two did the same thing today at c.08:00.
- no geese seen.
- only a drake Shoveler seen. I did wonder yesterday whether I had seen a lone drake as well as the pair but could not relocate it as the time.
- a pair of Gadwall were new arrivals seen early only.
- another "best effort" with the very mobile Mallard. Certainly even more than yesterday.
- six duck Tufted Duck today.
- a single Cormorant arrived and stayed.
- a second Grey Heron tried its luck and was chased away.
- the remaining Grey Heron was also none too happy when the Great (White) Egret arrived. I was told that "an egret" had been present at The Flash about 40 minutes previously.
- a Song Thrush was quietly singing. Not from the same location as yesterday.
- the Jackdaws and Rooks were again a challenge flying over while there was poor horizontal and vertical visibility.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Mute Swans: together
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 19 Wood Pigeons
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 138 Jackdaws
- 98 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails: singles

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- *2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 41 (22♂) Mallard
- *6 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- *35 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- >100 Black-headed Gulls: 105 (of these?) seen on the football field c.07:30
- 5 Herring Gulls
- >150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons: the second only briefly
- *1 Great (White) Egret: arrived

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler as usual
- 2 (1) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- none identified: one seen in flight.

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Flies:
- *1 plumed midge, perhaps Chironomus plumosus
- *1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- *2 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- *1 $ dance fly Tachydromia umbrarum or similar
- *3 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- *3 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 51 spiders: usual suspects
Nothing else so what do they all eat?

Noted later elsewhere:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: at least three around the nest site

Mammals:
- no bats today. Can they distinguish raindrops from insects using their echolocation?

The dull overcast conditions did not permit great photos and again today's offering will again have many insects. Before those... a bad photo of a distant drake Gadwall. Not the black stern and the brown tone on the back. A Moorhen photo-bombs against the reeds.

Here is his consort. She shows the pale streak at the tail like a duck Common Teal. She however also shows white (and not green) in the folded wing and bright orange edges to her bill (not all-dark).

The Great (White) Egret in the company of a Coot and a duck Tufted Duck.

A (slightly) better view of it.

One of the local Common Buzzards was using the Telford Sailing Club's container a vantage point. The local Magpies were unhappy. You can just see the top of the head and the bill of one peering over the container.

Another day: another springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type. Well I assume it is not the same one as yesterday as this is on a different street lamp pole.

Flies:

A male plumed midge but is it the usual Chironomus plumosus. The body looks slimmer than usual though the banding is correct.

"Another chance to see" - the small fly Dryomyza anilis. Red eyes, orange thorax lightly striped and wings with four dark marks.

One of the two moth flies Psychodidae sp. An unusually "un-fluffy" specimen.

To my surprise I already have this dance fly Tachydromia umbrarum or similar in my logs, though not for this year. One of at least four species that need microscopic examination to specifically identify. This group apparently often run away as opposed to flying off.

One of three winter craneflies Trichocera sp. on the street lamp poles pre-dawn.

I think it is just a rumour that harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus have eight legs!

A party! Three harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis get friendly. When I rechecked a few minutes later one was nowhere to be seen and the others were well apart.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 37 midges of various species

Arthropods:
- 3 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 5 spiders: usual suspects

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Priorslee Lake
29 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Curlew
1 Goldeneye
1 Goosander
1 Shoveler
4 Wigeon
1 Teal
1 Common Gull
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
3 Lapwing
25+ Redwing
1 Siskin
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
130 Tufted Ducks
4 Buzzards
Kingfisher
Chiffchaff
Meadow Pipits
Sky Larks
Redwings
Redpoll
Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
1 Ruddy Duck
50 Robins
1 Redwing
4 Chiffchaffs
11 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
37 Meadow Pipits
36 Pied Wagtails
1 Redwing
55 Tufted Ducks
2 Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)

9 Oct 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake only

11.0°C > 12.0°C: Overcast. Light westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:25 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Some urgent and essential home maintenance will mean intermittent and / or abbreviated visits for the next 10 days or so.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:40 – 09:15

(245th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a trio of Mute Swans flew West.
- the pair of Shoveler still present.
- the number and composition of the Mallard is "best effort". There was much flying about and hiding away. My count is from a single sweep of the water. It does not include nine birds that flew off East c.06:50. They may or may not have returned before I did the count.
- a single duck Tufted Duck flew in.
- two Cormorants arrived together one departing almost immediately
- very few Wood Pigeons flying over. As I was preparing to leave well over 50 birds were put up from the Ricoh grounds and swirled around, possibly mostly settling back down there.
- one Song Thrush was quietly singing. In a different location to the two songsters from Tuesday.
- the Jackdaws and Rooks were a challenge. A very tight group of c.90 Jackdaws were swirling around changing relative position making individual counting impossible. The continuous stream of Rooks with Jackdaws interspersed was also hard: the number of birds was not a problem but ascribing them all accurately to species was hard.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 107 Greylag Geese: counted flying inbound together.
- 3 Mute Swans: together
- 7 Wood Pigeons only again
- 5 Black-headed Gulls: flew very high South
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 158 Jackdaws
- 184 Rooks
- 3 Pied Wagtails: singles yet again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Shoveler
- 22 (14♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Tufted Duck: arrived
- 6 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- c.60 Black-headed Gulls: 58 (of these?) seen on the football field c.07:30
- 9 Herring Gulls
- c.100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: arrived together: one soon departed
- 1 Grey Heron

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler as usual
- 1 (0) Chiffchaff

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 November Moth-type. Epirrita sps. [Autumnal, November, Pale November Moths]
species 95; remarkably consistent first dates 9 / 7 / 11 / 10 / 6 November in previous five years

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Bugs:
- 1 Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius

Flies:
- 1 presumed "blackfly" aphid
- 2 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Orb-web spider Metellina segmentata
- 2 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 3 other unidentified spiders
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 3 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 39 spiders: usual suspects
Nothing else.

Noted later elsewhere:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: at least five around the nest site

Mammals:
- a small bat flying around tree tops in the south-east area c.06:45 again.
Nothing else

Not much for you on an overcast morning. Mostly the photos are of insects etc. taken pre-dawn. This duck Tufted Duck is an exception. She flew in and sort-of posed for me.

My first November Moth-type Epirrita sp. of the year. This group – Autumnal, November and Pale November Moths – cannot be reliably separated without genitalia examination. This is moth species #95 for me at the lake this year. My "first dates" for this often abundant group are remarkably consistent. For the previous five years the date has been 09 / 07 / 11 / 10 and 06 October.

A springtail of the Pogonognathellus longicornis-type, though the antennae look too short for that particular species in the group of many similar species.

A Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius. This species comes in many differently-marked forms though this one is very bland.

I presume this tiny creature is the winged form of one of the "blackfly" aphids.

One of two winter craneflies Trichocera sp. I noted. At first glance it looks as if the wings have markings towards their tips. Not so: it is the markings on the street lamp pole showing under the shadow of the wing tips. The wings themselves end above that area.

Based on the "tuning fork" mark on the thorax of this spider it must be the Orb-web spider Metellina segmentata.

One of two Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp. on the street lamp poles this morning.

And the other one.

One of three very similar small spiders that remain unidentified. Obsidentify wanted to call this a Garden Spider Araneus diadematus. I am fairly certain it isn't.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 48 midges of various species

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 5 spiders: usual suspects including
1 lace-weaver spider Amaurobius sp.

Not a common spider species I note in the tunnel: a lace-weaver spider Amaurobius sp. This one was seen on the ceiling.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
4 Gadwall
1 Pochard
60 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
235 Coots
7 Song Thrushes
118 Fieldfare
30 Redwings
466 Jackdaws
139 Rooks
c.450 Starlings from roost
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.100 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
18 Tufted Ducks
153 Coots
c.500 Black-headed Gulls
c.450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
10 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
118 Wood Pigeons
103 Redwings
154 Fieldfares
809 Jackdaws
201 Rooks
7 Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Pink-footed Goose
c.100 Greylag Geese
41 Canada Geese
41 Tufted Duck
12 Goosander
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Yellow legged Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
28 Pochard
65 Tufted Duck
46 Greenfinches
5 Fieldfares
11 Redwings
12 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Goosanders
1 Pochard
45 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Great Black-backed Gull
1 Gadwall
1 Shoveler
2 Wigeon
Peregrine Falcon
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
23 Pochard
75 Tufted Ducks
950+ Black-headed Gulls
1204+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
499 Wood Pigeons
11 Meadow Pipits
23 Robins
23 Blackbirds
13 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
18 Redwings
1 Willow Tit
321 Jackdaws
241 Rooks
22 Greenfinches
9 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)