5 Nov 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

4.0°C > 10.0°C: Clear start soon gave way to broken cloud at several levels. Some more sunny spells later. Calm / very light S wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:15 GMT

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 05:58 – 09:17

(241st visit of the year)

There was evidence of fireworks having been discharged on the shore of the lake last night. This may account for the lower number of Pochard and Tufted Ducks. The 500+ Starlings that left the roost nearby seem to have been less affected.

Another large passage of Wood Pigeons. Mostly in smaller groups and almost all to the W of the lake.

Other bird notes:
- The visiting pair of Mute Swans with their lone cygnet were not welcomed.
- A drake Goosander flew in from the W, did a 180 and left.
- Groups of five and six Lapwings seen – I assume the six were all different birds.
- c.60 Black-headed Gulls were flying around low over the water by 06:25. Just under 200 more noted arriving from the W
- 229 Lesser Black-backed Gulls came from the Hortonwood direction after 06:42.
- Later 34 Lesser Black-backs, two first-winter Herring Gulls and one of the two recent second-winter Caspian Gulls arrived: none stayed long.
- The Starlings were mostly panicked out of their roost by the arrival of an unleashed noisy dog and I had difficulty estimating the numbers. The disturbance would almost certainly have spooked the roosting Reed Buntings that had been calling earlier. I did not see them leave.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 13 Canada Geese: three groups inbound
- 1 (1♂) Goosander
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 11 Lapwings: two groups
- 24 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 10 Feral Pigeons: four sightings
- 2 Stock Doves
- c.5300 Wood Pigeons: c.5245 of these in 73 migrant parties S / SW
- c.350 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks
- 1 Starling
- 11 Redwings: three groups
- 3 Pied Wagtails only
- 1 Greenfinch
- 1 Lesser Redpoll: also two in trees, briefly

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- >500 Starlings
- 3 Redwings
- no Reed Buntings (see notes)

Counts from the lake area:
- *4 + 6 Mute Swans: a visiting pair with one cygnet, briefly
- *7 (4♂) Gadwall again
- 13 (9♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard only
- 15 (>6♂) Tufted Duck: four of these flew off
- 3 Cormorants: arrived as singles
- 3 Grey Herons
- 2 Little Grebes
- 12 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 142 Coots
- >250 Black-headed Gulls
- 262 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls: first-winter birds
- 1 Caspian Gull: second-winter

Playing fields.
Not visited

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- *1 Common Plume moth (Emmelina monodactyla)
- 3 winter gnats (Trichocera sp)
- *2 Tetragnatha stretch spider sp.
- *5 other small spiders apparently of the same unidentified species
- 3 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestmen

Noted later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

The last of the clear skies allowed a brief colouring of the clouds pre-sunrise. At the far end of the lake the Lesser Black-backed Gulls are beginning to gather. A Black-headed Gull in the foreground.

The clouds cleared again for a while to allow a sunrise flotilla shot of the Mute Swan family.

Not so tranquil here with the residents on the warpath to repel invaders.

One of the invaders makes its get-away. It does not appear to be ringed.

It was some while before I realised there was an extra cygnet. Here it too makes its get-away.

About time we had another drake Gadwall photo.

After several blank days I found a moth this morning. It is a Common Plume moth (Emmelina monodactyla). This group holds its wings tightly rolled-up when at rest and this tends to obscure the markings on the wings. Luckily this is about the only plume moth species flying at the time of year so identification is straightforward.

This is a Tetragnatha stretch spider in its web. Most times I see any spider in this group they are spread out along leaves or on lamp-poles and it is unusual for me to see them at a web. They do make orb-webs - clearly!

Covered in dew, as they all were, one of five very similar-looking small spiders all on the same lamp pole. I surmise all recently hatched. The dew obscures any identification marks.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:35

(225th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- All seven cygnets present. The 2018 sub-adult was again attacking some of the cygnets. For a change the parents decided to intervene.
- Higher numbers of Pochard and Tufted Ducks: refugees from fireworks at the lake (q.v.)?
- Seems a rather late date for Sky Larks still to be passing.
- Redwing party seen too late to get an accurate count

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- *1 Sparrowhawk
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Jackdaws
- 2 Skylarks
- 3 Starlings
- c.35 Redwings
- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 21 Canada Geese
- 37 (21♂) Mallard
- 6 (6♂) Pochard
- 154 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- *32 (6?♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Moorhens
- 37 Coots
- 62 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Herring Gull: first-winter

On any of the lamp poles:
Nothing

On / around the Ivy:
- *2 Red Admiral butterflies (Vanessa atalanta)
- 2 Tapered Drone Flies (Eristalis pertinax)
- >50 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
- many 'flies'

Of interest elsewhere:
- Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) still active at their nest site.

A tricky contrasting subject when the sun is out. One of two full drake plumaged Goosanders that were present.

As yesterday at the lake a 'snouty' looking first-winter Herring Gull. Not the same bird as this has pale at the base of the bill.

And here the paler inner primaries show well confirming its identity.

Another view.

Not entirely what I expected - in fact rather more than what I expected. I was photographing the Carrion Crow giving a male Sparrowhawk a hard time. A female Sparrowhawk would be bigger. But what are those other dots? The lower one looks like a pigeon with a rather short tail I suspect a Stock Dove but at that range I'd be delighted if was proven even to be a pigeon! The other dot is probably the same species.

Red Admiral butterflies (Vanessa atalanta) are not uncommon on fine Winter days especially prior to the solstice. Here drinking nectar from the Ivy to help it survive hibernation during the coldest weather.

(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

3 Yellow Legged Gull

2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls

4 Gadwall

4 Wigeon

(John Isherwood)

2012

Priorslee Lake

c.80 Greylag Geese over 

2 Gadwall 

6 Pochard 

40 Tufted Ducks 

7 Moorhens 

c.130 Coots

2500 Wood Pigeons

580+ Jackdaws

45+ Rooks

Raven

1 Siskin

3 Redpolls

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

106 Greylag Geese 

1 possible Bean Goose 

38 Canada Geese 

2 Pochard 

32 Tufted Duck 

17 Goosanders 

7 Moorhens 

7 Coots

(Ed Wilson)

2010

Priorslee Lake

10 Pochard

53 Tufted Duck 

2 Yellow-legged Gulls

513 Jackdaws

53 Rooks

732 Wood Pigeons

5 Meadow Pipits

503 Fieldfare

2 Song Thrushes

34 Redwings

1 Brambling

12 Chaffinches

2 Siskins

51 Linnets

(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool

Yellow-legged Gull

(Martin Grant)

2008

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe 

15 Shoveler

1 Gadwall

10 Pochards 

117 Tufted Duck

2 Water Rails

100+

Many Redwings

4 Fieldfare

20+ Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

4 Great Crested Grebes

16 Pochard

55 Tufted Ducks

1 drake Ruddy Duck

c.600 Black-headed Gulls

189 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

803 Wood Pigeons

17 Pied Wagtails

19 Wrens

12 Dunnocks

30 Robins

21 Blackbirds

128 Fieldfares

4 Song Thrushes

24 Redwings

1 Mistle Thrush

13 Magpies

347 Jackdaws

160 Rooks

12 Carrion Crows

223 Starlings

2 Siskins

8 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

Water Rail 

Kingfisher

2 Little Grebe

11 Pochard

35 Tufted Duck

3 Ruddy Duck

27 Redwing

10 Fieldfare

5 Reed Bunting

Redpoll

Siskin

101 Rooks

12 Carrion Crow

227 Jackdaws

3 Jay

12 Magpies 

1 Raven

1200 Wood Pigeon

(Martin Adlam)