10 Jan 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 6.0°C: Cloudy and dull though a thin red line to the far E. Light rain after 09:00. Light SSW wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:18 GMT

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 06:50 – 09:20

(9th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Yet again the gull behaviour was different. They arrived later than over the weekend, today at 07:45. There were c.350 Black-headed Gulls with very few large gulls – six Herring Gulls and 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls at this time.
- Later passage of large gull contained a much larger proportion of Herring Gulls than usual: and, unlike the Lesser Black-backed Gulls, the majority of these were immatures. Very few of these dropped in for a quick bathe.
- The now usual small group of Redwings was in the area around the Teece Drive gate.
- *Unusual was my only Reed Bunting of the morning calling in the hedge between Teece Drive and the football field: a strange location.

Overhead:
- 3 Stock Doves: together
- 18 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Collared Doves: together
- 58 Herring Gulls
- 76 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 142 Jackdaws
- 2 Ravens
- 1 Redwing

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 6 Redwings

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1) Mute Swans
- 6 (5♂) Mallard
- 11 (3♂) Tufted Duck only
- 3 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- *c.350 Black-headed Gulls
- 10 Herring Gulls
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Cormorant: arrived
- no Grey Heron

Apologies
I apologise for a typo yesterday: the Black-headed Gull tabulated figure should have read
- c.500 Black-headed Gulls
to match the narrative.

On / around the street lamps:

Moths
- *1 female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)
- *1 Early Moth (Theria primaria)

Also
- *>12 very small plumed midges?
- *several winter midges
- *1 possible Ptychopteridae (Phantom Cranefly)

Spiders:
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

Later
Nothing noted

Additions to my 2022 bird log for here:
None

Year to date: 57 bird species

The only time this adult Black-headed Gull was not either splashing water all over the place or flying. The first bird I have noted with the full dark hood acquired during the forthcoming breeding season.

Today's Cormorant on a rather gloomy morning. Just visible is the start of the white thigh patch.

Not enough light to freeze the action as it wing-flaps. It does show the white feathers rather more clearly.

This is the Reed Bunting that was calling in the hedge between Teece Drive and the football field. The dark head indicates this is a male.

Between October and March there are several species of essentially brown moths that are not always easy to separate. The dark area toward the edge of the centre-part of the upper-wing is the best clue that this is my first Early Moth (Theria primaria) of this year.

This insect was a long way up a lamp pole and I struggled to get any photo. Just visible are vestigial wings suggesting this is a female of one of the 'winter-flying' moths – only the males fly. But which? The only clues are the rather rounded end to the abdomen and the spurs on the two hind pairs of legs. My reading of the literature suggests that the spurs mean this is a female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata).

Me and my shadow! This is one of at least 12 small plumed midges(?) I noted. Once again the plumed antennae are more obvious on the shadow. What I had not noted previously is that the end of the abdomen of this species appears to be forked.

A slightly different take of one of the winter midges flying at the moment.

I thought this might be a hunched-up winter midge. It has spurs on its legs (again easier to see in the shadow) and therefore is possible member of the Ptychopteridae or Phantom Craneflies

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash: 09:25 – 10:10

(9th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Totals of Tufted Ducks a bit suspect as birds were moving around and difficult to keep track of.
- I could not find either of the Great Crested Grebes.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

On /around the water:
- 17 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 39 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 56 (32♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 (1♂) Goosander
- 11 Moorhens
- 24 Coots once again
- no Great Crested Grebes located
- 34 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: same(?) adult
- 2 Grey Herons

On one of the street lamps:
- 1 Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria)

On / around the Ivy:
Nothing

Additions to my 2022 bird log for here:
None

Year to date: 43 bird species

This is a Dotted Border moth (Agriopis marginaria). Not too dissimilar from Mottled Umber with the wavy colour separation mid-wing shared by the two species. Mottled Umber has its dots at the very edge of the wing; it has a dark mark in the centre of the wing; and it lacks the faint cross-line toward the base of the wing shown by Dotted Border.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Drake Scaup
(Kris Webb)

Trench Lock Pool
Yellow-legged Gull
(Kris Webb)

Horsehay Pool
Ring-billed x Lesser Black-backed Gull hybrid
Glaucous x Great Black-backed Gull hybrid
1500+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
20+ Greater Black-backed Gulls
400 Herring Gulls
Yellow-legged Gull
(Kris Webb)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Peregrine
5 Great Crested Grebes
14 Pochard
24 Tufted Duck
c.1200 Black-headed Gulls
c.900 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.300 Herring Gulls
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
44 Great Black-backed Gulls
5 Song Thrushes 
18 Redwings
Tawny Owl
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Pool
204 Canada Geese
3 Pochard
83 Tufted Duck
104 Coot
110 Black-headed Gulls
34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
17 Herring Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
33 Swans
4 Gadwall
6 Wigeon
15 Pochard
70 Tufted Duck 
2 Water Rail
2 Snipe
c.200 Black-headed Gulls
c.200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
2 Yellow legged Gull
3 Adult Great Black-backed Gulls
2 Willow Tits
13 Siskins
(Ed Wilson, Jim Almond, John Isherwood)

2007
Priorslee Lake
18 Greylag Geese
12 Pochard
39 Tufted Ducks
6 Goosanders
c.80 Golden Plover
>1000 Black-headed Gulls
c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Great Black-backed Gulls
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
Caspian Gull
9 Herring Gulls
22 Robins
14 Blackbirds
41 Redwings
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson, Jason)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
13 Pochard
51 Tufted Duck
227 Coots
Glaucous Gull
c.1100 Black-headed Gulls
c.170 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
c.120 Herring Gulls
302 Jackdaws
385 Rooks
2 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)