9 Oct 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 11.0°C:  Clear start, soon clouding for the promised narrow band of rain – just c.10 minutes c.08:40. Calm start with light WSW wind later. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:26 BST

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake:  05:58 – 09:34

(215th visit of the year)

Highlight here today was the party of five Barn Swallows flying S at 08:35 – a late date for this species here. They do breed as far north as Iceland so some have a long way to go to South Africa!

Also worthy of special note was a male Blackcap along the S side. Probably a different bird heard scolding nearby. Certainly a different bird scolding in the NW area.

Bird notes:

- An adult Mute Swan flew in from the E, looked at the residents' arched wings and flew straight off S at 08:10.

- Two Tufted Duck seen in flight pre-dawn and then presumably the same in the NE area at 08:00 but not subsequently

- The first gulls to arrive this morning were five Black-headed Gulls at 06:34: they did not stay at this time.

- Four Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived at 06:46: these two moved off very quickly

- Thereafter 234 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived between 06:52 and 07:05, also moving on quickly such that 32 more did not bother to stop off and flew straight over.

- After 08:00 17 Lesser Black-backs, four Herring Gulls (two adults) and one Yellow-legged Gull (near adult) arrived with four more passing directly over.

- One group of c.160 Jackdaws was the only group of corvids I was not explicitly able to count.

- The Cetti's Warbler sang once from the landward side of the path(?) in the middle of the N side. A rather strange location for this species, usually very close to water.

- A single calling Chiffchaff noted – very vocal and very mobile for a while then shut-up / moved on.

- Three Reed Buntings flew out of a roost together. Three more still calling at that time.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 1 Mute Swan

- 4 Greylag Geese (single outbound; duo and single inbound)

- 3 Canada Geese (duo outbound; single inbound)

- 2 Cormorants: singles

- 1 Common Buzzard

- 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)

- 2 Feral Pigeons

- 1 Stock Dove

- 54 Wood Pigeons

- c.375 Jackdaws again

- 107 Rooks

- 5 Barn Swallows (see highlights)

- 1 Mistle Thrush

- 1 Meadow Pipit

- >15 Pied Wagtails

- 2 Siskins

- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler

- 1 (0) Chiffchaff

- 2 (0) Blackcaps (see highlights)

Counts from the lake area:

- 3 + 5 Mute Swans

- 4 (2♂) Mallard only

- 2 (0♂)Tufted Duck, briefly

- 2 Grey Herons

- Little Grebe(s) heard only again

- 18 Great Crested Grebes

- 9 Moorhens again

- 133 Coots

- >75 Black-headed Gulls

- c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (see notes)

- 4 Herring Gulls again

- 1 Yellow-legged Gull

Playing fields

Not checked.

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

- *2 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.) [Autumnal, November, Pale November Moths]

- *1 Beaded Chestnut moth (Agrochola lychnidis)

- 1 Larinioides sp. orb-web spider

- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Both moth species new for the year here: species #103 and #104

Noted later:

- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris): one came to investigate me.

A 'worthwhile' sunrise this morning as the incoming rain clouds moved in, chasing away the clear start.

 "One of our cygnets is missing". Not really. It just would not swim in to the photo.

As the sunrise traverses towards the SE I need a different vantage point to get the best effect.

Enough breeze to cause the leaves to flutter, the Autumn colour lit by the sun against the dark rain clouds.

Play "hunt the Wren". Jumping about between the boulders on the dam-face. Boulders must look quite huge when you are a tiny Wren. But then most things must look big when you are a Wren and I guess you get used to it.

One of two moths to enter the log as November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.). The three species involved (Autumnal Moth (E. autumnata), November Moth (E. dilutata), and Pale November Moth (E. christyi)] are difficult to separate reliably when, as here, the wings look very plain. Males can be identified by examination of the genitalia – though not 10 feet up a lamp pole. The early-October date and wooded location would suggest November Moth but moths do emerge on different dates and fly about. Moth #103 this year. I see these every year. October 5th is my earliest date (in 2018).

The Beaded Chestnut moth (Agrochola lychnidis) seen this morning and species #104 this year. Not all specimens have such 'crazy-paving' markings. All have the diagonal dark mark towards the tip of the forewing. A common moth though I have not recorded it here for a least six years. As usual when I look in detail at the photo I find it has a small friend behind it. No idea what that is.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:37 – 10:41

(200th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- Back to a higher Tufted Duck count – perhaps back from the lake?

- Typically elusive Goosanders. A drake seen briefly. Up to five brownheads, possibly more.

- Are the Coots moving off? hiding? or just lost amongst all the Tufted Ducks?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

- 2 Sparrowhawks

- 2 Jackdaw

- 3 Skylarks

- 5 Starlings

Counts from the water:

- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans

- 2 Greylag Geese

- 17 Canada Geese

- 41 (23♂) Mallard

- 93 (>35♂) Tufted Duck

- 6 (1+♂) Goosanders

- 3 Great Crested Grebes as usual

- 13 Moorhens

- 32 Coots only

- 31 Black-headed Gulls

- 1 Kingfisher

Nothing on any lamp pole:

Elsewhere:

- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris): the only insects on the Ivy.

-*two different unidentified fungus groups in squirrel alley.

Not too easy to see what is going on here. Indeed I am not certain what is going on. The Black-headed Gulls were flying at and in to the tree-tops and apparently picking from the leaves. I saw similar behaviour several times some years ago at the main lake but have not seen it there recently. Research on the web finds that in the US Franklin's Gulls – gulls of similar size and inland habitat – get most of their food by gleaning from the surface of plants. They are also adept at catching insects on the wing which we often see Black-headed Gulls doing, notably on 'flying ant days'. I wonder what they are finding at this time of year?

I noted yesterday that I would try for a better photo of the fungus I had found. This is not it! I failed to re-find the original and found this instead. A group at various ages and stages of being eaten. I think this is Honey Fungus (Armillaria mellea) which does not bode well for the tree at the base of which these were found.

I also found this group on a long-fallen log. A problem I have trying to ID these from the web is that the photo galleries usually only show pristine specimens and these are clearly past their sell-by date. I cannot make any suggestion.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2016

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

4 Wigeon 

4 Gadwall 

1 Pochard 

60 Tufted Duck 

1 Water Rail 

235 Coots 

7 Song Thrushes 

118 Fieldfare

30 Redwings 

466 Jackdaws

139 Rooks 

c.450 Starlings from roost

(Ed Wilson)

2012

Priorslee Lake

c.100 Greylag Geese

3 Gadwall

8 Pochard

18 Tufted Ducks

153 Coots

c.500 Black-headed Gulls

c.450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

10 Herring Gulls

1 Great Black-backed Gull

118 Wood Pigeons

103 Redwings

154 Fieldfares

809 Jackdaws

201 Rooks

7 Siskin

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

1 Pink-footed Goose

c.100 Greylag Geese 

41 Canada Geese 

41 Tufted Duck 

12 Goosander

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

Yellow legged Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

(John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake

28 Pochard

65 Tufted Duck 

46 Greenfinches

5 Fieldfares

11 Redwings

12 Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

2 Goosanders

1 Pochard

45 Tufted Duck

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Great Black-backed Gull

1 Gadwall

1 Shoveler

2 Wigeon

Peregrine Falcon 

(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

2006

Priorslee Lake

23 Pochard

75 Tufted Ducks

950+ Black-headed Gulls

1204+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls

499 Wood Pigeons

11 Meadow Pipits

23 Robins

23 Blackbirds

13 Fieldfares

4 Song Thrushes

18 Redwings

1 Willow Tit

321 Jackdaws

241 Rooks

22 Greenfinches

9 Reed Buntings