15.0°C > 16.0°C: Starlit at 05:15; mist / fog by 05:30 thinning only gradually after 09:00. Light NNW wind. Good visibility then very poor; good after 09:30.
Sunrise: 06:46 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 05:12 – 09:36
(194th visit of the year)
All numbers 'best effort' in the poor conditions.
Bird notes:
- One of the fishermen reported an adult Little Grebe with a small stripe-faced juvenile briefly in front of his fishing peg yesterday evening. Must have bred here.
- It mystifies me how the birds manage to find the lake in foggy weather (though I was told that at c.08:00 the mist only went half a mile to the E). 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls had arrived by 06:35 though I have no idea of the direction from which they came. Nor do I know to where they went. Similarly 13 arrived later (with one Herring Gull) though I do know that these left to the W.
- The 10 Pied Wagtails seen flying over were almost certainly roost-dispersal birds, perhaps from the Ricoh area?
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- Greylag Geese heard only
- 15 Canada Geese (all inbound in two groups)
- 4 Wood Pigeons only
- 2 Jackdaws
- 1 Starling
- 10 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit
- 1 Siskin again
Hirundines etc. logged:
- House Martins heard only
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 8 (4) Chiffchaffs again
- 5 (3) Blackcaps
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 3 Canada Geese; duo and singleton, briefly
- 12 (7♂) Mallard
- *3 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- *4 Cormorants: all arrived; two departed
- 2 Grey Herons: both arrived and departed
- [Little Grebe – see notes]
- 15 + 7 (5 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 7 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 81 adult and juvenile Coots
- 24 Black-headed Gulls
- 39 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
Birds on academy playing fields c.06:50:
[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
- *1 Sallow (Cirrhia icteritia): moth species #101 in 2020
Other things:
- 5 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
- 5 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
Insects / other things etc. noted later
- 5 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
- 5 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
Insects / other things etc. noted later
None, not even a wasp!
Fish
- *Perch (Perca fluviatalis)
Mammals
- 5 Pipistrelle-type bats
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
Fish
- *Perch (Perca fluviatalis)
Mammals
- 5 Pipistrelle-type bats
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
All the pictures this morning taken in misty / foggy conditions. A pair of Tufted Duck – easy to tell the sex of each of these.
"Down the hatch". Seems to be a Perch (Perca fluviatalis) with the two dorsal fins and red pelvic, anal and tail fins. The Cormorant needs to be careful as the dorsal fins have sharp spines and it has to be swallowed head-first. Not what the anglers are after.
A Sallow moth (Cirrhia icteritia). All the sallow moths fly in Autumn. This species feeds on Ivy flowers and over-ripe fruits. I record one most years – 19th September last year when it was species #71 for that year. More effort this year so it is species #101.
This 'double-web' illuminated by one of the academy car park lights caught my eye. Seems they are not using LEDs in their grounds?
By all accounts this Cormorant was more successful than the fishermen.
(Ed Wilson)
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(178th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Three of the Mute Swan cygnets achieved lift-off; one tried hard; the others did not join in.
- The geese had likely arrived shortly before me and were still on the open water and working their way towards the island. I suspect that Greylag Geese were already inside the island and I only recorded some of those present.
- The singing Chiffchaffs should really only be given 0.5 for song as it was so brief.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 3 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. logged:
None
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 5 (2) Chiffchaffs
Counts from the water:
- *3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 8+ Greylag Geese
- 104 Canada Geese
- 22 (14♂) Mallard
- 52 (11?♂) Tufted Duck again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 58 adult and juvenile Coots only
- 11 Black-headed Gulls
On the lamp poles again:
- 5 (2) Chiffchaffs
Counts from the water:
- *3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 8+ Greylag Geese
- 104 Canada Geese
- 22 (14♂) Mallard
- 52 (11?♂) Tufted Duck again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 58 adult and juvenile Coots only
- 11 Black-headed Gulls
On the lamp poles again:
Nothing noted
Elsewhere:
Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
Bees / wasps:
- *Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Elsewhere:
Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
Bees / wasps:
- *Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Hoverflies:
- *Cheilosia scutellata (AKA Brown-horned Truffle Cheilosia)
- *Cheilosia scutellata (AKA Brown-horned Truffle Cheilosia)
Flies:
- *Phaonia pallida
Bugs:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- *Phaonia pallida
Bugs:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
Mammals:
- 1 Grey Squirrel again
I spent some time trying to confirm the presence of Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner moth (Cameraria ohridella). A tree whose leaves had been very noticeably mined by the larvae of this tiny micro-moth had many small insects flying around. It is the right time of year to find these moths. Unfortunately none of the insects landed and I was unable to see whether they were even moths.
I am on the look-out for an Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae). This bee is recent colonist to England and is spreading north quickly. It can only be found at this time of year. It is Honey Bee-sized with a furry ginger thorax and a banded abdomen. A Honey Bee in flight usually has its rear legs hanging down and this didn't. It also looked rather too hairy and lacked any orange band at the top of the abdomen. But the orange band (or indeed bands) are a variable feature and this does seem to be a just a Honey Bee (Apis mellifera).
This fly departed before I could see any abdomen markings. However if I have identified it correctly that would not have helped as Cheilosia scutellata has an unmarked abdomen. This hoverfly, sometimes and not particularly helpfully known as Brown-horned Truffle Cheilosia, seems to be the only match for the mostly pale legs seen here. I am taking expert advice. This group is notoriously difficult to identify.
Rather different from most flies, many of which are predominantly black, I thought I could possibly identify it. I can! It is Phaonia pallida. So there.
- 1 Grey Squirrel again
I spent some time trying to confirm the presence of Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner moth (Cameraria ohridella). A tree whose leaves had been very noticeably mined by the larvae of this tiny micro-moth had many small insects flying around. It is the right time of year to find these moths. Unfortunately none of the insects landed and I was unable to see whether they were even moths.
Fast-disappearing down the other end two of the Mute Swan cygnets airborne with undercarriage retracted.
Two down one on finals.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........