23 Aug 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 17.0°C: Medium overcast. Very light south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:06 BST

Once again the forecasted sunny intervals never materialised with the breeze, such as it was, in the south-west and not the south-east.

* = 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

(207th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- one visiting Mute Swans at dawn was left alone until chased away c.09:00 in a concerted effort by both residents.
- several large and distant groups of geese both outbound and inbound evaded a precise count.
- a drake Gadwall was semi-concealed among 25 Mallard on the south-west grass. Only two other Mallard elsewhere whereas for some days birds have been scattered in small groups all around the lake.
- the duck Pochard noted diving happily among a group of Coots.
- the first 18 Black-headed Gulls flew through leaving only eight on the water. Much later I counted 26 on the water and I assume the earlier passing birds returned.
- at least 85 large gulls, almost all adult Lesser Black-backs, dropped in c.06:00. Another smaller group with a few more Herring Gulls, arrived c.08:55
- no Swifts noted: it was a particularly dull start so they may have arrived later.
- just two Barn Swallows noted.
- at least seven House Martins were high over the football field c.09:30
- a Kingfisher was along the North side c.06:15
- a single Rook flew over outbound at 05:42 with no more noted before the fixed mixed group at 05:58. When I note "mixed" there were very few Jackdaws again.
- unusual post-breeding was a Blackcap heard singing, albeit quietly.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- c.165 Canada Geese: >140 outbound in six groups; 23 inbound in two groups
- 72 Greylag Geese: 18 outbound in two groups; 54 inbound in three groups
- 5 Feral Pigeons
- 108 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 39 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 12 Jackdaws only
- 100 Rooks exactly: for the 3rd time in five days!

Counts from the lake area:
- *3 Mute Swans: one departed
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 27 (♂?) Mallard
- *1 (0♂) Pochard
- 10 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 145 adult and juvenile Coots
- 6 + 3 (2? broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 26 Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- *9 Herring Gulls
- *>100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons: one arrived; later one departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- no Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 7 House Martins

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

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

Moths:
- *1 Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea [previously Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer]
- *2 Square-spot Rustics Xestia xanthographa

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 False Widow Spider-type Steatoda sp.

Noted later:
Few insects in the warm but dull conditions

Butterflies:
- Green-veined White Pieris napi

Moths:
- none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
- European Hornet Vespa crabro

Hoverflies:
- none

Damsel-/Dragonflies
- none

Beetles:
- *7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Flies:
- *an unidentified midge?
- otherwise no interesting identified or unidentified flies

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

"Go away". The two resident Mute Swans gang up on the visitor. It is unusual to see the pen joining in the chase.

A soggy duck Pochard. Our long-term and presumably injured bird was diving happily this morning.

A motley collection of gulls. We'll start with two easy ones. Back left an adult Herring Gull. Centre right an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Adults because they both have yellow bills with no black, only the red spot. I'll come back to the front gull in a minute. The two birds centre left are a second year (born 2023) Lesser Black-back with extensive black on the bill. In front of it a first year (born 2024) scruffy-looking Lesser Black-back. That leave back-right a juvenile (born this year) Herring Gull with an all-dark bill.

That front bird! An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull beginning to acquire the head streaking / spotting of the winter-plumage. And complaining about it.

With the tightly-wrapped wings folded unhelpfully it is not too apparent this is a Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea.

One of two Square-spot Rustic moths Xestia xanthographa on the street lamp poles. This one is more cleanly marked than the one I photographed two days ago with the "oval" and "kidney mark" spots shared with many species in the large group of Noctuid moths more obvious.

A mystery. I think a midge with none of my apps giving me any clue as to its identity. I don't think it is the winged form of an aphid: it looks too large and the legs would be usually long. I see this insect from time to time and have never managed a clear photo before.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata with a few extra "shadow spots".

This is a False Widow Spider-type Steatoda sp. Neither Obsidentify nor Google Lens gave me an answer that accorded with a species with all-black legs. I am intrigued to know what it has wrapped up for its breakfast.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths: [42 species here before today; no addition]
none

Flies:
*1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
*1 $$ barkfly Loensia fasciata
6 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
2 craneflies Tipula lateralis
*11 midges of various species

Arthropods:
1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*1 Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.

Today's female mosquito has banded legs so is a Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
though the name derives as much from the banded abdomen, largely obscured by the folded wings in this view.

It would not be a good day without finding something unusual on the wall of the tunnel. This I believe to be the barkfly Loensia fasciata, a new species for my growing list.

And now something not at all unusual: a midge I find most days in some numbers that none of my apps can identify.

I am not surprised that the apps give up on this. The off-set between the real fly and its shadow make identification a challenge. I need to work on preventing the off-set but with the camera flash unit set above the lens it is hard to work out how.

The distinctive shape of the abdomen identifies this as a Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:50 – 07:40

(202nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- still 15 Mute Swans present.
- no Shoveler found
- *a Common Teal noted
- a single Mallard duckling seen. I would judge this to be one of the group of four last seen on Wednesday. It and its parent were lurking close to the edge vegetation so perhaps others were present but unseen.
- only three Grey Herons present. A fourth appeared overhead but with several fishermen on the banks there was no place for it to fish so it flew away.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull again
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived, staying only a few minutes
- 15 Mute Swans
- 19 (?♂) + 1 (1 brood) Mallard
- *1 (?♂) Common Teal
- 16 (13?♂) Tufted Duck again
- 9 Moorhens
- 101 adult and juvenile Coots
- 4 + 5 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 15 Black-headed Gulls: at least one juvenile
- *3 Grey Herons: see notes

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

Noted around the area:

Moths:
none

Bugs:
*1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*2 Garden Spiders Araneus diadematus [Garden Cross Spider]
1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

In the "bottom 10" of my photos. Just about visible tucked up against the island is a Common Teal identified by size and the white flash along the side of the tail. I am almost certain it was here yesterday in a similar position. Then it was in full sun when the contrast between the duck and the shaded surroundings was too great for the camera to cope with. I tried several settings and photo-editing without coming to a conclusion.

One of the Grey Herons keeping a careful watch on me.

The more or less daily Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes, all on different street lamps poles (though running out of options!)

One of two Garden Spiders Araneus diadematus

The other one. I found, both waist-high on different street lamp poles.

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Also

It was day one of the Telford Balloon Festival. Here are a few of those that flew this morning. The very light winds were carrying the balloons away from me while the light level was still low. Also the balloons often only have their identity in small letters in one place on the envelope so I was unable to identify them all. This is a Cameron Z-105 balloon, a company headquartered at Bedminster in Bristol. BWS, the company being advertised, own this balloon and are based in Bath.

Another Cameron balloon. This colourful envelope has an owner in Bristol – the spiritual home of UK ballooning, hosting the long-established annual 3-day Bristol Balloon Festival early in August.

This is a Lindstrand Racer 60 with an owner in Tenbury Wells. Lindstrand Industries make their balloons on a site at Morfa near Oswestry. The company was started by a Swedish National.

This is a Kubicek BB26E balloon, also with owners from the heart of UK ballooning in Bristol. Kubicek is a Czech Republic company.

This Ultramagic N-355 balloon is one of the smallest balloons operated by Telford-headquartered AirXcite on behalf of Virgin Balloons. Ultramagic Balloons operate out of Blisworth near Northampton.

Another colourful but, from this angle anonymous, balloon.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Nedge Hill
1 Redstart
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Common Terns
(Ed Wilson)