14 Oct 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

7.0°C > 14.0°C: Variable cloud coming and going. Rather hazy early. Light NNE wind. Moderate visibility, good later.

Sunrise: 07:35 BST

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 06:00 – 09:46

(220th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- A pair of Gadwall and a drake Pochard new in: also more Tufted Duck.

- A unusually decisive party of eight Lapwing flew over. Normally they flollop about for ages before they decide not to land. These flew straight through.

- Just 121 Lesser Black-backed Gulls logged arriving from the N / NW between 07:04 and 07:25. I did not note any flying over at this time (at least seven did much later).

- Thereafter at least 56 Lesser Black-backs and four Herring Gulls arrived. All but one of the Lesser Black-backs were adults.

- Again difficult to see, let alone count, the Jackdaws as they flew over very high in small spread-out parties along multiple concurrent flight-lines. Over 90 minutes later a tight group of 48 flew SW (most fly SSE); and then another group of 16 flew W.

- At least five Goldcrests seen. There seemed to be three territories during the breeding season: no juveniles seen and since then I have not logged them daily. A small influx perhaps.

- Many singles / small groups of Redwings seen leaving trees just at dawn. Many had been calling earlier. Few overhead later.

- The noise made by the Cetti's Warbler today could not really be described as a song and after two attempts it shut up. At the W end again.

- The count of 27 Pied Wagtails was the number I saw. There were many more heard calling over. Seems we will not get the roost dispersal birds using the football field as we had the previous two Autumns.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 8 Lapwings
- 7+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- 3 Feral Pigeons
- 52 Wood Pigeons
- c.300 Jackdaws
- no Rooks
- 18 Skylarks
- 66 Starlings (5 groups)
- 1 Fieldfare only
- 30 Redwings (5 groups)
- >27 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit again

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 1 (0) Cetti's Warbler

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake

- 52 Starlings
- >13 Redwings
- 5 Reed Buntings

Counts from the lake area:

- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 10 (6♂) Mallard again
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 26 (12♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant arrived
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Grebe
- 13 Great Crested Grebes again
- 10 Moorhens
- 156 Coots
- >75 Black-headed Gulls
- c.175 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- *4 Herring Gulls: three immatures and one adult

Birds on playing fields c.07:35:

[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]

- 111 Black-headed Gulls on the academy playing field
- 58 Black-headed Gulls on the football field

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

- 3+ November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.)

[two on lamp poles; one flying landed on vegetation briefly to positively ID; another in flight only]

- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Noted later:

- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris): again this species and innumerable unidentified flies were the only insects on the ivy.

- *more of yesterday's unidentified group of fungus.

A Common Buzzard tucked up inside a tree. I dared not move to a position where the twigs were less obtrusive because it would have flown. The pale fringes to the back feathers suggest this is a young bird though the breast pattern needed to be seen to confirm that. The size of the cere over the top of the bill would have been another clue – that is hidden behind a leaf.

And nothing is clearer here except the fierce-looking eye.

A second-winter Herring Gull. Rather more grey on the back than a first-winter and the bill has a brown base and a pale tip – it would be essentially all black on a first-winter bird.

Any photo of a Goldcrest is a bonus. These active sprites are hard-enough to see let alone photograph. I think this one was recovering from an encounter with a spider's web as it spent a while preening. I managed to catch it taking a look around between preens. The gold on the crown is just about visible. Note the relative large 'staring' eye and the longish thin bill for getting in to narrow gaps for food.

Well the fungus does not look very different from yesterday...

There were several other groups of fungus and one of them had been knocked over. I retrieved it and arranged it to get a better identification shot. The very black and crowded gills are apparent. A search of the web and my limited literature has proven unsuccessful. It looks somewhat like a Coprinus sp., though most of the members of this group have fruiting bodies that quickly loose structure and deliquesce.

Facing the other way does not help!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:49 – 10:48

(205th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- The Mute Swan cygnets kept together while they were learning to fly but are now often well separated

- Tufted Duck numbers reduced – some gone to the main lake?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

- 3 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
- 6 Skylarks

Counts from the water:

- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 20 Canada Geese again
- 43 (24♂) Mallard
- 61 (??♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 brownhead Goosander
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 9 Moorhens
- 30 Coots
- 24 Black-headed Gulls

On different lamp poles:

- 2 November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.)

One has been in the same position on the same lamp pole for three mornings now.

The other was on a lamp pole where I have probably recorded at most five individual moths over the years.

On / around the Ivy:

- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album)

and

- innumerable unidentified flies

Also

- Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) busy at their nest site (but none on the Ivy)
- 2 Grey Squirrels

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 10:58 – 11:30 // 12:05 – 12:15

(31st visit of the year)

Rather quiet still but good to see Tufted Duck returning.

Bird notes:

- One of the fishermen reported that the Mute Swan family had been for a 20 minute flight and had only just returned.

- At least one Skylark overhead. Bird species #57 at this location for me this year.

- Both Grey and Pied Wagtails here.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

[The local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws not included]

- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1+ Skylark

Counts from the water:

- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 18 Canada Geese
- 11 (6♂) Mallard
- 8 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 2 Moorhens
- 10 Coots
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Kingfisher

Also noted:

The sun was not shining when I checked the flowering patch of Ivy; only:

- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) only
- many unidentified flies

elsewhere:

- Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta): my first here this year
- 1 Grey Squirrel

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool: 11:35 – 12:00

(31st visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- No Goosanders.

- Single Wood Pigeon over broke a two-week duck

- The Kingfisher was new for my bird species list here in 2020: #43

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 1 Wood Pigeon
- 1 Jackdaw

Counts from the water:

- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 66 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose as ever
- 20 (13♂) Mallard
- 8 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhen
- 44 Coots
- 31 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher

Nothing else noted

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

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)