10 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

3.0°C > 5.0°C: A very mixed morning: clear early; local mist then covered the West end and South side for a while; the mist mostly cleared away and it was fine again for some time before general low cloud / mist / fog settled in. A calm start with a light but keen north-westerly breeze later. Visibility varied between very good and very poor.

Sunrise: 07:23 GMT

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:20

(234th visit of the year)

The colder weather seemed to have triggered a small Wood Pigeon passage. Just one party of Fieldfare

There are now several large piles of the invasive weed that have been scooped out of the water. Work seems to have finished on the collection. I wonder what will become of the piles.

Bird notes:

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 1 (0♂) Goosander: flew East, unusually
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 472 Wood Pigeons: of these 424 noted flying South in 15 groups
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 59 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 7 Jackdaws
- no Rooks
- 6 Starlings: together
- 25 Fieldfare: together
- 5 Pied Wagtails
- 6 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 3 + 2 Mute Swans: a visiting (near?) adult, briefly
- 3 (2♂) Mallard
- 20 (12♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 126 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- c.55 Black-headed Gulls
- *8 Herring Gulls
- 43 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: a single and a trio arrived

The (semi) nocturnal community on or around the street lamp poles at dawn:
The colder conditions and heavy dew took their toll on the variety.

Moths:
- 1 November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.)
- *+1 Sprawler (Asteroscopus sphinx)

Otherwise:
- 1 plumed midge: male
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 1 spider Clubiona sp.
- 1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted later on the Teece Drive fence:
- 2 Alder Leaf Beetles (Agelastica alni)
- 2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis

New fungus found:
- *Parrot Waxcap (Hygrocybe psittacina)
- *unidentified fungus

Well you have to try... A "hand-held moonlight" setting on the camera has got rid of most of my shaking for this pre-dawn shot. It makes the sliver waning moon look full; and the International Space Station looks as if it is preparing to lead the Three Wise Men. Low cloud and fog to the South.

The mist creeping in.

A Herring Gull drops in for a drink. The black on the bill and the isolated black marks on the outer wings suggest this is a fourth winter bird.

Beside the West end path Blackbirds and Redwings were finishing off the last of the Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) berries. All the Redwings and most of the Blackbirds contrived to keep 'the other side' of the bushes. This female Blackbird didn't. She can be aged as a first winter bird by the pale throat and upper breast, though I would expect it to show an all-dark bill...

... like this one.

Why are Sprawler moths (Asteroscopus sphinx) always at the top of tall lamp-posts? This taken by flash pre-dawn. I went back later and took photos in daylight that were no better. This one needs to watch out: there seems to be a spider lurking in the fixing hole above it. Moth species #97 for me here in 2023 and only my second record of this species here (my first-ever for The Flash is still there).

One of a number of large piles of weed scooped out of the lake. Not sure what is going to happen to them, Neither am I sure what species of plant(s) is / are represented. Some of the invasive plants can grow from small broken fragments. If so then the weed in the water seems to be an opportunity for it to recolonise.

I believe this fungus to be a Parrot Waxcap (Hygrocybe psittacina). Looks as if the parrots have been sharpening their beaks on it.

None of the low-probability suggestions from my app. were anything like this. Whatever this fungus is it remains unidentified at the moment. It looks as if fungus gnats have been especially busy on the left-most one.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:30

(218th visit of the year)

The island was only sporadically visible and then only with difficulty. All numbers approximate.

Bird notes:

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- *25 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 37 (22♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 9 Moorhens
- 36 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls: all third winters
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

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

Moths:
- 1 Sprawler (Asteroscopus sphinx): still in the same place for four days

Also:
- *1 Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Butterflies:

None

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

New groups of fungus found:
- *Silverleaf Fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum)
- *Peeling Oysterling (Crepidotus mollis) on Silver Poplar (Populus alba)

An intriguing drake Mallard – a drake because of the greenish-yellow bill. This is a first winter bird and there is just the hint of the green head developing above the dark mark leading back from the eye. A real duck would have a brown head and a brown-edged dark bill even in first winter plumage.

A Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale) on one of the street lamp poles in squirrel alley. For some reason these always seem to try and tuck themselves in to the wrap-around join on the poles.

More fungus: this is Silverleaf Fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum). So-named from the silver-edging to the (vaguely) leaf-shaped fruiting bodies.

A close up shows why is has 'purpureum' as part of its scientific name.

A much better group of Peeling Oysterling (Crepidotus mollis), here on a dead Silver Poplar (Populus alba).

(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 Teal
1 Wigeon
7 Gadwall
75 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
226 Coots
720+ large gulls over and c.50 on the lake
1 Yellow Legged Gull
c.3100 Wood Pigeons
159 Fieldfare
31 Redwings
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
c.170 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
19 Tufted Ducks
146 Coots
c.700 Black-headed Gulls logged
c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
41 Redwings
10 Fieldfares
634 Jackdaws
198 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Trench Lock Pool
Yellow-legged Gull
(Martin Grant)

2008
Priorslee Lake
300+ Wood Pigeons
326 Redwings
652 Fieldfare
269 Jackdaw
136 Rooks
c.75 Starlings seen leaving roost
6 Pochard
78 Tufted Ducks
4 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Goosander
47 Greylag
95 Canada Geese
42 Tufted Duck
6 Redwings
1 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Gadwall
Shoveler
21 Starlings in the roost
12 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
c.80 Lapwing
192 Coot
500+ Black-headed Gulls
800+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Chiffchaff
26 lb Carp landed by one of the fishermen
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
20 Pochard
60 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
19 Lapwings
1700+ Black-headed Gulls
518+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
334 Wood Pigeons
14 Pied Wagtails
24 Robins
27 Blackbirds
1 Fieldfare
8 Song Thrushes
12 Redwings
52 Jackdaws
142 Rooks
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)