14 Oct 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  06:15 –09:15
The Flash:  09:20 – 10:15

8.0°C > 9.0°C:  Overcast at medium / high level; some lower clouds. Light E wind. Moderate visibility and rather misty at times.

Sunrise: 07:33 BST

Priorslee Lake:  06:15 –09:15

(243rd visit of the year)

Bird notes from today:
- Only two of the Mute Swan cygnets seemed inclined to take part in the flying lesson. Thanks to Martin Grant I know the five cygnets have blue Darvic rings coded 7JSI, 7JSJ, 7JSL, 7JSN and 7JSP. ‘L’ and ‘N’ are females; ‘J’ and ‘P’ are male; not sure about ‘I’ – perhaps part of the LGBT community? It was the female cygnet 7JSN that had wandered from the main group this morning.
- A lone Greylag Goose flew outbound at c.07:20. It or another flew inbound at c.08:10. Then it, or another, flew outbound at c.09:00.
- Most of the Feral Pigeons were in a single group of 13 birds that descended in to the fields to the N. Thus they were likely to have been Racing Pigeons.
- Another day with a rather late group of 33 Jackdaws – at 08:20. Note also the parties over The Flash even later.
- The Blackbirds seem to have declared the haws ripe enough to eat before the first frost. There were at least nine birds in a feeding frenzy in the Ricoh hedge.
- Many Song Thrushes around this morning with four birds in muttering sub-song and at least two leaving a roost around the lake.
- Probably many more Pied Wagtails than logged. They were just beyond my visual range and I know from previous years they are usually in small groups even though it sounds like only one or two birds.
- My first Siskins of the Autumn over here.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 3 Greylag Geese (see notes)
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all (near) adults
- 32 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID
- 15 Feral Pigeons
- 64 Wood Pigeons
- 251 Jackdaws
- no Rooks
- 6 Skylarks
- 2 Redwings
- >10 Pied Wagtails
- 2 Siskins

Birds logged leaving roosts around the lake
- 5 Starlings
- 2 Song Thrushes
- 2 Redwings yet again
- 7 Reed Buntings

Warblers noted.
None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 19 (4?♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Cormorants again
- 2 Grey Herons again
- 3 Little Grebes
- 8 adult + 3 immatures + 9 juvenile (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens
- 122 Coots
- >65 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 3 Herring Gulls: all three of these first-winter birds

Pre-dawn sightings on the lamp poles:
- 1 Common Marbled Carpet moth (Dysstroma truncata)
- 1 Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
- 1 probable Common stretch-spider (Tetragnatha extensa)
- 1 different spider, not identified

Later sighting:
- 1 White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- 1 Aegopinella species of glass snail again. Probably Smooth Glass Snail (Aegopinella nitidula)
- 1 Grey Squirrel
- more fungus on the ‘football‘ field

A Grey Heron leaves the dam. Did I know that this species has yellow-orange feet? I do now. Note the way the bill has been foreshortened by the angle making it look massive.

My second record recently of this easy to recognise form of Common Marbled Carpet moth (Dysstroma truncata).

Almost head-on a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina).

This is likely a Common Stretch-spider (Tetragnatha extensa). As so often seems to happen there is another critter lurking in the photo. No idea what it is – looks like a very small bug.

This spider remains unidentified.

Not sure about this snail. The overall biscuit colour with a darker area near the lip points to Glossy Glass Snail (Oxychilus navarricus). However none of the glass snails typically shows the whorls picked out with dark lines. This might just be a shadow effect of the ‘flash’ photograph. When I took the shot I assumed the black near the tail was frass but the camera reveals that it has legs – perhaps even lots of them, though it is hard to tell. No idea.

The fungus on the ‘football’ field. I read in the latest RSPB Members magazine that there are 15000 species of fungus in the UK. It makes me feel somewhat better that I can rarely identify any that I see.

A side-elevation view of the same fungus.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:20 – 10:15

(230th visit of the year)

A new ‘nature’ Information Board was erected this morning along the South part of the footpath giving an indication of what can be seen in the various seasons. Not entirely accurate – Reed Buntings are not at all common – but let us hope it encourages interest in the bird and plant life here.

A fly-over Linnet was my first here this year. It is my 79th birds species at this site in 2019

Notes from here:
- Confirmed this morning that there are three Great Crested Grebes here. I have had my suspicions for the last few visits. With individuals well scattered and moving about finding all three at the same time has proved a challenge.
- Three different parties of Jackdaws over, including 38 that circled with the local crows for a while. A few singles also noted.
- A lone Mistle Thrush overhead. Singles are rather unusual at this date – they are normally in post-breeding groups in open country.
Other things:
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestman
on the usual lamp pole
Also
- more fungus in squirrel alley.
with
- 1 Grey Squirrel
nothing on the Ivy flowers : too dull and cool

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 4 Feral Pigeons
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 86 Jackdaws
- 1 Starling
- 1 Skylark
- 1 Mistle Thrush
- 1 Pied Wagtail yet again
- 1 Chaffinch
- 1 Greenfinch
- 1 Linnet

Warblers noted.
None

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans as ever
- 45 Greylag Geese: all these arrived
- 18 Canada Geese: 14 of these arrived
- 27 (17♂) Mallard
- 40 (11?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens again
- 18 Coots
- 18 Black-headed Gulls

The nice new information board placed here this morning. Would it be churlish to point out that Reed Bunting has yet to breed here and I have seen birds only about four times? Still the reeds are growing and spreading so who knows?

Another fungus, this one alongside the path through squirrel alley. Again unidentified.

The same clump taken with the flash – it was very dark under the heads to enable the gills to be seen. Gives a very different colour to the fruiting bodies though.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2011
Priorslee Lake
14 Redwing
(Glenn Bishton)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
2nd winter Common Gull
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
54 Mute Swans
3 Wigeon
6 Pochard
12 Tufted Ducks 
15+ Lapwings
203 Coots
Meadow Pipit
3 Skylarks
1 Siskin
6 Redwing
Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Cormorant
Water Rail
Lapwings
37 Robins
21 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
6 Song Thrushes
48 Redwings
Siskin
300 Starlings
(Ed Wilson)