Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:10
The Flash: 09:15 – 10:459.0°C: More gloomy weather. Occasional light drizzle. Moderate southerly wind led to some very slightly brighter periods. Good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:19 GMT
* = a photo to be uploaded later: watch the blog for information.
Priorslee Balancing Lake:
(240th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- no change in the number of Mute Swans present this morning: 25 adults and 3 first years.
- another change from the Black-headed Gulls. Today they arrived in at least seven groups, all from the West. I reckon no more than c.400.
Birds noted flying over: in very misty conditions
- 1 Stock Dove: in with a group of Wood Pigeons
- c.420 Wood Pigeons: of these c.400 were in six migrant groups
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 8 Cormorants: a single; a trio and a quartet
- 155 Jackdaws
- 48 Rooks
- c.50 Starlings: together
- 18 Fieldfare: six small groups
- 44 Redwings: 11 singles / groups
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Birds noted leaving roosts around the lake:
- c.150 Starlings: from the north-east area in five groups
- ? Redwings: at least six birds heard only pre-dawn. These may have been roosting or flying over.
Counts from the lake area:
- 34 Canada Geese: departed in two main groups
- 1 Greylag Goose
- *25 + 3 Mute Swans ['3' first year birds not '5' as I mistyped yesterday]
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- >194 Coots: again too dull for an accurate total
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- c.400 Black-headed Gulls
- 13 Herring Gulls
- 29 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons: the second only briefly
Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
Moths:
- *1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla: probably for its eighth day and I overlooked it on 04 November
- 2 November Moth-types Epirrita dilutata agg.
- 1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
- *1 Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria: as yesterday?
- 1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria: for its fifth day
Flies:
- *2 unidentified craneflies, probably Tipula sp.
- 1 wood gnat, perhaps Sylvicola fenestralis
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera regelationis
Springtails:
- *2 globular springtail sp., probably Dicyrtomina saundersi
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
- *1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 3 male harvestman Leiobunum rotundum
Around the outside of the Telford Sailing Club HQ pre-dawn:
Aphid:
- 1 Aphis sp.
Barkflies:
- 11 Valenzuela flavidus
Slugs, snails etc.:
- 1 'black slug' Arion sp.
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
not counted: concentrated on the flies etc.
Noted later:
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
In the Priorslee Avenue Tunnel pre dawn:
not visited this morning
The Flash:
(243rd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a pair of Common Teal noted.
- some Tufted Duck have retuned or are new in. They remain unusually shy, never allowing close approach for a photo.
- the party of eight Fieldfare that flew over were a new species for me here this year having missed them in the first Winter period. Bird species #80.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 11 Wood Pigeons in a single migrant flock
- 2 Jackdaws
- 8 Fieldfare: together
Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese: departed together
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 34 (23♂) Mallard
- 1 (?♂♀) 'feral-type' Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Common Teal
- 29 (12?♂) Tufted Duck
- 12 Moorhens
- 147 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: adult, departed
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron
Noted around The Flash:
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
is this the same lone wasp I have seen for the past few days?
Flies:
- *1 cranefly Tipula confusa
Barkflies:
- *1 Valenzuela flavidus
Bug:
- *1 Mirid bug of the Lygus group
Springtails:
- *2 species of globular springtail sp.
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli
(Ed Wilson)