13 Oct 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 11.0°C: Medium overcast early with some clearance spreading from the West. Later low cloud from lifted mist and fog in the area. Mostly calm. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:31 BST

* = a photo from today.

Priorslee Lake: 06:15 – 09:35

(223rd visit of the year)

Best today was my first Common Teal of the year here. There were up to six throughout the Spring at The Flash but I saw none here. Species #98 at this site for me in 2022.

Other bird notes:
- Greylag Geese were mostly outbound this morning.
- One of the fishermen told me that the two pairs of Mute Swans had been chasing all yesterday and throughout the night, dislodging his tackle. The visitors finally left to the East with their five cygnets at 07:35.
- For the first time this Autumn there were significant parties of Jackdaws. I counted 52 one group and there was a concurrent more distant group of c.50 birds.
- A milder morning tempted three Song Thrushes to sing quietly. Another two were heard scolding.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 26 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 66 Greylag Geese: four inbound as two singles and a duo; 62 outbound in five groups
- 5 Feral Pigeons: a single and a quartet
- 2 Stock Doves: duo
- 39 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 10 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- c.135 Jackdaws
- 189 Rooks
- 2 Skylarks
- 1 Siskin

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: singing at the West end again pre-dawn

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Redwing
- 11 Reed Buntings

Counts from the lake area:
- 89 Canada Geese: all but seven departed; none arrived
- 4 + 9 (2 broods) Mute Swans: the pair with five cygnets departed at 07:35
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 10 (5♂) Mallard
- *1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 8 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 196 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 13 Great Crested Grebes
- c.60 Black-headed Gulls: I did not visit the football field
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 52 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 28 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- *1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived and departed

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:

The milder weather produced a bumper haul

- 2 November Moths agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.)
- *1 cranefly sp., probably Tipula pagana
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- *1 Lithobius centipede, perhaps L. melanops
- *1 White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *1 probable Walnut Orb Weaver spider (Nuctenea umbratica)
- 1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 1 other unidentified species of spider
- *1 Leiobunum blackwalli harvestman
- *1 probable Mitostoma chrysomelas harvestman
- *4 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestmen

Noted later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

The best I could manage to record the duck Common Teal sitting in the middle of the water. The only obvious identification feature other than its small size is the small green patch in the folded wing. Often a white line shows along the side of the tail: it is not very apparent here because of way she is holding her wings up and dipping the tail in the water.

There have been rather few Cormorants at the lake recently, perhaps the extensive weed makes it hard for them to fish. This one did not seem interested in fishing, flying in directly to this buoy where it hung its wings out to dry for a while and then just stood around. Some pale on the throat and breast indicates this is not a full adult.

This cranefly is probably Tipula pagana though the dew is hiding detail in the wing markings makes positive identification impossible.

This is a Lithobius centipede, perhaps L. melanops though there are, as usual, several similar species. Centipedes do not have 100 legs.

And millipedes do not have a 1000 legs either. This is a White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger).

This is one of the orb-web spiders and I think the Walnut Orb Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica).

With an almost circular body and no dark saddle markings this is a male Leiobunum harvestman but which species? The eyes on top of the abdomen have a white rim like a white-wall tyre so it is, confusingly, L. blackwalli.

I have shown several bad photos of this creature previously. This photo is not much better though I am now sure that it has eight legs. As there is only one part to the body it must be a harvestman and not a spider. I think it is most likely Mitostoma chrysomelas which is just 3mm long (0.1" in old money). If so it is the pedipalps that are folded back over its back and not antennae as I had previously thought.

An unusually well-posed Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman. One of four I found this morning.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:40 – 10:30

(214th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Four of the Cormorants spent a while in communal fishing, driving fish ahead of them in to a corner of the water.
- For the first time I recorded more than 20 Moorhens: they were everywhere today.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Skylark
- 1 Common Redpoll

Noted on / around the water
- 21 Canada Geese
- 31 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 31 (20♂) Mallard only
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 4 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 22 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes: adult and three immatures
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- *1 Red-green Carpet moth (Chloroclysta siterata)
- *1 November Moths agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.)
- *1 plumed midge sp.

Noted later:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Grey Squirrel

My first of the November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.) here. This on a street lamp pole in squirrel alley.

On the next street lamp pole down was this moth. I nearly didn't take its photo as I thought it another of the November moths. Only when I looked at it on the computer did I realise it was basically green. Out with the ID guide! It is a Red-green Carpet moth (Chloroclysta siterata), the red often, as here, being confined to a small area near the rear inside of each forewing. This is an unusual moth species that hibernates in Winter to emerge in Spring. It brings my moth species total for here in 2022 to 31.

I have logged this as a plumed midge sp. although the plumes look rather 'dense' and are more reminiscent of a mosquito.

(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

Nedge Hill

1 Fieldfare

100+ Redwing

(John Isherwood)

2010

Priorslee Lake

10 Cormorants

3 Wigeon

15 Pochard

84 Tufted Ducks

Snipe

Kingfisher

8 Redwings

5 Jays

Siskins

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

7 Wigeon

500+ Lesser Black-backed Gull

52 Mute Swan

1 Little Grebe

(Mike Cooper)

2007

Priorslee Lake

3 Pochard

42 Tufted Duck

Treecreepers

19 Blackbirds

57 Robins

7 Song Thrushes

5 Redwings

2 Chiffchaffs

Siskins

3 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

Skylarks

Several Redwings

3 Pochard

46 Tufted Ducks

50 Robins

9 Song Thrushes

8 Redwings

1 Treecreeper

(Ed Wilson)