7 Oct 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 15.0°C: Mostly low cloud with a 20 minute clear spell after c.07:10. Moderate SSE wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:21 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 05:45 – 09:10 again

(223rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- Two Little Grebes reappeared at the W end (they probably never went anywhere, just hid). Another noted along the S side.

- The football and academy fields areas held rather fewer gulls today: about 375 Black-headed Gulls with just one Herring Gull and one Lesser Black-backed Gull.

- Counts of large gulls flying from the N / NW and also early passing Jackdaws and Rooks likely to be understated as dark, low cloud made seeing them a challenge.

- Another two Jays seen heading high west separately (two more at The Flash later). It is many years since I have noted such a movement – mid-1980s perhaps?

- Chiffchaffs apparently don't like dull weather. They were either very quiet or many have gone.

- My first confirmed Redwings of the Autumn here (one at The Flash later; c.20 over my house yesterday)

Overhead:

- 2 Stock Doves: together

- 72 Wood Pigeons

- 1 Collared Dove

- 1 Herring Gull

- 44 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

- ? large gulls: see notes

- 1 Common Buzzard

- *2 Jays

- 124 Jackdaws

- 13 Rooks only

- 7 Skylarks

- 1 Starling again

- 19 Redwings: two groups

- 7 Pied Wagtails

- 5 Meadow Pipits: three singles and duo

Warblers noted:

- 3 Chiffchaffs: no song

Count from the lake area:

- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans

- 13 (9♂) Mallard

- 5 (2♂) Tufted Duck

- 6 Moorhens

- 74 Coots

- 3 Little Grebes

- 4 Great Crested Grebes

- >375 Black-headed Gulls

- *8 Herring Gulls

- *53 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

- <368! large gulls: see notes

- *5 Cormorants: duo arrived and departed; trio arrived and two departed separately

- no Grey Heron

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:

- 1 Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla)

- *1 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.): see comments with photo

- *1 Snout (Hypena proboscidalis)

with:

- 1 ichneumon sp.

- 1 Plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus)

- *4 Common Green Lacewings (Chrysoperia carnea)

- *1 possible weevil sp

- 1 Common or European Earwig (Forficula dentata)

- *1 unidentified spider

- 1 Larinioides cornutus (Orb-web spider)

- 1 Noble False Widow spider (Steatoda nobilis)

- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman again

In the sailing club hut pre-dawn

- *1 Common Flat-body moth (Agonopterix heracliana)

All the spiders looked to be the usual species and I did not log them.

Noted later:

- Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

- 1 Grey Squirrel

Two first-winter Herring Gulls. The feathers on the mantle at this age are dark centred and extensively pale-edged. I would hazard a guess that the front bird is a female – they average smaller.

I believe this to be a third-winter Herring Gull from the brown feathers in the coverts. However the bill is more reminiscent of a fourth-winter bird with red on the lower-mandible. Note the mantle colour of Herring Gull is almost identical to that of the adult winter Black-headed Gull in the foreground.

An adult winter Black-headed Gull gives scale to a first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull – a particularly dark specimen. Note that on this species the feathers on the mantle are almost all dark, and just fringed pale.

A trio of Cormorants arrive – 'black death' as the fishermen call them.

I took this on a 60x zoom and have cropped and enlarged the resultant image. This Jay was flying very high W.

I found this Common Flat-body moth (Agonopterix heracliana) living a dangerous life amongst all the spiders in the sailing club shelter.

It's that time of year when these moths appear and have to be logged as November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.). There are three species involved: November Moth (E. diluta); Pale November Moth (E. christyi) and Autumnal Moth (E. autumnata). There are no reliable identification features to separate the species other than by examination of the genitalia. November Moth is the most common of the trio and despite its name is the first to fly, sometimes in very late September. I will probably record more than a dozen over the next few weeks and I will have to log them all as November Moth agg.

Now looking very faded at the end of their flight period – a Snout moth (Hypena proboscidalis).

This Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea) was handily at head-height providing the opportunity for a detailed photo. I have never previously noticed the red/brown marks at the segment boundaries on the abdomen. Neither have I ever...

 ..noted the strange eyes (the same shot cropped and enlarged).

From the way the head, thorax and abdomen form an almost smooth continuous progression I suspect this is a weevil sp. Not all weevils have a proboscis. The problem is that most are Spring / early-Summer insects and it is neither. I cannot trace anything on the web that seems to fit.

Trying to get away from me – and who can blame it – this well-marked spider. Watch this space.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Moths

None

with:

- *1 caddis fly sp.

- *1 unidentified spider

- 1 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus): a very large specimen that has been absent for several days was back in its usual web.

- 1 female Leiobunum blackwalli harvestman

- plus various midges and unidentified spiders

A plan view of a caddis fly. I noted that the wings were quite distinctively marked and thought if I could photo it from side-on I might have a chance of identifying it. The caddis fly thought otherwise and flew off.

Another spider I cannot recall seeing previously though Nigel emphasises that markings vary both within and between sexes.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:15 again

(201st visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- One Teal seen flying low along the length of the water. Not subsequently relocated. Sex not determined.

- Some at least of the three passing Cormorants were different ages from the trio that arrived at the lake.

- Two Jays overhead heading high W. Two others were bouncing around the trees at the top end where I often see (and hear) them.

Birds noted flying over here:

- 8 Wood Pigeons

- 3 Cormorants: together

- 2 Jays

- 8 Jackdaws

- 2 Skylark

- 1 Redwing

- 2 Pied Wagtails

Warblers noted:

None

On /around the water:

- 38 Canada Geese

- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan

- 42 (26♂) Mallard

- 1 (?♂) Teal

- 12 (1+♂) Tufted Duck

- *17 (0♂) Goosander

- 12 Moorhens

- 21 Coots

- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes

- 18 Black-headed Gulls

- 2 Grey Herons

On the lamp poles:

Nothing found on any of them

Noted elsewhere:

- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

- *Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)

 How could I resist?

There were 17 today. Note the bird closest to the camera has an obvious white line between the base of the bill and the bottom of the eye. I have read that this indicates a first-winter bird. In practice I have not found this too helpful. Indeed the other bird shows a faint mark: so? That one also seems to have a more extensive crest which might support it being an adult.

I was surprised to find this Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) at what seemed to me to be a rather late date though I read it can be found in to November. I was eve more surprised to realise that it can only fly in circles – somehow it has a wing missing Poor thing. One result of this the clear view of the orange hind tibia that only shown by this species in the Helophilus group.

(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
Wellington
Fieldfare
(Jenny Hood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Shoveler
Chiffchaff
Grey Wagtail
Reed Bunting
Siskin.
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
50 Mute Swan
(Mike Cooper)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Swallow circling with swirling Starlings
(Ed Wilson)