28 Nov 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

6.0°C: Very low cloud / mist. Light SE wind. Poor / very poor visibility. A very few brighter spells after 08:15

Sunrise: 07:54 GMT

* = a photo from today.

All numbers affected by the poor visibility.

Priorslee Lake: 06:28 – 09:10

(243rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Tufted Duck count is 'best effort'. I suspect there were even more though some of the birds were very mobile and hard to keep track of.
- At least 400 Black-headed Gulls noted well before dawn. Large number were seen leaving to and arriving from the West were presumably these birds moving around.
- Further investigation suggests I was mistaken yesterday in thinking I had heard a Jackdaw calling from the Magpie roost area. Today it seemed likely that one of the Magpies was intermittently making the noise.
- A Mistle Thrush flew in from far to the West before starting to sing from the Ricoh copse. This suggests that it was probably the same bird I heard and saw at The Flash yesterday.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: circled over
- 1 Feral Pigeon again: an all-white bird today
- 15 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- no Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 8 Fieldfare: one group
- 1 Redwing
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Warblers noted:
- 1 Cetti's Warbler: very vocal before dawn

Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Fieldfare
- 11 Redwings
- Reed Buntings heard only

Counts from the lake area:
- 11 Canada Geese: six of these arrived as three duos
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 5 (3♂) Gadwall again
- 7 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 (1) Common Teal again
- no Pochard
- 97 (51♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 1 Water Rail
- 14 Moorhens again
- Coots not counted due to poor visibility
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- >400 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.)
- *1 unidentified larva, presumed a sawfly
- *1 springtail, perhaps Dicyrtomina minuta
- *1 possible harvestman Mitostoma chrysomelas

Later.

Nothing noted

Not much to show you from a very misty morning. All the images are flash photos taken pre-dawn at the lake. This a November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.), unhelpfully at the very top of a street lamp pole. It is just about the end of the flight season for this group of moths and the Autumnal Moth (E. autumnata) is usually the last of the group to be recorded. Specific identification is not possible from photos.

The three pairs of prolegs suggest this is a sawfly larva though I cannot determine which species it might be.

My best attempt to date at photographing one of these tiny rotund springtails. The barring at the rear of the abdomen suggests it is probably Dicyrtomina minuta which, despite its scientific name, is not the smallest insect in the group.

I first saw and photographed this on 16 October and it is still there in apparently the exactly same place on the same street lamp pole. I think it is a harvestman Mitostoma chrysomelas though whether it is alive or not....

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:13 – 09:55

(236th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The non-flying Canada Goose with 'angel wing' deformity was noted for the first time in several days. It must have been hiding inside the island.
- The number of Cormorants and Grey Herons (at least) is likely to be under-recorded as it was not possible to see the island clearly (or even at all sometimes!)

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water
- 3 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 53 (33♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 15 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 (0♂) Goosander
- 15 Moorhens again
- 32 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 18 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- 1 November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.): different place on the same street lamp pole as yesterday.

Later around the Ivy bank:

Nothing noted 

(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

2012

Priorslee Lake

3 Gadwall

7 Pochard

24 Tufted Ducks

1 Goldeneye

c.373 Wood Pigeons

2 Woodcock

17 Redwings

29 Fieldfares

c.490 Jackdaws

56 Rooks

9 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

The Flash

2 Pochard

48 Tufted Duck

10+ Goosander

(Ed Wilson)

2009

The Wrekin

Firecrest

(Martin & Ian Grant)

2006

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Grebe

26 Pochard

47 Tufted Ducks

1 drake Ruddy Duck

1 Water Rail

64 Coots

895 Black-headed Gulls

48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

35 Fieldfares

24 Redwings

191 Jackdaws

123 Rooks

53 Starlings

16 Greenfinch

13 Goldfinches

7 Reed Buntings

(Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

2 Little Grebes

A duck Wigeon

Cormorant

c.75 Lapwing

2 Fieldfares

1 duck Pochard

34 Tufted Duck logged.

200 Coot

(Ed Wilson)