3 Oct 17

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 12.0°C: Good clear spells with a few areas of low cloud early. Fresh W wind. Very good visibility. Much ‘fresher’ feel today

Sunrise: 07:13 BST

First confirmed record this Autumn of Water Rail at the lake. One bird heard calling at 06:30. Probably means the small dark shape that ran across the path near the Wesley Brook bridge in the pouring rain last Monday was indeed this species

Priorslee Lake: 06:20 – 09:00 / 10:15 – 10:20

(108th visit of the year)

Other notes from today:
- the cygnets all managed lift-off on this morning’s test flight
- the geese were strangely behaved this morning in that, apart from 2 of the Greylag Geese, they were all ‘inbound’ and mainly before 07:00. Suggests that with the clear conditions they had been out in the fields overnight. That said two of the groups seemed unsure where they were going!
- drake Eurasian Wigeon back (assuming it ever went)
- all the usual Great Crested Grebes were found to be present and correct today
- a Kestrel flew over and then started to hover to the S, likely over the W-bound verge of the M54
- some of the Jackdaws were very late(after 07:30) and seemed to come from further W than usual. One group of 72 circled around and around a Common Buzzard low over the Ricoh buildings before carrying on
- no Pied Wagtails on the football field on either occasion I checked. At 09:00 there were, unusually, 36 Wood Pigeons on the ground
- the only Meadow Pipit of the day was seen leaving the scrub at the W end: it appeared to have roosted there
and
- just a harvestman sp., on the lamps today and another new species for me – Dicranopalpus ramosus
- a Barred Sallow moth in the tunnel under Priorslee Avenue

On with today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over the lake:
- 6 Greylag Geese (see notes)
- 113 Canada Geese (see notes)
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Sparrowhawks
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Kestrel
- 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 9 Feral Pigeons (single and 1 group)
- 1 Stock Dove again
- 28 Wood Pigeons
- c.540 Jackdaws
- 136 Rooks
- 5 Ravens
- 11 Starlings
- 3 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Greenfinch again
- 8 Goldfinches

Hirundines etc. seen today
None

Warblers counts: number in brackets = singing birds
- 3 (0) Chiffchaffs

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Eurasian Wigeon
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall remain
- 24 (?♂) >> 6(3♂) Mallard
- 27 (15♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons again
- 8 + 6 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail heard
- 7 (? juveniles) Moorhens
- 128 Coots again
- >180 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Kingfisher

Was just too late with this shot – the cygnet has already touched down from this morning’s test flight. We can however see the extensive white in the new flight feathers.

Two Lesser Black-backed Gulls overhead. Identify from this angle by the extensive dusky trailing edge to the wings and little indication of a pale area (‘window’) on the inner primaries – just pale fringes to dark feathers.

This is the harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus. It often sits with the legs spread but bunched parallel to each other rather than splayed as here. The long and apparently forked pedipalps aid identification. This specimen appears to have lost the front leg on the right side as another feature of this species is the very long second pair of legs – which appears as the front leg on the right of this specimen. This species was first recorded in the UK at Bournemouth as recently as 1957 and is now widespread and common.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:10 – 10:05

(82nd visit of the year)

Notes from here
- as yesterday more geese unseen inside the island: true totals likely higher than my counts
- no idea why so few Mallard today
- 3 single Lesser Black-backed Gulls over
- Grey Wagtail seen again: it was also seen flying overhead between the lake and The Flash and seems to use the Wesley Brook as a fly-way
and
- 2 Red Admiral and 2 Comma butterflies on and around the ivy near the Academy
- the hoverfly Eristalis tenax (Common Drone Fly) also on the ivy

Birds noted flying over
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw yet again

Hirundines etc. noted
None

Warblers counts: number in brackets = singing birds
- 1 (0) Chiffchaffs

The counts from the water
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- >34 Greylag Geese (see notes)
- >78 Canada Geese (see notes)
- 1 white feral goose
- 18 (9♂) Mallard
- 48 (25♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Great Crested Grebes remain
- 6 (? juveniles) Moorhens
- 10 Coots
- 64 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher

An action shot as this first-winter Black-headed Gulls dives for a morsel just below the surface.

Lurking in the branches in front of the island is a Kingfisher. Two Greylag Geese, both standing on one leg, are inside the island.

I’ve cropped and blown-up the Kingfisher as much as I can without losing too much detail.

One of the Red Admiral butterflies sunning on the Ivy near The Flash.

I noted a couple of butterflies fighting and assumed they would be Speckled Woods. When they disappeared high in the trees I began to have doubts – Speckled Woods rarely fly much above head-height. Searching the trees I located this Comma butterfly sunning on a branch.

Then when I looked on the bank of Ivy there was another.

Here with the wings partly folded we see the ‘comma’ mark on the underside of the hind wing that gives the species its name.

Another ‘top side’ view.

And another: on the previous slightly-angled view the greenish mark on the shoulder looked like so kind of swelling or growth. In this direct view we see that it is simply an area that is not covered in hairs.

Also on the Ivy was this dark form of the hoverfly Eristalis tenax (Common Drone Fly). A ‘mimic’ of worker hive bees [I detest the use of the word ‘mimic’ in that, to me, it implies they have a choice of what to look like – they don’t: they have simply evolved that way, presumably because they get fewer predators even though hoverflies cannot sting].

On one of the gratings over the lights in the tunnel under Priorslee Avenue was this Barred Sallow moth – a very typical Autumn-flying species.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2011
Nedge Hill
1 Wheatear 
50+ Meadow Pipits
2 House Martin
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
29 Golden Plover
House Martin
1 Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)