9.5°C > 12.0°C: Broken cloud clearing somewhat. Light / moderate NW wind. Good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:48 BST
Priorslee Lake: 05:45 – 07:15 // 08:05 – 09:30
(95th visit of the year)
A party of 5 drake Eurasian Wigeon flew around for at least 15 minutes at c.06:30 before apparently landing. Later there were 7 birds (the other two were probable ducks). These became my 99th species at the lake this year
Significant arrival of ducks since my last visit at the end of August: a pair of Gadwall; 2 drake Teal and a drake Shoveler were all dabbling ducks. Good number of Tufted Ducks as well
Not to be outdone the raptors were well represented with only my 3rd Kestrel sighting of the year here with a bird hovering to the E. And then a Hobby shot over – my 2nd sighting of the year here
Other notes from today:
- very few geese seen outbound with just 11 seen outbound while still very dark at 06:15
- 8 of the Mallard flew off at 06:10 and apparently did not return
- 11 of the Tufted Duck left just after the Hobby flew through: may have been co-incidence but otherwise they were the only birds that seemed to notice its passage
- 3 Grey Herons often fighting around the lake; another (?) flew over
- 2 Little Grebes noted
- 8 juvenile Great Crested Grebes remain from the two broods, all still being fed by the parents. Another non-breeding pair of adults
- a scatter of Barn Swallow all, rather strangely, flying N / NW: South Africa is the other way guys!
- good number of Chiffchaffs all feeding voraciously with occasional pauses to sing or call
and
- no moths on the lamps
- a bat seen briefly over the dam well pre-dawn remained unidentified
- the following plants were noted still in flower (in no particular order)
- White Clover (Trifolium repens)
- Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
- Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.)
- Hawkweed (Hieraceum brittanicum)
- Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
- Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
- Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris)
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
- Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis)
- Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)
- Convolvulus sp. probably Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
- Common (or Perforate) St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
- Daisy (Bellis perennis)
- Common (or Black) Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
- the following plants in fruit
- Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) flower
- Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)
- Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.) [most rather small and not formed]
- Snowberry (Symphoricarpos sp. probably S. albus)
- Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus)
- Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
- Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus)
also
- a shrub that has puzzled me for ages and still does as it now has some new flowers while recent flowers are already berries. they seems to be Wayfaring-trees (Viburnum lantana) but none of my books suggests that this shrub should be flowering as late as this. It seems likely to be planted around the lake so perhaps is better recorded as Viburnum sp., distinct from the Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus) [aka dogberry; water elder; cramp bark; snowball tree; European cranberry bush]
On with the bird totals
Birds noted flying over the lake:
- 11 (6 groups) Canada Geese outbound
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Stock Dove
- 13 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 11 Jackdaws
- 79 Rooks
- 18 Starlings (3 groups)
- 3 Pied Wagtails
Hirundines etc. seen today
- 7 Barn Swallows
Warblers counts: number in brackets = singing birds
- 12 (3) Chiffchaffs
The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 7 (5♂) Eurasian Wigeon
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 2 (2♂) Teal
- 19 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Shoveler
- 34 (>8♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Grey Herons
- 2 Little Grebes
- 6 + 8 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 + 3 Moorhens
- 124 Coots
- c.150 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Not an inspiring sunrise for my first day back after two weeks.
And here is the drake showing the fine vermiculations along the flanks.
A second juvenile arrives hopefully.
The juvenile was not successful and the parent has another go.
The other juvenile seems to know what to do and is making a real attempt to eat it.
Just a single flower of Common (or Black) Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) was noted today.
Autumn is creeping up and some colours from this morning: these are bramble leaves.
While these are from an Acer sp.
As are these ...
... and these.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 07:25 – 07:55
(73rd visit of the year)
Notes from here
- just 2 cygnets remain
- only 2 juvenile Great Crested Grebes noted
- numbers of Coot remain very low; no idea why
and
- the following plants were noted still in flower
- Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.)
- Hawkweed (Hieraceum brittanicum)
- Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
- Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
- Convolvulus sp. probably Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
- White Dead-Nettle (Lamium album)
- Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) [garden escape?]
- Dog Rose (Rosa canina agg.) [garden escape?]
- the following plants in fruit
- Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) flower
- Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus agg.) [most rather small and not formed]
- Viburnum sp. – see note under the lake above
Birds noted flying over
- 2 Pied Wagtails
Hirundines etc. noted
None
Warblers counts: number in brackets = singing birds
- 4 (2) Chiffchaffs
The counts from the water
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 3 Canada Geese
- 1 white feral goose
- 33 (19♂) Mallard
- 35 (>11♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 + 1 Moorhens
- 7 Coots
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
Nothing of note between the lake and The Flash alongside the path apart from a single flower of Greater Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) – just one plant with a single flower!
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------