21 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 10.0°C: Overcast with just one brief brighter spell. Moderate / fresh north-westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:42 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: 06:00 – 09:15

(241st visit of the year)

A shiny new metal pedestrian gate has been installed at the Teece Drive entrance. It would be good to think this might deter some of the cyclists whose antics chew up the muddy / grassy path around the lake. In my experience many of the cyclists do not use this access point.

Bird notes:
- It is some days since I last saw the Mute Swans cygnets fly. So far they have done little more than fly the length of the water. They can manage a turn but usually splash-back soon after. I have not seen them fly high-enough to see the big wide world outside their birth-place.
- Black-headed Gulls beat the large gulls, arriving almost fifteen minutes before them.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 39 Wood Pigeons: no migrant groups seen
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 36 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *3 Common Buzzards: in the air together to the South of the M54
- 4 Jackdaws
- 2 Starlings
- 6 Pied Wagtails

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Redwing!
From this morning's vantage point, where I was sheltering from the wind, I can confirm that no Starlings roosted in any of the East end reeds.

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: departed
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- 38 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 137 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- >150 Black-headed Gulls
- *14 Herring Gulls
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 63 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: arrived as a duo and later a single; one of the duo departed
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived and departed

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

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

Otherwise:

In the breezy conditions it was almost all spiders and allies.
- *+1 black ant, probably Lasius niger.
- *1 spider Amaurobius sp., perhaps A. accentuata
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Orb-web spider Metellina sp., likely M. mengei
- *1 spider, probably Walnut Orb Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica)
- 1 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis.

Noted later on the Teece Drive fence:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)
- 3 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

New fungus found:
- *++Blushing Bracket (Daedaleopsis confragosa)

The smart-looking gull on the right looked to be a good candidate for an adult Yellow-legged Gull: no head-streaking.

Here is a better view. Note the extent of black on the wing tip, in particular the black tip to what is P5 (the fifth primary, counting from the innermost).

And here drowning. In front of it is (an irrelevant) first winter Herring Gull.

 Well it has pink feet and the legs are indeed a different colour.

Look closely: there are two gulls here. The closest is an adult winter Herring Gull with much head streaking. Behind it is the adult winter Yellow-legged Gull and the additional black on the wing tips is clearly seen.

The same two, the Yellow-legged Gull at the top. Note the neater and perhaps broader white trailing edge to the wing. They can just about be separated on the tone of the back, the Yellow-legged slightly darker, but their appearance varies greatly with the angle of light. It can be difficult to judge a lone bird on this feature alone.

Pre-dawn three Common Buzzards were flying to the South of the M54. Later one flew over, perhaps one of them. Dark birds against the dark sky do not make for a great photo. The photo editor did its best.

A November Moth type (Epirrita dilutata agg.). A slight puzzle in that this apparently in the same place as yesterday's individual. That individual had disappeared when I visited the lamp later yesterday.

On a street lamp pre-dawn was this ant scampering about: a black ant, probably Lasius niger.

Mainly spiders on the lamps this morning. This scrunched-up spider is one of the Amaurobius sp., perhaps A. accentuata

Also scrunched-up (perhaps due to the wind) is a different spider – note the banding on the legs of this one. It is probably a Walnut Orb Weaver (Nuctenea umbratica).

I found this Blushing Bracket fungus (Daedaleopsis confragosa) on a dead tree.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:20

(225th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I could not find the Pochard but the pair of Teal were visible again.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Blacked Gulls: separately
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 34 (21♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 34 (17♂) Tufted Duck
- 17 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gull: two third winters and a first winter separately, each visited briefly
- *2 Grey Herons

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

Moths:
- 1 Mottled Umber (Erranis defoliaria)
- 1 Sprawler (Asteroscopus sphinx): now into its fifteenth day
Nothing else noted: neither moth seemed to have moved since yesterday

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris): at least six
Nothing else in dull and breezy conditions, not even a fly.

New groups of fungus found:

None

A good trick if you can do it. This third-winter Herring Gull must have found a sheltered tree to avoid being blown off.

I had this in my log as an adult Herring Gull. The photos I took show it to be a third-winter. Note the black of the wing tip extending along the leading edge and the extent of the dark on the bill.

And is the eye pale-enough? Strangely there is no remnant of the dark tail band evident. Gulls are difficult!

I know of nowhere else where Grey Herons are so approachable, as here: even if this one does seem to think it is hiding behind twigs. Note the long feathers hanging down its front, an indication that this bird is coming in to breeding condition.

The colour of the bill is another breeding condition indicator as are the aigrettes hanging down its back. This species is an early breeder and will be refurbishing its tree-top nests in January.

One more.

(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
5 Gadwall
1 Pochard
125 Tufted Duck
3 Water Rails
15 Moorhens
221 Coots counted again
1 Snipe
23 Fieldfare
8 Redwings
196 Jackdaws
4 Rooks
2 Ravens
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
27 Tufted Ducks
9 Moorhens
142 Coots
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Yellow-legged Gulls
1st winter Great Black-backed Gull
3 female Goosander
3 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
30 Greylag Gees
16 Pochard
166 Tufted Duck
3 Goosander
Water Rail
148 Coot
c.700 Black-headed
c.1300 Lesser Black-backed
<20 Herring Gulls
93 Redwings
c.500 Starlings left a roost
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
33 Pochard
69 Tufted Ducks
6 Buzzards
>1750 Black-headed Gulls
2251 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
26 Robins
32 Blackbirds
96 Fieldfares
4 Song Thrushes
13 Redwings
384 Jackdaws
216 Rooks
22 Greenfinch
2 Siskins
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)