22 May 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 11.0°C: Early breaks replaced with mainly medium-low overcast. A very light north-westerly breeze changed to a light / moderate easterly. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:03 BST

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

For those of you reading this on the Friends of Priorslee Lake web site I am very pleased to say that with very many thanks to Martin Adlam all the photos he was unable to upload while he was taking a well-deserved holiday have now been added. If you scroll to the bottom of the page and use the "Older posts" link you can work your way through all the photos between 23 April and 7 May. Martin gets a big vote of thanks from me.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:10 – 06:20 // 07:30 – 09:45

(126th visit of the year)

As previously advised Severn Trent were undertaking some grass cutting mainly in the south-west area. All the areas with breeding birds have been identified and protected.

Bird notes:
- the Canada and Greylag goslings all still present and correct.
- a drake Gadwall was present throughout.
- the same single Mallard duckling was noted again with a pair of adults.
- the duck Pochard still present.
- in cooler conditions only six broods of Coots were on the water.
- the single juvenile Great Crested Grebe was only seen riding on the adult's back. Another adult was holding its wings as if it too has juvenile(s) aboard.
- an unusual sighting for this date was a party of six Black-headed Gulls, at least some being adults, that flew East 05:50.
- although seen most days recently over The Flash I noted my first House Martin of the year to be seen flying over the 'football field'.
- one singing Garden Warbler only
- one singing Common Whitethroat only though all song is getting very intermittent.
- 18 Starlings, including juveniles, were seen on the academy's own sports field, viewable from the footpath around the fenced 'football field'. Another four were seen later on the roof of a house alongside the path between the Balancing Lake and The Flash.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Stock Dove
- 11 Wood Pigeons
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls again
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 16 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan: the other resident assumed to be on the nest: see also notes
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 6 (5♂) + 1 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 5 Moorhens
- 29 + 13 (6 broods) Coots
- *7 + >1 (>1 brood) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- *4 Herring Gulls
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.15 Common Swifts
- 1 House Martin

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 14 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 13 (11) Reed Warblers
- 13 (11) Blackcaps yet again
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat

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

Moths:
*1 Green Carpet Colostygia pectinataria
*1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata

Noted later:
Note: not too much in cool and cloudy conditions.

Butterflies:
none

Moths
*Plain Pollen-moth Micropterix calthella : at least 15
*Meadow Hook-wing Ancylis badiana [was Common Roller]
Timothy Tortrix Zelotherses paleana
Straw Dot Rivula sericealis

Bees, wasps etc.:
Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
*Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus

Alder Flies:
none

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
*Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
*Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]

Other flies:
*$ cranefly Austrolimnophila ochracea
dagger fly Empis tessellata
owl midges Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]
*Downlooker Snipefly Rhagio scolopaceus
*male Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea
plus
*unidentified aphid sp.
many other boring and / or strange flies

Bugs:
*Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris

Beetles:
*Raspberry Beetle Byturus tomentosus

Slugs, snails etc.:
*possible Brown-lipped Snail Cepaea nemoralis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

New plants for the year:

None

I can't make the real sunrise at this time of year. This will do.

I am sure there is one or more juvenile Great Crested Grebes sheltering under those feathers.

I was struck by the "clean-headed" appearance of this immature gull. It has clearly renewed its inner primaries but still shows a full and rather near tail band.

Obviously a "Herring Gull-type" but that solid tail band suggests it is a Yellow-legged Gull. It is in transition from second summer plumage in to third winter garb. There is much variability in the rate and progression and the examples in field guides are necessarily incomplete.

This IS a Herring Gull at much the same age. It shows no obvious dark in the tail.

Field Guides always mention Song Thrushes smashing snails but I very rarely see it happen. Here is one doing just that.

Apparently successfully with the body of the snail hanging out of its shell.

Meanwhile only a few yards (metres) away another Song Thrush had found softer food. I am tempted to suggest these two are a pair. It seems unlikely that two nests would be so close together.

Taken very early on when I noted this Blue Tit inspecting all the joints in the fence around the football field for spiders and whatever was in their webs. The tit looks a bit the worse for wear after having had a busy nesting season.

Every year House Sparrows invade the lake from the estate with an apparent liking for the dam. Here a female is on the base of the boxing ring. I have never been able to confirm they have bred anywhere away from the estate. It seems a long way to come to look for food.

Six Plain Pollen-moths Micropterix calthella enjoying a feast of buttercup pollen. Despite there being many thousand buttercups around the area the moths always congregate in the same area where there are no more than twenty flowers.

And it is not just the moths that like buttercups. Here a trio of Raspberry Beetles Byturus tomentosus are enjoying themselves.

A micro-moth I see every year is this Meadow Hook-wing Ancylis badiana.

This Green Carpet moth Colostygia pectinataria is not very green, partly because it wasn't but not helped by having to use the camera flash.

An almost sharp Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata. Things are looking up.

But only one hoverfly seen this morning: this Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.

The last thing some flies will see is this view of a male Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella.

A teneral female Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

If Obsidentify is correct (and it often gives up with craneflies) then this cranefly is an Austrolimnophila ochracea. It seems to check out with the NatureSpot web site. A new species for me.

Can none of the local Downlooker Snipeflies Rhagio scolopaceus read how they are supposed to behave?

This male Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria is out to get you – and sticking its tongue out too.

Another unknown species of hairy-legged fly.

Well: it is an aphid but which I have no idea.

One of the very common Mirid bugs Calocoris alpestris.

Unlike during last year's wet Spring there have been remarkably few slugs and snails around. I noted this one, probably a Brown-lipped Snail Cepaea nemoralis.

This is clearly a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha species but unusually has few markings on its abdomen. Whether this is individual variation or whether it is a different species, seen here in sedges.

Now fully open these flowers are Common Bird's-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus, the food plant of the Common Blue butterfly Polyommatus icarus.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies
4 owl midges Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly] again
24 midges of various species.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:25

(123rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the trio of Canada Goose goslings not noted. What may have been their parents in the same place as yesterday seemingly concerned. It is just possible the goslings were hiding in the vegetation.
- it does seem that the resident Mute Swans have but one cygnet. All that effort...
- meanwhile the trio of visiting Mute Swans was still present and getting more attention from the resident cob. All three were seen in flight and none showed any brown feathering in the wings meaning not all this trio were the trio seen at the Balancing Lake the day before these arrived here. Photo-evidence shows that one is the erstwhile resident pen '7JSS' from the lake.
- the pair of Mallard with one well-grown duckling was seen along the East side again.
- a quartet of Tufted Duck was present when I arrived but flew off together.
- back to two Great Crested Grebes, seemingly paired.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 22 Canada Geese: see notes
- 1 Greylag Goose
- *5 + 1 (1 brood) Mute Swan: see notes
- 14 (10♂) + *1 (1 brood) Mallard: see notes
- 4 (3♂) Tufted Duck: departed
- 5 Moorhens again
- 17 + 2 (2 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.12 Swifts
- 1 House Martin

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

Noted around the area:

Moths
1 Small Phoenix Ecliptopera silaceata
*1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata
1 Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda: for its fifth day, rotated back to vertical.

Flies:
2 owl midges Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]
numerous different midges and flies

Proud parents with, sadly, just one cygnet.

Two of the visiting Mute Swans power around before deciding not to leave. The right-hand bird is the former resident pen at the Balancing Lake with blue Darvic ring "7JSS" visible.

A fast-growing Mallard duckling. Some of the breast feathers look almost adult-like and there is colour in the bill. Still fuzzy though.

I'm getting good at this: another almost sharp Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Ringed Plover
Garden Warbler
Reed Warbler
Stock Dove
2 Lapwing
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)