15 Sep 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  05:30 – 08:55
The Flash:  09:00 – 09:45

14.0°C > 16.0°C:  Mostly cloudy with a few early breaks to S & W; and later to NW. Moderate W wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:43 BST

Priorslee Lake:  05:30 – 08:55

(222nd visit of the year)

Bird notes from today:
- The 06:45 ‘football’ field count gave me 127 Black-headed Gulls, 26 Wood Pigeons, 19 Magpies, two Carrion Crows, four Starlings and 49 Pied Wagtails. Just three Wood Pigeons were again on the academy playing field at this time. In actuality most of the Black-headed Gulls had left before some of the Pied Wagtails arrived.

- The Greylag Geese behaved differently this morning. An unusually silent group of seven went outbound (E) at the usual c.06:30 time. Then nine birds were seen flying N to the far W before turning E to pass well to the N at 07:55. Then 17 birds flew from the N at 08:40 and turned overhead to fly off E – at this time they would normally be returning W-bound.
- Another change-around amongst the non-breeding Great Crested Grebes. Another adult – unless one of the immatures has had a quick moult. And at least two of the immatures missing.
- One Tawny Owl giving its sharp ‘kvick’ calls apparently while flying through the Ricoh copse alongside Teece Drive at 05:30. Shortly after a bird was giving a very quiet ‘tremolo’ hoot from near the yacht compound. I cannot recall hearing this previously and my books tell me this is a courtship call. I know they are very early breeders, but ...
- Nine House Martins seen over at 06:55. The seven seen over at 07:05 may have been different birds.
- The fly-over Pied Wagtails were possibly birds seen earlier on the ‘football’ field though these had all been chased away by dogs an hour or more earlier.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 34 Greylag Geese in three groups (see notes)
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls : just one of these a first-winter bird
- 38 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID
- 3 Stock Doves
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 42 Wood Pigeons
- 50 Jackdaws exactly
- 161 Rooks
- 1 Starling
- 4 Pied Wagtails
- 6 Meadow Pipits

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 9+ House Martin (see notes)

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 9 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese arrived
- 6 (3♂) Mallard
- 4 (0♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Little Grebe: adult
- 9 adult + 3 immature + 9 juvenile (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 + 2 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 95 + 1 (1 brood) Coots
- 127 Black-headed Gulls
- 40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls : 32 of these first-winter birds
- 7 Herring Gulls: all of these first-winter birds yet again

On the lamp poles pre-dawn:
I hoped the mild cloudy weather might reveal a few moths: not to be
- 2 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
- 3 unidentified spider sp.
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

The following logged later:
Cloudy weather so no insects
- 1 glass snail sp.
- 2 Grey Squirrels again

Cloudy this morning so you are spared a sunrise photo. All I can provide is a near full moon with a thin layer of cloud obscuring much of the detail.

This almost qualifies as a good photo of a Little Grebe – at least it was still on the surface by the time I pressed the shutter. The colour on the neck tells us this is an adult, though it will soon lose that as it moults in to winter plumage.

A typical first-winter Herring Gull attracted to an orange buoy. This specimen is quite pale and could not really be confused with a first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Having failed to get any food by pecking the buoy it decided ‘attack’ was the best strategy. Note how pale the inner primaries are, even from the underside.

A classic Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus) apparently about to unscrew one of the lugs holding the lamp post together.

When I took this photos I thought another garden spider. But it is different. I guess these are male and female – the female of most spiders is the larger, often significantly so. Looking at my references there are an awful lot of spiders with patterns similar to this, the keyword being ‘similar’! I can find no match.

An exciting-looking spider. It has some similarity with the Tegenaria (house spiders). However the second pair of legs is proportionally much longer than any illustrations I can find.

Here is this morning’s harvestman – Paroligolophus agrestis. Most easily recognised by the inner part of the legs being noticeably thicker.

A tiny snail shell – the background are the lines on my palm – any chiromancers amongst my readers? I think this is a glass snail, probably of the genus Euconulus. Separation to species level needs a live occupant.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:00 – 09:45

(212th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- A family party of five very similar Greylag x Canada Geese with a Greylag parent. Another similar bird on its own. And yesterday’s bird with more white on the head also present.
- Yesterday it was some of the Mallard that were missing: today fewer Tufted Duck and Coots. Most odd.
- The six Meadow Pipits went over together.
also
No insects about in cloudy conditions
- 6 Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestmen on the same lamp pole

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Wood Pigeon
- 6 Jackdaws
- 6 Meadow Pipits

Hirundines etc. noted.
None

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 1 (0) Chiffchaff

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans as usual
- >82 Greylag Geese
- 7 Greylag x Canada x ? Geese
- >112 Canada Geese
- 33 (17♂) Mallard only
- 17 (5♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen
- 11 Coots only
- 19 Black-headed Gulls

Another look at what I assume is yesterday’s Greylag x Canada x Barnacle(?) Goose. This angle shows white on the back of the neck which confuses matters even further.

This lone goose disappearing under the gloomy overhanging vegetation of the island is a more ‘classic’ Greylag x Canada Goose with a very Greylag bill and a clear if rather washed-out Canada ‘chin-strap’.

But what about these five? All very similar. And is that the proud guilty parent with them? Note how dark-backed they are. Perhaps it is due to the angle of the light but they seem too dark for Canada genes. And what will the next generation look like? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
Green Sandpiper
9 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Mallard x Pintail
Raven
2 Sand Martin
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
100+ hirundines
31 Pied Wagtails
Redwing
14 Chiffchaffs
7 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)