2 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake only

Abandoned wet!

8.0°C > 9.0°C: Very low cloud and period of moderate rain. Light / moderate north-westerly wind. Moderate visibility.

Sunrise: 07:08 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: 05:45 – 08:30

(227th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two single Greylag Geese flew outbound. A few minutes after the first flew over what I assume was the same bird returned to splash down on the water and stayed throughout.
- I saw no large gulls overhead early and none visited the lake. Only four seen later with the first, a (near?) adult Herring Gull, arriving at 07:25.
- I think a Cormorant roosted somewhere around the lake. I have occasionally suspected this in previous years but never identified the precise location. The first I saw of this morning's bird was it at tree-height and climbing c.07:10. It then circled gaining altitude before heading off East. I had not seen it arrive or in the water beforehand.
- A Grey Heron flopped on to the edge of the water at the south-west grass, noted me hiding from the rain in the sailing club shelter and immediately flew off. I did not see it again.
- At least one Reed Bunting was calling pre-dawn (there was no post-dawn!) from the usual West end roost site. I did not see it / any leave.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 14 Canada Geese: flew South to the East at 06:55
- 2 Greylag Geese: singles outbound
- 21 Wood Pigeons
- also 21 Jackdaws
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 2 Siskins

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived: see notes
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard
- 33 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 134 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- c.100 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: departed: see notes
- 1 Grey Heron: briefly

The (semi) nocturnal community on or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

Moths:
- *2 November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.)

Flies:
- *1 possible Scoliocentra villosa

Spiders:
- *1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)

Nothing else

Spiders noted in the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:
- *>5 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *1 Orb-web spider Metellina sp.
- *1 Walnut Orb Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica)

And another fungus:
- *a webcap species possibly Cortinarius saturninus

Another of those November Moth types (Epirrita dilutata agg.). This one was four street lamp poles away from where two sat out yesterday morning's deluge (only one of those was still present today).

This fly with orange between the red eyes and a black-striped grey thorax seems to be Scoliocentra villosa. Naturespot tells me it is from the small family of Heleomyzidae flies whose larvae feed on decaying plant and animal matter.

A Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) doing a good job of wrapping its victim. I wonder if I could hire it to wrap my Christmas presents.

Another, the right way up, and one of three species of spider lurking in the darkness of the sailing club shelter. There are two species of spider in the Larinioides genus. They are most easily separated by the colour of the prosoma. This is also known as the cephalothorax and refers to the fused head and thorax of most spiders. In this species it is grey, as seen here. In L. cornutus it is brown.

This is an Orb-web spider from the Metellina group. A microscope job to tell which species.

A Walnut Orb Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica).

I did not go fungus hunting in the very wet vegetation though I did notice this glistening rain-soaked group. They are a webcap species, possibly Cortinarius saturninus. Species identification of webcaps is noted to be "difficult". This particular species is not in the Naturespot website. It is in UKNature. Beware of any in this genus but especially if my specific identity is correct as they would contain toxins that, if eaten, would dissolve both liver and kidney tissue!

(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
2 Gadwall
7 Pochard
Kestrel
Little Grebe
Sparrowhawk
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
4 Yellow legged Gulls
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
36 Pochard
85 Tufted Ducks
4 Lapwings over
c.200 Starlings roosted at W end
53 Wood Pigeons
249 Fieldfare
14 Redwings
7 Siskins
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Little Grebes
17 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
c.170 Golden Plover
1175 Wood Pigeons
1 Kingfisher
16 Pied Wagtails
22 Wrens
10 Dunnocks
27 Robins
22 Blackbirds
298 Fieldfares
8 Song Thrushes
24 Redwings
1 Mistle Thrush
69 Starlings
12 Chaffinches
33 Greenfinches
11 Goldfinches
1 Redpoll
5 Bullfinches
9 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Adult Arctic Tern
172 Redwing
9 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
Siskin
Redpolls
7 Reed Buntings
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)