21 Dec 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 8.0°C: More very low cloud. A short spell of rain c.09:15. Moderate easterly wind. Moderate visibility becoming good.

Sunrise: 08:20 GMT

Despite it being the Winter solstice and the shortest day it will continue to get lighter slightly later in the mornings for the next 10 days or so.

Photos will be added later

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:50 – 09:30

(309th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- six Canada Geese were on the water at first light, soon leaving to the East.
- two Mute Swans flew in from the West at 09:00.
- I only managed to find 26 Coots today. It would not be a complete explanation because Coot numbers at The Flash are also well down but I have been wondering whether when the contractors cut some of the reeds back in October the cut stems have blocked access to the birds' roosting sites inside the reeds and they have gone elsewhere.
- a Sunday lie-in for the gulls. Both Black-headed and Lesser Black-backs arrived simultaneously from different directions at 07:40. There were more Black-heads and fewer Black-backs with most of the latter having a quick wash and moving rapidly on.
- unusually there was a larger (re?) arrival of both species (along with a few Herring Gulls) c.09:00.
- Wood Pigeon is a species that will breed at any time of the year given the chance. Nevertheless three birds "singing" while it was still dark at 06:55 was unusual at this date.
- no Great (White) Egret seen here (or at The Flash later).
- a typical number of Rooks were noted passing on their usual flight-line but very few Jackdaws.
- a Blackbird joined in with the 13 singing Song Thrushes.
- I should not have mentioned a recent scarcity of Siskins yesterday. At least 10 birds were in Alders at the West end this morning.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Greylag Goose: flew East pre-dawn
- 22 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 91 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 47 Jackdaws
- 122 Rooks
- 5 Redwings: two groups

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: departed together
- 2 Mute Swans: arrived together
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 32 (21♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 26 Coots only
- 4 Great Crested Grebes as usual
- c.125 || 193 + 16 on football field Black-headed Gulls
- 7 || 13 Herring Gulls
- 65 || 88 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 2 Grey Herons
- no Great (White) Egret

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

Moths:
- 1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria: third day in the same place

Flies:
- 4 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.
- 1 very small plumed midge

Beetles:
- 1 unidentified small ground beetle

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Later:
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis on a wall of Telford Sailing Clun HQ.

Looking West from the dam with the light pollution from Telford providing a glow. The Ricoh sig providing the only colour. The lake is devoid of birds at this time: the gulls are yet to arrive and the Coots are still hiding in the reeds.

Well it is near Christmas so we must have a Robin.

A small male plumed midge. This one no more than 5mm long. No idea as to the species,

A springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis. Apparently it is not unusual for these to lose part of, or sometimes all, one antenna.

One of very many (about 350 if Google AI is to believed) species of ground-beetles in the UK. This was smaller than many and about all I can say.

One of two harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis I noted this morning. This, on one of the street lamp poles, shows only an ill-defined pale stripe down the abdomen. I asked Obsidentify what it thought. It said Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis. I have no idea why it thought that. Even if I had got the species wrong it is most certainly a harvestman and not a spider as it has no cephalothorax (the joined head and thorax that are distinct from the abdomen on spiders).

The other Paroligolophus agrestis, this one on a wall of the Telford Sailing Club HQ. The pale stripe down the abdomen is more obvious on this specimen.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse area

I made a short visit here, mainly to look at the two storm pools to see whether the Mallard were still hanging out there. Despite both pools having very brown and discoloured water I found:
on the lower pool:
- 25 (17♂) Mallard
- 1 Coot
on the upper pool:
- 2 (1♂) Mallard

The only other birds of interest in the area were:
- a Mistle Thrush was giving its rattling call from a tree near the Priorslee Lake sluice exit (it later flew across Castle Farm Way and started to sing in the south-east area: and was presumably a different bird to one calling alongside Teece Drive much later)
- a Meadow Pipit was heard to flush from the grass. A species that has been scarce this year.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:45

(302nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no sign of the drake Shoveler.
- a fifth Great Crested Grebe noted

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Redwing

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 1 Mute Swan
- 21 (19♂) Mallard
- 10 (6♂) Pochard: again
- 23 (19♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (1♂) Goosander
- 14 Moorhens
- 46 Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 71 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls: two (near?) adults; one first-winter
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons, the second seen arriving
- no Great (White) Egret

Noted around the area:

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

Beetles:
- 1 pupa of a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis

Fungus:
- Blushing Bracket Daedaleopsis confragosa
- Velvet Shank Flammulina velutipes

Unsurprisingly there again were no insects on the bank of Ivy.

An odd-looking duck Mallard, slightly more rufous than usual and with the feathering less well-defined. I am amazed at how many slightly unusual Mallard have turned up over the years, often not staying very long. It suggests that there is more of a movement in and out of this apparently sedentary species than might be expected.

This duck Mallard is more or less dead-centre of this feeding frenzy.

Six of the Pochard went for a fly-about. Of the centre four the leader and the one at the top are clearly adult drakes with paler wings.

Two as they fly back the other way. I cannot explain why the tail feathers are being held differently.

I classified this as a (near) adult Herring Gull. There seems to be too much dark on its bill for an adult-winter yet there is no sign of any remnant dark in the tail. Third- or fourth-winter I suggest.

There were four Song Thrushes singing away here. This one decided that tossing leaves around looking for food was a more worthwhile pursuit.

A Christmas Robin here too.

Unexpected at this date is a pupa of a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis. Whether there is anyone home is impossible to say. It looks "fresh".

I found two species of fungus today - seems a bit late in the year. This is Blushing Bracket Daedaleopsis confragosa.

It is fortunate that the Priorslee Academy is not in session. Poking my camera through the fence might be misconstrued even if I was only photographing the Velvet Shank fungus Flammulina velutipes .

Here showing the underside.

Worth another view from a slightly different angle.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
5 Gadwall
2 Teal
7 Pochard
74 Tufted Ducks
221 Coots
2 Fieldfare
65 Redwings
228 Jackdaws
119 Rooks
13 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
4 Gadwall.
12 Pochard
12 Goosanders
51 Tufted Ducks
145 Coots
c.280 Black-headed Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
c.265 Jackdaws
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash
12 Goosanders
4 Pochard
38 Tufted Duck
12 Goosanders
7 Coots
42 were Herring Gulls
44 Black-headed Gulls only on the water
(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

Trench Lock Pool
32 Mute Swans
42 Tufted Duck
168 Coots counted
1 Great Black-backed Gull.
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black-necked Grebe
Little Grebe
8 Great Crested Grebes
22 Swans
1 Gadwall
51 Pochard
148 Tufted Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Snipe
1 Woodcock
274 Coots
8000+ gulls
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
7 Redwings
16 Goldfinches
13 Siskins
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson/Martin Adlam/Jim Almond)

2005
Priorslee lake
9 Pochard
16 Tufted Duck
c.2000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.500 Black-headed Gulls
5 Great Black-backed Gulls
11 Herring Gull.
c.200 Coot
1 Water Rail
15 Pied Wagtails
243 Rooks
532 Jackdaw
31 Siskin
2 Redpoll
16 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)

20 Dec 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

4.0°C > 5.0°C:  Very low cloud and mist. Moderate south-easterly wind. Poor visibility, moderate at times.

Sunrise:  08:19 GMT

Well that wasn't as forecast – when is it though? All my weather apps said clear skies. So why was it very misty and then low cloud?

Photos will be added later

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:35 – 09:30

(308th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- usually there are c.12 Coots scattered around the edges at the East end and c.30 at the West end with most of these on the south-west grass. Today 22 appeared on the water at the East end with only 15 on the south-west grass. I doubt they had been flushed off the grass as there were two Cormorants on the sailing club platforms and I am sure they would have moved off had there been any disturbance.
- the first Black-headed Gull arrived at 07:48. Eventually c.50.
- 22 Lesser Black-backs appeared out of the murk overhead at 07:31 and disappeared again. 34 did the same at 07:37. I am assuming these were among the eventual c.375 that were present by 08:05.
- a Great (White) Egret again. Neither of the Grey Herons flushed it away. It was therefore not seen at The Flash later.
- only a few Jackdaws and Rooks were visible overhead.
- a group of 10 Greenfinches eating Ash keys at the West end was good to see. A much-declined species. I recall 20+ years ago seeing >400 birds leaving a Winter roost in the south-west area.
- after several weeks when Siskins were heard and usually seen daily I have not recorded any here for the last three days.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 17 Jackdaws
- 20 Rooks
- 5 Redwings together

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 44 (27♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 37 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes as usual
- c.50 Black-headed Gulls
- 24 Herring Gulls
- c.375 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: not seen to arrive
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Colder and with dew on the poles meant very little seen.

Moths:
- 1 female Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
- 1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria : same as yesterday

Springtails:
- 1 springtail sp., probably Dicyrtomina saundersi
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

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

Nothing else

On the Teece Drive fence:

Nothing noted

As I was approaching the Wesley Brook bridge this Grey Heron was standing next to the bridge.

We looked at each other for a while.

The heron decided I was harmless and went on a...

 ...fishing expedition.

  Success!

"Now what do I do with it?"

"I can't swallow it sideways".

Well the head is going down.

Gulp!

Not easy to see – but this female Winter Moth Operophtera brumata doesn't need to be. She attracts her suitors with pheromones. Like many "Winter moth" species the females are flightless with only vestigial wings, thought to be so that she can concentrate all her energy in egg production at this challenging time of the year.

Yesterday's male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria with added Xmas sparkle courtesy of the dew.

 A springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:55

(301st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- what I assume is the same drake Shoveler was flushed from sedges and then went in to hiding again.
- still 10 Pochard but today I was sure there were six adult drakes.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 1 Mute Swan still
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 40 (26♂) Mallard
- 10 (6♂) Pochard: see notes
- 34 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 (3♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens again
- 44 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes still
- 53 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: (near?) adult, briefly
- no Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron seen arriving
- no Great (White) Egret

Noted around the area:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus

Unsurprisingly there were no insects on the bank of Ivy.

The flat-light provided ideal conditions to photograph the Tufted Ducks that had come close to the Derwent Drive fencing to dive for seed proffered, Here a duck looks at me suspiciously.

Yes: you!

Note even ducks (females) of this species always show a small "tuft"

 And a drake in full breeding plumage It is difficult to recall August-time when sexing these birds was difficult as they went through their annual moult.

Six of the seven Goosanders were behaving as pairs. The other brownhead was wandering around elsewhere.

These two Great Crested Grebes had just been displaying. They do not have any real head plumes as yet but what they do have are being raised punk style.

Photographers are often unhappy. A Long-tailed Tit horribly back-lit.

And now with branches in the way.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
5 Gadwall
2 Teal
6 Pochard
94 Tufted Ducks
10 Goosander
1 Water Rail
229 Coots
2 Fieldfare
85 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Little Grebe
151 Tufted Ducks
1 Greater Scaup
2 Goosanders
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Little Grebe
1 Shoveler
1 Pochard
95 Tufted Duck
133 Coots
54 Black-headed Gulls
4 Lesser Black-backed Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
7 Herring Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

Horsehay Pool
Iceland Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
(Tom Lowe)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Mallard x Pintail
c.200 Black-headed Gulls
1 Common Gull
110 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
6 Herring Gulls
1 Redwing
4 Fieldfare
5 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Little Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Water Rail
>3000 Black-headed Gulls
28 Swans
2 Gadwall
52 Pochard
112 Tufted Ducks
287 Coots
10 Redwings
199 Jackdaws
6 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
31 Pochard
33 Tufted Ducks
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
c.2800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
31 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
18 Pied Wagtails
2 Redpolls
7 Reed Buntings
(Martin Adlam)

19 Dec 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 8.0°C:  Mostly clear with sunny spells. Moderate south-easterly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise:  08:19 GMT

Photos will be added later

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:35 – 09:35

(307th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two Canada Geese flew from the East again c.08:20, but circled and left to the East.
- yesterday's adult Mute Swans gone.
- yesterday's pair of Pochard also gone. Perhaps the additional pair noted later at The Flash?
- another morning with a low number of gulls. The first Lesser Black-backs appeared overhead at 07:33. They were very unsettled with birds taking off and landing back. Many later arrivals circled and then carried on rather than join the slowly increasing throng. At most 75 were on the water.
- the first three Black-heads arrived at 07:43 with at most 55 being counted.
- a party of seven Cormorants flew over, two of which peeled off and visited the lake. Another single flew over and two others arrived on the lake separately.
- a Great (White) Egret again. One of the Grey Herons seemed happy to co-exist. A second Grey Heron chased it flushed away. Again it was probably the bird seen at The Flash later.
- a higher number of Jackdaws noted including something I noted on a few occasions during the Summer: after the usual southbound dispersal a large noisy group of birds flew North (at least 105 dots in the photo I took).
- after several quiet days the Cetti's Warbler(s) were calling and singing.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 1 Stock Dove
- 22 Wood Pigeons
- 7 Herring Gull
- 142 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants: see notes
- c.345 Jackdaws: see notes
- 115 Rooks
- 1 Redwing

Counts from the lake area:
- no Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Mallard
- no Pochard
- 45 (28♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes as usual
- c.55 Black-headed Gulls
- 13 Herring Gulls
- c.75 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: see notes
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret: see notes

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Another good haul in the mild conditions.

Moths:
- 1 male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
- 1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria
- 1 unidentified female "Winter moth"
mea culpa: I entered the wrong types in yesterday's log. It should have read
- 3 male Winter Moths Operophtera brumata

Springtails:
- 2 springtail sp., probably all Dicyrtomina saundersi

Flies:
- 2 winter cranefly Trichocera sp., probably of two species
- 1 fungus gnat sp.
- 1 unidentified fly?

Beetles:
- 1 flea beetle, possibly Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis
- 1 harvestman Platybunus triangularis (also known as Rilaena triangularis)

On the Teece Drive fence:

Nothing noted

The Great (White) Egret decides to leave after being chased by one of the Grey Heron.

Complaining as it goes.

 It must have strong muscles to beat those large wings.

A local Common Buzzard takes the morning sun.

A male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata. A similar captioned picture yesterday was correctly named though the tabulation incorrectly noted that all the moths seen yesterday were Mottled Umbers Erranis defoliaria.

Today's real male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria.

A puzzle: I was photographing a springtail and when I looked at the photo on the PC I found this as well. It is one of the virtually wingless females of a species of "Winter moth". I cannot identify which. I hope the Shropshire macro moth recorder can help.

I have to leave this as an unidentified fly. My apps suggested both cranefly and ichneumon. I don't think cranefly as the legs have obvious spurs...

 ...and I can't see any sign of a wasp waist.

A harvestman Platybunus triangularis, not a species I see very often. Superficially similar to Paroligolophus agrestis but it lacks the pale stripe down the abdomen; the legs so not so obviously change width part-way; and the eyes have a row of tubercles on the inner edge.

I wondered what this was. Apparently Red Campion Silene dioica looking rather strange as it attempts to come in to flower in mid-December.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:40 – 10:50

(300th visit of the year)

New Bird Species:

A bit late but a new bird species for the year here: #78. A Raven flew over.

Bird notes:
- another extra pair of Pochard today. I cannot believe that there are as many ducks and drakes. Usually drakes far outnumber ducks if indeed there are any ducks present. I suspect that what I am seeing are five adult drakes, some immature drakes and one or two ducks. Time my tell if they don't all fly away.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Raven

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese again
- 1 Mute Swan again
- 34 (23♂) Mallard
- 10 (5♂) Pochard
- 21 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 (3♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 31 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near?) adult, briefly
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret

Noted around the area:
Still some activity around the bank of Ivy. No wasps noted but:

Hoverflies:
- 1 Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax

Other flies
- >30 flies of at least two species

This tree struck me as an attractive feature silhouetted against the low Winter sun..

The Raven calling attention to itself.

Obvious large bill and well-fingered wing-tips. This species also has a diamond-shaped tail, not visible at this angle. My first record of this species at The Flash this year (and I can only recall two records at the lake). Nationally this species is increasing.

Its nearly Christmas. We need a Robin. I am happy to go without the snow.

This female Bullfinch was with two males munching on berries...

...which were not easy to reach!

 Their digestive system must work differently to mine.

One of the male Bullfinches typically impossible to photo clearly between a mass of twigs.

A Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax.

The same individual. Probably my last hoverfly sighting of the year and the only one seen today. My first hoverfly for this year was this same species at the very end of January.

It seems flies have the same digestive systems as Bullfinches. Probably a Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina.

 Another.

Is it Spring? The Hazel seems to think so, laden with catkins – the male part of the tree.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
7 Pochard
80 Tufted Ducks
231 Coots
268 Black-headed Gulls
8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
11 Herring Gulls
27 Fieldfare
103 Redwings
356 Jackdaws
251 Rooks
2 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
11 Pochard
44 Tufted Ducks
180 Coots
1 Great Black-backed Gull
2 Redwings
17 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
5 Great Black-backed Gull
10 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

Holmer Lake
14 Goosander
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Black necked Grebe
7 Great Crested Grebes
45 Pochard
130 Tufted Duck
302 Coot
>3500 gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
20 Swans
1 Water Rail
15 Lapwing
15 Herring Gulls
5 Redwings
c.20 Goldfinches
7 Siskins
(Ed Wilson/ John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
31 Pochard
33 Tufted Ducks
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
c.2800 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
31 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
18 Pied Wagtails
2 Redpoll
7 Reed Buntings
(Martin Adlam)

2005
Priorslee Lake
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
150 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
9 Pochard
16 Tufted Duck
200 Coot
1 Water Rail
15 Pied Wagtails
243 Rooks
532 Jackdaw 532
Redwing with a full-blown song
31 Siskins
2 Redpoll
16 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)