Thursday, 10th

Afternoon (16:30 - 1700)

- 26 Mute Swans
- Lesser Black-backed Gulls c. 60 (coming in and leaving in 1 - 4's) then most flew off at 16:55
- Black-headed Gulls c. 20
- Herring Gull 1 (ad)
- Tufted Duck 9
- Teal a Female feeding on weed in the open water!!

(Mike Cooper)

Morning

Generally numbers down, probably mainly due to the hazy clear blue sky that made it had to see over-flying birds

Particularly low numbers of gull still
- Black-headed Gulls: 8 at the lake, 5 of which were flying around and around from 05:45 to 06:30 (though 18 on the football field)
- Lesser Black-backed Gulls: none on the lake - 2 on the football field and 5 others over

Some notes:
- no sign of the oldest juvenile Great Crested Grebe this morning: may have flown off - old-enough - but have never seen it fly
- now 29 Swans! 26 (near) adults and 3 cygnets. No rings read this morning
- 43 outbound Greylag Geese (6 at 05:55; 37 at 06:01); 36 inbound at 08:43
- 8 Canada Geese outbound at 05:57; 12 on the lake by 07:50 stayed thereafter
- 26 Tufted Ducks here: 5 flew off W 05:57 and probably in the total for The Flash
- 10 Moorhens logged: 8 immatures
- 122 Coots: just 2 dependent juveniles, the single smallest bird not seen or heard
- 190 Wood Pigeons only - 28 in / from the trees around the lake; 132 E; 25 W; 5 on the wires
- 3 single Meadow Pipits heard
- 2 single Swallows and small parties of up to 5 House Martins at the W end seemed to be all local birds
- 38 Pied Wagtails flying N: probably more as most of these were 'heard' totals that are usually an underestimate of the numbers in parties
- 2 Blackcaps and 5 Chiffchaffs the only warblers: just 1 Chiffchaff in song
- poor passage of just 20 Jackdaws and 87 Rooks, all in small parties (18 max) and all high to the E
- 131 Greenfinches leaving the roost, including a loose group of 32 and on the lamps
- 1 grass moth - probably culmella
- 1 wasp neatly wrapped up
- 1 plumed midge

(Ed Wilson)

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Monday, 7th

Absorbing visit with plenty of interest but nothing too stunning

Best was the juvenile Willow Warbler in the Ricoh hedge at W end of the lake: my latest-ever in the UK let-alone Shropshire

Supporting cast
- 1 Pochard new in: duck on the lake
- Green Woodpecker flushed off the small open area in the NW part of the lake
- 1 Meadow Pipit the first of the autumn here for me: one over the lake with a party of 8 Swallows.
- 2 Ravens flew E over the lake

Spent some time at the lake watching the NW area where the Greenfinches roost and the Pied Wagtails pass over: the reward
- 42 Pied Wagtails
- 134 Greenfinches

Otherwise
Generally
- very few gulls
-- Black-headed Gulls - 13 at the lake
-- Lesser Black-backs - 16 at the lake (10 landed)

at the lake
- 21 Swans when I arrived, but only 20 later: another 2 rings read - Blue 7EVB; Yellow B7AL
- 42 outbound Greylag Geese in single skein
- 42 outbound Canada Geese as well: also 2 on the lake for a while and 4 inbound
- 25 Tufted Ducks a high count (but fewer at The Flash)
- 9 Moorhens: 5 juveniles
- 117 Coots: 3 dependent juveniles
- 192 Wood Pigeons a low count, not entirely explained by my positioning for the Greenfinch roost
- party of 8 Swallow through: 2 other birds seemed to be local birds feeding
- up to 25 House Martins over and over the estate: none seemed to be migrants
- having decided that the rowan berries were ready yesterday, today the hawthorn berries were being demolished by the Blackbirds - well before the Redwings arrive!
- 2 Blackcaps heard
- 5 Chiffchaffs heard or seen
- good corvid passage with more Jackdaws, but almost all well to the E - 148 Jackdaws and 233 Rooks logged. 4 of the Rooks flew high W - unusual
- charm of 16 Goldfinches at W end included juveniles and blotchy immatures

and
- just one moth on the lamps: another micro I will need help with (yesterday's odd-shaped Tortrix was Acleris emargana)
- a wasp on another of the lamps
- splendid Tipula sp. Crane-fly on the wall of the yacht club hut
- hawker dragonfly seen at the very early time of 06:43 in drizzle: later it or another high over the trees at 08:45: no specific identity

That's it for a few days

(Ed Wilson)

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Sunday, 6th

Another day with nothing to pull out as a highlight but generally more passerines than recently

Some notes
- now 24 Swans! The 'usual' 20 at 05:45: I saw 3 flying in from the N at 07:10 but by 08:00 there was another present as well. Many up by the dam and could look for rings: mostly seemed to be unringed, but Blue 7EDV and Yellow B7CJ noted
- 46 outbound Greylag Geese in single skein at 06:17
- 65 outbound Canada Geese, all before the Greylags apart from a single bird that stayed on the lake from 06:30 - 08:00
- 8 Tufted Ducks
- 4 Buzzards seen together over the W end causing panic amongst the Wood Pigeons
- 44 Black-headed Gulls: a maximum of 6 on the lake, but 29 on the football field to the NW and a few more overhead
- 161 Lesser Black-backed Gulls of which 93 stopped at the lake for a while - a maximum of 63
- 3 Herring Gulls among the other large gulls and all immatures: these need care at the moment as the immature Lessers are worn and bleached and can look like their paler cousins unless the upperwing pattern is checked carefully
- 238 Wood Pigeons: 164 of these flew E
- 22 Pied Wagtails seen heading N / NE
- 4 Swallows only: 2 pairs seemed to be passing through
- c.40 House Martins: these were very low to the NW over the Priorslee estate so presumably local birds, though seemed rather a large group ...
- 3 Blackcaps and 8 Chiffchaffs heard: some of these also seen. No other warblers logged
- the dull conditions made the corvid dispersal hard to see, especially as at least some of the Jackdaws shot through very low in the dip behind Castle Farm Way. Tally was 35 Jackdaws and 97 Rooks
- 62 Greenfinches: 41 of these from the NW roost
- 15 Goldfinches with a party of 11 over

and
- 2 bats: a Pipistrelle at the W end; and a medium-sized specimen flying around the poplars on the N side
- no moths or butterflies: just a single wasp at the lamps

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday, 5th

Extended visit to the lake this morning: and trudged the lanes and fields to the E / SE rather fruitlessly (apart from the blackberries I scarfed that is!)

Nothing qualifies as 'bird of the morning'

Some notes
- the 4 new Great Crested Grebe juveniles showing well today
- 21 Swans for a while when another adult flew in: this (or one of the others left). The dominant cob is having a real go at some of the adults, with little effect!
- 43 Greylag Geese outbound this morning in 2 skeins
- 9 Canada Geese all inbound, 4 of them stopping at the lake - and allowed to stay
- 17 Tufted Ducks at least: 5 left to the W at 05:45: 12 counted on the lake later, but much flying about and perhaps others left / arrived?
- 3 Buzzards together calling over the N part of the lake and the bare, inactive old Celestica site at 06:35. Several other singles probably these birds moving about
- up to 28 Black-headed Gulls on the lake
- 45 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 27 of these, mainly immatures and with 1 Herring Gull, formed a small raft on the lake for a while: my largest number this season to date
- just 193 Wood Pigeons logged this morning: 128 outbound to the E
- 1 Blackcap and 5 Chiffchaffs was the warbler total
- another reasonable corvid passage, almost all high and well to the E. But of the 112 Jackdaws a party of 52 appeared low from the NW at the very late tie of 08:03 - all others gone by 06:25! 141 Rooks
- 26 Greenfinches a lower count: a small roost found in the NE area as well this morning

and
- 2 moths on the lamps: a very distinctively-shaped Tortrix moth; and a Sallow - a sure sign of Autumn!
- before I left a few Red Admirals flying: and a high-flying hawker dragonfly that will remain unidentified

in the lanes to the east of the Lake
- c.40 Wood Pigeons flushed off one of the stubble-fields were the only birds using the fields - a testament to the effectiveness of modern machinery in hoover-ing up all the crop
- 2 Collared Doves on a tree in Woodhouse Lane rather unexpected: I associate these with habitation
- 4 Yellowhammers in one of the field-edge hedgerows

and that was about it: no Sky Larks, no Meadow Pipits yet, no Warblers, no Linnets ....

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 4th

The Lake, The Flash and Trench this morning

Best bird was the Little Egret flushed from the lake by my arrival at 05:45

Overall
- build up of Tufted Duck: 9 at the lake
- few gulls today: 23 Black-heads - 6 at the lake; also 23 Lesser Black-backs, all W / SW over the lake
- Feral Pigeons mixing in with the Wood Pigeons: 1 roosted around the lake and 5 more singles over
- Kingfishers at the lake (roosted again)

Otherwise
at the lake
- the new family group of Great Crested Grebes is 4 juveniles (not 3 as I reported earlier)
- still 20 Swans though lots of flying about as the cob tries to persuade them to leave. Neither of this dominant pair is ringed
- no outbound (or inbound!) geese this morning
- 125 Coots included all 3 dependent juveniles this morning
- 266 Wood Pigeons logged: 147 flying E joined by many of the 46 in trees around the lake
- small hirundine passage: single Sand Martin at 06:15; party of 13 at 07:00 most(?) Swallows, but 2 birds seemed a lot smaller and may have also been Sand Martins; House Martins heard very high over at 06:30 but not seen - 2 local birds seen later low down
- 2 Blackcaps and 8 Chiffchaffs seen / heard. No other warblers this morning
- perfect viewing conditions against a clear sky gave me a better corvid passage - 84 Jackdaws and 128 Rooks. All flying high - Jackdaws often fly very low when it is windy
- 58 Greenfinches logged: most leaving trees around the football field. The roost in the SW area is very small at the moment

no moths / butterflies in the clear, fresh and breezy condition. Full moon would tend to restrict moths at the lamps anyway

(Ed Wilson)

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Thursday, 3rd

A very breezy and wet Priorslee first thing this morning

Best of the day was a Hobby over Shawbury airfield while I was on an organised tour of the storage hangars - but that's another story!

Back at the lake the highlights
- 12 Sand Martins in a party heading S: these not often seen in groups in the autumn
- juvenile Whitethroat in the W end (Ricoh) hedge

Otherwise
- 20 Swans again: managed to read the rings of the adult birds with the cygnets and they were the parents: this means that the aggressive cob trying to rule at least the W end is not the 'resident'. 2 of the cygnets were almost airborne for a short while this morning. And 10 of the birds were put to flight as a group several times, but always returned
- outbound geese this morning numbered 51: 37 Greylags and 14 Canada Geese. Also 2 pairs visited the lake briefly - or the same pair visited twice
- 16 Tufted Ducks, though 8 flew off W (to loaf at The Flash?) before 06:00
- 3 different Buzzards logged, including the begging juvenile in the trees beside the Ricoh building
- better gull numbers: c.65 Black-headed Gulls with 19 on the football field and another 39 flying off the Ricoh grounds; also 6 on the lake early and a very fresh juvenile later; 29 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, mainly W-bound with a party of 11 (1 adult and 10 juveniles) pausing at the lake for some minutes at 07:45
- only 110 Coots logged, but probably some staying hidden in the reeds against the wind and rain. That probably applied to the small juvenile as I heard it several times but failed to see it
- just 108 Wood Pigeons logged: these too affected by the weather
- the Kingfisher again before dawn flying along the S side to the SE willows: think this is roosting in the willows by the hut in the water at the moment
- apart from the 12 Sand Martins just 3 Swallows for the hirundine list
- low numbers of all passerines: managed to log both Coal and Willow Tits though
- apart from the Whitethroat the only warblers were 5 Chiffchaffs, one in song
- poor corvid passage: no Jackdaws and just 29 Rooks in 5 swirling groups, all after 06:15

nothing else - no moths, butterflies or notable insects; and no mammals seen either

(Ed Wilson)

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Wednesday, 2nd

Just the lake this morning as I was interrupted by rain and then delayed by a very perplexing sighting

Best identified bird was a late Reed Warbler, but most intriguing was one of the birds with it. These were all part of a small mixed flock working the willows in the NW area. At least 4 Chiffchaffs and 2 Blue Tits were located before I found a larger more rufous bird that seemed to be a Reed Warbler. But it then dived deep in cover only for what seemed to be another rufous-toned bird, this bird both larger and dumpier than the Chiffchaffs. On the limited views it was much less active than the warblers, failed to 'dip' its tail at all, and seem more to 'hop' through the vegetation. I got a good view of the head and that seemed to be unmarked - no eye-stripe / supercilium - apart from a slight eye-ring that seemed unbroken; and a pale throat. The bill seemed thicker / shorter than an adult Reed Warbler

I could only think 'Nightingale' but try as I might I could not stay with the group as they disappeared in to the copse here

I returned some 30 minutes later and got prolonged views of the Reed Warbler - it even sang briefly. I heard nothing other than calls of Chiffchaffs and Blue Tits at the first encounter

I am 90% certain that there were 2 rufous birds - the Reed Warbler and ?. But less confident about the other bird, especially as it would be a rarity in these parts

Meanwhile back on the lake ...
- I was wrong yesterday about the Great Crested Grebes being disinterested in breeding: the pair along the N side were feeding 3 small juveniles pre-dawn, but one of the adults and all these juveniles disappeared in to the reeds before 06:00 and were not seen again
- 20 Swans again: oddly the cygnets seem to be more attached to the strangers and one was even chased briefly by the resident cob. All the 15 interlopers seem to be (sub) adults with no grey feathers and orange bills, though some are duller than others
- the outbound skeins of Greylag and Canada geese got rather intermingled this morning but there seemed to be 34 of the former and 29 of the latter. 2 Canadas flew high W later
- revealing an unseen party of House Martins (q.v.)
- 9 Tufted Ducks today
- 17 Moorhens today with 4 adults and 13 juveniles from at least 5 broods
- 134 Coots counted: the same 3 dependent juveniles. Interestingly most of these are roosting in the N side reeds and were emerging at 05:45 - normally they roost in the W end reeds (there is a pair with young here at the moment); or in the open water in the middle of the lake
- 293 Wood Pigeons was a slightly higher total, probably reflecting the longer time I spent at the lake. A flock of 34 to the N was noteworthy
- 12 Pied Wagtails logged leaving a roost area and heading N or NE
- 6 Swallows logged, all passing SE
- c.55 House Martins: c.40 very high - too high to hear or see - were revealed as I checked 2 passing Canada Geese through the bins: these seemed to be heading S, but hard to be certain. Otherwise small groups of up to 15 birds appeared and disappeared, but seemed likely to be local birds from the estate
- the Reed Warbler of course
- 2 Blackcaps heard calling
- 8 Chiffchaffs at least this morning
- similar corvid passage to that noted yesterday, but took place later and with more Jackdaws (36 vs. 22) and fewer Rooks (83 vs. 186)
- 24 Greenfinches, of which 17 emerged from the trees alongside Teece Drive

And
- no butterflies, moths on the lamps or interesting insects. But a rather moth-eaten fungus that I doubt I'll be able to identify!

As a postscript to yesterday the hoverflies have been identified for me
- Eristalis pertinax and Helophilus pendulus

(Ed Wilson)

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Tuesday, 1st

Back from a sunny (and not so sunny) Poland and to the lake, The Flash and Trench Lock pools this morning

Some changes in the three weeks I've been away as outlined below

Main interest this morning was that 13 of the 16 Swallows logged at the lake seemed to be moving through on migration

Otherwise
- juvenile Great Crested Grebe still present: neither of the pairs of adults seems to be having a late brood
- 20 Swans! 15 (near)adults for the resident cob to chase and he seems to have given up! 3 cygnets doing well
- very few geese over - just one party of 8 Canadas: perhaps I arrived too late?
- 6 Tufted Ducks
- 129 Coots a significant increase: the 2 juveniles in the SW area now nearly full grown; another brood since my last visit, but only 1 small juvenile extant. Several other juveniles still obvious but not separately counted
- very few gulls: only 15 Black-headed Gulls arrived after 05:54; and just 12 large gulls, only 1 of which (a juvenile Lesser Black-back) visited the lake
- high numbers of Wood Pigeons with 157 logged flying E before 07:00; 37 around the lake in trees etc
- Grey Wagtail heard; unexceptional number of Pied Wagtails
- up to 16 House Martins: hard to see them against the clear blue sky, but seemed like local birds with juveniles in tow
- almost no 'thrushes': just 3 Blackbirds heard and none seen; no Song Thrushes
- 2 Blackcaps calling were the only warblers apart from ...
- at least 8 Chiffchaffs, 4 of which sang from time-to-time
- strange corvid passage: almost no Jackdaws - 22 logged with 7 the largest group; 186 Rooks with steady passage and a party of 46 across the lake at 05:56, and 58 passing to the E at 06:22
- low finch numbers - 2 Chaffinches; 11 Greenfinches; 1 Bullfinch; 5 Goldfinches
- 2 Linnets flew E together

and
- a bat seen at 05:56 - probably a Pipistrelle
- no moths on the lamps
- 3 species of butterfly before 09:00 with a very fresh-looking Small Copper
- a 'blue' damselfly that went and hid before I could photo it to id - a splendid striped hoverfly, probably a Helophilus sp.

(Ed Wilson)