19 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 17.0°C: Early cloud produced slight drizzle c.09:00 thereafter clearing with sunny spells developing. Often fresh south-westerly wind. Very good visibility, less so in drizzle and then excellent later.

Sunrise: 06:50 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:10

(213th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a single Mute Swan was by the dam at first light before flying off East c.07:00. So what happened to the pair that were so keen to take ownership yesterday?
- 11 Mallard flew off East c.05:35. Thereafter small numbers flying to and fro. Likely more individuals involved.
- eight Tufted Duck today.
- over 300 Black-headed Gulls were present by 06:55. Thereafter much flying about and it may be more were involved.
- again a small arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls early with 33 noted hiding a single Herring Gull. After 08:00 I logged 154 arriving from the north-east mostly with six Herring Gulls among them.
- the first three Barn Swallows were noted at 07:05 with up to 15 birds over the water thereafter.
- 18 House Martins were high over c.07:45 with smaller numbers seen thereafter.
- 13 Chiffchaffs with four tempted to sing.
- two calling Blackcaps noted.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Feral Pigeons: flew West together
- 24 Racing Pigeons: flew West in two groups
- 18 Wood Pigeons
- 196 Jackdaws
- 21 Rooks only

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Mute Swan: departed: see notes
- 11 (♂?) Mallard: see notes
- 8 (2?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens only
- 46 Coot
- 18 *Great Crested Grebes
- >300 *Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Herring Gulls again
- 187 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >15 Barn Swallows
- >18 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 13 Chiffchaffs: of these four in song
- 2 Blackcaps: no song

Also noted:

Very little.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris: all on the Ivy

True flies:
- *cranefly Tipula confusa

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:

Moths:
- 1 ! *Pallid Grey Eudonia pallida [was Marsh Grey]

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

True flies:
- 2 midges of different species
- 1 *Muscid fly Phaonia subventa

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Orchesella cincta

Beetles:
- 3 presumed *Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

One of the adult Black-headed Gulls retains much of its summer dark on the head. A few seem to stay this way all Winter such that in January it is difficult to say whether it is a hang-over from the previous year or an early moult for the new year.

Dive, dive, dive! A juvenile Great Crested Grebe is being harassed by a an adult winter-plumaged Black-headed Gull.

The reason was that the juvenile was chasing a parent with a fish.

And now juvenile has the fish...

...and knows how to swallow it. The parent looks on proudly.

A Pallid Grey moth Eudonia pallida formerly known as Marsh Grey. Not quite sure why they are called "grey": many of the photos on the West Midlands Moth web site are as brown as this.

Unusual on a street lamp pole pre dawn: a Muscid fly Phaonia subventa.

On the Teece Drive fence was this very well-marked cranefly Tipula confusa.

One of three presumed Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala. They are very small and hard to photograph.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

A better morning.

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 $ *Spider hunting wasp from the Pompilidae family

True flies:
- 12 midges
- 1 *small fly perhaps Peplomyza litura
- no moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 1 $ *millipede Julus scandinavius
- 3 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 11 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 *possible Steatoda sp.

Here is a Spider hunting wasp from the Pompilidae family. I cannot add any more information.

This small fly is just perhaps Peplomyza litura, a fly I saw here about a month ago.

This millipede struck me as slightly browner in tone than the usual White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger. Investigation revealed that the hook on the tail makes it Julus scandinavius, a new species for me.

This spider has been bugging me for days. It has a hide-away under a peeling area of paint and scurried there as soon as it sees my light. I just managed to catch it this morning before it scampered away. It seems to be a Steatoda sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:45

(210th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- three Tufted Duck today, one clearly a drake.
- at least 25 brownhead Goosander. They were scattered all around including sitting inside the island.
- another change for the Great Crested Grebes: three full adults, *two immatures and four dependent juveniles.
- *two Little Egrets today.
- unusual these days was a Common Buzzard flushed by Magpies apparently from a back garden in Derwent Drive.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 6 Mute Swans as usual
- 24 (14?♂) Mallard only
- 3 (1?♂) Tufted Duck
- 25 (0♂) *Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 22 Coot
- 5+ 4 (1 brood) *Great Crested Grebe: see notes
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants again
- 2 *Grey Herons
- 2 *Little Egrets

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song

Noted around the area:

Now sunny though the insects had not had much time to respond.

Butterflies:
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 1 *Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 4 Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 1 *Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- 6 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
- 1 *female ichneumon wasp

Hoverflies:
- 1 *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax [Common Drone Fly]
- 1 *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly; Sun Fly]
- 1 *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]
- 1 *Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus [Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or White-footed Hoverfly]

Damselflies, dragonflies etc.:
- 1 *female Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum

Other true flies:
- 1 Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
numerous unidentified flies on the Ivy bank

Beetles:
- 6 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Fungus:
- 2 *unidentified species

A brownhead Goosander. Look closely at the jagged edge inside the bill. This gives this group of ducks the generic name of sawbills. It helps them grip the slippery fish.

Not a good photo showing one of the immature Great Crested Grebes. This one with obvious head stripes that I do not recall seeing here previously.

This is the other immature. I am not 100% sure I have seen this one recently either. I do not recall seeing the white area between the eye and the top of the bill on other immatures here. This normally only obvious on dependent juveniles (it is pink-toned in their early days).

Another Grey Heron photo. It is not always apparent that there is a white patch at the front of the wing at the bend: and also another at the wing root.

A Little Egret taking advantage of the lack of walkers (almost) across the bridges.

Now two Little Egrets here.

A female ichneumon – a species with a very long ovipositor. This does not help me identify it.

A Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta taking advantage the Ivy.

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris showed up this morning.

The sun brought out a few hoverflies this morning. Here a male Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.

And a Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.

Just about identifiable from this angle is a Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea.

And a Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus

The alternative names are a somewhat puzzling: "Grey-spotted Sedgesitter" when I have never seen one on sedges; and "White-footed Hoverfly£ when it does not seem to have white feet!

A female Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum looking fierce.

Unidentified fungus #1

Unidentified fungus #2

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Water Rail
129 Greenfinches leaving roost
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
2 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
4 Black-tailed Godwit
(Martin Adlam)