8 Sep 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 15.0°C: Early broken cloud soon disappeared with low cloud and light rain for a while after 06:45. Dried up later. Always clearer to the East though staying dull here. Light SE breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:32 BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Lake: 05:15 – 09:05

(191st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A fourth Gadwall this morning: another duck. Two of these seen in flight. Later I could not locate any of them.
- The visibility was not good with a low light level. I did a sweep count of Great Crested Grebes and logged 26. This is more than the 12 + 10 juveniles recorded recently. I cannot ascribe the difference to adult / juvenile.
- Another possible Woodcock record when an appropriate-sized bird nearly took my nose off as it flew past at 05:55.
- The 70 'large gulls' all flew over before 06:15 when it was too dark to ascribe them to species. They were likely almost all Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
- A Tawny Owl was calling from the Ricoh copse c.05:20.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 10 Canada Geese: outbound in two groups
- 2 Tufted Ducks: sexes not determined
- 3 Stock Doves: together
- 139 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 70 unidentified large gulls: see notes
- 1 Jackdaw
- 45 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Barn Swallows: a duo and a quartet

Warblers noted (no song recorded unless specifically noted):
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: song heard
- 6 Chiffchaffs: two occasionally in song
- 5 Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 4 (1♂) Gadwall: departed?
- 14 (7♂) Mallard
- 9 Moorhens
- 124 Coots
- *26 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- *49 Black-headed Gulls: 12 of these were on the football field at 06:25
- *2 Herring Gulls
- *1 or 2 presumed Yellow-legged Gulls
- *37 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived and departed

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn

Another bumper haul of strange things

Moths:
- *1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)

and:
- *1 probable sawfly larva
- various plumed midges, including * Chironomus plumosus
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman

Noted later in wet and overcast conditions:

Hoverflies:
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Nothing special, just a pleasing pose from two Great Crested Grebes.

This adult Black-headed Gull has found something to pick up and play with. Note how short each black-tipped outer primary is. It is the last primary feather to regrow as part of the annual moult.

Herring Gulls have been rather few and far between as yet this Autumn. These two dropped in together. An adult on the left with the pale eye. The bird on the right is a first summer / second winter bird.

Another first winter Yellow-legged Gull candidate. Unlike yesterday's bird this one shows a pale head as well as the paler inner primaries.

Whereas this looks as if it might be yesterday's bird.

Two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls. These are of different races breeding in different parts of Europe. The back bird has the back (mantle) as dark as the folded wing-tips and is of the race intermedius that breeds in Scandinavia. The nearer bird with the mantle paler than the wing-tips is of the race graellsii, breeding around the UK. Separation is not always easy (or possible) as the angle of the light can change perception and hybrid birds do occur.

This is a very worn moth with the characteristic shape of one of the 'wave' species. I think it is a Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata).

My best guess on this is a sawfly larva though I have been unable to match it with photos on the internet.

A rather clearer photo of a midge, in this instance the plumed midge Chironomus plumosus. I have two cameras and take just one on any one morning. One camera – this one – is better at close-ups, especially with flash. The other is better for flight shots. I refuse to lug two about.

(Ed Wilson)

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

The Flash: 09:10 – 10:10

(187th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Three of the adult Mute Swans went for a fly around at 09:40, heading way to the West before returning overhead and then disappearing to the South not to return before I departed at 10:10.
- A bit of a puzzle as to why there are so many Cormorants here at the moment. Most of them are not fishing at the time I am present. Perhaps they arrive early, feed on the small fry and then sit around digesting their food.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws: singles

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff

Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese: 13 of these arrived
- *6 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans: three of these flew off
- *1 (1♂) Gadwall still
- 31 (19♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 13 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- *14 Moorhens again
- 46 Coots
- 1 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Black-headed Gulls: one first winter
- 8 Cormorants: one departed again
- 1 Grey Heron again

On / around the street lamp poles:

Nothing noted

Noted later:
- *1 Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- *1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman

Also the following flowers not previously noted this year in my log
- *Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.)
- Imperforate St John's-wort (Hypericum maculatum)
- *Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)
- *Smooth Sow-thistle or Milk Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)
- *Water Mint (Mentha aquatica)
- *White Dead-Nettle (Lamium album)

Two of the three adult Mute Swans start their flight.

All three flying around after gaining height.

And there they go. I wonder where to? They will not be welcomed by the residents at the Balancing Lake that's for sure.

An unusual view of the drake Gadwall. It seems to think it is a Mallard and takes part in all their scrambles for food.

What could be smarter? Here he is giving his characteristic rather creaky call-note. The chestnut in the wing is just about visible. Who designed those feathers with white tips to give the vermiculated effect? Full marks to them.

A juvenile Moorhen clambering over willowherb. Moorhens are adept climbers and are often to be seen inside bushes looking for food.

A Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) with its tongue in a Water Mint (Mentha aquatica) floret. My logs suggest I have not recorded this plant here previously.

When I first noticed what turned out to be a small Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman I thought it was a small beetle: I did not see its legs. You can get some idea of its small size because it is sitting on the leaf of a Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica).

Probably a garden escape but good to see: flowers of Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.).

This Nipplewort (Lapsana communis) has almost finished flowering. One of many confusing yellow flowered plants.

Another yellow flowering plant is this Smooth Sow-thistle or Milk Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus).

I noted this plant, White Dead-Nettle (Lamium album), in flower on 01 January and I have noted a few flowers almost ever since. It seems to have had a new lease of life recently.

(Ed Wilson)

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

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- *1 Common Plume moth (Emmelina monodactyla)
- *1 Red-green Carpet moth (Chloroclysta siterata)
- *1 Common Crane-fly (Tipula oleracea)
- 5 midges of various sizes
- 7 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- *1 Clubiona sp. spider
- 1 other spider

A Common Plume moth (Emmelina monodactyla). Beyond the characteristic plume moth shape this is identified by its lack of markings.

This moth is a Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) even though there is not much sign of any red tones to this specimen. It was on the roof of the tunnel. Both these moths were new for the year here and improbably they bring the number of different species of moth that I have found in the tunnel during 2022 to 26.

Common Crane-fly (Tipula oleracea) earns its 'common' moniker in Autumn when it is abundant everywhere. This is a female with the pointed abdomen (her ovipositor). She lays her eggs in the ground. When they hatch the larvae feed on grass roots before metamorphosing and leaving 'leather jackets' sticking out of the ground as evidence of their emergence.

The Clubiona sp. spider I found here.

(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

Adult winter Mediterranean Gull

(J Reeves)

2011

Priorslee Lake

Common Sandpiper

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Kingfisher

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

2 juvenile Ruddy Ducks

(Ed Wilson)