3 Jan 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 8.0°C: Mostly cloudy after more overnight rain and showers. Some brighter spells. Almost calm with a very light southerly breeze developing. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 08:22 GMT again again!
* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:35 – 09:25

(3rd visit of the year)

The lake is as full as I can remember with some of the fishermen's pegs under water.

I have said it before: there are quiet days and then there is today.

Bird notes:
- A trio of Pochard were new in. Unusually more ducks than drakes.
- Also unusually there were more duck than drake Tufted Ducks – as there were later at The Flash.
- In addition to a Stock Dove seen flying East another was noted in display flight over the North wood and *two birds were sitting in trees beside the Wesley Brook bridge.
- A dire number of gulls again. 16 Black-headed Gulls appeared over the lake at 07:44 and circled for c.15 minutes and left without settling. Later just seven seen on the water with another noted flying over.
- A single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull flew South and then a single adult Herring Gull visited briefly and that was it.
- At least nine Song Thrushes were singing early.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 22 Greylag Geese: two singles and one group outbound
- 1 Stock Dove
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 17 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 3 Jackdaws

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake.
None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard
- 3 (1♂) Pochard
- 34 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 94 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Grey Heron

New Bird Species
Bird species added today to the year list from here were:
44 Grey Wagtail: one on the dam face briefly

The (semi) nocturnal community on or around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
A shower had only just stopped so the poles were very wet.

Moths:
- none

Beetles:
- 1 unidentified weevil: too covered in rain / dew to see any features.

Other insects:
- 6, at least, springtails Pogonognathellus/ Tomocerus type

Spiders:
- 1 very small money spider Erigone sp.
- *1 Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis
- *1 male Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Pachygnatha clercki
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Sailing Club Shelter
I had another look at the spiders in the sailing club shelter while it was too dark to see whether another shower was likely. I identified:
- *1 spider Neriene montana
- *1 Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica
- 2 Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp.

On the Teece Drive fence:
Nothing noted

A very small amount of colour in the pre-dawn.

Almost a more interesting looking West.

Perched high in a tree is a Stock Dove best identified here by the lack of white patch on the neck and the dark markings on the wing. A much smaller head and bill as well.

Its 'friend' on an adjacent tree. The light was too poor to show the glossy neck patch of this species.

A trio of Carrion Crows seems to have taken ownership of the dam-top and want to sit on the 'boxing ring'. One flies by, this view capturing the shape of the bill, very different from the bare, tapering bill of a Rook.

This very small money spider is one of the Erigone species.

In the sailing club shelter was this spider Neriene montana.

Also on the shelter was this Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica, identified by the zig-zag pattern along the side of the abdomen.

Strange bed- (post-) fellows: on the left a Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis; on the right a male Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Pachygnatha clercki. These are likely the same two present on this pole yesterday.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:30 – 10:35

(3rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Two drake Common Teal have reappeared – if they ever went away.
- As noted above I counted more duck than drake Tufted Ducks.
- Just one Black-headed Gull: where are they?
- A party of at least 50 Goldfinches flew out of trees on the island and away North.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None

Noted on / around the water:
- 3 Canada Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 60 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- *1 (1♂) Gadwall
- *43 (27♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 2 (2♂) Common Teal
- 55 (24♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (0♂) Goosander
- 19 Moorhens
- 43 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

New Bird Species
Bird species added today to the year list from here were:
34 Cormorant
35- Common Teal
36 *Goldcrest
37 Long-tailed Tit
38 *Bullfinch
The hybrid Canada x Greylag Goose and the all-white feral duck do not qualify as species for this purpose
Depressing thought: I have already recorded half the number of bird species I expect to record here this year.

Also noted:
- 1 Grey Squirrel. I won't be bothering to note this species in the blog again this year.

Well: it is a duck Mallard but a paler than normal bird. There has been a similar individual around for a number years: this is not it and I haven't noted it for a while.

The drake Gadwall was close-enough for a passable photo. Very smart.

A Goldcrest was zipping about. There was insufficient light for the camera to freeze the action of the hyperactive sprite.

When excited these birds can raise their crest when it shows much orange, rather like a Firecrest. It is just possible to see the orange around the edge of the crest here.

Two male Bullfinches doing what Bullfinches like doing best – eating buds!

They do not seem to have a significant effect on the shrubs with plenty of flowers and leaves later.

(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

2014
Priorslee Lake
Two 1st winter female Scaup present.

2012
Priorslee Lake
Adult Yellow-legged Gull
Adult Caspian Gull
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
A 2nd winter Caspian Gull
Adult Yellow-legged Gull
(Richard Vernon)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Evening - 6:15pm
A Barn Owl
(Martin Adlam)

Morning
Big gull roost with:
2000 Black-headed Gulls
500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
160 Herring Gulls
Yellow-legged Gull
2 Great Black-backed Gulls
Also
At least 10000 Starlings left the roost somewhere to the S and flew N just before 8:00am.
(Ed Wilson)