22 Oct 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 10.0°C: Clear start soon clouded somewhat. Clear again later for a while only. Calm start with light SW wind later. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 07:49 BST

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 06:16 – 09:45

(227th visit of the year)

A morning that promised rather more than it delivered. Many winter thrushes seen leaving roost trees around the lake: then rather few overhead. Several small groups of Wood Pigeons seen climbing away to the S / SW (usually birds pass mainly E or W): no large migrant groups found.

Other bird notes:
- Three Tufted Duck flew off W at 06:55 and another at 07:30. These birds were not sexed as it was too dark.
- In admittedly better weather I logged 499(!) Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying from the N / NW between 07:11 and 07:30. At least 123 of these flew over leaving c.375 carpeting the lake for a while.
- After 08:50 another 82 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived from the E / SE with five immature Herring Gulls. 18 flew over without stopping.
- No big groups of post-roost Jackdaws – 26 was the largest.
- Rather surprised that Sky Larks continue to pass over. As I recall in previous years larger numbers have passed in just a few days rather than the protracted passage this year.

Birds noted flying over / near here: all numbers affected by low cloud and poor visibility.
- 4 Greylag Geese (inbound)
- 16 Canada Geese (three groups outbound)
- 1 Cormorant again
- 2 Sparrowhawks
- *1 Common Buzzard
- 2 Lapwings
- >140 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 102 Wood Pigeons
- 151 Jackdaws
- 4 Rooks
- 1 Raven
- 3 Skylarks
- 12 Fieldfares (three group)
- 24 Redwings (four groups)
- >4 Pied Wagtails
- 30 Siskins (two groups)

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.150 Starlings
- 7 Fieldfare
- *34 Redwings
- 16 Reed Buntings

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 7 (4♂) Gadwall still
- 15 (9♂) Mallard
- 8 (6♂) Pochard
- 37 (>22♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 brownhead Goosander, briefly
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 2 Little Grebes again
- 15 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Moorhens
- 132 Coots
- c.150 Black-headed Gulls
- c.450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again (see notes)
- 5 Herring Gulls: all immatures

Playing fields

Not visited

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 4 November Moth-types (Epirrita sp.).
- *2 Tipula pagana craneflies.
- *2 Larinioides sclopetarius orb-web spiders

Noted later:
- 2 Grey Squirrels.

At last: a decent sunrise. The sleeping family of Mute Swans in the middle-ground (is that the right description?).

The sun provides some Autumn colours before the promised gales on Saturday blows all the leaves away.

Both photos taken from the dam.

As was this, though a maximum-zoom effort in to the Ricoh grounds.

The light captures the underwing markings of this passing Common Buzzard.

Typically lurking in the Hawthorns almost out of site was a Redwing.

Keeping a careful eye on me.

A rather nondescript crane fly that folds its wings over its back at rest. The wings are unmarked apart from the veins. It is Tipula pagana, common at this time of year. It is a male – the female have very short wings and cannot fly.

Can't quite make out what is going on here. The Larinioides sclopetarius orb-web spider is either attacking another spider or, what is perhaps more likely, sloughing off its old exoskeleton.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:48 – 10:54

(212th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The Mute Swan cygnets all went for a fly with both their parents.
- at least 12 of the Tufted Duck flew in (from the lake?).
- party of 11 brownhead Goosanders keeping together. Another lone bird 'at the other end'.
- Chiffchaff heard and then seen alongside the approach road to The Priorslee.
- Grey Wagtail again: on roof of houses in Derwent Drive.
- Siskins heard calling from the island.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 3 Common Buzzards
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 7 Jackdaws
- 1 Skylark
- 16 Fieldfare
- 2 Redwings
- 1 Linnet

Counts from the water:
- *3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 14 Canada Geese
- 42 (24♂) Mallard
- *61 (>25♂) Tufted Duck
- *12 brownhead Goosanders
- *1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 37 Coots again
- 34 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult; one second winter; one first-winter
- 1 Herring Gull: second winter
- 1 Kingfisher

On the lamp poles:

Nothing on any of the lamps

On / around the Ivy:
- *1 Comma (Polygonia c-album)
- >50 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
- very many unidentified flies.

Otherwise
- The Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) nest was active again.
- 2 Grey Squirrels

Here they come: the Mute Swan cygnet formation duo.

But then again – no longer in tight formation.

"I've washed my hair and I can't do a thing with it". A drake Tufted Duck shows off his growing 'tuft'. Still a few grey feathers in its flanks.

Same drake in the foreground. Behind another drake with some way to moult to acquire breeding plumage. Probably a first-winter bird.

At The Flash I met Phil Nock also on a photographic sortie. We went our separate ways but had many of the same ideas. He sent me some of his shots. This is Phil's photo of the same drake Tufted Duck. From this angle the remnant grey in the flanks is more obvious.

What a poseur – the duck that is.

Would any day be complete without a brownhead Goosander photo?

And here is Phil's take on it.

Phil's camera would reach the island and capture the Grey Heron. I am sure it does not have a stick in its mouth!

A second-winter Herring Gull seemed to be playing with this leaf.

Another shot that my camera would have struggled with – the gull playing with the leaf in the air.

Not my best-ever photo of a Grey Wagtail but makes the point of why this species visits house-roofs in winter. The moss I am sure harbours goodies to eat.

A Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album) on the Ivy. This species may well hibernate. It might migrate back to mainland Europe for the winter. Either way it needs to feed up as much as possible.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2017

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2016

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

1 adult Yellow-legged Gull

1 adult Great Black-backed Gull

4 Gadwall

1 Teal

(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill

A Raven tussling with Sparrowhawk

(John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake

389 Fieldfare

6 Redwings

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

15 Pochard

34 Tufted Duck

13 Moorhens

232 Coots

1 Redwing heard 

(Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

A male Stonechat the west end

2 Gadwall

A drake Shoveler

14 Pochard

44 Tufted Duck

Siskin

Redpoll

C.350 Starlings in the roost

20 Redwings

209 Coot

Kingfisher

(Ed Wilson)