9 Nov 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 12.0°C: A cloudy start with good sunny intervals developing. Mild again. Light SSW wind increasing moderate. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 07:21 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 05:50 – 09:20

(255th visit of the year)

Highlight today was a party of at least 200 Golden Plover flying W, very, very, very high just to the N – so high they looked like a cloud of smoke, though flying in their distinctive long and wavy lines. I only found these because I was following a small group of Wood Pigeons that passed underneath them. I was not surprised when the camera refused to 'see' them.

Bird notes:
- The early Wood Pigeons movement comprised 131 birds in five streams flying W. Thereafter all the groups were flying N, apart from a group of five birds going S.
- Many more Black-headed Gulls today with at least 275 swirling around by 07:00. This seemed to encourage many of the large gulls to pass over, though later as the Black-headed Gulls began to disperse some large gulls began to come in for their usual wash and brush up.
- Many fewer Starlings from the roosts today, birds just dribbling out.

Overhead:
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 312 Wood Pigeons: 209 of these in 13 groups
- >200 Golden Plover as highlighted
- 1 Herring Gull
- 77 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 54 unidentified large gulls
- 184 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Starling again
- 22 Fieldfare: three groups
- 9 Redwing: mainly singles / duos
- 19 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit again
- 1 Greenfinch again
- 7 Siskins
- 8 unidentified finches: together

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 46 Starlings only
- 1 Redwing again
- 8 Reed Buntings

Warblers noted:

None.

Has the Cetti's Warbler gone?

Count from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: arrived together
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall again
- 10 (7♂) Mallard: all arrived, more or less together
- 24 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 56 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- c.275 Black-headed Gulls only
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: adult
- *1 possible Caspian Gull
- 89 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 28 unidentified large gulls

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 November Moth agg. (Epirrita sp.)
- *1 Mottled Umber (Erranis defoliaria)
with:
- *1 miridae bug Pinalitus cervinus
- *1 ichneumon sp.
- *1 caddis fly sp., perhaps Halesus radiatus
- 1 ant sp.
- *1 Staphylinidae (Rove Beetle)
- 1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 2 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestmen

Noted later:
- 1 Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
- 1 Grey Squirrel again

A gull I will have to pend. The back looked slightly too dark for a Herring Gull and too pale for a Yellow-legged Gull which would probably also look cleaner-headed and with a rounder crown. The eye appears rather dark and the set well forward in the head. The legs look flesh-coloured.

In this view it appears to have a smudgy face. I am wondering (only wondering) about Caspian Gull. I struggle with some of these gulls.

I found this Jay bouncing around on the ground picking things up. Here it is tossing some food in to its beak and then its crop. It looks like a peanut but what were peanuts doing on the ground behind the sailing club HQ?

The Jay has a beakful. I have seen Jays pick up peanuts until their beak appeared full: then put them all on the ground and rearrange them so that they can fit another one in before taking them away to bury, as they do with acorns. I understand that Jays have very good spatial awareness and can recall where they have buried food – unlike Grey Squirrels that apparently just dig randomly until they find something.

Mrs. Blackbird with wet feet. She dropped down to drink from a puddle distracting me from the Jay.

A Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria). This is a variably-marked species. This one at least has the decency to be both mottled and more or less umber-toned.

An ichneumon and different from any I have seen recently in that it has a dark area in each forewing; two pairs of pale legs; and dark hind legs. The 'wasp' waist' is just visible through the folded wings. No idea as to its identity

An interestingly different-looking caddis fly. It has well-marked wings and very hairy legs with none of the usually obvious spurs. It seems to most closely resemble photos of Halesus radiatus.

Keith, the Shropshire bug man, has helped here. It is one of the Staphylinidae Rove Beetles. Beyond that...

I originally thought this was a fly with unusually dark wings (why do flies rarely have dark wings?). From the photo it is clearly a bug and Keith tells me it is the miridae bug Pinalitus cervinus. The web suggests this is a common and widespread bug associated with trees and is especially abundant in early Autumn.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:20

(231st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The reappearance of the duck Teal by the island was the only noteworthy happening.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk

On /around the water:
- 25 Canada Geese
- *3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- *26 (14♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Teal
- 44 (22♂) Tufted Duck
- *10 Moorhens
- *25 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes as usual
- 26 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

On the lamp poles:

Nothing found on any of them

Around the Ivy:
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- *Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- *Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax)
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis)
- Many Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Flies of at least three species.

The three adult Mute Swans go for a fly along the length of The Flash. The adults and this year's cygnets no longer seem to be associating much of the time. The cygnets can fly strongly though I have not seem them leave the environs of the water.

"Three in a bed". This was a Coots' nest this year. A duck Mallard stands on the nest; an adult Moorhen at the back; a Coot in the foreground perhaps wondering how to reclaim its nest.

A Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), The vernacular name of this species arises because many individuals show a light orange tone (yellow here) between the pairs of black bands. Note the very faint stripes down the thorax.

This hoverfly looks 'tapered' but the dark front legs means that it is a Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax).

Whereas this individual has pale front legs and is therefore a Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax).

(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

4 Wigeon 

4 Gadwall 

1 Pochard 

60 Tufted Duck 

1 Water Rail 

235 Coots 

7 Song Thrushes 

118 Fieldfare

30 Redwings 

466 Jackdaws

139 Rooks 

c.450 Starlings from roost

(Ed Wilson)

2012

Priorslee Lake

c.100 Greylag Geese

3 Gadwall

8 Pochard

18 Tufted Ducks

153 Coots

c.500 Black-headed Gulls

c.450 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

10 Herring Gulls

1 Great Black-backed Gull

118 Wood Pigeons

103 Redwings

154 Fieldfares

809 Jackdaws

201 Rooks

7 Siskin

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

1 Pink-footed Goose

c.100 Greylag Geese 

41 Canada Geese 

41 Tufted Duck 

12 Goosander

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

Yellow legged Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

(John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake

28 Pochard

65 Tufted Duck 

46 Greenfinches

5 Fieldfares

11 Redwings

12 Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

2 Goosanders

1 Pochard

45 Tufted Duck

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Great Black-backed Gull

1 Gadwall

1 Shoveler

2 Wigeon

Peregrine Falcon 

(Ed Wilson/John Isherwood)

2006

Priorslee Lake

23 Pochard

75 Tufted Ducks

950+ Black-headed Gulls

1204+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls

499 Wood Pigeons

11 Meadow Pipits

23 Robins

23 Blackbirds

13 Fieldfares

4 Song Thrushes

18 Redwings

1 Willow Tit

321 Jackdaws

241 Rooks

22 Greenfinches

9 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)