2 Oct 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 14.0°C: Broken medium-level cloud. Less mild but still warm for the date. Almost calm. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:12 BST

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

Worth highlighting:
- Gadwall, Common Teal and Goosanders all at The Flash with miserable number of ducks at the Balancing Lake.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 09:10

(202nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- at 07:20 there were 103 Black-headed, two Herring (both first winters) and two Lesser Black-backed Gulls (one adult and one first winter) on the football field. These all departed. 14 Black-headed Gulls were back there at 09:00.
- no Black-headed Gulls had appeared at the lake before 07:15
- just two large gulls arrived early on the water, both first winter Herring Gulls. All other large gulls seen during that time were Lesser Black-backed Gulls and all had passed overhead by 07:15.
- two Song Thrushes were singing quietly, perhaps tempted by the mild spell.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 3 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 4 (?♂) Mallard
- 8 Feral Pigeons: together
- 71 Wood Pigeons
- 41 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 164 Jackdaws
- 137 Rooks
- 1 Starling
- 5 Pied Wagtails
- 5 Meadow Pipits together

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Mallard
- 5 Moorhens
- 129 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *c.105 Black-headed Gulls
- *23 Herring Gulls
- 59 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:
The vegetation and lamp poles were very wet from overnight rain and then a heavy dew.

Moths:
- none

Other things:
- 1 unknown species of male ichneumon
- 2 Spotted-winged Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii)
- *++1 fly probably from the Heleomyzidae group and perhaps Scoliocentra villosa
- 3 springtails Pogonognathellus longicornis
- 1 springtail Tomocerus minor
- *1 slug, possibly a Chestnut Slug (Deroceras invadens)
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider (Zygiella x-notata) [if that is what it was yesterday]
- 1 male harvestman Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli

Noted later:

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

The football field often has upward of 100 gulls just after sunrise. Almost all will be Black-headed Gulls. This morning there were these two first winter Herring Gulls among them (there were also two Lesser Black-backed Gulls but I was unable to get a photo of them).

I asked Obsidentify to tell me what this fly was. It suggested it was probably one of the Heleomyzidae group, Recourse to the NatureSpot web site let me to conclude it is perhaps Scoliocentra villosa.

This may or may not be a Chestnut Slug (Deroceras invadens). Slugs are notoriously difficult to identify with, for instance, Black Slugs having a red form; and Large Red Slugs having a black form. So who really knows!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:20

(188th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I suspect the Common Teal (and the second drake Gadwall?) had been lurking somewhere around / inside the island since I last recorded them.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 11 Jackdaws
- 1 Greenfinch
- 1 Siskin

Warblers noted:
- 1 (0) Chiffchaff

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 16 Canada Geese: of these seven arrived together
- 2 Greylag Geese: arrived together
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Gadwall
- 42 (30♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 27 (>14♂) Tufted Duck
- *13 brownhead Goosander
- 12 Moorhens
- 59 Coots
- 5 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- *42 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: one of these departed
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on / beside the street lamp poles etc. around the water etc.:
- +*1 Painted Woodlouse (Porcellio spinicornis)

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

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

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Molluscs:
- *+Garlic Snail (Oxychilus alliarius)

"We are here for the fish".

"I see no fish"! Brownhead Goosanders on the prowl.

Unusual behaviour from some of the Black-headed Gulls this morning. They were flying at and through the tops of the tall willows on the island.

This first winter looks as if it might possibly be gleaning insects.

Two birds at it here. I recall seeing this previously at the Balancing Lake for a number of years. I have not noted this behaviour there for some years and cannot now recall at what time of year I noted it. I would have thought earlier in the summer.

Grey Herons often sit on the tops of trees, usually on the island, slightly too far away for a decent photo. This one perched a lot closer.

The only insect etc. I found on the street lamp poles this morning was this Painted Woodlouse (Porcellio spinicornis).

I noted that slugs were hard to identify. Snails are not that much easier. I think this is a Garlic Snail (Oxychilus alliarius).

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- none

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

(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
Candles Landfill Site
1st winter Caspian Gull
2nd winter Yellow-legged Gull.
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Redwing
Swallow
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
(Mike Cooper)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Swallow
1 Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)