22 Oct 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 11.0°C: Broken cloud with a few light passing showers. Improving. Moderate./ fresh W wind. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 07:47 BST

*= a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:15 – 09:25

(237th visit of the year)

The Cetti's Warbler gave a single explosive song from near the Wesley Brook bridge. I neither saw it nor heard it after that.

Another large passage of Wood Pigeons with at least 2360 noted, all heading S.

Other bird notes:
- Two sub-adult Mute Swans flew in from the E c.08:30. It took a while for the residents to notice – they were asleep on the slipway. When they awoke the adults gave chase, the cygnets staying some way behind. The visitors soon decided to leave at which point the cygnets took flight and joined them as they flew back E. The cygnets did not return, leaving the resident adults childless!
- One pair of Gadwall back/new in.
- 11 Mallard present early, most flying off before it was light-enough to sex them.
- No immature Great Crested Grebe seen.
- A party of nine Lapwings arrived and flew around for a while before disappearing. About 10 minutes later 13 did the same thing. Were these all new birds or were they the originals with reinforcements? They did not land.
- Very few Black-headed Gulls made it to the lake. I did not visit the football/playing field area at gull arrival time so they may have been there in usual numbers. If so where did they go?
- More early large gulls than yesterday and today they all settled on the water for a while.

Overhead:
- 1 Canada Goose: single inbound
- 2 (2♂) Mallard
- 8 Stock Doves: at least four in with Wood Pigeon flocks: a separate group of four
- 13? Lapwings: see notes
- 2400+ Wood Pigeons: at least 2360 of these in 32 groups heading S
- 42 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 180 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks
- 7 Starlings: single and one group
- 3 Redwings: one of these heard only pre-dawn
- 15 Pied Wagtails again
- 2 Meadow Pipits
- 13 Siskins

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: as highlighted again
- 1 Chiffchaff: calls only

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake: (I was not well-positioned to see these this morning)
- 9 Redwings
- 1 Reed Bunting

Count from the lake area:
- *4 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans: see notes
- 2 (1) Gadwall
- 11 (>3♂) Mallard
- 40 (>18♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 52 Coots again
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 35 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls again
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 51 unidentified large gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 2 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.).
with:
- *1 fly sp., possibly Phaonia rufiventris
- several 'winter gnats'
- *1 springtail
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula dentata)
- *1 possible Clubiona species of spider
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *2 different(?) Metellina species of spiders
- *1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- *1 presumed Noble False Widow spider (Steatoda nobilis)
- 2 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Nothing noted later:

Almost your last chance to see the cygnets. The two adult Mute Swans, the cob nearest, and two of the cygnets provide foreground interest for the morning's sunrise.

A passing shower produces a small rainbow.

The resident cob gives chase to one of the two sub-adults that flew in together. Sub-adults can be recognised as a sub-adult by the pale bill. Otherwise the plumage is as white as full adults.

One of 'our' cygnets flies with one of the strangers.

And here they go off together. Bye, bye cygnets?

This fly seems a good candidate to be a Phaonia rufiventris, a species of Muscid fly, most of which are rather hairy.

What I think is a Clubiona species of spider. Specific identification of this group is not possible from photos. Note the eye-shine in four of the eyes from the camera flash.

I suspect this spider is one of the Metellina group but the herring-bone marking on the abdomen looks different. I'll check.

This spider might well be in the same group. Unseen until I looked at the photo was the tiny springtail walking towards the right of the photo.

A spider I can identify on my own! It is a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis), characterised by the unusual head shape; the prominent pale stripe down both the thorax and abdomen; and the way the front two pairs of legs are held close to each other; often they will be held together.

I think this is a male Noble False Widow spider (Steatoda nobilis). I usually see individuals with a jet black abdomen but with similar white crescents at the side.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:30

(214th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A pair of Teal found lurking below overhanging vegetation on the island. Did they ever leave?
- The fly-over Goosander seemed to be nothing to do with the group of 26 on the water. Several of these seemed to be acquiring drake plumage features.
- As always the Great Crested Grebes confuse by moving around all the time. I could only confirm two adults and one juvenile.
- A party of 18 Goldfinches flew high N and seemed to be entirely different from the c.20 in and around the trees on the island.
- At least three Siskins in trees on the island.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 6 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 30 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 18 Goldfinches

Warblers noted:

None

On /around the water:
- 17 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 29 (18♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Teal
- 34 (14+♂) Tufted Duck
- *26 (0♂) Goosander
- 10 Moorhens again
- 24 Coots again
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 37 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 2 Grey Herons

On a lamp pole:
- 1 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.).

Noted elsewhere:
- *many Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris) on the Ivy flowers.
- *more Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig fungus (Coprinus comatus)

This erstwhile brownhead Goosander is starting to moult in to drake plumage. The brown and rather shaggy head has some darker area that will become bottle-green. More white is appearing in the wings. The flanks are as yet unchanged.

The ambient temperature was higher than yesterday but there was no sun on the ivy today. None of the flies or hoverflies appeared, leaving the way for the Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris) to raid the nectar. You can see here how hairy wasps are: you probably don't look that closely!

This view highlights the importance of wasps as pollinators – look at the ivy pollen stuck to those long hairs.

Every day at the moment there are new Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig fungus (Coprinus comatus) appearing.

(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

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
1 adult Great Black-backed Gull
4 Gadwall
1 Teal
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
A Raven tussling with Sparrowhawk
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
389 Fieldfare
6 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
15 Pochard
34 Tufted Duck
13 Moorhens
232 Coots
1 Redwing heard
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
A male Stonechat the west end
2 Gadwall
A drake Shoveler
14 Pochard
44 Tufted Duck
Siskin
Redpoll
C.350 Starlings in the roost
20 Redwings
209 Coot
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)