10 Oct 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:10 –09:25
The Flash:  09:30 – 10:40

10.0°C > 12.0°C:  clear start; a few clouds later. Light, occasionally moderate, W wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:26 BST

Priorslee Lake:  06:10 –09:25

(242nd visit of the year)

Other bird notes from today:
- The Mute Swan cygnets had another flying lesson.
- A trio of Gadwall returned today. They were, somewhat uncharacteristically, at the W end – they usually are near the dam.
- More unusual behaviour from the Jackdaws. Many seen departing their roost at their current usual time of c.07:05 – and >280 at that time. A long ‘tail’ of ones and twos thereafter. Then a group of 35 at the late time of 08:55. All of these passing S / SE. Next a tight group of 10 flew W – small numbers can fly in almost any direction, but groups are unusual. Note also the party of 31 over The Flash later, also flying W
- The Pied Wagtails logged overhead were flying very high SW and seemed nothing to do with any birds that might have been on the ‘football’ field – there were none there c.09:10 at least.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 2 Greylag Geese (outbound) again
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: five of these a first-winter birds
- 1 Herring Gull: a first-winter bird
- 11 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID
- 2 Stock Doves again
- 41 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 396 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks
- 1 Skylark
- 16 Pied Wagtails
- 6 Meadow Pipits

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake
- 1 Starling
- 3 Song Thrushes
- 2 Redwings again

Warblers noted.
None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Gadwall
- 10 (?♂) Mallard again: mostly flew off while too dark to sex
- 14 (3?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Grebes
- 7 adult + 4 immatures + 9 juvenile (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes still
- 5 Moorhens
- 118 Coots again
- c.120 Black-headed Gulls
- 49 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 26 of these first-winter birds
- 7 Herring Gulls: all seven of these first-winter birds
- 1 putative immature Yellow-legged Gull
- 39 unidentified large gulls: arrived and left while too dark to ID

Pre-dawn sightings on the lamp poles:
- 1 Rhomboid Tortrix moth (Acleris rhombana): Moth species #75 here this year
- a springtail, likely Pogonognathellus longicornis
- several flies of different species
- a Cheilosia sp hoverfly
- 5 different spiders, none positively identified

Later sighting:
- 1 Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
- several wasps
- >5 ‘greenbottles’ Lucilia sp.
- several other species of fly, one possibly Phaonia angelicae

A first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull giving a view of a very typically marked bird, with dark wings and with only a hint of paler tones on the inner webs of the inner primaries, Note too the barring on the upper tail.

Today’s putative immature Yellow-legged Gull. The top of the body shows some Herring Gull-like grey. The white face and heavy all-black bill support the identification.

A quartet of Tufted Duck. Counting from the left #1 and #3 seem to have cleaner white sides and are likely drakes – sexing this species at this time of year can be problematic.

Two juvenile Goldfinches tucking in to Alder cones. They show a varying amount of the adult red face moulting through the juvenile plumage.

Here a single juvenile gets its tongue busy as well as its pointed bill.

Digging in here.

A pause to look around before ...

 ... tucking back in. The warm tones down the side of the breast are a good way to identify juveniles ....

... when you cannot see the yellow in the wing, as is evident here.

Mr. grumpy! An adult Goldfinch munching away.

A very variable species of micro moth with the consistent reticulated background making it easy to identify. It is a Rhomboid Tortrix (Acleris rhombana).

Apparently yet another example of the springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis. The name is longer than the insect.

A Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) of the form succinea with approximately 17 spots. This individual is rather more orange-toned than many.

I think this ‘greenbottle’ fly is one of the Lucilia group of flies that requires more detailed examination to specifically identify.

I think this fly with a striped thorax, pale orange abdomen and brown at the base of the wings is Phaonia angelicae. If the second part of the scientific name refers to a favourite food plant then there are Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris) plants in the area.

This all-black fly is just possibly one of the Cheilosia hoverflies. There seems to be a lot to choose from and they all look similar. I am taking advice.

This orb-web spider is superficially like a Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) though it lacks the white cross marking. It is also somewhat like the Walnut Orb Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica), though perhaps not dark-enough.

Although this was a much smaller specimen than usual – hardly bigger than a money spider – this seems to be one of the stretch spiders Tetragnatha sp.

This spider has much the same structure though the body is unmarked – the shadow of one of its legs can be confusing.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:30 – 10:40

(229th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- A party of 31 Jackdaws flying W, unusually. Three other singles noted.
- A very persistent and loudly calling Chiffchaff on the island. The only one of the morning.
- My first Siskin of the Autumn overhead.
Other things:
- 2 Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum blackwalli harvestman
all on the usual lamp pole
Also
- 3 Red Admiral butterflies (Vanessa atalanta)
- many Tapered Drone Flies (Eristalis pertinax)
- several Common Done Flies (Eristalis tenax)
- 1 Syrphus hoverfly
- 3 Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- >5 wasps sp.
- 1 unidentified fly sp.
all on the Ivy flowers
with
- 2 Grey Squirrels

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 1 Wood Pigeon
- 34 Jackdaws
- 1 Pied Wagtail again
- 5 Meadow Pipits
- 1 Siskin

Warblers noted:
1 (1) Chiffchaff

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 17 Greylag Geese
- 16 Canada Geese
- no hybrid / feral geese again
- 39 (21♂) Mallard
- 43 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 3 Moorhens
- 19 Coots
- 20 Black-headed Gulls: three of these first-winter birds
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

If you are a soaring Common Buzzard in this area you will never be short of friends. Here two Magpies come to say hello (or something like that).

And the local friendly Carrion Crow adds its welcome ....

... or perhaps ‘welcome’ is the wrong word.

So what is this joining in the ‘hello’?

Apparently an optical illusion as here it looks just like a normal Jackdaw.

The Ivy flowers are beginning to open and this Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) gets stuck in.

The front view of a different Red Admiral. I assume the compound eyes of this species allow it see where its tongue is going even when it appears to be staring straight ahead.

One of the many Tapered Drone Flies (Eristalis pertinax).

It is not possible to separate Tapered and Common Done Fly (Eristalis tenax) from this angle. This specimen has a rather worn / damaged right wing.

This may be the same drone fly – the same damaged wing?

Only male Tapered Drone Flies have a tapered body. This is a female (the eyes do not meet) and we would need to see the colour of the front and mid tarsi to separate – not at all obvious here.

A male Syrphus hoverfly unusually showing three (at least) complete parallel yellow bands and a rather elongated tail. I have scrutinised several web-sites and cannot come up with any answer other then a rather strange-looking S. ribesii or S. vitripennis (males cannot be distinguished)

With long antenna this is a bee and not a hoverfly. I had been hoping for my first Ivy Bees, a species I have never knowingly seen. I do not think this is that species as the buff bands are too narrow and too few in number. At the time I thought perhaps Honey Bee but it is not that either – the upper body of a Honey Bee is orange. So ...? One for another day.

A different individual but the same species. Here we can see the pollen on its hind leg.

Flies enjoy Ivy nectar too. Another unknown.

This is the very distinctive resting posture of the harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus ...

... and a close up of why its scientific name is Dicranopalpus!

(Ed Wilson)

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

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee lake
Today's Sightings Here

2011
Priorslee Lake
29 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Curlew
1 Goldeneye
1 Goosander
1 Shoveler
4 Wigeon
1 Teal
1 Common Gull
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
3 Lapwing
25+ Redwing
1 Siskin
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
130 Tufted Ducks
4 Buzzards
Kingfisher
Chiffchaff
Meadow Pipits
Sky Larks
Redwings
Redpoll
Siskin
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
1 Ruddy Duck
50 Robins
1 Redwing
4 Chiffchaffs
11 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
37 Meadow Pipits
36 Pied Wagtails
1 Redwing
55 Tufted Ducks
2 Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)