20 Aug 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 15.0°C: Low / medium overcast with early slight drizzle. A few brighter moments came to nought. Moderate / fresh northerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:01 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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 06:45 // 07:45 – 09:45

(204th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no geese on the water early or late. All the outbound geese were flying diagonally across the lake area and appeared to have not come from The Flash.
- all four Mute Swans still present at 05:15. By 06:00 the resident cob was giving chase of the extra pair departed at 06:15.
- the duck Pochard gone in to hiding.
- the three juveniles from the third Great Crested Grebe brood were the only youngsters noted.
- Sand Martins, Barn Swallows and House Martins were again in a mixed group, harder to see as the more northerly component to the wind meant they were frequenting low along the South side where access is impossible and view over the reeds is difficult.
- Chiffchaffs everywhere again today.
- no groups of Jackdaws and Rooks. Indeed hardly any Jackdaws and the Rooks were in a steady stream rather than bunched together.
- a single Starling (there is such a thing?) flew off of a roof in Teece Drive and was probably the bird singing(?!) from a roof in Everglade Road a few minutes later. An unusual date.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 60 Canada Geese: 52 outbound in six groups; two duos inbound
- 16 Greylag Geese: outbound in two groups
- 1 Stock Done
- 123 Wood Pigeons
- 32 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 7 Jackdaws only
- 62 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Mute Swans: two departed together
- *21 (♂?) Mallard
- no Pochard
- 10 + 3 (2 dependent broods) Moorhens
- 137 adult and juvenile Coots again
- 7 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 40 Black-headed Gulls: two confirmed as juveniles
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons: the second flew in and was presumably the bird that departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Sand Martins
- 8 Barn Swallows
- 4 House Martins

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- no Cetti's Warbler
- *17 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Reed Warblers
- 2 (0) Blackcaps

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

Moths:
- *1 $$ probable White-headed Mompha Mompha propinquella
- also three seen in flight only, one likely a plume moth species

Flies:
- 1 male plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

Noted later:
Again nothing in the dull and breezy conditions. Otherwise....

Mammals:
- 1 Pipistrelle-type bat over the Ricoh area c.05:25

Yesterday I photographed two Mallard acquiring drake plumage still with under-developed wings. Here is a duck Mallard in the same state characterised by her dull bill with the brown edging.

After a bit of photo-editing I managed to rescue a reasonable photo of a passing Jay.

 "Whee – no wings"!

One of the many Chiffchaffs among the many Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna berries waiting the arrival of the Redwings – at least six weeks away.

The same bird.

 And again.

If confirmed by the Shropshire recorder this will be a new moth species for me. I think it is a White-headed Mompha Mompha propinquella the larvae of which create leaf-mines in various species of willowherb. The only moth I could photograph today.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths: [41 species here before today; no additions]
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
*1 Honey Bee Apis mellifera

Flies:
*1 $$ possible Dull Four-spined Legionnaire Chorisops tibialis
*1 $ cranefly Nephrotoma flavipalpis
*1 $$ possible cranefly Nigrotipula nigra
*1 cranefly Tipula lateralis
8 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
9 midges of various species

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
*1 harvestman Opilio canestrinii

This is why I don't always take what Obsidentify tells me without checking. One of many unusual sighting in the tunnel this morning was this Honey Bee Apis mellifera asleep on the ceiling. Obsidentify told me it was a Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax. Not with long antennae it isn't.

Obsidentify was 100% sure this is a Dull Four-spined Legionnaire fly Chorisops tibialis. NatureSpot suggests caution in separating this species from others in the group.

The rectangular yellow areas on the thorax of this cranefly identify it as a Nephrotoma flavipalpis.

Another Obsidentify certainty tells me this cranefly is Nigrotipula nigra. If correct a new species for me.

The necessary camera flash makes the photo of this cranefly Tipula lateralis difficult to interpret.

This Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata has reduced the number of midges I can count by the one dead in its palps. The green-bodied midge looks as if it might have been interesting.

The working part of a harvestman Opilio canestrinii.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:50 – 07:40

(198th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the same four fast-growing Mallard ducklings seen with their mother.
- both the Great Crested Grebe families were complete today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese again
- 2 Greylag Geese: arrived together
- *10 Mute Swans
- 23 (?♂) + 4 (1 brood) Mallard
- 14 (12?♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 106 adult and juvenile Coots
- 4 + 5 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 19 Black-headed Gulls: one juvenile
- 1 Cormorant again
- 2 Grey Herons

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 3 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap again

Noted around the area:

Moths:
none

Bugs:
1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*1 unidentified spider

Three of the ten Mute Swans went for a fly about. The middle bird has a strange kink in its neck. All three seemed to be happily upending to feed when I saw them later and none of them seemed to have an abnormal neck..

I can't identify this small spider. I have included it because it appears to be holding its back legs raised backwards over its body.

(Ed Wilson)

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2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)