7.0°C > 8.0°C: Early broken clouds soon gave way to low overcast and light rain. Later medium overcast, still with sporadic light rain. Calm start again. Light SE breeze later. Good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:51 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 06:20 – 09:41
Priorslee Lake: 06:20 – 09:41
(228th visit of the year)
The often low cloud seemed to restrict any visible migration.
Bird notes:
- The Mute Swan cygnets did one and a half circuits of the lake with both left- and right-hand turns accomplished. The adults accompanied them for take-off only and then looked on.
- Fewer Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying from the N / NW between 07:15 and 07:30. I logged 264 with only 16 of these flying over leaving 248 on the lake for a while. Unlike previous days when arrival has been 'steady' the first 147 arrived before a gap of several minutes for the next arrivals.
- After 08:50 another 58 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived from the N, the E and the S; four Herring Gulls with them. 15 flew over without stopping.
- A brief sighting of a flying first-year gull was a candidate for a Yellow-legged Gull. I was unable to relocate it to get further evidence.
- A tight post-roost Jackdaw group of c.350 birds was followed by another scattered group of c.80 and some while later by 42. A few singles / duos made for a decent count. No identified Rooks
- A late Chiffchaff calling here.
- Many Song Thrushes around the berries – at least 10 seen. Also what seemed like many more Blackbirds than usual. Rather fewer Redwings though.
Birds noted flying over / near here: all numbers affected by low cloud and poor visibility.
- 15 Canada Geese (single and group of six outbound; group of eight inbound)
- 1 Common Buzzard
- >40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- 4 Feral Pigeons (presumed same group E and then W)
- 2 Stock Doves
- 69 Wood Pigeons
- c.475 Jackdaws
- no Rooks
- 23 Starlings (one group)
- 2 Fieldfares (duo)
- 6 Redwings (two groups)
- 1 Mistle Thrush
- >11 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Siskin
- 1 Lesser Redpoll
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- >200 Starlings
- 9 Redwings
- 13 Reed Buntings
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 7 (4♂) Gadwall
- 12 (7♂) Mallard
- 8 (6♂) Pochard again
- 40 (>21♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant again
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe
- 13 Great Crested Grebes only
- 7 Moorhens
- 128 Coots
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- c.300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again (see notes)
- 4 Herring Gulls: one adult; three immatures
- 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull: immature
Playing fields
The often low cloud seemed to restrict any visible migration.
Bird notes:
- The Mute Swan cygnets did one and a half circuits of the lake with both left- and right-hand turns accomplished. The adults accompanied them for take-off only and then looked on.
- Fewer Lesser Black-backed Gulls flying from the N / NW between 07:15 and 07:30. I logged 264 with only 16 of these flying over leaving 248 on the lake for a while. Unlike previous days when arrival has been 'steady' the first 147 arrived before a gap of several minutes for the next arrivals.
- After 08:50 another 58 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived from the N, the E and the S; four Herring Gulls with them. 15 flew over without stopping.
- A brief sighting of a flying first-year gull was a candidate for a Yellow-legged Gull. I was unable to relocate it to get further evidence.
- A tight post-roost Jackdaw group of c.350 birds was followed by another scattered group of c.80 and some while later by 42. A few singles / duos made for a decent count. No identified Rooks
- A late Chiffchaff calling here.
- Many Song Thrushes around the berries – at least 10 seen. Also what seemed like many more Blackbirds than usual. Rather fewer Redwings though.
Birds noted flying over / near here: all numbers affected by low cloud and poor visibility.
- 15 Canada Geese (single and group of six outbound; group of eight inbound)
- 1 Common Buzzard
- >40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)
- 4 Feral Pigeons (presumed same group E and then W)
- 2 Stock Doves
- 69 Wood Pigeons
- c.475 Jackdaws
- no Rooks
- 23 Starlings (one group)
- 2 Fieldfares (duo)
- 6 Redwings (two groups)
- 1 Mistle Thrush
- >11 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Siskin
- 1 Lesser Redpoll
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- >200 Starlings
- 9 Redwings
- 13 Reed Buntings
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 7 (4♂) Gadwall
- 12 (7♂) Mallard
- 8 (6♂) Pochard again
- 40 (>21♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Cormorant again
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Grebe
- 13 Great Crested Grebes only
- 7 Moorhens
- 128 Coots
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- c.300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again (see notes)
- 4 Herring Gulls: one adult; three immatures
- 1 probable Yellow-legged Gull: immature
Playing fields
Not visited
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 10 November Moth-types (Epirrita sp.).
This is frustrating. There are several other species of moth flying at the moment but none seems to want to come here.
- 2 winter gnats (Trichocera sp)
- 1 Tipula pagana cranefly
- *1 Ula sylvatica (a Hairy-eyed Cranefly)
- *1 presumed stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestman
Noted later:
- 2 Grey Squirrels again
- *different species of fungus.
- I noted both flowers and seeds of Shepherd's-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). For some inexplicable reason this species did not feature in my log for here – surely I must have seen it previously?
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 10 November Moth-types (Epirrita sp.).
This is frustrating. There are several other species of moth flying at the moment but none seems to want to come here.
- 2 winter gnats (Trichocera sp)
- 1 Tipula pagana cranefly
- *1 Ula sylvatica (a Hairy-eyed Cranefly)
- *1 presumed stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestman
Noted later:
- 2 Grey Squirrels again
- *different species of fungus.
- I noted both flowers and seeds of Shepherd's-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). For some inexplicable reason this species did not feature in my log for here – surely I must have seen it previously?
Dull weather makes for pastel shades of Autumn colours.
Three of the Mute Swan cygnets making their left-hand turn, all flying strongly now.
A Great Tit having a shake.
A trio in close-up.
The side-elevation view reveals a fourth.
The spider on its own. It has tucked its third pair of legs up.
(Ed Wilson)
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(213th visit of the year)
A reasonable sprinkling of birds overhead without being spectacular.
Other bird notes:
- Tufted Duck numbers have increased again after the dip earlier in the week..
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 6 Feral Pigeons (one group)
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Rook
- 48 Fieldfare (three groups)
- 7 Redwings (two groups)
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 2 Siskins
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 Greylag Geese
- 15 Canada Geese
- 41 (23♂) Mallard
- 69 (>26♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 brownhead Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 10 Moorhens
- 37 Coots again
- 36 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: first-winter
On various lamp poles:
- 3 November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.)
- 3 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris), two of these on the light sensor of their usual lamp
- *2 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestmen
- *1 Opilio canestrinii harvestman
On / around the Ivy
Nothing of note.
An Opilio canestrinii harvestman.
This is the fungus which I provisionally identified as Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) on the 9th October. It is now collapsing in to a soggy heap.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day
2017Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2010
Priorslee Lake
Water Rail
9 Meadow Pipits
143 Fieldfare
8 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Yellow-legged Gull
2 Common Gull
6 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)
2006
Priorslee Lake
Female Blackcap
(John Isherwood)