10 Oct 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 11.0°C: Lingering cloud from overnight rain still to the far East. Otherwise clear. Moderate West wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:26 BST

* = a photo from today.

Priorslee Lake: 06:05 – 09:20

(220th visit of the year)

Best bird this morning was a Little Egret present for about 10 minutes around 08:45 before being chased off by Black-headed Gulls.

Also worth highlighting this morning are:
- my first Redwing of the Autumn was heard overhead at c.06:10.
- my first Siskin of the Autumn flew over c.07:25.

Other bird notes:
- I again counted 74 Canada Geese on the water when it was light-enough to make them out. After 08:30 41 birds flew in / back.
- Another big skein of c.75 Greylag Geese flew low West at c.07:45. They were too low and close to obtain an accurate count. At 08:45 a single bird flew West.
- All the Eurasian Wigeon seem to have gone.
- I cannot explain the increase in the number of Great Crested Grebes, back to the immediate post-breeding totals. There seemed to be no more adults than usual.
- Many more Jackdaws were noted flying from their distant roost sites. This was in part due to the clear skies as many were seen passing far to the East. Many of these birds could be heard whereas I had heard no distant birds recently.
- Five Reed Buntings were noted leaving the W end roost.

Birds noted flying over here:
- c.75 Greylag Geese: see notes
- 64 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 11 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 157 Jackdaws
- 125 Rooks
- 1 Redwing
- 2 Skylarks
- 2 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Siskin

Warblers noted:
- no Cetti's Warbler
- 3 Chiffchaffs: no song

Counts from the lake area:
- *74? Canada Geese again: see notes
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 4 (2♂) Gadwall
- [Eurasian Wigeon apparently gone]
- 10 (6♂) Mallard
- 13 (4♂) Tufted Duck: one of these flew off at 07:05
- 10 Moorhens
- 206 Coots
- 19 Great Crested Grebes
- c.135 Black-headed Gulls: 34 of these were noted on the football field c.07:30
- 1 Herring Gull
- *36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 37 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- *1 Little Egret: arrived and departed
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *3 species of small fly
- *1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Noted later:

Nothing

It's that time of the month – full moon. This is the Hunter's Moon just abut six hours after the full moon and hence no cross-lighting to pick out any of the features.

This shows some of the groups of Canada Geese on the lake first thing and before they all departed, at least for a while. This is behaviour I have not noted in earlier years. I am not sure it is entirely explained by the cob Mute Swan seeming disinterest in chasing them at the moment.

If you cast your mind back to the first winter Yellow-legged Gull I photographed on Saturday here is a first winter Lesser Black-backed Gull for comparison. The whole tail is solidly dark; there is little, if any, barring on the upper tail; and the head is sullied brown.

My first sighting of this morning's Little Egret, typically at the other end of the lake. The yellow feet show as the egret is chased by a Black-headed Gull.

Thankfully it was chased closer to me. Black bill and yellow feet indicate Little Egret. The much larger Great (White) Egret would typically show a yellow bill (the bill is black only when breeding which is unlikely in our area). It has all-black feet. I have yet to see a Cattle Egret here – not many cattle in the area. Cattle Egrets looks squat, always has a yellow bill and often yellow or orange plumes on its back.

 Leaving us so soon?

Taking photos in to the light never reveals the colours. That said there is no mistaking the rounded wings of a passing Jay.

This fly is of a species I do not typically see on the street lamp poles pre-dawn. It looks like a Muscid fly, albeit somewhat smaller than many species in that group.

For some reason the number of harvestmen has declined over the last week. This is a Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman, recognised by the thickness of the inner half of each leg.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25– 10:25

(212th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I found all four Mute Swan cygnets today.
- A Song Thrush was searching for food at the top end where I used to see one regularly during the breeding season. I had not seen or heard one here for several weeks.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw
- 2 Skylarks

Noted on / around the water
- 22 Canada Geese: more(?) unseen inside island
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 30 (19♂) Mallard only
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 11 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 17 Moorhens
- 25 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: adult and juvenile
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants
- 3 Grey Herons

On / around the street lamp poles:

Nothing noted

Noted later:
- Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax)
- Terrapin sp. (Yellow-bellied Slider?)

As I have previously noted one of the Grey Herons has become very bold. Here it is standing by one of the footbridges.

I fully zoomed the camera with this result, the size it came off the camera. I was told this morning that one of the herons has been seen joining the Canada Geese in walking up Wordsworth Way to where food is left for them. Birds are not stupid.

Ivy blossom is an important food source for insects in the Autumn. This Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) tucks in.

The tongue can be seen more clearly here. It will be feeding up prior to either hibernating over Winter or migrating to the Mediterranean area.

A Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris) also on Ivy blossom. It can be distinguished from the very similar German Wasp by the yellow mark along the side of the thorax. The parallel sides confirm it as a Common Wasp; a German Wasp has a slightly triangular yellow mark.

The planes of the day were here rather than over the lake. Both were small aircraft. This a 1976-build four-seat Cessna 172 marketed as the Skyhawk. There is a stylised skyhawk logo on the tailplane. It is leased to South Warwickshire Flying School based at Wellesbourne Airfield south of Warwick. It was built at Wichita in Kansas and previously used in hotter climes having been imported in to the UK from the United Arab Emirates.

Plane #2. This is a 2000-build Grob G115E called the Tutor T.1 by the Royal Air Force for whom it is operated by Babcock Aerospace Ltd. 91 of these German-built aircraft have served as elementary flying trainers for the Royal Navy and the University Air Squadrons (UAS). 28 of the fleet have since been sold. The example shown here is used by the Birmingham UAS based at RAF Cosford.

(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

2011

Priorslee Lake

29 Redwing

(Ed Wilson)

2010

Priorslee Lake

1 Curlew

1 Goldeneye

1 Goosander

1 Shoveler

4 Wigeon

1 Teal

1 Common Gull

(John Isherwood)

2009

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

3 Lapwing

25+ Redwing

1 Siskin

(John Isherwood)

2008

Priorslee Lake

130 Tufted Ducks

4 Buzzards

Kingfisher

Chiffchaff

Meadow Pipits

Sky Larks

Redwings

Redpoll

Siskin

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

1 Ruddy Duck

50 Robins

1 Redwing

4 Chiffchaffs

11 Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

37 Meadow Pipits

36 Pied Wagtails

1 Redwing

55 Tufted Ducks

2 Willow Tits

(Ed Wilson)