27 Nov 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

8.0°C: Medium / high overcast. Almost calm. Good visibility: rather hazy.

Sunrise: 07:52 GMT

* = a photo from today.

The mild conditions provoked some song. Four Song Thrushes were heard singing around the lake with two more at The Flash. More unusually a Mistle Thrush was singing from the Ricoh copse near the lake and *it, or another, was singing along the East side of The Flash. This is perhaps my earliest-ever song from this species.

Priorslee Lake: 06:44 – 09:08

(242nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A male Pheasant called once from the north-east area pre-dawn.
- Light-levels were rather too low for an accurate Coot count and my total is likely understated.
- In with what seems to be a much smaller than usual (but uncounted) Magpies roost I heard what sounded like a Jackdaw calling from the same trees. I cannot recall noting Jackdaws roosting around the lake.
- Today I spent the early part of my visit along the North side. This accounts for the higher than usual number of Redwings logged leaving roosts; and also for the smaller number of Reed Buntings seen – they had likely mostly departed before I was near their roost site at the West end. I may also have been ill-positioned to see any Starling roost departure.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 22 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 29 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 20 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 7 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 32 Fieldfare: two groups
- 47 Redwings: four groups
- no Pied Wagtail
- 2 Siskins

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: calls and song

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Fieldfare
- 23 Redwings
- 2 Reed Buntings: see notes

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall
- 6 (3♂) Mallard
- 2 (1) Common Teal
- 4 (3♂) Pochard
- 66 (>33♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Water Rail again
- 14 Moorhens
- 164 Coots at least: see notes
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- >130 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Herring Gulls
- 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 unidentified large gulls: pre-dawn
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)
- *1 small fly with dark wing-tips
- 1 springtail Dicyrtomina sp.
- *1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *1 unidentified spider

Noted later.
- Grey Squirrels

My first Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) moth of the season. Not my first to be seen in 2022 as there were several flying in January.

There are still a few of these small flies with dark wing-tips.

I am sure I ought to be able to identify this rather dramatic-looking spider.

One spider that is easy-enough to identify is this Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis). The 'blunt-faced' look and the way the front two pairs of legs are held together provide the clues. Not all specimens have such a clear orange stripe down the abdomen.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:11 – 09:59

(235th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Two Goldcrests were chasing around in the Ivy bank which in the overcast conditions was devoid of any insects: not even a fly.

Birds noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water
- 7 Canada Geese: four of these arrived
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 50 (31♂) Mallard
- no all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck) seen
- 18 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 (1♂) Goosander
- 15 Moorhens
- 35 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 28 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Heron

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- *1 November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.)
- *1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.

Later around the Ivy bank:

Nothing noted

Not one of my best photos but it is just about possible to identify this very distant shape as a rear view of a Mistle Thrush. With a bit of imagination the spotting on the throat and the white-edges to the flight feathers can be seen.

High up on one of the street lamps in squirrel alley was this November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.). Only when I looked at the photo did I see the lurking stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.

(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

2013

Priorslee Lake

2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls

930+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls

95 Herring Gulls

(Tom Lowe)

2012

Priorslee Lake

Goldeneye

3 Gadwall

6 Pochard

22 Tufted Ducks

146 Coots

2 Great Black-backed Gulls

8 Redwings

151 Jackdaws

(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2005

Priorslee Lake

50+ Golden Plover

4 Pochard

39 Tufted Duck

1 duck Wigeon

2 Ruddy Duck

2 Little Grebes

200+ Coot

1 Water Rail

1 Kingfisher

12 Redwing

5 Fieldfare

8 Siskin

5 Reed Bunting

(Martin R Adlam)