19 Oct 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 11.0°C: Cloud at multiple levels with the lower cloud dispersing later. Fresh E wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:37 BST

* = a photo from today.

A small passage of both Fieldfare and Redwings noted, mainly after the lower cloud started to disperse.

Also seen was the first large (c.80) group of high-flying and therefore presumed migrant Wood Pigeons.

Priorslee Lake: 06:20 – 09:20

(227th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I noted at least 61 Canada Geese on the lake at first light though I could not see the far end of the lake clearly. I thought 44 of these flew – they certainly took to flight but whether they all actually departed I could not be certain. There were still 76 close against the dam at 08:00. Later another 30 flew in as two groups. So at least 106, perhaps more.
- All four Mute Swan cygnets were seen flying equally strongly.
- Rather few Black-headed Gulls. As so often almost as soon as they arrived from the West they left again, probably to the football field from where they likely returned soon after.
- Six Cormorants flew West together. A few minutes later three, perhaps of these, flew in from the West, circled high over before leaving to the South. A lone bird flew West later.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 6 Canada Geese: inbound together
- 10 Greylag Geese: all inbound in three groups
- c.128 Wood Pigeons
- 7 Cormorants at least: see notes
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 27 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 20 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 134 Jackdaws
- 161 Rooks
- 1 Fieldfare
- 22 Redwings
- 4 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit again

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: brief call

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Redwing
- no Reed Buntings: several heard calling from the roost area: rather windy to see them leaving

Counts from the lake area:
- 106 Canada Geese at least: see notes
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall
- 13 (8♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 18 (>10♂) Tufted Duck: two of these flew off at 07:15
- 7 Moorhens
- 218 Coots
- 9 Great Crested Grebes
- c.60 Black-headed Gulls
- 9 Herring Gulls
- 24 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 135 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn

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

Rather breezy for most things:

- *1 Rhomboid Tortrix moth (Acleris rhombana)
- *several unidentified flies
- *1 possible wood gnat
- *1 'black fly' aphid sp.
- *1 Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)
- *1 planthopper, probably the Potato Planthopper (Eupteryx aurata)

Noted later:
- Grey Squirrel

All today's photos at the lake were taken around the street lamp poles pre dawn. This is a Rhomboid Tortrix moth (Acleris rhombana). My first this year anywhere and species #92 here this year.

Not as sharp as it should be is this photo of a small orange fly, unusual in that the abdomen appears to be banded.

Another unidentified small fly and a species I do not recall seeing previously. But then there are so many... It appears to have a pale abdomen with a black band and clear wings.

My best guess about this small fly would be that it is one of the wood gnats. Very few are illustrated on the internet.

I think this is the winged form of a 'black fly aphid'. There are many to choose from and separation required more definition than my camera can provide. A small body with large wings.

At the fourth attempt I achieved an almost passable angled shot to better illustrate the body. The wings do not stand out against the pale background.

A Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius), A very variably-marked species. This one seems to be missing a leg. I cannot say what caused the small circle above its left front leg.

 This beautifully marked creature is a tiny planthopper, probably the Potato Planthopper (Eupteryx aura)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:25

(218th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The Great Crested Grebes were always too far away to be able to age them. I never saw more than three at any one time but there were probably four.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Common Buzzards
- 1 Skylark
- 24 Fieldfare: three groups
- 49 Redwings: four groups
- 1 Siskin

Noted on / around the water
- 22 Canada Geese
- 51 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 41 (25♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 11 (>3♂) Tufted Duck
- 20 Moorhens
- 35 Coots
- 3 (4?) Great Crested Grebes: ages not determined
- 19 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult; departed
- *6 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- 1 November Moths agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.)

Noted later:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *"common gilled fungus", possibly a Clitocybe species

Two Tufted Duck, possibly both immature ducks. The literature suggests it is only the ducks that show a white area around the base of the bill. To my eyes the flanks of this bird show sufficient 'blotchyness' that it could moult in to a white-flanked drake. This species always looks accusing when viewed head-on. Its companion shows more evenly brown flanks as I would expect of a duck.

One of the six Cormorants was fishing in the water close to where I was standing. I tried to get a photo of it on the surface when it came up for air. It always defeated me. This was the best I achieved.

Just two of a small group of 16 Goldfinches that briefly perched in an Alder tree. Note the male catkins. It is the rounded female catkins that becomes the cones from which Siskins love to extract the seeds.

This fungus had already been knocked over. Here is the top surface (with bits of two of my fingers).

Here is the underside. The National Geographic app. helpfully said a "common gilled fungus". All the illustration on the internet show perfect specimens whereas I usually see rather battered and second-hand examples. The well-separated gills suggest this might be one of the Clitocybe species of 'funnels', though from above it doesn't look very funnel-shaped. Pass.

(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

2009

Priorslee Lake

63 Mute Swan

7 Wigeon

14 Pochard

26 Tufted Duck

c.600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

6 Herring Gull

1 Yellow Legged Gull

27 Redwings

3 Fieldfare

2 Willow Tits

(Mike Cooper / Ed Wilson)

2008

Priorslee Lake

>100 Tufted Duck

2 Water Rail

107 Redwings

176 Fieldfare

19 Siskins

4 Skylarks

3 Meadow Pipits

2 Redpolls

(Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

2 Shoveler

37 Redwing

1 Fieldfare

250+ Starlings in the roost

11 Pochard

48 Tufted Duck

202 Coot

5 Moorhen

(Ed Wilson)