7 Oct 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:05 –08:55
The Flash:  09:00 – 09:50

9.0°C > 10.0°C:  Overcast with some spells of mainly light rain. Mainly light S wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:20 BST

Priorslee Lake:  06:05 –08:55

(239th visit of the year)

Other bird notes from today:
- The Mute Swan cygnets have now been given Darvic rings as has the previously unringed adult – she is 7JSS. The three cygnets I managed to read are 7JSI, 7JSK and 7JSM which leaves the identity of the others rather unclear – we have J; L; N; O; P; Q; and R to allocate to the two remaining cygnets (or three if the rings were added before the sixth cygnet was taken in to care). Either that or Specsavers here I come ....
- Many of the juvenile Great Crested Grebes are now well-separated from their parents and the earliest brood is now quite adult-looking. Combined with the low light-levels and light rain I made a single count of all the birds on the water without trying to ascribe them to age / brood. The total – 21  suggests all present and correct.
- Almost no large gulls.
- Another change in the departing corvids from wherever the roosts are. The Jackdaws were in c.14 small and loose groups spread over >10 minutes rather with no usual tight pack. In with them there were just two Rooks – where were all the others?
- A Redwing overhead at 06:30 and then two in the W end trees at 08:30. My first of the season.

No visit was made to the ‘football’ field.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 5 Greylag Geese (single and 1 group outbound)
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 3 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 23 Wood Pigeons
- 151 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 1 Redwing
- 5 Pied Wagtails

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 9 (3♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Grey Herons
- Little Grebe(s) heard only
- 21 Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 7 Moorhens
- 106 Coots
- >55 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: a first-winter bird
- 1 unidentified large gull: too dark to ID

Pre-dawn sightings on the lamp poles:
A surprising result as it had been raining very hard a few minutes before I arrived.
- 1 Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria)
- 3 gnats
- 5 small flies
- 2 Leiobunum rotundum harvestmen
- 1 Opilio canestrinii harvestman

Later sightings:
- new type of fungus (new this year that is)

This is a rather plain specimen of Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria). The wavy cross line combined with the black spot in each forewing is diagnostic. A male – females are virtually wingless. As so often the photo reveals more wildlife – looks like another springtail.

I think this harvestman is the species Opilio canestrinii. First noted in the UK as recently as 1999 it is now common throughout England at least. Not all of them are 7-legged!

These are two male Leiobunum harvestmen – females have a more patterned body. Separation of L. rotundum from L. blackwalli depends on the colour of the eye rim – black on rotundum and pale in blackwalli. Hard to be certain on a flash photograph, my vote is for L. rotundum.

Today’s fungus foray starts here. No ides on species.

Several had been knocked over allowing us to see the gills. Does not help me identify them though.

I’ll have to go on a course on mushroom identification – I assume there are such things. These are different and that is about all I can say!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:00 – 09:50

(226th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- Significant decrease in the Tufted Duck numbers since last Wednesday.
- a Grey Wagtail again
Other things:
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestman
- 2 Leiobunum. blackwalli harvestmen
all these on the usual lamp pole
- possible honey fungus (Armillaria sp.)
- different unidentified fungus
these in squirrel alley

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 4 Feral Pigeons
- 3 Wood Pigeon

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 31 Greylag Geese: 22 of these arrived
- 13 Canada Geese: all of these arrived
- 1 hybrid / feral goose: arrived
- 42 (22♂) Mallard
- 30 (7?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes as ever
- no Moorhens
- 18 Coots
- 9 Black-headed Gulls: two of these first-winter birds

The duck in the foreground is slightly smaller than the duck Mallard behind it, that showing its blue speculum. It would not show its bill for the camera to illustrate the final growth stage of a Mallard duckling as it becomes an adult and acquires the plain yellow/green bill ahead of a plumage moult in to full drake plumage. It seems likely this is the very last and late duckling and it may be that it does not become fully adult in its first year as a result.

This is a female Leiobunum harvestman – less rounded – and they can be separated on body pattern. This is L. blackwalli.

And here is a male. It is just possible to make out the pale rim around the eye ....

... and I have enlarged it as much as I dare to show that more clearly. A male Leiobunum. blackwalli.

Fungus foray here in squirrel alley. Species #1

And species #2. These were rather shiny though that has been accentuated by the necessary use of flash in the dark recess of the fallen tree-trunks. I think these may be Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea). If so there should be a ‘collar’ around the stem and I will have to see whether I can get at the underside tomorrow to check.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Wellington
Fieldfare
(Jenny Hood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Shoveler
Chiffchaff
Grey Wagtail
Reed Bunting
Siskin.
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
50 Mute Swan
(Mike Cooper)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Swallow circling with swirling Starlings
(Ed Wilson)