14 Oct 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 12.0°C: Mostly cloudy. Very light SW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:33 BST

* = a photo today: very few in dull weather

Most noticeable feature today was large passage of Redwings all flying W. At least 1100 over the lake and 250 more over The Flash. Last year I recorded Redwings passing over from 12 October but on no day did I log more than 100 birds. In 2019 my highest daily count was 160 birds on 16 October.

Priorslee Lake: 05:50 – 09:15

(230th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- An adult Mute Swan flew in at c.09:00 and was being chased away by the whole family as I was about to leave.
- c.475 Black-headed Gulls were spread between the football field and the academy playing fields at 07:25. A few more were still drifting in and there a few on the lake. There were no other gulls were with them.
- For some reason almost none of the large gulls seen flying from the N / NW settled on the water. It was perhaps due to an electrical problem that meant there were no street lights along Castle Farm Way and this had presumably set off the rotating beacon on the Severn-Trent sluice exit.
- Two of the twenty five groups of Redwings were noted flying W very soon after dawn and were perhaps birds that had paused around the lake. Four birds were seen to fly out of the W end trees. At least ten more birds were heard calling as they passed overhead c.06:00 in the dark. The main passage did not start until c.07:50.

Overhead:
- 22 Canada Geese: seven outbound together; 15 inbound together
- 1 Greylag Goose: inbound
- 1 Stock Dove
- 92 Wood Pigeons: just four birds passing S together; all the rest were local movements
- 28 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- c.175 unidentified large gulls: see notes
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 216 Jackdaws
- 196 Rooks
- 3 Skylarks
- c.1100 Redwing: in 25 groups flying W
- 5 Pied Wagtails again
- 3 Meadow Pipits
- 1 Chaffinch
- 3 Siskins

Warblers noted:

None

Count from the lake area:
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans: see notes
- 9 (6♂) Mallard
- 15 (>5♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 71 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- c.500 Black-headed Gulls again
- 11 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- very few unidentified large gulls at the usual early time: see notes
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 4 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.)
with:
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 1 Mayfly sp., probably a Pond Olive (Cloeon dipterum)
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- 1 Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
- 1 male Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Nothing noted later:

Today's probable Pond Olive mayfly (Cloeon dipterum). Although on the same lamp pole as the mayfly I saw yesterday then if it is the same individual it has flown back. I could not relocate it after sunrise yesterday.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

- 1 Plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus?)
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- also the usual midges and unidentified spiders

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:

(207th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The pair of Teal was tucked up against the island and hard to see.
- Most certainly three adult Great Crested Grebes again. All three juveniles also located.
- Two of the five Redwing groups each contained more than 100 birds

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 4 Skylarks again
- >250 Redwings: five groups

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff calling

On /around the water:
- 58 Canada Geese: same as yesterday
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 31 (20♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Teal still
- 24 (5+♂) Tufted Duck
- 24 (0♂) Goosander
- 10 Moorhens
- 19 Coots
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 52 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

On one of the lamp poles:
- 1 Walnut Orb Weaver spider (Nuctenea umbratica)

Noted elsewhere:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

I will get it checked but I am pretty confident this is a Walnut Orb Weaver spider (Nuctenea umbratica)

I hope you don't have arachnophobia!

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.

Sightings from previous years without links are below

2011
Priorslee Lake
14 Redwing
(Glenn Bishton)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
2nd winter Common Gull
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
54 Mute Swans
3 Wigeon
6 Pochard
12 Tufted Ducks
15+ Lapwings
203 Coots
Meadow Pipit
3 Skylarks
1 Siskin
6 Redwing
Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Cormorant
Water Rail
Lapwings
37 Robins
21 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
6 Song Thrushes
48 Redwings
Siskin
300 Starlings
(Ed Wilson)