16 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 15.0°C: Broken cloud with some sunny spells. Shower c.08:00. Moderate westerly breeze. Very good visibility except during shower.

Sunrise: 06:44 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 – 09:25

(210th visit of the year)

I am not sure what work Severn Trent undertook yesterday but neither of the bridges has been touched and the equipment has gone.

Bird notes:
- back to a single Mute Swan.
- now eight Tufted Duck.
- c.300 Black-headed Gulls were present by 06:30. Many set off toward the football field but none was there at 06:55. Probably spooked by the more than usual number of free-running dogs.
- I have only a very approximate idea of the number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls that visited early. Birds were heard calling as they arrived by 05:50. At least 100 were on the water by 06:20 with several large groups still arriving from the West. They were continually put to flight by the two Grey Herons flying around. A very small proportion of them seemed to be flying over though it is possible they circled back around. A conservative estimate is c.400.
- a few large gulls visited later with just one of them a Herring Gull.
- two *Cormorants made separate visits.
- a lone Swift was over Castle Farm Way c.08:15
- a party of five Barn Swallows flew high South at 07:20. Then during the shower c.08:00 at least a dozen birds arrived from the East to feed over the water.
- a bumper count of 23 Chiffchaffs with seven heard singing.
- a single Blackcap was singing, this from a different location to any other recent songsters.
- a Song Thrush was heard calling at 06:00. It just about a month since I last saw or heard one here. Despite double-figures of singing birds during the breeding season they remain surprisingly elusive at other times. There will probably be more visible when the hawthorn berries are declared edible.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese flew East together
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 26 Wood Pigeons
- 170 Jackdaws
- 64 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Mute Swan
- 13 (?♂) *Mallard only
- 8 (2?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 51 *Coot
- 18 Great Crested Grebes again
- c.300 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- >400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 *Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 *Swift
- >17 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted:
- 23 *Chiffchaffs: of these seven in song
- 1 Blackcap singing

Also noted:
Almost nothing with wet vegetation:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:

Moths:
- 1 *! Rhomboid Tortrix Acleris rhombana

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

True flies:
- 2 female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 *Meiosimyza rorida in the family Lauxaniidae
- 1 *wood gnat, perhaps Sylvicola fenestralis [or window gnat]

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Orchesella cincta
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- 1 *Neriene sp. probably N. montana

One of my apps said 0% chance of rain during my time at the lake. Wrong! I remarked to several folk that the colours on the outer bow of double rainbows has the colour sequence reversed. Most of them did not know that.

A Cormorant displays its wings. (Bits of) four drake and two duck Mallard are visible as well as an out-of-focus Coot.

 I did not expect to see a Swift this late in the year.

Many Chiffchaffs around again today and for a change a few were showing well enough for photographs. Here is one of six in the same area just opening its wings...

...to fly away.

A more cooperative individual. This angle accentuates the thin bill.

And another, the best of the bunch?

Later the sun came out and a different set of Chiffchaffs were showing.

Another.

A Long-tailed Tit inspecting a twig for small edible creatures.

Another looking pensive.

A new moth species for my year list. This is a Rhomboid Tortrix Acleris rhombana and an unusually rufous yet plainly-marked specimen. This species normally shows a network of lines on the wings and these are barely evident, mainly toward the front of the left wing. Moth species #69 for me here this year.

An ichneumon wasp and a male is about all I tell you here.

A small orange fly with no distinguishing marks is almost certain to be Meiosimyza rorida.

This is a wood gnat, perhaps Sylvicola fenestralis sometimes called window gnat. This genus is difficult to separate visually though the presence of dark spots at the wing tips is strongly indicative of this species.

Hanging by a thread! A Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius

Another spider on the street lamp poles was this Neriene species probably N. montana.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 9 midges
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 unidentified cranefly

Arthropods:
- 3 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

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

Not much of interest in the tunnel this morning so here is one of the ten Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:45

(207th visit of the year)

Highlight
*Highlight here was the brief sighting of a Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum during a short sunny period. Amazingly this is the same date as my only sighting of this species here (or anywhere else) last year.

Bird notes:
- five of the six Mute Swans made short flights along the water.
- another bumper number of *Mallard including apparent juveniles
- two Tufted Duck again.
- 25 brownhead Goosander confirmed. Harder to count today as they were in several diving groups.
- again three full adult Great Crested Grebes and the four dependent juveniles.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 26 Canada Geese
- 6 Mute Swans
- 45 (?♂) *Mallard
- 2 (1?♂) Tufted Duck
- 25 (0♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 18 Coot
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe: again
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: of these two departed separately
- 2 Grey Herons

Warblers noted:
- 3 Chiffchaff: no song

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
- 1 *! Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 6 Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 1 *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- 2 *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- 1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- 4 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- 1 *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Other true flies:
- 1 ! *Muscid fly Graphomya maculata
- 1 Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
several other unidentified species of flies noted.

Fungus:
- *a Boletes likely from the genus Xerocomellus.

Very strange. These seven all look to be immature Mallard yet to grow their full set of flight feathers. So where have they come from? It is ages since I last saw any immatures. Another oddity is that looking at their bills they are all drakes.

One in close-up.

Highlight of the day: the Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum. I count myself very lucky to have seen this as there were no flowers in the area and the moth was just flitting about briefly before zooming off.

Another view. It is moth species #50 for me here this year.

A pensive but friendly Robin.

A Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum probably from a second generation at this date. It is certainly several weeks since I last saw one. Note the ginger "pile" on the thorax often, as here, with a tendency to have a bald middle. The tail of this species is pure white.

A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum feeding on a Fuchsia flower. On this species the thorax pile is browner and the white at the rear is banded.

A Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax during a brief sunny period.

A more or less a random shot of a "fly" revealed this muscid fly Graphomya maculata identified by the distinctive pattern on the thorax.

Another fungus. As usual it look not quite like any of the suggestions from the apps. It is certainly a Boletes and likely from the genus Xerocomellus.

This view of an adjacent fruiting body tends to confuse and not help.

An oddity. A bird's nest, species unknown, that has fallen (been pushed by a Grey Squirrel?) out of a tree. I marvel at the intricacy. I could not make this with my two hands and ten fingers. How birds can do it with just a bill and two feet is a wonder.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Nuthatch
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

15 Sep 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 19.0°C: A temporary clearance after rain but remaining cloudy. A short spell of drizzle c.07:20. Then brightening with good sunny intervals and puffy clouds. A moderate / fresh westerly breeze developing. Very good visibility except during drizzle.

Sunrise: 06:43 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:05 – 09:25

(209th visit of the year)

Note
I did not meet anyone to confirm this but there was equipment inside the lake area suggesting that Severn Trent may be starting their planned replacement one of the bridges on North side. It may be that access is restricted while they are working.

Bird notes:
- a lone Canada Goose flew in.
- initially just the single Mute Swan. Two others arrived followed by much chasing. Later there seemed to be only two remaining with the earlier single being one of them.
- yesterday's Gadwall not found.
- four Tufted Duck again.
- at least 200 Black-headed Gulls were present by 06:20. On the football field I counted 158 at 06:55.
- at most five Lesser Black-backed Gulls visited early. More later and three Herring Gulls with them.
- no hirundines seen either during the drizzle or in the breezy conditions thereafter. Have they all gone?
- 19 Chiffchaffs with eight heard singing. This is the same number of birds that I logged this date last year: there were only four noted singing then.
- no Blackcaps.
- a group of five Starlings flew over the football field c.07:00.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 15 Wood Pigeons
- 179 Jackdaws
- 102 Rooks
- 5 Starlings

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose: arrived
- 3 *Mute Swans: see notes
- 28 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 45 Coot
- 18 Great Crested Grebes
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 24 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted:
- 19 Chiffchaffs: of these eight in song
- no Blackcaps

Also noted:
Almost nothing in sunny but breezy conditions:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Other true flies:
- 1 Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- 1 *Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
several other unidentified species of flies noted.

Fungus:
- 1 possible *Brown Rollrim Paxillus involutus

On the West end street lamp poles after dawn:

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 3 female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus

Springtails:
- 1 *springtail Orchesella cincta

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

Between spells of rain there was a brief clearer spell and a touch of colour.

This is the lone Mute Swan that has been here at least a week. This is the first time I have been able to note that it is ringed. The blue Darvic ring is just not quite readable – is it '7JUP' or '7JUB'? I'll see whether Martin Grant has any information. I wasn't able to confirm whether either of the visitors was ringed. This bird was again on the concrete ramp at 09:10 when there was only one of the visitors visible at the far end.

Very few insects about though the Chiffchaffs must be finding enough to eat. Here is a Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.

And another from the same family. I am sure there is a good evolutionary reason for them to look like this.

On the West end street lamp poles somewhat after dawn (I avoided the earlier rain) was this springtail Orchesella cincta identified by the pale band across the abdomen more or less joining the hind legs combined with relatively short antenna.

I think this fungus is Brown Rollrim Paxillus involutus. Obsidentify's suggestions were species from the genus Leccinum, part of the Boletes family. Perhaps it is!

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 *Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba

True flies:
- 3 midges
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 *cranefly Tipula lateralis
- 1 unidentified cranefly

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 *Orb-web spider Metellina segmentata
- 1 *Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 8 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

This moth is a Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba. I admit it looks somewhat shorter and squatter than usual, I think because it is being foreshortened by the angle at which I had to take its photo. The dark smudge near the wing-tip rules out any of the other less common yellow underwing moths.

The cranefly Tipula lateralis. There was another cranefly in the tunnel which I could not photograph well-enough to try for an ID.

There is often an array of spiders in the tunnel. This looks to be the Orb-web spider Metellina segmentata.

Another. This one is certainly a male with the large palps.

This is a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. showing why this group is also called stretch spiders.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:30

(206th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a bumper number of Mallard
- two Tufted Duck back.
- now 27 brownhead Goosander: their networking seems to be working well.
- three full adult Great Crested Grebes found with no immature seen, just the four dependent juveniles.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 24 Canada Geese
- 6 Mute Swans: again
- 45 (28?♂) *Mallard
- 2 (0?♂) Tufted Duck
- 27 (0♂) Goosander
- 8 Moorhens
- 23 Coot
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe: see notes
- 19 *Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: again
- 2 *Grey Herons: again

Warblers noted:
- 2 Chiffchaff: no song

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
- 3 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 5 *Honey Bees Apis mellifera
- 1 Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- 2 *Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- 7 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

True flies:
- Greenbottles Lucilia sp.
other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- 1 Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

Fungus

No new sightings

Boys will be boys. Two drake Mallard having a scrap.

"Take that".

One way to take a shower.

 No holds barred.

"I can't hear you". An adult-winter plumaged Black-headed Gull seems to be hard of hearing...

...or was it just dealing with an itch?

A Grey Heron falls out of a tree! In reality it was on the warpath to chase the other heron that had come too close.

Flying back with order restored.

A busy Honey Bee Apis mellifera.

One of two Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris.

Plane of the day. This a Beech C90GTi King Air, here flying from Wolverhampton's Halfpenny Green Airfield back to its base at Sleap Airfield near Wem. It is registered to a trust company in the USA, hence the N- prefix to its identity. This seven-seat twin-turboprop aircraft ceased production in 2021 when the list price was c.$5 million. Gulp.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Green Sandpiper
9 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Mallard x Pintail
Raven
2 Sand Martin
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
100+ hirundines
31 Pied Wagtails
Redwing
14 Chiffchaffs
7 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)