Friends of Priorslee Lake Wildlife Site: 15 Mar 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 13.0°C: Mostly cloudy again with occasional light drizzle and also a (very) few brighter moments. Moderate south-westerly wind. Very good visibility, moderate during drizzle.

Sunrise: 06:23 GMT

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:30 – 09:10

(54th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a party of 26 Wood Pigeons was noted flying very high North, too high to see with the naked eye but noted when I was watching one of the local Mistle Thrushes fly over.
- a third Great Crested Grebe today. A pair was seen together all around the lake with the third bird keeping its distance.
- I noted a Tree creeper singing. I am very familiar with their calls but had to resort to my Merlin app to confirm the song. I cannot remember when I last heard one singing.
- *what was presumably the same male Grey Wagtail was singing lustily from the boxing ring again. Also two birds were noted where the Wesley Brooks meets the sluices near the Teece Drive gate.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 3 Greylag Geese: pair outbound; single inbound
- 51 Wood Pigeons: see notes
- 1 Collared Dove
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 9 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks

Warblers noted (figure in brackets is singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: pair arrived
- 2 Mute Swans
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 22 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- *1 (0♂) Goosander
- 10 Moorhens
- 42 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: arrived separately with two departing separately
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on the street lamp poles pre-dawn.
Late overnight rain meant there was very little to see,

Flies:
- 2 female plumed midge

Springtails
- 4 springtails Tomocerus type
- *3 globular springtails

Noted later:

Flies:
- *1 male plumed midge on the wall of the sailing club HQ.

Beetles:
- *1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata on the Teece Drive fence.
- 3 Alder Leaf Beetles on the Teece Drive fence.

Molluscs:
- *1 Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella on the Teece Drive fence.
- *7 probable Greenhouse Slugs Ambigolimax valentianus on the wall of the sailing club HQ.

Plants:
- *catkins of Willow Salix sp.

Lichen:
- *Xanthoria calcicola

Fungus:
- *probable Glistening Inkcap Coprinellus micaceus

The duck Goosander had an even earlier breakfast this morning: this in the gloom at 06:10.

That seems a clever trick: avoiding dropping your breakfast. Goosanders are part of a family of birds called saw-bills. These have serrated bills for gripping slippery fish.

Another Song Thrush. They are often more wary than this.

I took two photos of Dunnocks today, neither intentionally. The Cetti's Warbler was singing very close to this and I thought I might be taking its photo. Sadly not.

Whereas this one I thought might be a lurking Chiffchaff. Sadly not again. Note this one has very obvious white tips on its medium wing coverts.

The male Grey Wagtail was on the 'boxing ring' again. As noted later two birds were near the Teece Drive gate.

A male plumed midge on the wall of the sailing club HQ.

Two very different-sized globular springtails. No idea as to species.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata on the Teece Drive fence.

Also on the Teece Drive fence was this Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella.

There were seven of these slugs on the wall of the sailing club HQ. Obsidentify was certain this one was a Greenhouse Slug Ambigolimax valentianus. Reference to the NatureSpot web site suggested this species has three lines running along its body which I don't see here. I have no better suggestion.

Obsidentify told me this was the catkin of Willow Salix sp. I knew that! What species? No idea.

On a tree trunk I noticed what seem to be the Lichen Xanthoria calcicola.

A large group of what are probably Glistening Inkcaps Coprinellus micaceus

A closer view of a small group. The cluster I photographed on 5 March have long-since disappeared though they are likely all part of the same colony.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:15– 10:35

(56th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- so why were there so many geese today? Some of them flew off though I only heard most of these calling as they departed.
- *still many Siskins in Alders on both sides. Others were using some feeders outside houses along the East side.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 2 Jackdaws

Warblers noted (figure in brackets is singing birds):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs

Noted on / around the water:
- 35 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese
- *2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 22 (16♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 41 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gulls: departed
- 1 Herring Gull: third year, departed
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: third year, arrived
- 1 Cormorant: departed

Noted elsewhere
- four Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni on the wooden handrail along the West side.
- one Alder Leaf Beetle on a lamp pole in the same area.

I am not at all sure about this. Two of last years cygnets – siblings – seem to be enjoying each other's company.

I found Siskins on both sides of the water this morning. This male takes a breather.

And tucks back in. I will not be able to take many more photos of this species this year. The birds will soon move away to their breeding sites in conifer plantations. Tardy individuals will soon be hiding behind leaves.