5 Oct 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 13.0°C: Mostly clear: just a few light clouds later. Fresh, gusting strong at times, westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:18 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: 05:35 – 09:20

(242nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
As seems to be the norm expecting a storm to bring birds in to the lake has mostly the opposite effect. Very few gulls seen this morning.

Other bird notes:
- one or more Canada Geese was calling from the water when I arrived. I did not see it/them depart. A small arrival of both Canada and Greylag Geese later.
- the pair of Shoveler still present.
- no sign of any Common Teal.
- at least 11 Tufted Duck: no drakes. There were mobile and there were possibly more.
- nine brownhead Goosanders were first noted diving after fish as a group at c.07:10. They flew off West at 07:40. This is an unusually long time on the water here. Typically they stay just a few minutes.
- a Little Grebe was a new arrival.
- with just 37 Black-headed Gulls around the lake early and only 12 on the football field it was a poor showing.
- the large gulls did not fare much better with no more than 100 Lesser Black-backs and a mere two Herring Gulls noted.
- a calling Blackcap again.
- two sighting of single Skylarks overhead, the first of which could well have come off a field to the East of Castle Farm Way.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: inbound together
- 60 Greylag Geese: a duo outbound; 58 inbound in two groups
- 13 Wood Pigeons
- 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 71 Jackdaws
- 34 Rooks
- 2 Skylarks: singles
- 4 Pied Wagtails: singles

Counts from the lake area:
- 14+ Canada Geese: one (or more) departed; a group of 12 and a single arrived
- 15 Greylag Geese: a single and 14 arrived; seven of these departed
- 2 Mute Swans
- *2 (1♂) Shoveler
- *18 (8♂) Mallard
- 11 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 (0) Goosander: departed
- 9 Moorhens
- *40 Coots
- *1 Little Grebe
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- c.50 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls only
- c.100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *2 Cormorants: arrived together; one departed
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- no Cetti's Warbler seen or heard
- 3 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap again

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

Moths:
- none

Flies:
- 1 female Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- *1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- *1 green midge

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 lace-weaver spider Amaurobius sp.
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Four-winged flies:
- 1 Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 41 spiders: usual suspects also with
*1 lace-weaver spider Amaurobius sp.

Noted later elsewhere:

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: still a few around the nest site

Fungus:
- none
The council grass-cutters only mowed part of the area around the football field – the area where the fungus were!

Mammals:
- a small bat seen in the south-east area c.06:40 about Pipistrelle size but with a very direct flight.

Size comparison: drake Mallard at the back; the smaller drake Shoveler in the foreground.

The drake Shoveler on its own. He is still to complete the moult in to breeding plumage. That bill looks well out of proportion. I assume that, as with many birds, the internal structure of the bill is a honeycomb and therefore it is not as heavy as it looks.

The duck for comparison.

A photo of a very distant Little Grebe (left) with a Coot for size comparison. Little Grebe has been unusually scarce this year. Two records in the first Winter period. One calling along the North side for several weeks in June and then two adults seen on one day, after which nothing until today.

One of the two Cormorants that arrived together. This one, an immature with the white breast and belly, was peering around looking for any sign of danger and choosing its landing spot.

Yet another Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea.

There was a moth fly or two in most places I looked today. This was the best of the bunch. About 100 different species, none separable from photos.

No information on this green midge. There is a green midge shown on the NatureSpot web site but that has only part of the abdomen green and has a dark area in the wings.

This is a lace-weaver spider Amaurobius sp. Not a species I see too often on the walls of the Telford Sailing Club HQ. Whereas...

...Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata are common. In this view it appears to have a small head. It seems spiders do not suffer motion sickness as they were all being clown around in their webs this morning.

The pedipalps on harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus usually appear forked. It is hard to see that on this individual. Yet another seven-legged harvestman.

A mystery on a street lamp pole pre-dawn. Animal? vegetable? or mineral? (that takes me back...). I suspect vegetable.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 12 midges of various species

Arthropods:
- 2 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 15 spiders: usual suspects
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
With many fewer midges than recently it seems that more spiders had come out of hiding to find a meal.

Unusual in the tunnel is the harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:40

(242nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two of the immature Great Crested Grebes noted half-heartedly displaying to each other.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Skylarks: West together

Noted on / around the water:
- 11 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese: more calling inside the island
- 12 Mute Swans
- 28 (18♂) Mallard
- 14 (3?♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens only
- 98 Coots
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 55 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Warblers recorded:
None

Noted around the area:
The Ivy is starting to flowers and the insects are reacting.

Butterflies:
- *1 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: just one again

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *probable Humming Syrphus Syrphus ribesii [Common Flower Fly]

Flies:
- *1 Muscid fly Phaonia subventa/rufiventris
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- *1 Tachinid fly Tachina fera

Bug:
- *1 Parent Bug Elasmucha grisea

Beetles:
- *1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

A very smart Red Admiral butterfly Vanessa atalanta.

A male Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax.

Looks very "tapered" from side-on.

And a Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.

This probably a Humming Syrphus hoverfly Syrphus ribesii. As it is a female (the eyes do not meet) it can be separated from the very similar Glass-winged Syrphus S. vitripennis only if it has all-yellow hind legs. To my eyes it does.

This fly with striped grey thorax and orange abdomen is a Muscid fly either Phaonia subventa or P. rufiventris. More likely the latter on date.

A splendidly ugly fly. It is the Tachinid fly Tachina fera. I seem to see it on the Ivy bank every Autumn.

Yet another Parent Bug Elasmucha grisea. A species I do not see every year. My third this year. Typical of many insects to have good and bad (boom and bust) years.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata trying to hide in one of the Ivy flowers.

It is not easy to see that this Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. has breakfast in its jaws.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)