31 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013
2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
Possible Little Ringed Plover
Raven
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Location
Hobby
Common Tern
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Nedge Hill
Location
Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Location
Yellow Wagtail
Little Grebe
Shoveler
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
Location
58 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

30 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2010 and 2012
2012
Priorslee Lake
Location
Black Tern
(Arthur Harper)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Location
Yellow Wagtail
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

29 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

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On this day in 2011 and 2013
2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
Whinchat
(John Isherwood)

2011
Nedge Hill
Location
Peregrine
(John Isherwood)

28 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

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On this day in 2007, 2010 and 2013
2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
2 Teal
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Location
Turtle Dove
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Location
Pair Ruddy Duck
(Malcolm Thompson)

27 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

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On this day in 2005, 2010 and 2013
2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
Green Sandpiper
3 eclipse Teal
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Location
Greenshank
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Location
Black Swan flew over
233 Canada Geese over
11 Greylag Geese over
123 Jackdaws
234 Rooks
143 Greenfinches
1 Willow Warbler
2 Blackcaps
Cormorant flew over
(Ed Wilson)

26 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2013
2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)

25 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2011
2011
Nedge Hill
Location
4 Yellow Wagtails
(John Isherwood)

24 Aug 15

Devil's Dingle: 8:00am
Location

1 Green Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

River Severn, Buildwas: 9:00am
Location

1 Little Egret
1 Redstart
7 Goosander

(John Isherwood)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2012
2012
Priorslee Lake
Location
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)

23 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

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On this day in 2006 and 2013
2013
Nedge Hill
Location
1 Redstart
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Location
3 Common Terns
(Ed Wilson)

22 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

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On this day in 2005, 2006, 2012 and 2014
2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
Today's Report Here
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Location
Peregrine Falcon
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Location
3 Sandwich Terns
Common Tern
Kingfisher 
Tree Pipit
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Location
Common Tern
Raven
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson

21 Aug 15

Devil's Dingle: 7:30am
Location

1 Redstart

(John Isherwood)

River Severn, Buildwas: 8:30am
Location

1 Little Egret
2 Redstart
2 Spotted Flycatcher - adult feeding juvenile
1 Goosander

(John Isherwood)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2006, 2012 and 2014
2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
Today's Report Here
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Nedge Hill
Location
2 Redstart
7 Ravens
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Location
Shag
3 Kingfishers
(Ed Wilson)

20 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

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On this day in 2012 and 2014


2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
Today's Report Here
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Location
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

19 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

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On this day in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014


2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
Today's Report Here
(Tom Lowe)

2013
Nedge Hill
Location
2 Redstart
4 Yellow Wagtails
(John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Location
Juvenile Kestrel
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Location
Spotted Flycatcher
Female Ruddy Duck
(Martin Grant)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Location
2 Common Sandpipers
Peregrine Falcon
(Ed Wilson)

18 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in  2010, 2013 and 2014
2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
All of today's Sightings Here
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
Green Sandpiper
(Arthur Harper)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Location
Immature Shelduck
(Ed Wilson)

17 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in  2014
2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
All of today's Sightings Here
(Ed Wilson)

16 Aug 15

Devil's Dingle: 11:00
Location

1 Green Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

River Severn, Buildwas: 10:00
Location

1 Little Egret
1 Redstart
2 Little Ringed Plover
8 Goosander

(John Isherwood)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in  2014
2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
All of today's Sightings Here
(Ed Wilson)

15 Aug 15

No Sightings in today

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2014
2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
All of today's Sightings Here
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Location
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake
Location
Little Egret
Common Sandpiper
Common Gull
Hobby
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Location
Yellow Wagtail
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

14 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2007, 2013 and 2014
2014

Priorslee Lake
Location
All of today's Sightings Here
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake
Location
Common Sandpiper 
Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)

13 Aug 15

No Sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2013 and 2014
2014
Priorslee Lake
Location
All of today's Sightings Here
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Location
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

12 Aug 15

Priorslee Lake: 05:03 – 06:05 // 06:55 – 09:14
Location

Telford sunrise: 05:46

10.0°C > 14.5°C. Clear for all of 10 minutes then fog rolled in with eventual clearance only after 08:00. Light N wind later. Moderate visibility rapidly poor, even bad for a while; good later

During the poor visibility only birds flying directly overhead my positions could be seen

(102nd visit of the year)

Other notes
- most of the geese were heard only: a party of 10 returning Canada Geese pitched in for a while
- just 3 Little Grebes this morning: adult and 1 juvenile in the ‘usual’ position; another juvenile seen in several places around the lake
- today’s episode in the Great Crested Grebe saga. Three pairs were confirmed as having 4, 2 and 2 juveniles. I saw a pair with a single juvenile earlier and this may have been a 4th pair, but I could not relocate it
- all the large gulls were specifically identified today and all were Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- no Swifts recorded
- House Martins heard high over on several occasions but not located. After the mist / fog cleared just 2 were low over the N side trees
- brief song from two Song Thrushes this morning: another seen

and
- dragonfly species noted: Common Blue Damselfly and unidentified hawker sp. dragonfly
- butterfly species noted: Small Skipper, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock
- moth species on the lamps: Common Wainscot and Agriphila tristella (Common Grass-veneer)
- moth species in the Priorslee Avenue foot tunnel: the same Common Rustic agg. moth
- moths flushed: many grass moths not specifically identified
- several different spiders recorded

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
naff weather ruined most of the counts
- Greylag Geese heard only
- 18 Canada Geese (2 groups) with many others heard only
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Stock Doves
- no Jackdaws or Rooks seen or heard
- 4 Pied Wagtails

Count of hirundines etc
- no Swifts
- 4 Barn Swallows again
- >2 House Martins
The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 10 Canada Geese
- 34 + 1 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Little Grebes
- 6 + 8 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes – see notes
- 8 + 15 (8 broods) Moorhens
- 97 + 16 (7 broods) Coots
- 27 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

And this was before the fog really closed in!

One of the juvenile Little Grebes that was exploring away from its usual inaccessible location.

The brown in the wing is diagnostic of Common Whitethroat. An adult male would have a grey back so this is probably a female or juvenile, not separable on this view.

A Painted Lady was up and about as soon as the sun chased away the fog and mist.

This what a Common Wainscot moth looks like when fresh. A small midge is getting in on the action.

This seems to be Enoplognatha ovata, sometimes called the Candy-stripe Spider. There is a very similar species Enoplognatha latimana but on range that is less likely. However the similarity is such that specimens need to have their palps examined and the range information may not be completely reliable.

 
One of the harvestman spiders – they have no venom and produce no web. This is Leiobunum rotundum that I record annually. It is a female: the male had a more or less all red-brown body with a single black dot.

Another spider sp. I thought from the pattern that this was the ‘garden spider’ Araneus diadematus but the photo shows a spider with a much larger cephalothorax (front half!), more robust palps and a more hairy appearance.

Having been caught out earlier this year with what I had assumed to be Red Deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) turning out to be Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica) I thought I ought to be careful. And I think with good reason as this is, I think(!), Common Hemp-nettle (Galeopsis tetrabit).

On safer ground here. This IS White Deadnettle (Lamium album).

This is today’s “something completely different” and from the sublime to the ... – well, perhaps foolhardy on a very foggy morning. This a powered parachute – you strap a small Rotax engine with a fan propeller on to you back, grab a modern-design rectangular parachute and away you go flying! No rules, minimal regulation ... Hmm.

does that look like fun?

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Woodhouse Lane: 07:40 – 08:30
Location

(13th recent visit)

Notes
I spent most of the time in the area of the sluice exit and wood-edge alongside the Wesley Brook. A short walk up to the road but did not venture far along it today

Selected bird counts
- at least 150 Wood Pigeons flushed off the harvested oil-seed rape stubbles
- 1 Goldcrest
- 1 Chiffchaff only
- 4 calling Blackcaps
- 1 Common Whitethroats
- 2 Bullfinches, again one a juvenile
- 1 Linnet over
- 1 Yellowhammer in song
and
- the sun had only just started to break through and very few insects had emerged
- butterfly species noted: Green-veined White
- dragonflies etc. species noted: none

(Ed Wilson)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Priorslee Flash: 06:15 – 06:45
Location

(75th visit of the year)

Notes
- even here the visibility was rather too poor to see across the water. Some of the geese were still waiting to leave. The Coots could not be reliably counted as those on the island – where most have been gathering recently – could not be seen

Birds noted flying over
None

Hirundines etc
None

The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 13 Greylag Goose
- 73 Canada Geese
- 1 Lesser Canada Goose ssp.
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 40 (29♂) Mallard
- 3 (no♂) Tufted Duck
- [the all-white feral duck not seen]
- 2 + 2? Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens
- ? Coots – not counted
- 5 Black-headed Gulls again

(Ed Wilson)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Devil's Dingle: 07:30
Location

1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Redstart
1 Green Sandpiper

(John Isherwood)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

River Severn, Buildwas: 08:30
Location

1 Hobby
1 Lesser Whitethroat
3 Spotted Flycatcher
4 Redstart
4 Little Ringed Plover

(John Isherwood)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day in 2007, 2011, 2013 and 2014
2014
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
Location

Today's Report Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Sandpipers
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Ruddy Duck
1 Common Sandpiper
>50 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Little Egret
(Ed Wilson)

11 Aug 15

Priorslee Lake: 04:57 – 06:30 // 07:30 – 09:10
Location

Telford sunrise: 05:44

9.0°C > 15.5°C. Thin high cloud giving great sunrise; high cloud tended to increase to SE and no real sunshine but stayed fine. Calm with mist over the water; very light N wind later. Very good visibility

(101st visit of the year)

Other notes
- many fewer geese logged this morning: this may partly be due to my being distracted to take photos of the great sunrise but seems fewer were passing anyway. With a clear night they may have stayed out in the fields feeding all night
- 4 Little Grebes this morning: adult and 3 juveniles
- today’s episode in the Great Crested Grebe saga. There were 4 pairs and a single visible this morning. One pair have a single well-grown juvenile; another pair with at least 2 on one of the adult’s back were displaying – precarious for the young; the third pair had at least 3 juveniles; the fourth seemed to have none. The lone bird did not seem to be guarding a mate nearby – just sleeping
- rather fewer Black-headed Gulls arrived from the Ricoh area at first light; instead c.185 large gulls left heading both N and E. Another group of c.160 large gulls left at 08:40. 27 other large gulls passed over. Just 19 large gulls stopped on the water, mostly briefly. All of the large gulls that were specifically identified were Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- also many fewer corvids this morning: again could only be partly explained by my sunrise photo session. Those seen were in much looser groups with many flying higher than usual
- no Swifts until 07:30 and then eventually 9 birds
- one of the Long-tailed Tit parties flew across a large gap in the trees and allowed me to count 14 individuals (as well as 2 Coal Tits and sundry other tits and Chiffchaffs)
- the shortest possible song from one of the Song Thrushes this morning – less than 10 seconds! 2 others seen in flight
and
- 1 Pipistrelle-sized and 2 Noctule-sized bats this morning despite the rather chilly start to the morning: below 10°C
- no dragonflies noted
- no butterflies noted
- single moth on the lamps: one of yesterday’s Common Wainscot moths in exactly the same place
- Common Rustic agg. moth on roof of the Priorslee Avenue foot tunnel – agg. (aggregate) because separation of Common Rustic from Lesser Common Rustic moths needs genitalia examination
- many grass moths flushed that I did not bother to identify

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 4 (2 groups) Greylag Geese
- 111 Canada Geese (7 groups)
- 372 large gulls (see notes)
- 24 (4 sightings) Feral Pigeon
- 5 Stock Doves
- 170 Jackdaws
- 54 Rooks
- 1 Starling again
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Count of hirundines etc
- 9 Swifts
- 3 Barn Swallows again
- 12 House Martins

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 32 + 1 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 Grey Heron
- 4 Little Grebes
- 9 + 5? (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 8 + 12 (7 broods) Moorhens
- 85 + 16 (7 broods) Coots again
- 93 Black-headed Gulls
- 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

This is what the lake looked like pre-dawn.

And then a great-looking sunrise.

Getting even better I think.

‘The other way’ with a touch of mist rising.

And the colour gone as the high cloud increases.

I have long wanted to get a decent photo of Treecreeper. Usually they are too high up the tree; ‘round the back’; or just moving too fast. So one in the open was a delight.

Even then not easy as it was constantly on the move, probing under the moss and in the cracks of the bark.

The extent of the white tips to the feathers suggests to me this is a juvenile.

Here is a shot showing its thin curved bill to good effect – ideal for probing into the crevices.

At extreme range for the camera but we see one adult and three juvenile Little Grebe here. Could they have bred here? Usually they are rather noisy while breeding so I suspect not.

This juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls seems rather unwell. It is low in the water and seems disinterested in its surroundings. If you look at the wings closely you can see they are covered in water droplets – it is not pale tips to the feathering. This suggests it has at least tried to bathe recently and that the waterproofing is in order.

Managed to sneak up on this Jay. It was sitting in dappled sunlight making it hard to expose all the bird properly.

In this shot looks a bit scruffy – but then I expect I do at this time in the morning.

And now for something completely different and a sight not often seen. Here a Tornado jet-fighter is in very close company with one of the RAF’s relatively new Airbus tankers – a derivative of the Airbus A330 used by many airlines on long-haul routes. There is no suggestion that the Tornado is refuelling as neither the boom not the drogues are deployed from the Airbus.


Priorslee tunnel (between the Lake and The Flash)
Location

Here is the Common / Lesser Common Rustic moth in the Priorslee Avenue foot tunnel.
(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Priorslee Flash: 06:40 – 07:20
Location

(74th visit of the year)

Notes
- a very quiet morning with only the single passing Barn Swallow out of the ordinary

Birds noted flying over
None

Hirundines etc
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 12 House Martin

The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 19 Canada Geese
- 1 Lesser Canada Goose ssp.
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 26 (19♂) Mallard
- 11 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 2 + 2? Great Crested Grebes
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 23 + 2 (1 brood) Coots
- 5 Black-headed Gulls

A juvenile Moorhen: red shield not obvious and generally a browner tone to the plumage. Hint of a green tip to the bill. The white strip along the flanks is just as it will be on the adult.

Without its reflection and in close-up we see the start of the adult’s red shield.

Not sure who erected this notice: advice against over-feeding the wildfowl on bread alone. However: the entry in Wikipedia Here, does not entirely support the ‘too much bread’ theory suggesting that the cause of ‘Angel wing’, while apparently dietary, may be more complex.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trench Lock Pool: 09:21 – 10:03
Location

(36th visit of the year)

Notes
- what was presumably the resident cob Mute Swan made a single half-hearted attempt to chase one of the other swans away but gave up. Perhaps these same four have been present for at least 4 days
- same two adult Great Crested Grebes from different pairs: partners perhaps on nests: is is impossible to see with the growth in vegetation. The juvenile seen is from the only brood so far noted
- four dependent juvenile Coots noted
- at least one of the House Martins was a juvenile – the calls are very different
- a female (on size) Sparrowhawk shot through
also
- a single Gatekeeper was the only butterfly seen this morning
- no dragonflies noted

Birds noted flying over
None

Count of hirundines etc
- 7 House Martins

The counts from the water
- 4 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese
- 34 (31♂) Mallard
- 3 feral Mallard-type ducks as usual
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 + 5 (3 broods) Moorhens
- 83 + 4 (? broods) Coots
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2007, 2008 and 2011
2011
Priorslee Lake
Curlew
Green Sandpiper
Tree Pipit
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Possible Wood Sandpiper
A female Peregrine
(Ed Wilson)

7 Teal
(Ed Wilson)

10 Aug 15

Priorslee Lake: 04:59 – 06:30 // 07:25 – 08:50
Location

Telford sunrise: 05:42

16.0°C > 19.0°C. Mostly cloudy with occasional breaks; some very light drizzle. Light / moderate SW wind. Good visibility

After looking at the Belvide blog I am now happy that the ‘large Black-headed Gull’ seen yesterday was in fact a Black-headed x Mediterranean Gull hybrid. At Belvide Steve Nuttall managed to get photos of the bird in flight and this enabled several different Mediterranean Gull characteristics to be noted.

(**** 100th visit of the year ****)

Other notes
- 40 Canada Geese seemed to have roosted here and were on the SW grass, even forcing the resident Mute Swans (and the Mallard) to sleep elsewhere. These birds left more than 10 minutes after the last of the geese flying over
- Mallard duckling seen again
- a pair of Tufted Ducks had appeared after I returned from The Flash
- Little Grebes seem to have gone
- today’s episode in the Great Crested Grebe saga. There were certainly 5 pairs of birds present this morning, four of which had juveniles with 4, 3, 2 and probably just 1 in the broods
- I again specifically counted the Wood Pigeons flying E: today 121. Just 20 were noted flying ‘back’ W later. Today I spent less time watching for these so numbers are probably under-recorded and I will not report further unless the situation changes
- 3 Swifts passed at 05:55. Another flew through at 07:50. Then 6 were with House Martins over the N side trees from 08:10 onwards
- House Martins appeared and disappeared overhead: as they feed flying ‘into wind’ it is often hard to know whether birds are moving through or just local birds feeding
- Willow Warbler heard in song: song heard later was possibly the same bird having moved around the lake
- fewer Reed Warblers again with several of them using the shrubbery behind the reeds to look for food
and
- dragonflies etc. noted: Common Blue Damselfly
- butterflies noted: Small Skipper and Meadow Brown
- three moth species on the lamps: Common Footman, Riband Wave and Common Wainscot – the first and last were new for me this year
- Shaded Broad-bar moth and many unidentified grass moths flushed

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 7 (3 groups) Greylag Geese
- 242 Canada Geese (17 groups)
- 9 large gulls
- 15 (3 sightings) Feral Pigeon
- c.140 Wood Pigeons – last report
- 363 Jackdaws
- 249 Rooks
- 1 Starling

Count of hirundines etc
- 10 Swifts
- 3 Barn Swallows
- 22 House Martins

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 22 + 1 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 10 + 10? (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 7 + 13 (6 broods) Moorhens
- 87 + 16 (7 broods) Coots again
- 137 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Not at a very helpful angle but this is a Common Footman moth – grey wings with a narrow yellowish border. My first this year.

This cream moth with a few black dots is a Common Wainscot. Also new for me this year.

And this is another Common Wainscot: rather worn and showing a few dark streaks.

Lurking in the vegetation is a rather faded Shaded Broad-bar, very different from the mauve-tinged fresh specimens seen in early July.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Priorslee Flash: 06:40 – 07:15
Location

(73rd visit of the year)

Notes
- 2 Grey Herons together on the W side of the island was unusual
- the latest (last?) Coot family has 3 juveniles – only ever noted 1 or 2 previously
- Willow Warbler heard in song here as well
and
- a dead Pygmy Shrew was noted on a path nearby: this path seems to produce an amazing number of dead small mammals given that I rarely see any elsewhere: why? – I wonder

Birds noted flying over
None

Hirundines etc
- 14 House Martin

The counts from the water
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 27 Canada Geese
- 1 Lesser Canada Goose ssp.
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 33 (23♂) Mallard
- 12 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 all-white feral duck
- 2 Grey Herons
- 3 + 2? Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens
- 21 + 3 (1 brood) Coots
- 6 Black-headed Gulls

This is a Pygmy Shrew: even though the actual size cannot be judged the fact that the tail is both hairy and >50% of the body length separates this from the Common Shrew and I did not need to check that it had red tips to its teeth!

(Ed Wilson)
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On this day in 2005, 2007, 2009 and  2012
2012
Priorslee Lake
6 Little Egrets
(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake
1 Little Egret
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
Location
Redstart
(John Isherwood)

2005

Priorslee Lake
5 Arctic Terns
(Ed Wilson)

9 Aug 15

Priorslee Lake: 04:58 – 08:42
Location

Telford sunrise: 05:41

14.0°C > 18.0°C. Overcast start with small gap to E allowing red sunrise: started to clear soon after 07:00 and sunny by 08:00. Light S wind veered WSW with clearance and increased moderate. Very Good visibility

Another morning of two halves, today at the behest of the weather. Overcast and dull with most things very quiet to start, but picked up after 07:30.

One of those records to be ‘pended’ today. At 08:15 I heard what in other circumstance I would have logged as a Marsh Tit. But I have never recorded this declining species here – the nearest site I know of is on The Wrekin. The bird came fast, straight toward me jumping between branches at head-height. I saw so little of the bird that I was unable to even see whether it might be a Great Tit making an usual call which would be the most likely alternative. I chased after it but it had disappeared.

(99th visit of the year)

Other notes
- Mallard duckling not noted this morning
- same 3 Little Grebes again
- no nearer solving how many Great Crested Grebes there are: again seemed to be 3 pairs with 4, 2 and an unknown number of juveniles. In one pair the juveniles were on both of the parents’ back – not seen this before
- I again specifically counted the Wood Pigeons flying E: today 198. Just 22 were noted flying ‘back’ W later but I probably left before the main return
- 4 Swifts arrived at 06:00 increasing to 8 shortly afterwards. Then 5 at 07:30 and long after the previous group had left. Finally 2 at 08:25
- high total of House Martins: unseen birds calling high overhead at 06:00 likely migrants. Then at least 50, mixed with c.10 Barn Swallows, were seen heading vaguely S and high over towards the E at 06:40. 50 birds seems too many to be all local birds. Small parties over thereafter. A few additional Barn Swallows were seen moving through later
- rather unusually a single Raven was seen in with the roost-dispersal of Rooks. Later another bird was heard; and then another flew over
- 14 Chiffchaffs logged today included 6 birds in the same Alder tree along with 3 Coal Tits and a number of Blue and Great Tits
- fewer Reed Warblers – just 6 – but one of these was seen taking food in to the reeds where juvenile(s) were heard begging
- no Song Thrushes singing this morning: for me this is the first time this year
and
- dragonflies etc. noted: Red-eyed Damselfly and Common Darter
- butterflies noted: Large White only
- two moths checked: Agriphila tristella (or Common Grass-veneer) and a probable Eudonia mercurella (or Small Grey)
- a Common Nettle Bug (Liocoris tripustulatus)

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 12 (2 groups) Greylag Geese
- 191 Canada Geese (15 groups)
- 18 large gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 7 (4 sightings) Feral Pigeon
- c.225 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 221 Jackdaws
- 88 Rooks
- 3 Ravens
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 1 Linnet

Count of hirundines etc
- 15 Swifts
- 11 Barn Swallows
- >60 House Martins

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 22 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 Little Grebes
- 6 + >6 (3? broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 6 + 12 (7 broods) Moorhens
- 75 + 16 (8 broods) Coots again
- 183 Black-headed Gulls
- 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

On what seemed like a morning with 8/8 cloud the red sky caught me ‘out of position’ and this was my best effort.

Another study of a juvenile Black-headed Gull. Some pale-grey feathers in the mantle indicate it has started the moult to 1st winter plumage.

Adult Black-headed Gull still mainly in summer plumage but with the hood starting to fade. The way the wing-tips are held suggests it is probably moulting some of the primaries.

Firstly a reprise and back to the drawing board with this juvenile gull that caused me to pause: yesterday. I concluded “surely ‘just’ a rather large specimen of Black-headed Gull”: but not so. The Belvide blog Here for the previous day (8th) has two photos of what is clearly the same bird and that includes one where the wings are open and show that the clear grey greater coverts form the distinctive grey panel in the wing of immature Mediterranean Gulls. In that photo there are several other features that point to Mediterranean Gull and I am now happy to accepts it as a hybrid. My main reason to dismiss this was the bill structure which is much too slim for Mediterranean Gull but clearly the bill is largely Black-headed Gull genes: but even here the colour is rather brown as opposed to reddish s in pure juvenile Black-headed Gull.

A bit of grab shot capturing something I have not seen before – a pair of Great Crested Grebes sharing parental duties. I have often wondered whether the juveniles are always on the female’s back and now I know: not always.

This is one of a different pair bringing breakfast back to the brood.

.... and one of the grebelings(!) will be happy – seems the other adult is happy as well.

I know I did this only the other day but well-lit against a blue sky worth another look at an adult Goldfinch.

and here for contrast is the dull juvenile.

One of the more distinctive of the grass moths with the pale longitudinal streak identifying this as Agriphila tristella (or Common Grass-veneer).

This is probably Eudonia mercurella (or Small Grey) but there are several confusion species and a moth 15’ feet up a lamp-post is not easy to examine.

The wildlife is already adapting to the changes wrought by the remodelling of the roadway for the new Academy. The fence erected atop the piling used to prevent the children falling in the Wesley Brook has been adopted by Common Darters and shooting along the fence top allowed this somewhat unusual ‘isolated’ male.

This is a Common Nettle Bug (Liocoris tripustulatus) here helpfully on a nettle (though I found one yesterday elsewhere on leaves of a Maize plant (Zea mays) aka Sweet Corn).

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2014


2014
Priorslee Lake
Report from today Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
Green Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Lapwings
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
4 Little Egrets
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Peregrine Falcon
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Redshank
(Ed Wilson)