6 Dec 18

Priorslee Lake only

10°C > 11°C:  Low cloud (the Telford ‘hat’) with light rain for a while later. Thin sliver of clear skies to the SE.. Light / moderate SSW wind. Very good visibility under the low cloud

Sunrise: 08:05 GMT

Priorslee Lake:  06:25 – 09:30
(172nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 7 Goosanders flew W at 08:10; 1 brownhead circled and then flew W at 08:45
- Tufted Duck necessarily counted in sections due to the low light-levels. Always scope for under-/over-lap in such counts
- the first Black-headed Gulls did not arrive until 07:40 this morning. c.200 arrived before they mainly left again. Later I counted 116 on the lake and another 32 on the ‘football field’
- c.75 Jackdaws logged. I was on the Woodhouse Lane side of Castle Farm Way ready to get a better view of these this morning. So of course they went over the lake side of the bushes this morning! I probably missed the main group as a result

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 1 Greylag Goose [outbound]
- 12 Canada Geese (2 groups) [outbound]
- 8 (?♂) Goosander
- 1 Stock Dove
- 6 Wood Pigeons only
- c.75 Jackdaws
- 3 Redwings (1 group)

Birds leaving roosts around the lake
**no roost areas visited today***

The counts from the lake area:
again in very poor light and light rain
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 8 (4♂) Gadwall still
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 7 (6♂) Pochard
- 63 (28♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 11 Moorhens
- [Coots not counted again]
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull

On this mild morning a bumper log of other things
- 5 Winter Moths on various lamp poles
- 1 presumed Winter Moth seen in flight
- 6 Mottled Umber moths on various lamp poles
- 3 different spiders on lamp poles at least two of which were Nursery Web Spiders (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 1 harvestman (Paroligolophus agrestis) on a lamp pole
- 1 gnat sp. (Dixella aestivallis?) on a lamp pole
- several minute things noted only after looking at photos of the moths and spiders

Another hand-held quarter-second sunrise special. The thin sliver of clear sky to far east ahead of the rain. Taken from the concrete lane leading to Woodhouse Lane.

This was supposed to be picture 1 of 2 illustrating the variability of Mottled Umber moths. Inadvertently it ended up showing at least three other small creatures that I had not noticed at the time. I have no idea what they might be!

This is picture 2 of 2. It always intrigues me that such different-looking specimens are the same species while November / Pale November / Autumnal Moths are visually almost identical but separate species. But then I am not a geneticist.

Spider #1. Two things to note here: just what is it holding in its jaw? and one of its right-hand eyes is showing eye-shine. I recall being in a jungle somewhere at night looking for owls when we espied an array of 8 large and well-spaced eyes reflecting our torches. We retreated!

Spider #2 which I am sure is the Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis). With a midge sp. living dangerously. I think it might be Dixella aestivallis, but ...

Spider #3, also apparently a Nursery Web Spider. Not sure about the left legs. Is there one missing and the front ‘pair’ just one leg and its shadow from the flash? This species does often hold its front legs ‘paired’ so perhaps they are all there.

Long legs mean this is a harvestman and not a spider. It is Paroligolophus agrestis with the legs thicker near the body. It too shows an interloper.

(Ed Wilson)

Note: Also today a few photos from Venus Pool in Readers Corner Here.

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

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's sightings Here

2013
Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
2 adult Caspian Gulls (one with a green ring suggesting a German/Polish border origin).
8 Yellow-legged Gulls
80+ Great Black-backed Gulls
c.1000 Herring Gulls
2000+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
1st w Viking Gull (hybrid Glaucous x Herring Gull)
2 ad hybrid Herring x Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
9 Pochard
44 Tufted Ducks
176 Coots
c.200 Black-headed Gulls
c.650 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.20 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls.
5 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
234 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Little Grebe
1 Cormorant
35 Mute Swans
2 Shoveler
48 Tufted Duck
3 Goosander 
162 Coots
228 Black-headed Gulls
(Ed Wilson)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill
Caspian Gull
7 Yellow-legged Gulls
3500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
500 Herring Gulls
Common Gull. 
(Tom Lowe)

Buildwas
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
500 Lapwings
(Tom Lowe)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Pochard
52 Tufted Ducks
1 eclipse drake Ruddy Ducks
9 Golden Plover
>2000 Black-headed Gulls
>2526 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
22 Robins
24 Blackbirds
c.45 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
10 Redwings
348 Jackdaws
132 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Ravens
1 Cormorant
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
4 Pochard
39 Tufted Duck
1 Little Grebes
233 Coot
14 Redpolls
17 Siskins
24 Pied Wagtails
9 Redwings
12 Fieldfares
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)