19 Oct 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 14.0°C: Low overcast, descending to mist and drizzle c.06:45. Drizzle ceased and clouds lifted somewhat after 08:00 with a few breaks developing. Very light south-easterly breeze increasing somewhat. Poor visibility in drizzle; very good later.

Sunrise: 07:42 BST

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

Not exactly highlights today were Pochard new in at both the Balancing Lake and The Flash: an adult drake at the former; and an immature drake at the latter. Also worth noting here is the first passage of Starlings over the lake this Autumn.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:20

(215th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the visibility was too poor to get an accurate count of the Coots so I did not bother.
- Jackdaws typically pass in a large group about five minutes after the Rooks. Thereafter there are usually a few smaller groups of stragglers. Today the first large group of 65 passed at 07:31. Several sizeable groups were still passing much later with 32 noted at 08:17.
- there were at least 25 Siskins in trees near the Teece Drive gate c.09:00

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Canada Geese: South together
- 11 Feral Pigeon: all flying East in tow groups.
- 1 Stock Dove
- 65 Wood Pigeons: no migrant groups
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: together
- *1 Sparrowhawk
- 232 Jackdaws
- 57 Rooks
- 57 Starlings: two groups south-west
- 2 Fieldfare
- 57 Redwings: most in one group of 48 [seems to have been a Heinz day: 57 of everything]
- 3 Pied Wagtails

Warblers noted

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swan
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- no Mallard
- *1 (1♂) Pochard
- 7 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- Coots not counted
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- c.60 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 32 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

There continues to be a large community of (semi) nocturnal species here with almost nothing to be seen later.

Moths:
- 3 November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.)

Other things:
- 1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp.
- *1 female mosquito Culex pipiens
- *1 possible fly from the Sciomyzidae group of Snail killing or Marsh flies
- *3 springtails Pogonognathellus longicornis
- 2 springtails Tomocerus minor
- *1 White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- *1 Tawny Soil Slug (Arion owenii)
- *1 snail Oxychilus sp. perhaps Garlic Snail (O. alliarius)
- *1 spider Metellina sp.
- *1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 spider Zygiella sp. possibly Z. x-notata
- 1 male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli
- *1 male harvestman Mitopus morio
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted later:
- *possible Wrinkled Snail (Candidula intersecta)
- *many Girdled Snails (Hygromia cinctella)

The drake Pochard that was new in today.

A female Sparrowhawk patrolling overhead.

Three Siskins from a flock of at least 25 in the Alders near the Teece Drive gate. All three are males with the brighter yellow plumage and black crown. The bird bottom left is giving their wheezy call-note.

A female mosquito Culex pipiens showing the proboscis she uses to draw blood.

I am puzzled by this. It has the structure and wing patterning of a wood gnat (Sylvicola sp.). As far as I can see from the internet none of these has a red thorax. This suggests it might be a fly from the Sciomyzidae group of Snail killing or Marsh flies. I can't get even a close match to a species.

A springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis having a bad-antennae day.

A White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger).

I am sure somebody loves them: a Tawny Soil Slug (Arion owenii) [though as slugs are hermaphrodites perhaps they only love themselves].

This snail is one of the Oxychilus sp. perhaps a Garlic Snail (O. alliarius).

That snail was seen on the street lamp poles pre-dawn. This seems to be one of the Girdled Snails (Hygromia cinctella) I found later on the wall of the sailing club HQ.

And, despite the very different colouration, my app assures me this is also a Girdled Snail. I have to say it looks more like Wrinkled Snail (Candidula intersecta) to me.

A spider Metellina sp.

It makes a change for a Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) not to be twenty feet up a street lamp pole.

This male harvestman Mitopus morio has a very distinctive almost black saddle.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:20

(201st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- council contractors were strimming at one end of the water and another team was investigating the water leak on the East side. As a result the Goosanders were constantly on the move. There were certainly 34 seen together. There may have been as many as 48.
- neither adult Great Crested Grebe with begging young was seen (or heard). Could they have fledged and left?
- at least 30 Goldfinches flew from the island. So far as I could tell there were no Siskins with them today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws
- 17 Redwings: two groups

Warblers noted:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 11 Canada Geese: of these six flew in together
- 11 Greylag Geese: of these two flew in together
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Gadwall
- 35 (23♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 1 (0♂?) Common Teal
- *1 (1♂?) Pochard
- *33 (>16♂) Tufted Duck
- >34 brownhead Goosander: see notes
- 12 Moorhens
- 46 Coots
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- no Cormorants
- *3 Grey Herons: one chased away
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on / beside the street lamp poles etc. around the water etc.:

Moths:
- none

Other things:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)
- *1 female cranefly Tipula pagana

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

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

Recognition class. The differing profiles of, on the left a Pochard, and on the right a Tufted Duck.

Edited as best I could here is the Pochard in better light. The paleness of the back seems to rule out this being a duck of any age and my best guess would be this is an immature drake.

One of the three Grey Herons getting chased away.

This is the female cranefly Tipula pagana. It is the only species of cranefly that I am aware of where the female is not fully-winged. She has had to crawl to this position ten feet up a street lamp pole. I am no taxonomist but why would such a different attribute be placed in the same genus as many species with full-winged females?

(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)