6 Oct 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 12.0°C: Mostly clear: a few clouds. Moderate W wind. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 07:19 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 0:45 – 09:10

(222nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The football and academy fields areas held about 500 Black-headed Gulls with just one Lesser Black-backed Gull at 07:15.
- I counted 399 large gulls flying from the N / NW (still very sad!). Again I am not sure how many flew on without stopping.
- The Chiffchaffs were all very mobile with several chasing each other around and several travelling with roving tit parties. I cannot be sure how many there were.

Overhead:
- 4 Canada Geese: circled low and continued
- 42 Wood Pigeons only
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- ? large gulls: see notes
- 2 Cormorants: singles
- 242 Jackdaws
- 15 Rooks only
- *3 Ravens: together
- 5 Skylarks: three singles and duo
- 1 Starling
- 8 Pied Wagtails
- 5 Meadow Pipits: singles
- 1 Greenfinch

Warblers noted:
- 7 Chiffchaffs: two in song: see notes

Count from the lake area:
- *2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 (7♂) Mallard
- 8 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- no Moorhens
- 80 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes again
- >500 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- <399! large gulls: see notes
- *1 Grey Heron: departed

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths

None

With:
- *1 plumed midge possibly Psectrotanypus varius
- *1 midge sp with striped wings and long antennae
- 3 presumed Limonia nubeculosa craneflies
- *1 probable Formica wood ant
- 1 Larinioides cornutus (Orb-web spider)
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Noted later:
- Common Nettle-tap moth (Anthophila fabriciana)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)
- *Common or European Earwig (Forficula dentata)
- 2 Grey Squirrels

The fourth Mute Swan cygnet, still frequently being chased by the cob, decided to go for a solo flight. This took it way over the new housing to the north before it returned. Later the other three flew several laps around the lake. The adults did not fly at all.

The Grey Heron departs. Note how the inner primaries appear to suddenly stop. That is because the inner primaries are actually missing while they are being replaced.

Not easy to make sense of this. These two Ravens passed over with one flying directly above the other. I took several photos and they are all, to a varying degree, confusing. The large bill is open as it calls. Note the well-spaced primaries.

While waiting for any Chiffchaffs to reappear this Blue Tit popped out and seemed an appropriate subject for some pixels.

Always a delight: a Long-tailed Tit of course.

There were many Chiffchaffs around this morning. Most at least partly hiding.

This one looking for another morsel.

As was this.

One example of the many small flies that appear on the lamps pre-dawn, most of which I cannot identify.

With its well-marked wings this is different from most of the plumed midges I see. I think it is a Psectrotanypus varius.

Not at all sure about this. The wings appear to be striped. It has very long antennae.

I found two of these Hawthorn Shieldbugs (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale). Not always easy to separate from Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus): the green scutellum and the red tip to the abdomen identify it.

A Common or European Earwig (Forficula dentata). It is next to what appears to be a blob of concrete on a lamp pole – a blob which I frequently mistake for something interesting. This morning I probably overlooked it pre-dawn and only noted it later.

It must be a year since I last found an ant on the lamps. Probably a Formica wood ant.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Moths

None

With:
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- plus various midges and unidentified spiders
- also noted were three different chrysalises that I have no way of identifying.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:15

(200th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Now a pair of Teal.
- Two Goosanders made a brief appearance on the water. Otherwise they were sitting inside the S end of the island.
- A third adult Great Crested Grebe noted. The juveniles are still keeping together but well able to feed themselves now and were not near any of the adults.
- No Grey Herons located.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 15 Jackdaws
- 1 Skylark
- 1 Meadow Pipit

Warblers noted:
- 2 Chiffchaffs: no song

On /around the water:
- 24 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 30 (18♂) Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Teal
- 12 (4+♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 (0♂) Goosander again
- 6 Moorhens again
- 23 Coots
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 38 Black-headed Gulls
- no Grey Herons

Found on a lamp pole:
- 1 unidentified caddis fly

Noted elsewhere:
- *Comma butterfly(Polygonia c-album)
- *Common Nettle-tap moth (Anthophila fabriciana)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Stripe-backed Dasysyrphus hoverfly (Dasysyrphus albostriatus)
- *Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- *White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

There was a pair of Teal here. Here they are together, the drake closer to the camera (the closest duck is a sleeping Tufted Duck). Very contrasting light from this angle.

I managed a closer approach later. Here is the duck. The speculum appears blue here, but is in fact green.

Here is the drake, still moulting in to full adult plumage. This looks very similar to the bird I saw hiding by the island on Monday. I did not find any Teal yesterday.

A Comma butterfly(Polygonia c-album). My first here in 2021.

The shape of this small moth is distinctive which is just as well as the markings are almost completely worn away. It is a Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana).

A Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax) exploring the an Ivy flower that has recently started to open.

A smart White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis). This species was abundant at the lake throughout the summer but seems to have disappeared.

(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

2014

Priorslee Lake

1st-winter Caspian Gull.

(Observer Unknown)

2008

Priorslee Lake

3 Pochard 

100 Tufted Duck

Water Rail heard

39 Lapwings

Kingfisher

3 Redwings

Redpoll

Siskin

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

49 Tufted Duck

1 Chiffchaff

Willow Tits

(Ed Wilson)

6 Oct 06 - Wesley Bridge under water  (Ed Wilson)