12 Jan 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

4.0°C: Low / medium overcast. Light north-easterly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:17 GMT

* = a species photographed today

Dullsville

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:35 – 09:25

(12th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
One addition to my 2023 bird species list from here:
#55: a lone Raven flew North calling at 09:00.

Other bird notes:
- The light-level was rather low to get an accurate count of Coots: the number seemed lower again. With many fights going on as birds stake out their breeding territories perhaps some of last year's post-breeding arrivals are leaving.
- One or more Black-headed Gulls were heard flying around unseen in the dark at 07:05. There were certainly none present when 42 flew in at 07:30. Eventually at least 400 were present.
- For some reason the large gulls today were mostly Lesser Black-backed Gulls with just two Herring Gulls dropping in later. None was seen passing over.
- After the usual sparring between two Grey Herons I assumed that one had been chased away to the East. I was surprised to find two perched in trees in the north-east area.
- Slightly milder conditions and two Song Thrushes were making valiant attempts to sing.
- Unusually these days I noted four Chaffinches together – three males and a female.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 8 Greylag Geese: a single and septet outbound
- 1 Wood Pigeon only
- 6 Jackdaws
- 1 Raven
- 2 Pied Wagtails

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake.

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 11 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 58 Coots
- c.400 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons

Noted on or around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria
- *1 Early Moth Theria primaria

Flies:
- *1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 1 small plumed midge sp.

Other insects:
- *1 globular springtail

Two moths on the street lamp poles this milder morning. This a Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria. I need to look out for a very similarly-marked moth the Dotted Border Agriopis marginaria. This latter species lacks the obvious dot towards the outer edge in the centre of the wing.

 And here is the other moth: an Early Moth Theria primaria.

This seems to be one of the winter craneflies Trichocera sp. Obsidentify was having one of its moments and kept suggesting various species of harvestmen.

Another attempt to get a photo of a globular springtail showing details that might allow identification. Failed!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:30

(12th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The pair of Gadwall seemed to have gone again
- An additional drake Pochard.
- A record count of 25 Moorhens: not too many dog-walkers to send them off the grass in to the water.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese: of these 11 departed in two groups
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 45 (31♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 5 (4♂) Pochard
- 61 (34♂) Tufted Duck
- 25 Moorhens
- 71 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 9 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult

Of interest note elsewhere.

Nothing

A perky Wren against the unhelpful background of a car window reflecting and TV antenna. Still it was better than my first photo against the blue paintwork of the car.

And the other way around (and no: I did not transpose the image).

Another view before it flew off and...

 ...amazingly disappeared, briefly, inside this drain cover before flying off. I doubt that it could see any food item in the drain from where I photographed it so perhaps it knows there are spiders or other insects it can grab. Most resourceful.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
1 drake Scaup
2 female Scaup
(Mike Stokes)