4 Nov 18

Priorslee Lake only

10°C > 11°C: Low cloud with drizzle early and again later. Light / moderate S wind. Good visibility, moderate in drizzle

Sunrise: 07:11 GMT

Priorslee Lake: 06:15 – 09:10

(142nd visit of the year)

For the first time I can recall there were no Mute Swans at the lake today. I hope the parents have taken the cygnets to a secure location and perhaps when the cygnets have settled the adults will return

Bird notes:
- the Pochard were seen early only and could not be located later
- 11 Goosanders (5 drakes) flew E at 07:40; another brownhead was seen flying S far to the W much later
- a Blackbird was heard sub-singing – perhaps fooled by the warmer weather?
- at least 36 Goldfinches in the area with 26 counted flying in to Alders at the E end; and at least 10 feeding on berries in the Ricoh hedge at the W end
- in addition to the 4 Reed Buntings seen leaving the W end roost at least 2 birds were calling in different areas

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 12 (5♂) Goosanders
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Feral Pigeons
- 4 Stock Doves
- 96 Wood Pigeons (59 of these in 4 groups)
- 128 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 18 Starlings (2 groups)
- 54 Fieldfares (6 groups)
- 5 Redwings (singles)
- 2 Pied Wagtails
- 7 Meadow Pipits
- 5 Chaffinches
- 1 Siskin again

Birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 4 Redwings
- c.45 Starlings
- 4 Reed Buntings

Counts from the lake area
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall still
- 8 (6♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 87 (>38♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 2 Little Grebes
- 1 + 1 Great Crested Grebes again
- 9 Moorhens again
- 104 Coots
- 62 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

And other notes
- the harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis on a lamp post pre-dawn.

This looks to me like the harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis. In this species the medium length legs are thicker closer to the body. On most harvestmen the second pair of legs is the longest: true here with the fourth being almost as long while the third pair is about as long as the front pair.

This photo turned out to be more interesting than I thought. I was intrigued by the pattern the rain had formed in the droplets on this fallen leaf. What the photo reveals is that each droplet is a lens that magnifies the underlying markings on the leaf, markings that would be hard to see without a hand-lens otherwise.

(Ed Wilson)

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

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Nedge Hill
50 Golden Plover
(Arthur Harper)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Yellow legged Gull
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
16 Pochard
43 Tufted Duck
Yellow-legged Gull
Kingfisher
400+ Jackdaws
17 Fieldfare
7 Redwings
Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
24 Pochard
81 Tufted Ducks
c.180 large gulls
5 Redwings here
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
Yellow-legged Gull
(Martin Grant)

2009
Priorslee Lake
17 Pochard
4 Wigeon
8 Tufted
42 Mute Swan
400+ Lesser Black-backed Gull
Yellow Legged Gull
(Mike Cooper)

Wrekin
Firecrest
2 Brambling
(Dave Barrow / Andy Latham)

2006
Priorslee Lake
23 Pochard
48 Tufted Ducks
1 Ruddy Duck
650+ Black-headed Gulls
1 Common Gull
134 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
450 Wood Pigeons
15 Pied Wagtails
18 Wrens
13 Dunnocks
25 Robins
18 Blackbirds
155 Fieldfares
5 Song Thrushes
85 Redwings
1 Mistle Thrush
14 Greenfinches
2 Siskins
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)