7 Nov 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

3.0°C > 6.0°C: Areas of thin high cloud. Calm start with very light E wind later. Moderate visibility in haze.

Sunrise: 07:19 GMT

* = a photo today.

A very quiet morning

Priorslee Lake: 06:02 – 09:03

(243rd visit of the year)

Other bird notes:
- Now two 'spare' drake Gadwall and all three pairs located. No longer staying together.
- Five brownhead Goosanders dropped in at 07:10. These presumably the five seen flying W over the football field a few minutes later - I did not see them again on the lake.
- A Water Rail was heard giving its 'pip pip pip'- type call.
- c.75 Black-headed Gulls were flying around over the water at 06:25. >175 more seen arriving from the W. Very few stayed any length of time.
- Only 41 Lesser Black-backed Gulls noted flying from the Hortonwood direction. 13 of these flew directly over meaning 28 arrived at that time.
- Later 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived from the E and S. No other species with them.
- All but three of the roosting Starlings left, unusually, the NE area.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- 5 Feral Pigeons: one group
- 62 Wood Pigeons: 37 of these in two migrant parties SW / W
- >250 Jackdaws
- 9 Rooks
- c.110 Starlings: one group
- 3 Redwings: one group
- 12 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Siskin

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.300 Starlings: five groups, four of them from NE area
- 1 Fieldfare
- 11 Redwings
- no Reed Buntings

Counts from the lake area:
- *2 + 5 Mute Swans (that should have been yesterday's total also!)
- 8 (5♂) Gadwall
- 14 (9♂) Mallard
- 4 (3♂) Pochard
- 43 (29♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (5♂) Goosanders: briefly
- 5 Cormorants: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Little Grebe
- 11 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Water Rail: heard only
- 9 Moorhens
- 148 Coots
- >250 Black-headed Gulls
- 49 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Birds on playing fields c.07:15:
[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]
- 22 Black-headed Gulls on the football field
these flew to the academy fields upon the arrival of dog-walkers.

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 2 Tetragnatha stretch spider sp. again
- *1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Noted later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Sunrise flotilla of Mute Swans. Not an inspiring sunrise.

A dew bespattered Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis) in typical resting pose with the front two pairs of legs held together. Don't be confused by the mark on the lamp pole giving it an extra very long leg on its right side.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:06 – 10:17

(227th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Fewer Pochard and Tufted Duck - due to presence of fishermen? Or last night's fireworks?
- Another late Skylark flying over.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Feral Pigeons: one group
- 1 Skylark
- 1 Redwing

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 19 Canada Geese
- 40 (23♂) Mallard
- *2 (2♂) Pochard
- 83 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- *17 (2?♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 14 Moorhens
- 32 Coots
- 59 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one adult; one first-winter
- 1 Herring Gull: second-winter? Briefly

On the same lamp pole as yesterday:
- 1 November Moth type (Epirrita sp.)

On / around the Ivy:
- 3 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) only
- [no 'flies' seen]

Of interest elsewhere:
- ?Honey Bee (Apis mellifera): single insect seen entering nest site. But what was it?
- *another fungus sp., perhaps Mealy Bonnet (Mycena cinerella)
- 1 Grey Squirrel again

 Most of the Pochard present yesterday seemed to have departed. Not this handsome drake.

Several close-in brownhead Goosanders. Could I resist? Nope.

I was just too late on this different bird. Its catch is just sticking out the corner of its mouth.

All gone, And looking rather smug I feel.

And another bird with a great hair-do. No white between the bill and the eye suggests an adult duck.

A very small and delicate toadstool found in squirrel alley. It is clearly one of the Mycena group colloquially known as Bonnets. These are not easy to identify. My vote would be for Mealy Bonnet (Mycena cinerella).

(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

2014

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

4 Wigeon

4 Gadwall

1 Teal

1 Pochard

56 Tufted Duck

23 Moorhens

233 Coots

600+ Wood Pigeons

6 Song Thrush

55 Fieldfare

55 Redwings

532 Jackdaws

167 Rooks

(Ed Wilson)

2012

Priorslee Lake

c.150 Greylag Geese

2 Gadwall

9 Pochard

28 Tufted Ducks

1 Water Rail

166 Coots

c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Great Black-backed Gull

c.300 Wood Pigeons

29 Blackbirds

63 Redwings

120 Fieldfares

709 Jackdaws

182 Rooks

c.70 Starlings

(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

The Flash

10 Goosander

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Wrekin

Location

Firecrest 

1 Crossbill

(Andy Latham)

2006

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

26 Pochard

86 Tufted Ducks

1 drake Ruddy Duck

1 Water Rail

1 Redshank

c.750 Black-headed Gulls

128 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

1 Kingfisher

20 Pied Wagtails

34 Robins

32 Blackbirds

16 Redwings

41 Greenfinches

1 Siskin

(Ed Wilson)