30 Sep 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 10.0°C: Clear very far to E; otherwise cloudy with mostly light rain. Moderate SE wind. Mostly good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:10 BST

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 05:47 – 09:12

(207th visit of the year)

Highlight of the day / month / perhaps of the year was the Cetti's Warbler singing in the NW area. Seeing this skulking species is usually very difficult and today was no different. The song however is very distinctive and very LOUD. This is probably the third record of this species here. The first was a calling bird I first noted on 03 December 2014 which stayed in to Spring 2015. It later sang for several months before presumably moving on. Records of a calling bird in late 2015 and early 2016 are assumed to relate to another over-wintering bird. Cetti's Warbler is unusual in that it does not migrate. It has spread north from the Continent and was first recorded in the 1960s from various south coast locations. It favours reed beds and adjacent low scrub. "The Birds of Shropshire" published in 2019 notes there are as yet no breeding records from our county. Bird species #103 for me here in 2020.

Other bird notes:

- Ten Mallard were noted flying off W before 06:30 in pairs / small groups. One pair was noted retuning. The others were consequently not sexed.

- Two Little Grebes were together along the middle of the N side. They then flew towards the middle of the water where they, typically, vanished. Against the (poor) light it was impossible to age them.

- I logged 322 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arriving from the NW / N between 06:36 and 07:05. Some of them were well past to the NE when they turned back to wash and drink in the lake. These were mixing with birds leaving to the E. It was impossible to be sure but I suspect other gulls were passing to the N without stopping. By 07:45 only six were on the water. Again birds started to arrive with numbers building to 86 Lesser Black-backed Gulls by 08:45. With them were seven Herring Gulls, three of which were the first grey (sub) adults I have seen for several days. As usual it is impossible to say whether these were new or returning birds. A small number of birds flying in the area could have been these leaving or over flying birds.

- Another sign of Autumn was the large, by recent standards, roost dispersal flight of Jackdaws and Rooks. There were likely more Jackdaws than I recorded as when they are flying in to a SE wind they tend to keep very low and can be hidden from my view behind the trees alongside Castle Farm Way.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

All numbers affected by rain!

- 1 Greylag Goose (outbound)
- 20 Canada Geese (four groups outbound)
- 1 Common Buzzard
- ? Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- 38 Wood Pigeons
- >150 Jackdaws
- 134 Rooks

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 3 (1) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:

- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 13 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Little Grebes: not aged
- 19 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens
- 132 Coots
- c.175 Black-headed Gulls
- >325 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- >7 Herring Gulls

Birds on the fields:

Not counted

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:

Moths:

- 1 Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla)

Other things:

- 2 presumed Larinioides sclopetarius orb-web spiders,

Noted later:

Nothing

It was raining at the lake when I took this photo of the clearer skies to the far E.

There was sufficient clear sky to give a respectable sunrise.

A typical view of two Little Grebes as they patter across the surface wing a-whirr. Seems an inefficient form of locomotion for a species that can fly very well when it wants to.

This is the Common Plume moth (Emmelina monodactyla) I found today. This species over-winters as an adult and will have hatched relatively recently. My previous record this year on 19th July is an unusual date and thought to relate to an uncommon second brood. The adults feed on Ivy blossom now and then Sallow catkins in the Spring. Like most plume moths they rest with their wings tightly rolled up.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:04

(191st visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- No sign of yesterday's duck Teal.

- The Tufted Duck were mostly in a large, loose group continually diving making counting a challenge. I did not attempt to sex them.

- A Grey Wagtail was on the island again briefly.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull yet again: adult

Warblers recorded

None

Counts from the water:

- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 37 Greylag Geese
- 17 Canada Geese
- 37 (24♂) Mallard
- 83 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 40 Coots
- 11 Black-headed Gulls

On any of the lamp poles:

Nothing

Noted elsewhere:

Nothing

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2011
Priorslee Flash

This morning an adult Wryneck, popped up on a wall while I was walking along the footpath along the West side of The Flash at c.09:45. I managed a quick record shot and when I looked up from the camera the bird had gone - probably dropped in to the garden the other side. The gardens are higher than the path so looking over the wall is not possible. Hung around for some 10 minutes but nothing appeared. (Ed Wilson)

Wryneck - 2011 (Ed Wilson)