30 Dec 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

3.0°C > 4.0°C: Overcast again at medium-low level with occasional very, very light drizzle. Almost calm. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:22 GMT still

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 07:00 – 09:30

(318th visit of the year)

Yet another quiet day.

Bird notes:
- the first five of c.50 Black-headed Gulls arrived at 07:47.
- there were five Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the water by 07:32 only to leave soon after. Had they roosted here? At least 120 of eventually c.225 arrived c.07:48.
- a later passage of Lesser Blacked Gulls was noted. All were heading south-west and many were in small tight-knit groups. How were all these orientating along the same line over a period of at least an hour? They were carrying two Black-headed Gulls and two Herring Gulls among them
- four Song Thrushes were singing, again pre-dawn only.
- seven Redwings flushed out of bushes along the North side pre-dawn. Later a party of c.50 flew East. 17 flew north-west and a single flew South.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 17 Canada Geese: south-east together
- 10 Greylag Geese: West in two groups
- 7 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 144 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 52 Jackdaws
- 70 Rooks
- c.68 Redwings: see notes

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: again arrived together
- 11 (8♂) Mallard
- 27 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 15 Coots only
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- >50 Black-headed Gulls
- 15 Herring Gulls
- >225 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: arrived singly
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Flies:
- 2 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.
- 2 female small plumed midge

Springtails:
- 1 possible springtail Entomobrya intermedia
- 1 unidentified tiny springtail

Beetles:
- 3 possible Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala
- 1 Rove beetle Stenus sp.
- 1 unidentified Ground Beetle

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted later:

Moths:
- 1 Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria
This on one of the street lamp poles at c.09:10. I am 90+% certain that it was not present when I checked all the poles in both directions pre-dawn!

Another grey day starts.

One of numerous small groups of Lesser Black-backed Gull all heading in the same southerly direction. From where to where? Have they heard there is cold weather on the way?

Today's Mottled Umber moth Erranis defoliaria.

One of two female small plumed midges on the street lamp poles. No males today.

This is possibly the springtail Entomobrya intermedia, one of the smallest I have seen. The markings on the abdomen seem to be variable from the photos on NatureSpot.

An even smaller and unidentified springtail. Obsidentify's best suggestion was an Otter (where did that come from?). Google Lens suggested a Thrip but that group does not have antennae.

One day I will get a good photo of these possible Cabbage-stem Flea Beetles Psylliodes chrysocephala. But not today!

A Rove beetle Stenus sp. I can't get to species-level with this photo.

An unidentified Ground Beetle. There are very many similar species.

This Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. has been in (more or less) the same place for at least six days.

Yesterday's harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus seems not to have moved. It was still there two hours later.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:35

(310th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no Mute Swans seen.
- yesterday's duck Shoveler still present
- no (Common) Teal located.
- the Pochard were all moving around among the Tufted Duck with much diving. I believe there were 12 birds present today with seven of these clearly adult drakes.
- no Goosander noted.
- a sixth Great Crested Grebe noted.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived – noisily
- no Mute Swan
- 1 (0♂) Shoveler
- 27 (20♂) Mallard
- 12 (7+♂) Pochard: see notes
- 38 (17♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 11 Moorhens
- 44 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 62 Black-headed Gulls
- no Herring Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near) adult, visited very briefly
- no Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted around the area:
All on the same street lamp pole!

Flies:
- 1 female small plumed midge

Springtails:
- 2 springtails Orchesella cincta
- 1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Araneus-type Orb-weaver spider probably from the genus Zygiella.

All photographed on the same street lamp pole.

One of two springtails Orchesella cincta I noted. These can be recognised by the yellow band across the abdomen. The amount of yellow is variable.

This springtail is Tomocerus vulgaris

I think this might be an Araneus-type Orb-weaver spider probably from the genus Zygiella. Obsidentify did not help. It suggested two species, neither known to NatureSpot, and possibly not even spiders. Google Lens was more helpful with the family but not more specific.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
2 female Scaup
1 Yellow-legged Gull
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
7 Gadwall
(John Isherwood/Dawn Balmer)

The Flash
5 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Yellow-legged Gull
(Dawn Balmer)

Horsehay Pool
12 Goosander
(Dawn Balmer)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
(Jim Almond/Chris Ballance)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
9 Great Black-backed Gulls
Water Rail
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Yellow-legged Gull
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Caspian Gull
(Jason)

2006
Priorslee lake
2 Great Crested Grebes
19 Pochard
34 Tufted Ducks
>300 Black-headed Gulls
>298 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
12 Herring Gull
33 Robins
13 Blackbirds
10 Fieldfares
45 Redwings
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee lake
2 Little Grebes
11 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
2 Mute Swans
35 Pochard
84 Tufted Duck
243 Coot
c.250 Black-headed Gulls
c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
32 Herring Gulls
(Ed Wilson)