28 Sep 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

14.0°C: A high overcast with variable amounts of cloud below. Often dull. Storm Agnes failed to produce any gales and it was almost calm around dawn. A light / moderate southerly breeze later. Very Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:06 BST

+ = my first sighting of this species at this site this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.
* = a species photographed today

Highlights today were:
- A juvenile Mediterranean Gull, moulting in to first-winter, at the lake. My first record here this year: bird species #96
- A Lesser Redpoll fly-over at The Flash. Also my first record at the site this year: bird species #75

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:30 – 09:20

(198th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A Tawny Owl was calling from the Ricoh copse at 05:30.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Canada Geese: South together 06:45
- 68 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 22 unidentified large gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 22 Jackdaws
- 145 Rooks
- 3 Pied Wagtails

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 4 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 7 Barn Swallows: six flew south-west 08:20; 1 flew South 09:00
- ? House Martins: heard high to North of the football field 07:20 but not seen

Counts from the lake area:
- 3 Canada Geese: two arrived together 06:45; a third arrived and departed several times later
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 118 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- c.125 Black-headed Gulls: 96 counted on the football field c.07:20. At least 24 more on the lake at that time.
- 7 Herring Gulls: one (near?) adult; six first winters
- 61 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived c.06:40 and soon chased away by gulls

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

Moths:
- none

Other things:
- 1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- 4 Spotted-winged Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii)
- 1 female mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp.
- 1 leafhopper, possibly Ribautiana tenerrima
- 3 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
For the third day running I saw no bats flying around. It would seem mild-enough for them to still be around.

Noted later in dull conditions.

Bees / wasps etc.:
- presumed Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Other Flies etc.:
- unidentified flies

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

As an antidote to the dearth of birds and insects I made a note of all the plants that I could find still in flower as we come to the end of September. Many species survive as just one or two battered remnants. With the proviso that I do not pretend to be anything other than a very amateur self-taught botanist (amongst most other things) here is today's list in the taxonomic order of my Flora. It was published in 1989 so it is probably well-out of date with latest taxonomic thinking.
Common or Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Red Campion (Silene dioica)
Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
Bramble [Blackberry] (Rubus fruticosus agg.)
Meadowsweet [or Mead Wort] (Filipendula ulmaria)
Wood Avens or Herb Bennet (Geum urbanum)
Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium)
Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis)
Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)
White Clover (Trifolium repens)
Hop Trefoil (Trifolium campestre)
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Imperforate St John's-wort (Hypericum maculatum)
Ivy (Hedera helix)
Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris)
Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)
Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
Daisy (Bellis perennis)
Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)
Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)
Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
Creeping [or Field] Thistle (Cirsium arvense)
Dandelion sp. (Taraxacum officinale agg.)
Common Hawkweed (Hieracium vulgatum)

Identification of the right-hand bird caused me some problems. It is clearly a gull moulting from juvenile in to first winter plumage. It looks smaller, certainly no larger than, the accompanying first winter Black-headed Gull.

My initial thought was it was a Common Gull but that should not have an all-dark bill.

Nor should it show 'eye-lids'. I concluded it is a Mediterranean Gull which normally would appear larger than a Black-headed Gull. I guess a female – female gulls average smaller than males.

A thankfully easier-to-identify gull. A first winter Herring Gull.

Two Spotted-winged Drosophila flies (Drosophila suzukii), on the left a male with dark wing-tips; and on the right a female.

Lurking deep within a Field Bindweed flower (Convolvulus arvensis) was this unknown fly. Beside it is 'frass' - the excrement of insect larvae. I could see anything that might have excreted it.

The long proboscis identifies this as a female mosquito. The banded abdomen is just about visible so this is a Culiseta annulata.

It was a struggle to get a decent photo of this tiny leafhopper pre-dawn. This isn't one! I suspect this species goes by the name Ribautiana tenerrima.

One of the Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius) munching on breakfast. Clearly a male spider with large palps. It is unclear what it is eating.

A stretch spider Tetragnatha sp. scuttling in to cover.

I took a random set of photos of the flowers: either because they seemed well 'out of season'; or because I needed to do some book-work to identify them. I suppose that these can be considered flowers. This is Common or Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica).

The only flower of Red Campion (Silene dioica) I noted.

Another 'one only' was this late flower of Meadowsweet [or Mead Wort] (Filipendula ulmaria).

Related to clovers this is Hop Trefoil (Trifolium campestre). Incidentally the leaf of the smaller Lesser Trefoil (T. dubium) is the Shamrock of Ireland.

This is Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum).

And Creeping [or Field] Thistle (Cirsium arvense).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30

(184th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Redpoll

Warblers noted:

None

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 53 Canada Geese: of these 43 arrived in two groups.
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 32 (19♂) + 4 Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 43 (>20♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 brownhead Goosander
- 12 Moorhens
- 52 Coots
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 26 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

Noted on / beside the street lamp poles etc. around the water etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Flies:
- several unidentified flies

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Fungus:
- Perhaps one of the Arcyria slime moulds

Also:

Two flowering plants I noted here which I did not see at the Balancing Lake (ignoring apparent garden escapes):
- White Dead-Nettle (Lamium album)
- Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) probably Woodbine Honeysuckle (L. periclymenum)

Not enough light! One of the well-grown Mallard ducklings exercises its still-growing wings.

It is clear here how much the wings still have to grow.

Not a very good photo of a drake Tufted Duck. What is that on its neck? As far as I know there were no fishermen throwing boilies at it and it must be a growth of some sort.

Not easy to see: three brownhead Goosanders hauled out on the island.

I noted this same fungus growing on the stump of this long-felled tree a few weeks ago. It disappeared within two days and I never managed to photograph it properly.

My best attempt. Identification of fungus is hard. All web sites show perfect, fresh specimens whereas I usually see battered remnants. I think this might be one of the Arcyria slime moulds. This might explain why the last inflorescence vanished quickly.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- none

Other things:
- 1 cranefly Tipula pagana
- 8 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- usual array of unidentified spiders

This cranefly is Tipula pagana. An unusual Tipula sp. in that it rests with its wings folded over its back and those wings are unmarked apart from the venation. This is male as the other unusual feature of the species is that the female has only vestigial wings and is flightless.

(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
2 Skylarks
3 Meadow Pipits
26 Pied Wagtails
7 Siskins
2 Redpolls
142 Greylag Geese
320 Canada Geese
Common Sandpiper
45 Robins
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Cormorant
A pair of Wigeon
220 Coots
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)

2007
RAF Cosford
Juvenile Gannet flew over RAF Cosford at about 30 metres off the ground
(Martin R Adlam)

2005
Priorslee Lake
3 Redpoll
Siskin
5 Chiffchaffs
Blackcap
Kingfisher
Buzzard
2 Kestrel
Meadow Pipit
(Ed Wilson)