3 Nov 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 14.0°C: Patchy light rain soon gave was to broken cloud. Thereafter blue skies. Fresh south-westerly wind. Excellent visibility except while raining.

Sunrise: 07:11 GMT

* = 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: 05:55 – 09:25

(269th visit of the year)

Much quieter today. That is apart from the road noise from the M54. I am sure it is getting louder.

Bird notes:
- no geese overhead. 10 Canada Geese flew in.
- a pair of Gadwall again.
- only small numbers of migrant Wood Pigeons.
- again the Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in low numbers early. Later many more arrived. There was no passage overhead.
- another large count of Jackdaws. As there has been for some days small parties of Jackdaws continue to pass over for at least an hour after the main passage.
- more Rooks than recently.
- I think we must assume that the Saturday morning Starling roost was just a temporary one night stop-off by birds moving through rather than any longer-term roost.
- at least 50 Goldfinches were again in trees alongside Castle Farm Way. At least ten more were around the West end path.
- a few Siskins were in trees near the Teece Drive gate.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Feral Pigeons, unusually tacked-on to a migrant Wood Pigeon group
- 177 Wood Pigeons: of these 139 were in six migrant groups
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls only
- 538 Jackdaws
- 247 Rooks
- 23 Starlings: two groups
- 10 Redwings: two groups
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake
None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 16 (11♂) Mallard
- 31 (17♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 44 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- c.350 Black-headed Gulls
- 12 Herring Gulls
- c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: c.50 early: c.200 after 08:00
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Not much: wet from overnight rain

Moths:
- none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 unidentified ichneumon

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type
- *3 globular springtail sp.

Flies:
- 2 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.

Bugs:
- *1 Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius
- *2 unidentified leafhoppers

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

Noted later, mainly on the Teece Drive fence:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 German Wasp Vespula germanica

Beetles:
- *1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- 1 Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea

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

Fungus:
- *Trooping Funnel Infundibulicybe geotropa

Fruits:
- *Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus

I suspect this is a German Wasp Vespula germanica. It is hard to be certain from this angle but to my eyes the yellow area along the side of the thorax is not parallel-sided as it would be on a Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris [and I see Steven Falk uses the scientific name Vespula vulgaris for that species and so shall I from now on]

I am not sure I expected to be finding ichneumon wasps at this time of year. Proof I was wrong. Identity unknown.

A springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type with each antennae pointing toward a tiny globular springtail.

A slightly better photo of a different globular springtail.

This is most probably a Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius. A species that comes in a multitude of forms.

A leafhopper. There are very many to choose from and none looks exactly like this one!

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata with my shadow visible in its elytra.

And a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the form succinea no doubt looking for a sheltered place to over-winter.

A Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis. This species has a very distinctive head profile and a line down the cephalothorax (the front bit). It often sits with the two front pairs of legs held together.

Another spider species that frequently holds the two front pairs of legs together. In this species, a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp., they are often held such that all these four legs are together. Hence its alternative name of Stretch Spider.

A harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus. Just to prove that occasionally they have eight legs present and correct.

The number of the troops has increased somewhat over the past 10 days – now four. These were lurking in a dark corner of the wooded area. I'll try for a better photo when it is a brighter morning.

These are fruits of the Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus. Do not eat. They probably won't kill you but you are likely to be very unwell. They are abundant this year, like the rose hips, the hawthorn haws and the blackthorn sloes.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 6 midges only again of various species

Arthropods:
- 2 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger: deceased?

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 5 spiders: usual species

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:45

(264th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *the pair of (Common) Teal seen again.
- yesterday's Pochard not seen.
- the Goosander were being particularly difficult with most of them "at the other end" from where I was at any point in time.
- *the Little Egret was briefly out in the open.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- >28 Canada Geese: more inside the island?
- >9 Greylag Geese: more inside the island?
- 2 mainly white feral geese: other(s) inside the island?
- 5 Mute Swans still
- 18 (12♂) Mallard
- *2 (1♂) (Common) Teal
- 7 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- *36 (5♂) Goosander
- 11 Moorhens again
- 76 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 29 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- *6 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- *1 Little Egret

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- >10 wasps: only Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris specifically identified

Beetles:
- *1 Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- *1 female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli

Fungus:
- *unidentified fungus.

A not wonderful photo of the pair of (Common) Teal.

A brownhead Goosander.

Another not very wonderful photo. I was struck by the flank feathering on this brownhead Goosander and wondered whether it was showing signs of moulting to become a drake.

This is a drake Goosander showing several still to be moulted flank feathers.

Best photo of the day! A first-winter Black-headed Gull.

An immature Cormorant has found a meal.

Immature the Cormorant may be it has made short work of getting the fish orientated so it can swallow it head-first.

All gone – well down the hatch anyway.

Next...

As I have said before: Grey Herons are stately.

To complete the trio of not very good photos here the Little Egret briefly breaks cover at the very opposite end of the water.

Another Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the form succinea unlikely to find a sheltered place to over-winter by climbing a street lamp pole.

A female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli showing the pale around the oculum that separates both sexes of this species from L. rotundum.

Not sure about this fungus. I am certain it is not, as Obsidentify suggested, Turkeytail Trametes versicolor as that would show more banding. Google Lens favoured Silverleaf Fungus Chondrostereum purpureum. While NatureSpot notes this is seen "on dead deciduous wood, often appearing on the sawn ends of felled trunks" it notes it "forms leathery, lilac to deep purple patches with a white edge" implying it is more of crust on the wood than forming separate fruiting bodies as here.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Shifnal, Lizard Wood
2 Hawfinch
(Arthur Harper)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Several Herons
>3800 Wood Pigeons
11 Skylarks
2 Meadow Pipits
199 Fieldfare
32 Redwings
9 Siskins
1 Linnet
Brambling
(Ed Wilson)

Wrekin
Location
1 Crossbill
Several Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
21 Pochard
58 Tufted Ducks
2 Buzzards
>900 Black-headed Gulls
176 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
807 Wood Pigeons
16 Pied Wagtails
26 Wrens
14 Dunnocks
34 Robins
24 Blackbirds
213 Fieldfares
6 Song Thrushes
150 Redwings
5 Mistle Thrushes
1 Blackcap
447 Starlings
2 Siskins
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)