27 Sep 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  05:50 –09:15
The Flash:  09:20 – 10:05

12.0°C > 13.0°C:  Broken cloud and light showers: later more persistent showers. Light / moderate S wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:03 BST

Priorslee Lake:  05:50 – 09:15

(232nd visit of the year)

Bird notes from today:
The 07:10 ‘football’ field count produced 37 Black-headed Gulls, just five Wood Pigeons, also just five Magpies, two Carrion Crows and 36 Pied Wagtails. Counts are now compromised by the first arrival of dogs prior to many of the birds settling.
At 09:05 a repeat count after the school-run chaos and ahead of the next shift of dog-walkers produced 20 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Stock Dove, 14 Wood Pigeons (seven of these juveniles), 11 Magpies and three Jackdaws – very unusual on the ground here. There were no Pied Wagtails

Other notes:
- Two Greylag Geese flew inbound when they are normally outbound. Then two flew outbound when they are normally inbound. Finally six flew inbound when they should have done.
- Just the pair of Gadwall.
- Five Mallard flew off when too dark to sex.
- All four juvenile Great Crested Grebes from the pair in the NE area were present, with yesterday’s absentee with its parents and siblings as normal.
- The now usual early arrival of unidentified large gulls. These all gone by 07:15. Subsequent arrivals were mainly first-winter birds. A few flew over later – all but one of these were adults disinterested in the lake.
- At least 60 Wood Pigeons again put up from fields / trees to N and not included in the fly-over count.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 10 Greylag Geese (see notes)
- 3 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: just one of these a first-winter bird
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 5 Stock Doves
- 82 Wood Pigeons
- 73 Jackdaws
- 235 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted
None

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 3 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap yet again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans as usual
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 7 (1+?♂) Mallard
- 4 (0♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 8 adult + 2 immatures + 9 juvenile (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 116 Coots
- >80 Black-headed Gulls
- 37 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 32 of these first-winter birds
- 5 Herring Gulls: four of these first-winter birds
- 116 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID

Pre-dawn sightings on the lamp poles:
- 5 of the small flies noted recently
- 1 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
- 2 other unidentified spiders
- 2 Leiobunum rotundum harvestmen
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman
- 1 probable Glossy Glass Snail (Oxychilus navarricus)

Later sightings:
- 2 unidentified bumblebees in flight
- 1 wasp sp.
- 2 Grey Squirrels

Between the showers this morning there was some colour. Two of the Mute Swans asleep in the foreground.

After I left the lake for the ‘football’ field the sunrise briefly coloured up. Here is the best I could manage.

Here are two Leiobunum rotundum harvestmen in typically close company.

This seems to be a Glossy Glass Snail (Oxychilus navarricus).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:20 – 10:05

(220th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- One of the drake Mallard showed a fully adult pale green bill but in plumage resembled a duck. Presumably one of the ducklings still to acquire its adult plumage.
- A Grey Wagtail again.
and
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
- 2 Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestmen on the usual lamp pole again
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Wood Pigeons again
- 6 Jackdaws
- 1 Meadow Pipit

Hirundines etc. noted.
None

Warblers noted.
None

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans as ever
- 19 Greylag Geese
- 2 Hybrid / feral geese
- 84 Canada Geese
- 47 (26♂) Mallard
- 30 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Moorhens
- 16 Coots
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: two of these a first-winter bird

(Ed Wilson)

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

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Teal
3 Wigeon
1 Kingfisher
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
13 Meadow Pipits
3 Redpoll
Siskin
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Juvenile Common Scoter
3 Little Grebes
Drake Pintail x Mallard
(Ed Wilson/Andy Latham)