1 Oct 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:05 –09:05
The Flash:  09:10 – 09:55

12.0°C > 13.0°C:  Very low cloud, at times on the ground; lifted somewhat; occasional rain / mizzle. Calm start with light SE breeze later. Visibility between bad, poor and moderate at various times.

Sunrise: 07:10 BST

Priorslee Lake:  06:05 –09:05

(235th visit of the year)

Bird notes from today:
It was 07:30 before it was light-enough to do a ‘football’ field count. Due to both the poor weather and disturbance I logged just nine Wood Pigeons, one Magpie and five Pied Wagtails. 17 Black-headed Gulls were on the academy playing fields.
At 09:00 a repeat count produced 19 Black-headed Gulls, four Wood Pigeon, six Magpies and four Pied Wagtails.
I will probably forgo further counts from here.

Other notes:
- The outbound Greylag Geese were almost invisible even though they passed directly over. Could have been many more.
- No Gadwall seen.
- A pair of Tufted Ducks flew in to join the trio of ducks.
- After my previous comments about the ‘extra’ Great Crested Grebes having left at least some are now back (assuming they weren’t just hiding). With juveniles from the recent broods now almost full-grown and relatively independent then sorting them out is becoming more difficult.
- What I am sure is the same first-winter Common Gull was present after 08:00 at least.
- One of the early visiting large gulls was pale enough to identify as a (near) adult Herring Gull.
- One Song Thrush was in very recognisable song. Birds typically restart singing in October and sing somewhat intermittently throughout the winter. This seems exceptionally early?
- Three Meadow Pipits seemed to flush out of the SW grassy area. I have occasionally suspected migrants stop-off overnight here. Another overhead.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
***all counts affected by VERY low cloud. Only birds low and directly overhead were visible ****
- >40 Greylag Geese (one group outbound)
- 12 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID
- 20 Wood Pigeons
- 10 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Meadow Pipit

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 3 (2) Chiffchaffs

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 (6♂) Mallard: all bar 1♂ flew off
- 5 (1♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 Little Grebes
- 8 adult + 4 immatures + 9 juvenile (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Moorhens once more
- 125 Coots
- >80 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Common Gull: a first-winter bird
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all three of these first-winter birds
- 1 Herring Gull: (near) adult
- 5 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID

Pre-dawn sightings on the lamp poles:
- 1 Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria)
- 1 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)
- 3 small flies
- 1 probable Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)

Later sightings:
- >10 (Great) Black Slug types (Arion ater agg.)
- more fruiting bodies of the Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig (Coprinus comatus) fungus
- a cluster of unidentified fungus

Managed to get to grips with the first-winter Common Gull this morning. As previously noted this is anything but a ‘common’ gull in this part of Shropshire and it is most unusual to get such a good view as I had this morning. My first attempt as it flies towards me. The typical dark of the eye and the surround area as well as brown around the base of the neck is easily seen. The bill is much less robust than any Lesser Blacked / Herring Gull.

Landing conveniently next to a first-winter Black-headed Gull for direct comparison. On the Common Gull note the grey secondary coverts and grey on the inner webs of the inner primaries ....

.... even more clearly shown here.

A good comparison of the bill sizes and shapes of the two species here.

As our bird preens we see the neat black tail band at this age, with small white tips – typically not noted on a flying bird. The row of brown dots on the uppertail coverts is something else that would be hard to see on a flying bird.

Here it is having a shake-down after preening. The grey secondary coverts are none too obvious here. Note some grey on the top of the back (mantle).

Shaken down and standing proud. The streaking / spotting around the nape of the neck is also present on winter plumage adult Common Gulls. The typically ‘rounded’ head profile is rather spoilt by a few errant feathers.

That was as close as I got before something spooked all the gulls and here it flies away. Contrary to my comments above both the white tips to the tail and the brown spotting on the uppertail are visible, though I suspect the naked eye might struggle.

This was rather unexpected: a male Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria). This moth flies all winter and was especially abundant last winter. The females are wingless. My books tell me it flies from October to January. Well it is the first of October though moth records are traditionally dated on the last evening before the sighting – so it should be dated 30th September. My logs show early November as my usual first sighting dates. Note all the debris from spiders at this light.

This moth is a Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa). Last recorded by me here on 25 August this year. The single generation is on the wing from late July to early October though it is unlikely that any individual insect will have such a long flight-period.

This spider had only just pounced on its breakfast when I took this shot but it is already making short work of it – wing and legs being scattered. Do spiders ‘clean’ their webs of all these discarded bits? I assume they do as the bits would give a warning about the presence of the web. I think the spider is a Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus). And what is that in the web above the spider? A body?

Still chomping away. Is the red bit part of the spider? Or perhaps the eye of an unfortunate fly? [That is a bolt hole on the lamp pole behind the spider]

Yesterday’s Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig (Coprinus comatus) fruit did not last long ....

Or perhaps it was this one – a well chewed specimen. There is a whole group of fungus gnats waiting for me to find and identify that were probably responsible. Pass. There were more new fruiting bodies of this species nearby. I was going to say this species is ‘short-lived’ but that of course is not true. Only the fruiting body is short-lived with most of the fungus existing underground for many years – over 2000 years for some species.

A different cluster of fruiting bodies found this morning. Several noted.

The best I could do with a ‘side elevation’ shot. These may not be around tomorrow. Not because this is a short-lived species but because the council contractors were out with their mowers later. What species? I am glad you asked. No idea. Every time I photograph fungus I plough through all the photos on the Naturespot web site and find no convincing matches among all the excellent shots of the diverse array of fungus. Grrr.

(Ed Wilson)

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

The Flash:  09:10 – 09:55

(224th visit of the year)

With most of the geese still away remarkably peaceful.

Other notes from here:
- 38 of the Canada Geese flew in: two groups.
- Another increase in Tufted Duck numbers – or are they just easier to find when they are not dwarfed all by the geese?
and
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman on a lamp pole in squirrel alley
- White Dead-nettle (Lamium album) still in flower
- 2 fruiting spikes of Lords-and-Ladies / Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum)
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Starlings
- 2 Meadow Pipits
- 2 Goldfinches

Warblers noted.
None

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 6 > 44 Canada Geese
- 1 hybrid / feral goose
- 43 (21♂) Mallard
- 55 (11?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 4 Moorhens
- 19 Coots
- 2 Black-headed Gulls: neither of these a first-winter bird

This perky Wren popped up briefly on the vegetation. Poor light: long range. But how could I resist?

Apparently I should not have been too surprised to see flowers of White Dead-nettle (Lamium album) in October – continuous flowering from April to November my books tell me. These flowers were well hidden in what I can attest was a bed of Common Nettle (Urtica dioica). [My logs tell me that I first saw this in flower here this year on 1st January]

I was only thinking the other day that I had not seen the usual array of fruiting spikes of Lords-and-Ladies / Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum) in squirrel alley: and there they were. On the other side of the path from usual so probably overlooked for some days.

(Ed Wilson)

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

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

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Kingfisher
Grey Wagtail
40 Mute Swan
(Mike Cooper) 

2008
Priorslee Lake
Shoveler
Peregrine
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
1 Redwing
90 Golden Plover
87 Greenfinches
3 Chiffchaffs
Blackcap
Kingfisher
2 Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)