13 Sep 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 14.0°C: Clear start, especially to the East with just thin high cloud. Patchy low / medium-level cloud soon spread from the West, not breaking much until after 09:30. Light and variable breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:40 BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Lake: 05:30 – 09:10

(196th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One of the pair of non-breeding Great Crested Grebes seemed to be missing.
- The juvenile Common Tern here for its fourth day. Very unusual I would have thought. Perhaps it has become detached from its family and is unsure what to do and where to go.
- A Tawny Owl was calling alongside Teece Drive at 05:35.
- It is not unknown for warblers to sing post-breeding and before (or during) migration. Indeed I have heard them singing on their wintering grounds in Africa. I cannot recall hearing Blackcaps sing at this time of year too often. Two quietly singing this morning.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 9 Canada Geese: duo outbound; seven flew South
- 6 Feral Pigeons: a single, a duo and a trio
- 6 Stock Doves: a duo and, unusually, a quartet
- 107 Wood Pigeons
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 unidentified large gulls
- 22 Rooks
- 4 Jackdaws
- 1 Starling again
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 1 Meadow Pipit: first of Autumn here

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: sang multiple times in the north-east area only
- 10 Chiffchaffs: four in song
- 4 Blackcaps: two in quiet song

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 3 (1♂) Gadwall
- 13 (7♂) Mallard
- 10 Moorhens
- 138 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe again
- *11 + 10 (5 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- >75 Black-headed Gulls: 56 of these were on the football field at 06:45
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull
- *4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Common Tern: juvenile
- *1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 2 plumed midges
- ****at least six different species of mainly small flies

Noted later:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- *Smooth Glass Snail (Aegopinella nitidula)
- pipistrelle-type bat
- Grey Squirrel

A strange morning. Clear to the East with an area of low cloud encroaching from a very gloomy-looking West side of the area.

Here comes that cloud.

Some colour in the distance before it all disappeared.

This Great Crested Grebe was unfazed by a close-approach

Not sure what this adult winter Black-headed Gull has found. With the wing extended the short and still-growing outer primaries show.

A first winter Yellow-legged Gull departing. Too pale overall for a Lesser Black-backed Gull and lacking the significantly paler inner primaries of a Herring Gull at this age.

I included this very contrasty shot of a (headless!) adult Lesser Black-backed Gull to show that the median coverts still have a way to grow before they cover the pale bases to the secondary feathers, leaving a white stripe across the inner wing.

 The first winter Common Tern was again here, fishing near the dam for part of the time.

My camera did not handle the contrast between the white tern and the dark water very well. This is the best I could do with a Photo editor to tone it down somewhat.

And again.

The Grey Heron has had enough and away it flies.

It was all about red-eyed flies, none of which I can identify, on the street lamp poles pre-dawn. Here is the largest with a dark body and orange front legs.

Another very small red-bodied species with long wings (or a short body!). Note the clear end to the wings.

Superficially similar but with shading on the wing tips. Perhaps a sexual difference?

A different, slimmer, dark-bodied fly that is 'all eyes'.

Not at all sure about this one with a well-separated head suggesting perhaps a dagger fly species. Note the marking in the wings which do not seem to be present on any dagger fly illustrated on the internet.

Similar but without the markings on the wings. Note the swelling on the front legs which is reminiscent of the Hilara group of dagger flies. Is that really the tiniest of insects to its left?

It seems somewhat perverse but the striations on the shell of this snail suggest it is a Smooth Glass Snail (Aegopinella nitidula).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  09:15 – 10:05

(192nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The apparently now paired Mute Swans had forced the third adult on to the grass at the top end where it was looking rather disheveled.
- As a footnote to the departure of the three adult Mute Swans last week a fisherman reported that they did indeed go to the Balancing Lake but were soon forced to move on by the residents there. I wonder where they are now?
- All four juvenile Great Crested Grebes were present and correct with their parents.

Birds noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted:
- 2 Chiffchaffs: no song

Noted on / around the water
- 24 Canada Geese
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- no Gadwall seen
- 19 (12♂) Mallard only
- no all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck) seen
- 12 (?♂) Tufted Duck again
- 9 Moorhens only
- 29 Coots again
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Black-headed Gulls: one of these a first winter birds
- 6 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

On / around the street lamp poles:

Nothing noted

Noted later:
- Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner moth (Cameraria ohridella)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)
- Field Mushroom (Agaricus campestris)
- Grey Squirrel

My first Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) of the year here, feeding on the nectar of Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.).

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- 9 other midges of various sizes again
- 4 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger) again

(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

2007

Priorslee Lake

Shoveler

Redwing

(Ed Wilson)