24 Oct 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C: Mostly cloudy with some breaks and also some light rain at times. Excellent sunrise. Fresh S breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 07:51 BST

*= a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:40 – 09:25

(239th visit of the year)

No Wood Pigeon migration seen today and very little local movement by them either. Significant gull movement and a few winter thrushes over.

Other bird notes:
- The Mute Swan family was present and correct at 07:00. At 07:55 they all went for a fly around heading away over the Priorslee estate. The pen soon returned, perhaps thought better of it and set off again, only to come back again possibly having lost contact with the others. Neither the cob nor any cygnets had returned by the time I left.
- Most of the early large gulls stopped off. Later there was a significant passage of large gulls heading S, mainly to the E of the lake. When it became light-enough for me to identify them they were all Lesser Black-backed Gulls with almost all of these being full adults.
- No Cetti's Warbler seen or heard: there was a Chiffchaff calling at the W end.
- While I was standing on the dam four Bullfinches flew out of one of the few remaining bushes along the E side of Castle Farm Way and climbed away to the SW, apparently crossing the M54. I do see this species in flight from time to time, not usually making such long forays.
- The only bird seen leaving a roost around the water was a lone Reed Bunting.

Overhead:
- 46 Wood Pigeons
- 83 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 171 unidentified large gulls
- 2 Cormorants: singles
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 263 Jackdaws
- 7 Rooks
- 1 Skylark
- 7 Starlings: single and two small groups
- 2 Fieldfares: singles
- 71 Redwings: two singles heard pre-dawn and seven small groups later
- 16 Pied Wagtails
- 4 Bullfinches: see notes
- 1 Greenfinch
- 15 Goldfinches: two groups
- 1 Siskin

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song

Count from the lake area:
- *2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans initially: see notes
- 12 (8♂) Mallard
- 26 (>12♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 53 Coots
- 2 Little Grebes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- >175 Black-headed Gulls
- *8 Herring Gulls
- *1 possible Caspian Gull
- 62 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 61 large gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.).
with:
- *1 unidentified presumed female fly sp.
- 1 Clubiona sp. of spider
- 1 Larinioides sp. Orb-web spider)
- 1 Metellina sp. of spider
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. of Stretch spider
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type harvestman

Nothing noted later:

The early sunrise was rather an eerie colour – well it is coming up to Halloween.

A more spectacular tone later with the cob Mute Swan on 'photographic detail' as foreground.

The full extent of a rather spectacular sunrise.

Turn though 180 degrees and this proves it was raining.

And turn another 90 degrees and one for cloud fans.

Two of 'our' Mute Swan cygnets circling to gain height as they follow the cob away to the north. Will this be my last photo of them?

The pen proving that she is not all that 'mute' a Mute Swan.

An interesting gull – if you like that sort of thing! A very clean head suggests an adult winter Yellow-legged Gull. But it isn't – firstly it is not an adult from the dark tip to the bill, the brown-marked secondaries just visible, and the tone of the back not being dark-enough. I think it is a second or third winter Caspian Gull – the rather parallel-sided bill and 'piggy-looking' eyes are pointers. The buoy is certainly well-used.

And was used again a few minutes later as I prepared to take more photos of the gull only for it to be replaced by a third winter Herring Gull.

I am at a loss to identify this. I thought it might be a wingless female Mottled Umber moth but the body is too elongated and the legs too long. In shape it is more akin to a dragonfly nymph but the head is too small. The shape is also good for a mayfly nymph but these would have 'tails'. I note that it has 'halteres' rather than hindwings so it must belong to the 'true flies'. I can say it is not a cranefly larva as they look like maggots. I cannot say anything else.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:25

(216th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A pair of Teal seen by the island again.
- No Goosanders: too many fishermen? (some of whom were wading waist-deep in to the water)

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws

Warblers noted.

None

On /around the water:
- 31 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 29 (19♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Teal
- 43 (12+♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 8 Moorhens
- 24 Coots again
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 42 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Herons

On a lamp pole:
- 1 Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus)

Noted elsewhere:
- many Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris) on the Ivy flowers.
- unidentified fungus, just perhaps a Lepiota sp.

Well it was a long way up one of the taller lamp poles. This seems to be a Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus) acquiring its darker winter colours.

Why do almost none of the fungus I find look like any of the illustrations in my books or any of the photos on the web sites I use? This one (of a trio lurking under a hedge) had been damaged.

This view shows a lot of the features that ought to help with identification.... ought. There are no obvious gills on the underside and it appears to have a moveable collar on its stem. Perhaps a Lepiota sp.?

(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

2010
Priorslee Lake
733 Wood Pigeons
11 Skylarks
151 Fieldfare
20 Redwings
2 Brambling
2 Linnets
2 Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
5 Wigeon
1 Little Grebe
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
1 Shoveler
1 Teal (female)
1 Common Gull
(John Isherwood)