27 Apr 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 12.0°C: A few wisps of high cloud otherwise clear apart from a few lingering local mist patches. Very light winds. Good visibility with some haze again.

Sunrise: 05:46 BST

* = a species photographed today.
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 06:15 // 07:20 – 09:30

(105th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a pair of Greylag Geese with five goslings was a surprise. Where was their nest?
- the pair of Gadwall was back on the south-west grass.
- the duck Pochard still present.
- an Oystercatcher flew in from the East at 08:00 for the south-west grass. It departed East at 08:50.
- a Common Sandpiper was on the south-west grass at 05:30 but not seen subsequently.
- the Cetti's Warbler favoured the West end most of the time and was somewhat less vocal.
- just two singing Sedge Warblers remain.
- two Garden Warblers: only one singing.
- the Lesser Whitethroat still mostly heard singing from the dense Hawthorns alongside the West end path without company today.
- a the male Common Whitethroat singing from the south-west scrub. An unsexed bird was seen along the South side.
- no Starlings seen on the football field: the only one noted here today flew over there heading East.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Canada Goose: a single outbound
- 1 Greylag Goose: a single outbound
- 11 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Starling
- 34 Jackdaws
- 2 Rook

Counts from the lake area:
- 11 Canada Geese: the highest count though possibly more individuals as birds flew in and out
- *2 + 5 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans: neither resident visited the nest site
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 6 Moorhens
- 28 + 4 (1 brood) Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Oystercatcher: arrived and departed
- 1 Common Sandpiper: departed
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant: arrived

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts
- 2 Sand Martins

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 22 (18) Chiffchaffs
- *2 (2) Sedge Warblers
- 9 (9) Reed Warblers
- 17 (16) Blackcaps
- *2 (1) Garden Warbler
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 2 (1) Common Whitethroats

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

Bees, wasps etc.:
*1 ichneumon-type

Spiders:
1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Also noted later:

Butterflies:
*$ Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines : at least five males
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
$ unidentified "white"

Bees, wasps etc.:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
*unidentified Nomad Bee sp.
*$ Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis
*Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
*$ probable Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana
*$ Spring Epistrophe Epistrophe eligans [Spring Smoothtail]
*Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
*$ Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae [Migrant Hoverfly; Migrant Aphideater]
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
*$ Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]
*Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis

Alder Flies:
Alder Fly Sialis lutaria

Other flies
several unidentified flies

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
*$ Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula

Beetles:
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Spiders:
Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

A hazy start to the day.

A touch of colour "Looking the other way".

The five Greylag goslings with their parents.

And here on their own. This is the third year this species has unexpectedly produced young from an unseen nest. In previous year the cob Mute Swan has always drowned the goslings. This new resident cob seems, at the moment, to be more sanguine.

A warbler trying to hide. The broad pale stripe over the eye is just about visible to identify it. But it is a lot easier...

...when it pops out to reveal itself as a Sedge Warbler. This species is more likely to show when defending a territory. I suspect that many of the birds here so far this Spring have been passage birds whose testosterone requires them to sing wherever they are.

Another warbler trying to hide. A Garden Warbler...

 ..."say 'ah'".

One of at least five male Orange-tip butterflies Anthocharis cardamines noted. Females are "white" on upper surface of their wings but extensively patterned on the often difficult to see underside.

And another.

An unidentified species of Nomad bee. All have longish, stiff-looking antennae.

Their abdomen are banded yellow and black with varying amounts of brown.

Although the amount and position of these marks can be used to separate the species the differences are subtle and need to be seen clearly which they rarely are "in the field". These were not all the same individual.

What I believe to be a Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis.

Did I really get this close to a Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris? Still it is the less dangerous end.

I found what looks to be an ichneumon-type on a West end street lamp pole before dawn.

A difficult genus of hoverfly to separate but I reckon this is likely a Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana.

This hoverfly resembles the drone flies but is noticeably smaller and has a full-width horizontal bands. That makes it a Spring Epistrophe Epistrophe eligans. My first of the year.

The eyes meet so this is a male dronefly but the abdomen does not look tapered. Nevertheless the pale on the legs confirms it is indeed a Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax.

My first Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea this year.

Noticeably smaller that the common species pair Syrphus ribesii and S. vitripennis and also with slightly hooked yellow marks is this Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae. It does indeed, as one of its common names suggests, eat aphids.

Now this IS one of the species pair Syrphus ribesii and S. vitripennis. It is a female so it would be separable if I could see a hind leg clearly. I can't.

This Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula is my first damselfly this year.

Another view from a slightly different angle.

An illustration of micro-climate. This swathe of flowering Dandelions Taraxacum officinale-type is on level ground a few feet away from...

...a slightly banked area where the flowers are almost all finished and only the seed-heads ("clocks") remain.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies
9 midges of at least three species

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07: 15

(102nd visit of the year)

A somewhat unexpected addition to my 2025 bird list for here at this date was Starling. Two birds presumably nesting in the estate flew over on a feeding foray. Species #66.

Bird notes:
- the Tufted Ducks were arranged as six pair and a lone drake.
- back to just two Great Crested Grebes.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 20 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan: the other resident presumed to be on the island.
- 12 (10♂) Mallard
- 13 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 25 + ? (1 brood) Coots: juveniles still being brooded and not visible
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs again
- 4 (4) Blackcaps again

Noted elsewhere:
On various street lamp poles:

Moths:
*1 $ Streamer Anticlea derivata: my first here since 2018

*1 $ Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula
Moth species #4 and #5 here this year

Beetles:
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

New flowers for the year:
*$ Wood Avens Geum urbanum

There cannot be many places around Telford with a better view on a calm sunny morning even if a Canada Goose is trying to spoil it / adding interest (delete as desired).

There are many names for this phenomenon formed by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere refracting light in a similar way to a rainbow. I know them as sun-dogs because they move with the progression of the sun across the sky. They may precede (as here) or follow the sun's position.

Here following the sun it looks as if the "pot of gold" is down the chimney.

A very smart-looking moth. It is a Streamer Anticlea derivata: my first here since 2018.

Two species of moth here this morning. This is a species I see every year and usually twice as it is double-brooded. It is a Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula.

From this angle the 'prominent', formed by the folded wings over-lapping at the tip, is evident. This angle also makes it easier to separate from the very slightly smaller Lesser Swallow Prominent P. gnoma which has slightly different markings at the back of the wing.

The first flower this year for me of Wood Avens Geum urbanum

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
2 Greylag Geese
3 Common Sandpipers
1 Reed Warblers
1 Common Whitethroat
11 Blackcaps
10 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
Wood Warbler
2 Great Crested Grebe
1 Greylag Goose
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
16 Tufted Duck
5 Blackcaps
Wood Warbler
1 Chiffchaff
6 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Wrekin
3 Wood Warblers
1 Redstart
5 Pied Flycatchers
2 Tree Pipits
2 Redpolls
1 Siskin
(Ed Wilson, JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
6 Tufted Duck
6 Swift
50 Swallow
25 House Martin
2 Sand Martin
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 Wheatear
1 Sedge Warbler
6 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood, Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
1 Lesser Whitethroat
26 Wheatear
1 Greenland Wheatear
1 Fieldfare
1 Raven
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Wood Sandpiper
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Sedge Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Swift
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
1 Lesser Whitethroat
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
3 Sedge Warblers
6 Reed Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroats
2 Whitethroats
1 Garden Warbler
9 Blackcaps
9 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
1 Little Grebe
2 Common Sandpipers
c.10 Sand Martins
c.45 Swallows
1 House Martin
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Sand Martins
12 Swallows
2 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
4 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The lane to the E of Priorslee
6 Whitethroats
1 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
2 Linnets
3 Yellowhammers
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
9 Great Crested Grebes
5 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
1 Kestrel
2 Stock Doves
2 Swallows
House Martins
2 Grey Wagtails
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
1 Jay
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Swallows
House Martin
Ring Ouzel
Fieldfare
Common Whitethroat
Blackcaps
Chiffchaff
Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
1 Swallow
6 Willow Warbler
Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
3 Greylag Geese
2 Ruddy Ducks
3 Common Sandpipers
1 Stock Dove
7 Swallows
3 Grey Wagtails
26 Wrens
17 Robins
30 Blackbirds
9 Song Thrushes
1 Sedge Warbler
3 Reed Warblers
8 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
5 Greenfinches
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)