10.0°C > 14.0°C: Yet another start with low cloud, which descended further to make it very misty. Only began to clear after 10:00. Calm start; light and variable breeze later. Good visibility to start, then poor, even very poor until 10:00.
Sunrise: 06:55 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 05:31 – 09:09
(198th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- A drake Gadwall heard at the W end pre-dawn. Probably the small duck seen flying off 06:10 when too dark to ID.
- A duck Tufted Duck 'appeared' along the S side after 08:00. Then a drake 'appeared' at the W end c.08:40. Neither seen earlier or later though could have been lost in the mist.
- The visibility was not good but it seemed there were three well-grown but immature Great Crested Grebes in with the rather fewer 'spare' adults. Could perhaps be adults moulting their head plumes?
- The higher Coot total needs to be treated with some caution as with poor visibility I had to do the count 'in bits' and there is the danger of some double-counting.
- 261 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew SE between 06:31 and 07:00. In the poor visibility as they swirled around it was hard to keep track of them. I would judge at least 175 came in to the lake with the other 80 or so passing over. By 08:00 there were just six Lesser Black-backed Gulls and three immature Herring Gulls, probably left-over. No further arrivals noted.
- The sole singing Chiffchaff gave about three 'chiffs' and then shut up. Very Autumnal feel today.
- 28 Pied Wagtails logged leaving the roost. I changed my vantage point and at least eight of these left to the W, though it is harder to track these as the road noise tends to drown their calls..
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- no geese
- 1 Cormorant again
- c.80 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 17 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 3 Starlings (one group)
- 28 Pied Wagtails
- 7 Meadow Pipits
Hirundines etc. logged:
None
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 6 (1) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Counts from the lake area:
- *2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall: departed (see notes)
- 12 (8♂) Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Tufted Duck (see notes)
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived
- *11 + 9 (5+ broods) Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 5 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 121 adult and juvenile Coots (see notes)
- >250 Black-headed Gulls
- >175 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- 3 Herring Gulls
Birds on the fields c.07:10:
[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]
- 82 Black-headed Gulls on the academy playing fields
- 46 Black-headed Gulls on the football field
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 6 (1) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Counts from the lake area:
- *2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall: departed (see notes)
- 12 (8♂) Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Tufted Duck (see notes)
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived
- *11 + 9 (5+ broods) Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 5 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 121 adult and juvenile Coots (see notes)
- >250 Black-headed Gulls
- >175 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- 3 Herring Gulls
Birds on the fields c.07:10:
[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]
- 82 Black-headed Gulls on the academy playing fields
- 46 Black-headed Gulls on the football field
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
None
Other things:
- *3 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) again
- 3 Orb-web spiders, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- *1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman
Insects / other things etc. noted later: just
- Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
Mammals
- 3 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Other things:
- *3 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) again
- 3 Orb-web spiders, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- *1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman
Insects / other things etc. noted later: just
- Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
Mammals
- 3 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Most days pre-dawn the wasps are buzzing around the light fittings and doing battle with the orb-web spiders. This one was apparently asleep. This is a Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris), best identified here by the sizes of the gaps between the three pairs of yellow marks on the thorax being different. Use of the abdomen marks is not always reliable in separating this species from German Wasp (Vespula germanica) and anyway we cannot see the abdomen marks clearly because of the folded wings.
This harvestman is best identified by the basal part of the legs being obviously thicker. Its goes by the name Paroligolophus agrestis.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:12 – 10:28
(182nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Probably more geese inside the island.
- The duck Common Teal first found on Thursday seen again.
- Three single Meadow Pipits over after the cloud cleared.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Grey Wagtail (may have landed locally)
- 3 Meadow Pipits
Hirundines etc. logged:
None
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 44 Greylag Geese
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- *92 Canada Geese
- 1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 39 (22♂) Mallard only
- *63 (>19♂) Tufted Duck
- *1 Grey Heron
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- *10 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 59 adult and juvenile Coots
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: immature
On various lamp poles:
- 1 Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
- 2 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestmen
Elsewhere:
Moths
- *>5 Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella) again
Bees / wasps:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) again
Bug:
- *a leafhopper, most likely Ribautiana ulmi
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) again
Bug:
- *a leafhopper, most likely Ribautiana ulmi
Fungus – as yesterday:
- *Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus) - aka Lawyer's Wig
Mammal:
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Rather sad but the Canada Goose with the deformed wings seems happy-enough. The Mute Swan has stopped chasing it. Will probably never fly but I am sure it will get its share when people "feed the ducks"
A duck Tufted Duck flaps after preening. At first glance it appears she has an extensive 'tuft'. Not so, a pattern in the water gives that impression. On duck Tufted Duck the tuft is, typically, very short.
A juvenile Moorhen dashing along the brickwork at the lake edge in Derwent Drive. Some adult brown-toned body feathers appearing. No red on the bill as yet.
- *Shaggy Inkcap (Coprinus comatus) - aka Lawyer's Wig
Mammal:
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Meanwhile this duck Tufted Duck shows how to deal with an itchy nose.
A glum-looking one-legged Grey Heron
It would be a clever trick to spear a passing fish with one leg tucked up.
"I don't think there are any flying fish here".
You would not want to mess with that bill would you.
The next fruiting body taking shape.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day