30 Nov 23

The Flash and Priorslee Balancing Lake

0.0°C > 1.0°C: Mainly sunny and clear. Light northerly breeze. Good visibility: a bit hazy.

[Sunrise: 07:57 GMT]

A 'wrong way round' visit today avoiding the early frost and ice.

+ = 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: 10:40 – 11:25

(249th visit of the year)

Only watching from the Castle Farm Way lay-by and the dam top.

Bird notes:
- After my first Common Teal of the year yesterday there were four, two pairs, together initially. One of the pairs disappeared, probably in to the reeds.
- All gull numbers were instantaneous counts as I arrived. Many of the large gulls drifted away.

Birds of note seen flying over:

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (2♂) Gadwall
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 4 (2♂) Common Teal
- 61 (34♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 130 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 102 Black-headed Gulls
- 15 Herring Gulls
- 96 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Cormorants: of these one arrived and one departed
- 2 Grey Herons

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:35

(234th visit of the year)

A small amount of ice at the Derwent Drive end.

Bird notes:
- So many geese for a change. I presume some of their usual haunts iced-over?
- I had failed to see any Common Teal tucked up against the island, possibly because of the number of geese splashing about. As I was about to leave I heard one calling and found a drake (on its own) paddling away from the island to the bottom end.
- Fewer Moorhens: they don't come out in the open to eat frosted grass.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk

Noted on / around the water:
- 54 Canada Geese
- *19 Greylag Geese: of these 18 arrived in three groups one containing...
- *2 mainly white feral geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 28 (16♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- *1 (1♂) Common Teal
- *2 (1♂) Pochard
- 41 (22♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 Moorhens
- *44 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Black-headed Gulls
- *4 Herring Gulls: one second and three third winter birds
- *3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 2 Cormorants: departed separately
- *1 Grey Heron

Of interest elsewhere.

Nothing found

Some of the Greylag Geese on their way in with two of the mainly white feral geese. The all-white bird is significantly the smaller of the two.

Top view.

 Size comparison: a (distant) drake Common Teal passes a Coot.

A pair of Pochard, the duck in the foreground.

A second winter Herring Gull. This individual is less well-developed than many with a more solid tail-band and more black retained in the grey forewing.

Here from the underneath. Note the dark bill with pale only at the base.

One of the third winter Herring Gulls. This example has less black in the tail band than the example I photographed here yesterday. (An out of focus Grey Heron in the background).

A third winter chases a second winter.

I'll try to do better. Bright, low winter sun gives makes contrasting subjects difficult to represent. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. Just a small black mark on the upper mandible is allowable in winter so long as there is a red spot on lower mandible.

 Probable a third winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. This individual has a paler back and thus likely from the UK population. Scandinavian birds winter here and are those with darker backs.

(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
9 Pochard
3 Gadwall
1 duck Goldeneye
1750 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
370 Black-headed Gulls
76 Herring Gulls
1 adult Great Black-backed Gull
1 adult Yellow-legged Gull
Redpoll
Siskin
Willow Tit
(John Isherwood / Martin Grant)

Holmer Lake
3 Goosander
1 Pochard
(John Isherwood)

Little Wenlock, Candles Landfill Site
11 Yellow-legged Gulls
An adult Caspian Gull
3,000 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
30-40 Waxwings
2 Common Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2010
Madeley
3 Waxwings
(Pete Nickless)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Cormorants
20 Pochard
56 Tufted Ducks
6 Buzzards
1 Kestrel
>1050 Black-headed Gulls
451 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
188 Wood Pigeons
18 Blackbirds
166 Fieldfares
62 Redwings
187 Jackdaws
80 Rooks
4 Siskin
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon again
3 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
215 Coot
4000 Black-headed Gulls
2500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
1 Fieldfare
1 Skylark
168 Jackdaws
72 Rooks.
19 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

29 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

1.0°C > 2.0°C: A late frost after the clearance of overnight cloud. Good sunny spells. Slight mist over the water. Very light northerly breeze. Mainly good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:56 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: 06:05 – 09:25

(248th visit of the year)

A drake Common Teal became by 101st species recorded here this year. A species that I did not see here in the first Winter period.

Other bird notes:
- Probably rather more duck Tufted Ducks than my count suggests: the slight mist over the water meant the white-sided drakes were easy to see; the dull brown / black ducks less so,
- Of the 36 Wood Pigeons noted flying over 23 flew out of trees to the East and away South. Whether these were migrating or merely flushed from the trees was impossible to say. Certainly they did not gain much height, suggesting the latter.
- Yesterday's Great Crested Grebes gone again.
- A bumper arrival of Black-headed Gulls with a very minimum of 500 present by 07:25.
- With clear skies to the East I was able to see a distant, high group of Jackdaws on roost dispersal. If this is their current flight line then it is no surprise I have failed to see them on recent cloudy and dull mornings.
- As yesterday a Mistle Thrush was singing alongside Teece Drive and another bird flew West over the dam.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 6 (♂?) Goosander: West together 07:35
- 36 Wood Pigeons: see notes
- 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 136 Jackdaws
- 8 Rooks
- 15 Starlings together
- 11 Redwings: three groups
- 1 Mistle Thrush

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- no Starlings seen to leave. While I was not best-positioned to see them they would usually have been noisy-enough as they left to have drawn my attention to them.

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Greylag Goose: very briefly
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 5 (3♂) Mallard
- *1 (1) Common Teal: as highlighted
- 1 (0) Pochard
- *63 (41♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- *138 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- >500 Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 12 Herring Gulls
- 88 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *2 Cormorants: arrived and departed separately
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived

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

Moths:
- 2 male Winter Moths (Operophtera brumata)

Otherwise:

Spiders and allies:
- 2 spiders Clubiona sp.
- 2 Nursery Web Spiders (Pisaura mirabilis)
- *4 Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later on the Teece Drive fence:

Nothing

New groups of fungus found:

None

This morning's moonlight shot from the dam before the cloud moved away to reveal...

...the waning Beaver Moon. More craters visible today as the angle of cross-lighting from the sun increases.

Just a touch of colour with cloud still hanging around to the south-east.

As good as it got with mist over the water.

It was a misty morning.

A prize will be awarded... No: it won't. This unusual cloud formation caught my eye.

The bird at the back is the drake Common Teal, best identified through the light mist by the yellow area at the tail. Two Coots and drake Tufted Duck share the photo.

A group of ten Tufted Ducks flying around. I've tried to sex all these birds and decided I cannot. The birds with a clear demarcation between the dark neck and white belly are certainly drakes. The others cannot all be ducks as when they were on the water drakes outnumbered ducks about 2:1.

One Cormorant arrives...

 ...and another leaves.

A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. in typical pose. Stretch spider is an alternative name for this group of species.

And one in an atypical pose. It is easier to check it has all eight legs by counting the shadows.

Plane of the day. A two-seat Cessna 152 owned by APS Leasing of Oswestry and leased to and operated by the Shropshire Aero Club flying out of Sleap Airfield near Wem. It was on a day trip to North Weald Airfield near Epping.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:35

(233rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A noisy group of 21 Greylag Geese came from the South and circled several times. Five of them peeled off and splashed-down on the water. The other 16 circled again and left to the East.
- Two Mute Swan cygnets came in and splashed down. The residents were unhappy and soon saw them off. It is tempting to suggest they might be the two cygnets from the Balancing Lake. I think not: although these have been 'doing the own' thing there I have yet to see them fly anything other than low circuits and show any interest in what the outside world might look like. Neither have I seen them fly at all for over a week.
- A drake Pochard was new in.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 16 Greylag Geese
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Noted on / around the water:
- 3 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese: arrived
- *2 + 6 Mute Swans: see notes
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 45 (28♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 38 (26♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 (0♂) Goosander
- *16 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Herring Gull: third winter bird
- 4 Cormorants: two departed together
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Moths:
- none

But:
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Nothing

New fungus found:

None

One of the two Mute Swan cygnet visitors.

 Here three of the residents take issue with the visitors.

One of the Moorhens looking for food.

If only large gulls at the lake were this cooperative enabling all the plumage details to be examined and enabling positive identification and ageing.

This can be identified as a third winter by the grey forewing with browner tones in the centre; and rather indistinct tail band. A mainly horn bill with extensive dark markings especially on the lower mandible.

 It makes a change to find Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman in full sun.

I did not expect to find a fresh Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) flower as we approach December.

(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
6 Gadwall
2 Pochard
2 Teal
1 Shoveler
Shelduck
1 Yellow-legged Gull
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
(JW Reeves / John Isherwood)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Goldeneye
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
33 Tufted Ducks
144 Coots
Woodcock
216 Black-headed Gulls
c.480 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
47 Herring Gulls
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
c.950 Wood Pigeons
16 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
c.560 Jackdaws
81 Rooks
11 Siskins
3 Redpolls
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Yellow-legged Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
(John Isherwood)

2010
Madeley
3 Waxwings
(Pete Nickless)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Drake Pintail
(Martin & Ian Grant)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
28 Pochard
54 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
>1450 Black-headed Gulls
331 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
278 Wood Pigeons
35 Robins
27 Blackbirds
69 Fieldfares
7 Song Thrushes
13 Redwings
1 Siskin
8 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes again
2 Wigeon
2 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
223 Coot
A drake Shoveler
7+ Cormorants
8000 Black-headed Gulls
3500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
7 Herring Gulls
25 Golden Plover
14 Fieldfares
8 Redwings
13 Skylarks
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

28 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

3.0°C: Variable amount of cloud with a few good sunny spells. Light northerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:54 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: 06:05 – 09:20

(247th visit of the year)

One that might have got away. I read a review of Cornell University's "Merlin" bird sounds app. which noted that it was very good at distinguishing Goldcrest and Firecrest (as well as other species that have similar calls), Since I am not good at separating the calls of the two 'crests I thought I would give it a try when I heard what I would normally have logged as "Goldcrest heard". The app quickly told me it could heard Firecrest, Goldcrest and Treecreeper and then seemed to select these at random in response to calls that I could not separate. Try as I might I could not see the bird(s) giving the calls. Just a Goldcrest?

Other bird notes:
- Five Black-headed Gulls were noted on the water as soon as it was light-enough to see. Had they perhaps roosted here?
- Afterwards there was a minimal early arrival of Black-headed Gulls - no more than 40. Birds then continued to arrive in small groups from the West. By this time some of the originals had already started to leave to the West and some may have been returning individuals.
- Both the recently-arrived Great Crested Grebes were first-winter birds. They stayed well apart.
- As well as the singing Mistle Thrush alongside Teece Drive another bird flew West over the dam.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 12 Canada Geese: inbound together
- 1 Greylag Goose: outbound
- 14 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 4 Jackdaws
- 46 Starlings together
- 1 Mistle Thrush
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.430 Starlings left the north-side reeds in nine groups
Three Reed Buntings were heard calling at the West end before dawn: none was seen to leave this potential roost site.

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 69 (42♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 131 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- c.175 Black-headed Gulls
- 14 Herring Gulls
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull
- 66 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived

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

Moths:
- *2 male Winter Moths (Operophtera brumata)

Otherwise:

Springtails:
- *++1 possible Lepidocyrtus sp.
- 1 globular springtail

Beetles:
- 1 very small all-black beetle

Spiders and allies:
- *8 spider Clubiona sp.
- *1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- 2 Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted later on the Teece Drive fence:
- *1 female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)
- 2 Alder Leaf Beetles (Agelastica alni)

New groups of fungus found:

None

Makes a change after all the cloudy mornings. This moon is known as the Beaver Moon here about 21 hours after being full. All I can say is "nice beaver" [© Leslie Nielsen]

Taken from the dam by moonlight so the sky did not look blue to my eyes. The lights in the distance are those along the West end Public Footpath with the Ricoh lights behind.

A male Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata).

And in comparison the small wingless female. Most moth species seen in winter have flightless females. Most of these females have vestigial wings of varying sizes. The Winter Moth female has the smallest wings.

A small springtail with short thick-looking antennae though these may be enhanced by the dew. It may be a Lepidocyrtus sp. Or not.

A male spider Clubiona sp. There were eight of these on the same street lamp pole along with...

...a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis).

Plane of the day. Turkish Airlines, for it is one of their aircraft, will not win any prizes for an attractive livery even if they have painted their logo and name on the belly. It is an Airbus A330-303. The 3xx series are the longer and shorter-range version of the A330. Turkish configure it with 28 Business Class flat-bed seats and 261 'steerage' class seats. The final '3' of the model number specifies the engine type fitted, in this case a General Electric CF6-80.

Data from FlightRadar24 on the eight and a half hour flight.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:25 – 10:20

(232nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I do now think the Pochard is a first winter duck and not a drake as I originally thought.
- The belligerent Robin by one of the footbridges actually flew in to me to attract my attention. No food: sorry!

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Skylark: a most unusual date for a fly-over

Noted on / around the water:
- 3 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 42 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 39 (19♂) Tufted Duck
- 17 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *15 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gull: *second- and third- winter birds
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Moths:
- none

But:
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Nothing. Yesterday in the rain I did not visit the street lamp pole on which the Sprawler moth (Asteroscopus sphinx) has been resting. By today it had gone.

New fungus found:
- *probable Field Blewit (Lepista saeva)

A second winter Herring Gull in pursuit of an adult winter Black-headed Gull. The extent of the grey on the back is the best feature to separate this bird from a first winter. A duck Tufted Duck bottom right.

Another view of the Herring Gull. In this view the pale tip to the bill is another clue it is a second winter bird.

This fungus was a bit battered before I did some 'gardening' to get a clearer view. My app did not give me a positive identification. Checking its options against NatureSpot I think a Field Blewit (Lepista saeva).

(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
3 Gadwall
7 Pochard
24 Tufted Ducks
1 Goldeneye
c.373 Wood Pigeons
2 Woodcock
17 Redwings
29 Fieldfares
c.490 Jackdaws
56 Rooks
9 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Pochard
48 Tufted Duck
10+ Goosander
(Ed Wilson)

2009
The Wrekin
Firecrest
(Martin & Ian Grant)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
26 Pochard
47 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
64 Coots
895 Black-headed Gulls
48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
35 Fieldfares
24 Redwings
191 Jackdaws
123 Rooks
53 Starlings
16 Greenfinch
13 Goldfinches
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
A duck Wigeon
Cormorant
c.75 Lapwing
2 Fieldfares
1 duck Pochard
34 Tufted Duck logged.
200 Coot
(Ed Wilson)

27 Nov 23

The Flash only

5.0°C: Cloudy: dull: soaking drizzle developed. Light / moderate northerly breeze. Moderate / poor visibility.

[Sunrise: 07:52 GMT]

No photos today

The Flash: 12:45 – 13:20

(231st visit of the year)

With the onset of the heavy drizzle I high-tailed it back home.

Bird notes:
- I must have a closer look at the Pochard. It does not seem to be developing in the way I would expect a first-winter drake to develop. It may be a duck after all.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 34 (23♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 35 (21♂) Tufted Duck
- 17 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: third winter
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Nothing

(Ed Wilson)

Note:

Sunday 26 Nov 23 - Venus Pool Here.

Lapwings at Venus Pool (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 adult Yellow-legged Gulls
930+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
95 Herring Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Goldeneye
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
22 Tufted Ducks
146 Coots
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
8 Redwings
151 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson / John Isherwood)

2005
Priorslee Lake
50+ Golden Plover
4 Pochard
39 Tufted Duck
1 duck Wigeon
2 Ruddy Duck
2 Little Grebes
200+ Coot
1 Water Rail
1 Kingfisher
12 Redwing
5 Fieldfare
8 Siskin
5 Reed Bunting
(Martin R Adlam)

26 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

0.0°C > 2.0°C: Cloudy: dull: light drizzle in the air later. Light south-east breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:51 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: 06:10 – 09:10

(246th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The adult Mute Swans back to normal behaviour today.
- A Woodcock was seen flying to roost c.07:15.
- Black-headed Gulls were noted flying South and I initially assumed these were birds that had arrived at the lake (at the unusually late time of 07:20) just moving off. This small movement seemed to go on too long and some were with obvious overflying large gulls. I cannot estimate the number involved: double figures for sure.
- Single Cormorants simultaneously approached the lake from opposite directions, circled twice and carried on. Later another, bolder individual did arrive.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Collared Doves: together
- ?? Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 8 Herring Gull
- 87 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: singles
- 1 Rook
- 1 Redwing
- 7 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Greenfinch
- 2 Siskins

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.380 Starlings left the north-side reeds in 13 groups
Two Reed Buntings were heard calling along the South side before dawn: neither was seen to leave this potential roost site.

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: arrived
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 8 (6♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 37 (26♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 133 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebe
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 22 Herring Gulls
- 28 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived

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

Moths:
- 1 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)

Otherwise:

Spiders and allies:
- *1 spider Clubiona sp.
- *1 Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- *2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis
- also the same spider exoskeleton as seen the previous two days

Noted later on the Teece Drive fence.
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

New groups of fungus found:

None

Not much on a gloomy day so some favourites(?). A spider Clubiona sp.

A Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis).

A harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:15

(230th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A 24-hour fishing marathon overnight may have affected some of the counts: no Common Teal or Pochard located.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 14 Greylag Geese: arrived together
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 41 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- *55 (33♂) Tufted Duck
- *1 (0♂) Goosander: arrived and departed
- 18 Moorhens
- 41 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: third winter
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Moths:
- 1 Sprawler (Asteroscopus sphinx): its 20th day but possibly dead
Nothing else.

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Nothing

New group of fungus found:
- *Crepidotus sp., perhaps Variable Oysterling (C. variabilis)

A duck Tufted Duck flies by.

A brownhead Goosander leaving. The white panel in the hindwing shows no indication of spreading toward the forewing and hence I am safe in saying this is a duck.

These are small fungus growing on a small dead broken branch. My app could not give a positive identification, suggesting it was likely a species of Crepidotus. Looking at photos on the NatureSpot web site it seems possible it is the common Variable Oysterling (C. variabilis).

(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
22 Tufted Ducks
143 Coots
Nuthatch
34 Redwings
1 Fieldfare
228 Jackdaws
98 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
11 Greylag Geese
27 Pochard
70 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
70 Coots
>400 Black-headed Gulls
315 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
5 Herring Gulls
221 Wood Pigeons
22 Blackbirds
45 Fieldfares
38 Redwings
264 Jackdaws
71 Rooks
5 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
1 Pochard
40 Tufted Duck
1 Goldeneye
2 Ruddy Duck
C.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
16 Herring Gulls
2 Yellow-legged Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
Caspian Gull
Sparrowhawk
c.628 Jackdaws
c.358 Rooks
(Martin Adlam)

25 Nov 23

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

0.0°C > 1.0°C: Not exactly the wall-to-wall clear skies forecast. It started that way, soon with broken medium-level cloud rolling in. Almost calm. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:49 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

(245th visit of the year)

Another addition to my 2023 bird species list for me here when a group of c.30 Pink-footed Geese flew south-east across the fields to the East of Castle Farm Way just after 08:00. My only previous confirmed record of this species flying over here was as long ago as 10 February 1992. I have made a (very small) number of distant 'possible' sightings since.

Other bird notes:
- I hope the adult Mute Swans are OK. They spent the entire time asleep while I was present. The cygnets paddled off and did their own thing.
- A pair of Gadwall and a trio of Pochard were new arrivals.
- The Great Crested Grebe looked to be a different individual: perhaps it is just moulting.
- A Cormorant appeared to emerge from roosting at the West end and then flew low across the water to sit on a buoy for at least the next 90 minutes.
- A Common Kestrel flew East c.08:05, pausing for a brief hover over the dam area. My fifth record for this species here this year.
- All five Rooks noted were flying singly and apparently carrying food in their bills.
- A Mistle Thrush was heard singing alongside Teece Drive c.09:00 with another seen in trees beside the West end footpath. Later it (or another) was sitting alongside the songster giving its rattling call-notes. There were no Song Thrushes singing in the colder conditions.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- *c.25 Pink-footed Geese: as highlighted
- 2 (♂?) Goosander
- 34 Wood Pigeons: of these 12 were in a single group flying high south-west
- 1 Herring Gull
- 33 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants: a duo and a quartet
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Common Kestrel
- 5 Jackdaws
- 5 Rook
- 7 Starlings
- 1 Redwing
- 5 Pied Wagtails

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Cormorant: see notes
- c.350 Starlings left the north-west reeds in seven groups and one single!

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: departed
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Pochard
- 43 (27♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 131 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- >200 Black-headed Gulls
- 10 Herring Gulls
- 52 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: one roosted (see notes); another arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: present throughout;

The (semi) nocturnal community on or around the street lamp poles at dawn:
Cold with frost-covered poles.

Moths:
- *1 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)

Otherwise:
- the same spider exoskeleton as yesterday

Noted later on the frost-covered Teece Drive fence.

Nothing

New groups of fungus found:

None

Clouds appearing to ruin the forecast clear skies.

More cloud arriving.

I don't expect anyone to be able identify these as Pink-footed Geese. It would have been difficult eve had my camera not been inadvertently left on "hand-held moonlight" setting. The rather ragged line is typical of the species. Luckily I could hear their distinctive calls.

Today's only live inhabitant of the street lamp poles this morning was this Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:25

(229th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Today the Greylag Geese arrived together (with one mainly white goose).

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant

Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- *35 Greylag Geese arrived with...
- *1 "mainly all-white?" feral goose
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 37 (26♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 51 (35♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 19 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- *22 Black-headed Gulls
- *4 Herring Gull: one third winter and three (near) adults; arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Moths:
- *1 Sprawler (Asteroscopus sphinx): its 19th day
Nothing else.

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Bees / wasps etc.:
- *Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris): four
Despite the low temperature.

New group of fungus found:
- *++Hoof Fungus (Fomes fomentarius)

33 of the Greylag Geese arriving with...

...twelve of them here.

The apparently mainly white feral goose was with two other Greylags and...

...is not so "mainly white" when seen in flight here...

...and here.

An adult Black-headed Gull flies by.

A third winter Herring Gull.

One of the local Robins has become tame-enough to take food from some people's hand. It did not know I had no food.

Looking beseechingly at me.

Making me feel guilty.

This is the Sprawler moth (Asteroscopus sphinx) here on its 19th day. It did move slightly a few days ago: I do wonder whether it is in fact now dead.

One of just four Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris) braving the chilly weather.

This is Hoof Fungus (Fomes fomentarius): a new fungus for me.

(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
6 Gadwall
1 Teal
2 Pochard
99 Tufted Duck
225 Coots counted
1 Woodcock
6 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
Green Woodpecker
231 Fieldfare
66 Redwings
c.375 Jackdaws
2 Redpolls
5 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
31 Greylag Geese
3 Gadwall
8 Pochard
23 Tufted Duck
Goosander
143 Coots
1 Yellow-legged Gull
19 Redwings
2 Fieldfares
259 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson / Allan Heath)

2005
Priorslee Lake
206 Starlings going to roost
C.500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
10 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow legged Gull
1 Caspian Gull
c.700 Black-headed Gulls
(Martin Adlam)