18 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 14.0°C: Clear to the East with high cloud soon spreading from the West, tending to fade away somewhat later. Moderate south-westerly breeze fell away almost calm. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:48 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:20

(212th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *"our" single Mute Swan was driven off by a pair of new arrivals.
- a (Common) Teal was seen circling over at c.06:50 and then leaving to the West. I assume it was on the water before that.
- still nine Tufted Duck.
- over 150 Black-headed Gulls were present by 06:35. Today as many departed to the East as headed for the football field where I counted 94 c.07:00.
- another small arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls early: 26 noted. After 08:00 I counted 116 arriving from the East mostly in two large groups. Nine Herring Gulls were among them. Strangely not a single gull was seen flying over.
- Cormorants were coming and going and then apparently returning. I think five individuals involved.
- three Barn Swallows flew high West at 07:20. Then after 07:50 there were eventually as many as 15 over the water. There could have been more individuals involved as numbers varied and some might have moved on and been replaced.
- I counted eight House Martins flying higher over the water than most of the swallows.
- just 15 Chiffchaffs with only two tempted to sing.
- a single calling Blackcap heard.
- probably more Rooks than I have logged. Passage was prolonged today with birds passing from 06:35 until after 08:20. Any that passed while I was around the football field would not have been recorded.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 18 Feral Pigeons: two groups flew high East
- 1 Stock Dove
- 25 Wood Pigeons
- 260 Jackdaws
- 99 Rooks: see notes

Counts from the lake area:
- 3 *Mute Swan: a pair arrived; a single departed: see notes
- 15 (♂?) Mallard
- 9 (2?♂) Tufted Duck again
- 7 Moorhens
- 51 Coot
- 16 Great Crested Grebes again
- >150 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Herring Gulls
- 145 *Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5? *Cormorants: see notes
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >18 Barn Swallows
- >8 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 17 Chiffchaffs: of these two in song
- 1 Blackcap: no song

Also noted:
Very little.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris: the nest was active and others were on the Ivy

Fungus:
- *Twiglet species Tubaria sp.

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

True flies:
- 2 female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 *wood gnat, perhaps Sylvicola fenestralis

Beetles:
- 1 *Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Common House Spider Eratigena atrica
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]

Another sunrise worth getting out of bed for.

High cloud spreading from the West ahead of rain. Mallard, Tufted Duck and Coot dot the water.

The rising sun lights up a dead contrail that has been blown out of shape by wind in the upper atmosphere.

A pair of newly-arrived Mute Swans soon get to work chasing off "our" erstwhile resident pen. Seven Lesser Black-backed Gulls of various ages in the foreground.

Here she – 7JUE – goes. After circling she flew off East. A few minutes later probably the same bird flew West – East.

A hopeful winter-plumaged Black-headed Gull. I am not sure what it would do with the fish if it managed to persuade the Cormorant to drop it.

The Cormorant trying to get the fish the right way around to...

...go down head-first.

This is a wood gnat and probably Sylvicola fenestralis which seems to be the only species in the genus with black spots on the wing tips as well as elsewhere in the wings.

A confused Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni. That is a street lamp pole not an alder leaf.

A Common House Spider Eratigena atrica. One of two species from different genera that share the same colloquial name. This sighting was another instance of something appearing on the street lamp poles on "my way back" from checking them in one direction. I wonder what my log would be if I were to walk up and down all night?

Obsidentify suggests these fungus are one of the Twiglet species Tubaria sp. I have no better ideas.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

A very poor showing.

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 17 midges
- 1 unidentified cranefly
- no moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 3 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:45

(209th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- just a single immature/female Tufted Duck.
- at least 28 brownhead Goosander. They were split in to four groups, with some often hiding under overhanging vegetation.
- at least three full adult, one immature and four dependent juvenile Great Crested Grebes today. As I arrived two birds were paling U-boats with only one showing long-enough to age it – an adult. Was the other bird recorded later or was it an additional bird?
- a *Little Egret was present again.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 59 Canada Geese: of there two arrived and 10 departed
- 6 Mute Swans remain
- 37 (22?♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- 28 (0♂) *Goosander
- 6 *Moorhens
- 28 Coot
- 4+ 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe: see notes
- 19 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 3 Grey Herons
- 1 *Little Egret

Warblers noted:

None

Noted around the area:
Cloudy so many fewer insects than yesterday

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
- 1 ! *Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 3 Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 4 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- 1 *White-clubbed Glasswing Scaeva pyrastri [White-bowed Smoothwing; Pied Hoverfly]

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

"So I said to him...". Gossiping Goosanders.

Moorhen plumage is subtle when seen well with greys and browns as well as the black that predominates.

Compare with a juvenile.

Zoomed in we see the bill is just beginning to show a hint of the red shield it will acquire over the next few months.

Oops. I accidentally flushed the Little Egret.

Here, justifiably, complaining.

A Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis. Only my second in Shropshire and moth species #51 for me at The Flash this year. This species is native to SE Asia and was probably accidentally imported by the horticultural trade. It quickly spread across the country. The caterpillars wreak havoc with Box Buxus trees and shrubs in the UK where there are no natural predators.

Not my best but the hoverfly was a long way up a street lamp pole in squirrel alley. It is what Steven Falk names White-clubbed Glasswing Scaeva pyrastri; what Obsidentify calls White-bowed Smoothwing and everyone used to call Pied Hoverfly.

(Ed Wilson)

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2007
Priorslee Lake
Common Gull
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)