2 Sep 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 13.0°C: A few medium-level clouds early with low cloud and mist rolling in soon after. Began to break after 09:15 with some sunny periods developing. Light south- easterly breeze. Very good visibility until the low cloud and mist arrived: poor at times, clearing again.

Sunrise: 06:23 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 – 09:10

(215th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- four visiting Mute Swans early. Another two arrived and then four departed.
- today's arrival of otherwise inbound geese comprised just six Canadas, 26 Greylags and the hybrid Canada x Greylag Goose.
- 24 Mallard counted but again there was much flying about and some birds leaving to and arriving (back?) from the East.
- the as yet unidentified small duck was seen again, albeit very briefly as it emerged from lakeside vegetation only to dive back in before I could photograph it.
- a tight group of 18 Feral Pigeons flying West seemed to be nothing to do with the resident birds around the estate. Seems an odd date for them to be Racing Pigeons.
- no more than eight Barn Swallows were hunting insects along the South side.
- at least seven House Martins were at the base of the low cloud c.06:45 and may or may not have included the trio over the football field c.09:15.
- the Rook passage was unusual too: 73 flew over c.05:55 in three silent groups. It was ten minutes before the balance of 136 started to cross and many of these, in scattered groups, were calling.
- the Chiffchaffs made it seem like Spring. I could sometimes hear as many as three singing all around me.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 72 Canada Geese: four outbound together; 15 flew North in the mist; 53 flew inbound in four groups
- 87 Greylag Geese: 57 outbound in three groups; 30 inbound together
- 13 Feral Pigeons together: see notes
- 95 Wood Pigeons
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 41 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 25 Jackdaws
- 207 Rooks
- 4 Pied Wagtails again

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: arrived as two trios, the first along with...
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose and...
- 26 Greylag Geese
- *up to 8 Mute Swans: of these two arrived and then four departed
- 28 (♂?) Mallard: see notes
- 1 unidentified dabbling duck again
- 11 Moorhens
- 145 adult and juvenile Coots
- 5 + 3 (1? brood) Great Crested Grebes
- *c.55 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gulls
- *1 possible first-winter Caspian Gull
- *1 possible first-winter Yellow-legged Gull
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Heron: one arrived 05:40; one departed 07:10 with one remaining
- *1 Cormorant: arrived

Hirundines etc. noted:
- *c.8 Barn Swallows
- >7 House Martins: see notes

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- no Cetti's Warbler
- 23 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (1) Blackcaps

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

Moths:
- *1 Common Marble Celypha lacunana
- *3 Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]
- *1 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa

Flies:
- *1 Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- several unidentified spiders with only parts sticking out of cracks in the street furniture.

Noted elsewhere:
It had not significantly brightened up before I departed.

Butterflies:
- none

Moths:
- none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
- European Hornet Vespa crabro

Hoverflies:
- none

Damsel-/Dragonflies
- none

Other Flies:
- *probable Bright Four-spined Legionnaire Chorisops nagatomii
- *Muscid fly Coenosia tigrina or similar
- a few other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- none

Beetles:
- *7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Plants:
- *capsules hiding seeds of the Spindle-tree Euonymus europaeus

Mammals:
- no bats seen

As the mist rolls in the last of the sunrise disappears.

The resident cob Mute Swan (closest to the camera) chasing six of the visiting birds. A few Black-headed Gulls watch.

Four of the visitors were put to flight and departed.

One of the two visitors that stayed is here trying to escape the advancing cob.

A Black-headed Gull in transition from juvenile to first-winter plumage. Some of the brown-centred feathers on its back have been replaced by pale grey feathers and only a hint of brown on the nape remains.

Translucent inner primaries on this first winter gull identify it as a Herring Gull.

Same here but...

This may or may not be the same bird from above. It looks very pale for a Herring Gull and are there enough pale inner primaries? And does it have a small pale tip to its bill or could it be a feather stuck there after it had been preening.

I can make a good case for this being a Caspian Gull but gulls are still a challenge. It is not a Herring Gull or a Yellow-legged Gull as there is too little pale on the inner primaries. It is not a Lesser Black-backed Gull as the secondary coverts are too pale and the tail band is not neat-enough. One positive pointer to Caspian are the two dark feathers at the base of the back. But is the head white-enough?

Now is this one a Yellow-legged Gull? The inner primaries are paler but so extensively so as on a Herring Gull. The secondary coverts are too dark for a Herring Gull. The tail band is a mess and does more to hinder identification than help!

A probable first winter Cormorant, very pale on the breast and belly. I am not sure I expected to see the yellow under the base of the bill on a bird of this age.

Today's photo of a Barn Swallow – an adult male judging by the long tail-streamers.

A Common Marble moth Celypha lacunana covered in dew. Earlier in the year this species was always flushed from vegetation during the day. My last two records have been of individuals on street lamp poles pre-dawn.

A Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella typically with the wings tightly wrapped around such that from the "wrong" side the way the cream stripe characteristically splits in to three fingers is obscured.

Yet another Square-spot Rustic moth Xestia xanthographa. About time there was another of the many other Noctuid family possibilities.

On the fence alongside Teece Drive I found this probable Bright Four-spined Legionnaire fly Chorisops nagatomii. The head is not yellow as it appears here: it is metallic green and is catching the sun. There are two very similar species (aren't there always) and this has "more extensive yellow on the abdomen" which would be more helpful if I knew what the alternative looked like!

This small (note the spots of dew) fly is likely to be the Muscid fly Coenosia tigrina or similar.

A Spotted-winged Drosophila fly Drosophila suzukii. Only the males have the dark tips to their wings. A species likely to appear through much of the Autumn and Winter on the street lamp poles.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata. Indeed almost certainly the one I photographed on this same leaf yesterday.

The orange capsules are hiding seeds of this Spindle-tree Euonymus europaeus. They will split open when ripe.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths: [45 species here before today; no addition]
none

Psocids – booklice:
*1 presumed Trichadenotecnum sexpunctata

Flies:
*5 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
3 midges of various species only

Arthropods:
*4 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
2 unidentified spiders

I have almost certainly seen this insect here previously and I made a particular effort to improve on earlier photos. Obsidentify gave the suggestion of Trichadenotecnum sexpunctatum. This is not in Naturespot so it needed some digging on the web. It does look a good match. It is therefore one of the Psocids better(?) known as booklice:

One of the many moth flies Psychodidae sp. that I find on the wall of the tunnel. 100 or so species, none separable without a microscope and genitalia examination.

A White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger. At the moment all the specimens I see are small.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:15

(209th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- probably more geese inside the island.
- only nine Mute Swans. I managed to read the blue Darvic rings on two of them - *7JSS and 7JXV. These two seemed to be together.
7JSS was originally ringed in Worcestershire but was given a blue Shropshire ring in 2016. She was the pen breeding at the Balancing Lake for many years until her partner met an untimely and mysterious end in April and she was forced out by a newly arriving pair.
7JXY was an abandoned cygnet born in 2022 and taken in to care by Cuan. It was released at Cosford only to be rescued again when it grounded on the M54. I do not know the sex of this bird. It has been here since at least May.
Thanks to Martin Grant for the swan information.
- I did not seen the adult Mallard with her four ducklings.
- some of yesterday's Tufted Duck gone again. I wonder where they go.
- five Cormorants at least.
- two Grey Herons.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 122 Canada Geese
- 9 Greylag Geese
- 9 Mute Swans
- 26 (?♂) Mallard
- 13 (>8♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 85 adult and juvenile Coots
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes: where were the others?
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- *5 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

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

Noted around the area:
Strangely the Ivy here is less advanced than some of that at the Balancing Lake. There are no Ivy flowers here as yet.

Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]

Flies:
- 1 Greenbottle Lucilia sp.

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

The easiest way to read Mute Swan's rings when they are paddling is to use the camera!

What a mess. I had to take this photo so I could study it and determine how many Cormorants there were. Five. The preening and apparently headless white-breasted immature on the left is the hardest to identify. Earlier I had seen one fishing in the water but that could well have hauled itself out and be one of these.

A young bird in a dark recess. It is just about identifiable by looking at the throat which reveals...

... a juvenile Robin moulting in to adult plumage. So long as it is "spotty" it will be left alone by adults. It is the red on the breast that triggers the attack response to a bird entering another's established territory. The question arises as to how two birds get together to mate without killing each other. I have never seen a satisfactory explanation.

"Three wheels on my wagon and I keep rolling along"! Not much fun when you started out with eight. A harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus. Unlike many spider species harvestmen cannot regrow lost legs.

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
c.65 House Martins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
Swifts
(Ed Wilson)