14.0°C > 16.0°C: Cloudy until I was about to depart. Early light rain; then dry for a while before drizzle, mist and murk descended c.07:45. Began to break after 10:00. Light easterly breeze. Very good visibility except during drizzle and mist when poor.
Sunrise: 06:24 BST
* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area
I am about to have (yet) another few days off while I visit my 91 year-old cousin on the South Coast.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 09:00
(216th visit of the year)
Highlight today was at least one Swift on a very late date for the species. One was over my head above the North wood at 06:35 intermittently visible between the tree tops. It is possible there was more than one bird. By the time I had a view across the tops of the trees none was visible.
Bird notes:
- two visiting Mute Swans throughout, occasionally chased by the residents.
- no arrival of otherwise inbound geese. The number of, especially Greylags, seen at The Flash suggests they took an alternative flight-path back.
- 22 Mallard counted. Again they were scattered about and difficult to keep track of.
- general opinion on the unidentified small duck from the previous two days is a Common Teal and likely an immature bird.
- nine Barn Swallows were hunting insects along the South side before rising high in to the sky and flying off South. Later another three were seen heading South.
- no House Martins seen or heard.
- another very large count of Chiffchaffs, some singing away undeterred by the rain and drizzle.
- no fly-over Pied Wagtails. Instead there were 14 on the football field c.06:45. I assume the recent rain, little as there has been, was enough to bring some insects to the surface.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 12 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 50 Greylag Geese: outbound in three groups
- 57 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 29 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 14 Jackdaws
- 159 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Mute Swans
- 22 (♂?) Mallard
- 10 Moorhens
- 148 adult and juvenile Coots
- 5 + 4 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- c.40 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived 05:50; not seen after 06:10
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift at least: see highlight
- 12 Barn Swallows
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- *27 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (1) Blackcaps again
Noted on the West end street lamp poles around-dawn:
* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area
I am about to have (yet) another few days off while I visit my 91 year-old cousin on the South Coast.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 09:00
(216th visit of the year)
Highlight today was at least one Swift on a very late date for the species. One was over my head above the North wood at 06:35 intermittently visible between the tree tops. It is possible there was more than one bird. By the time I had a view across the tops of the trees none was visible.
Bird notes:
- two visiting Mute Swans throughout, occasionally chased by the residents.
- no arrival of otherwise inbound geese. The number of, especially Greylags, seen at The Flash suggests they took an alternative flight-path back.
- 22 Mallard counted. Again they were scattered about and difficult to keep track of.
- general opinion on the unidentified small duck from the previous two days is a Common Teal and likely an immature bird.
- nine Barn Swallows were hunting insects along the South side before rising high in to the sky and flying off South. Later another three were seen heading South.
- no House Martins seen or heard.
- another very large count of Chiffchaffs, some singing away undeterred by the rain and drizzle.
- no fly-over Pied Wagtails. Instead there were 14 on the football field c.06:45. I assume the recent rain, little as there has been, was enough to bring some insects to the surface.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 12 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 50 Greylag Geese: outbound in three groups
- 57 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 29 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 14 Jackdaws
- 159 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Mute Swans
- 22 (♂?) Mallard
- 10 Moorhens
- 148 adult and juvenile Coots
- 5 + 4 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- c.40 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived 05:50; not seen after 06:10
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift at least: see highlight
- 12 Barn Swallows
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- *27 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (1) Blackcaps again
Noted on the West end street lamp poles around-dawn:
Moths:
- *2 Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]
- *1 $ Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea: moth species #88 for me here this year
- *2 Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]
- *1 $ Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea: moth species #88 for me here this year
Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 small ichneumon / braconid wasp.
- *1 small ichneumon / braconid wasp.
Four-winged flies etc.:
- *1 Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum
- *1 Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum
Flies:
- *1 Muscid fly Phaonia pallida
- *1 Muscid fly Phaonia pallida
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- all sheltering!
Noted elsewhere:
In the circumstance I was surprised to see anything!
- all sheltering!
Noted elsewhere:
In the circumstance I was surprised to see anything!
Moths:
- *1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
- *1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
Mammals:
- 2 pipistrelle-type bats
A few of the drake Mallards are beginning to look like drake Mallards as they moult in to breeding plumage. Ducks pair up in the Autumn. Drake Mallard retain the yellow bill, somewhat faded, during the annual moult.
I noted 27 Chiffchaffs around the lake, many singing. Most were working the foliage hunting for morsels. This is as good as it got otherwise. The bill shape is distinctive as is the pose.
The reeds alongside the dam have been flattened by wind and rain, as have most of the other reeds. I cannot blame the Reed Warblers for having departed. We may possibly still see the odd migrant passing through.
I believe this moth to be a Narrow-winged Grey Eudonia angustea. Obsidentify was 90% sure it is a Tufted Oak Knot-horn Acrobasis tumidana which would have been fitting. The West Midlands Moths web site notes that there is but a single record of this species - from Bodenham in Herefordshire and almost certainly from the garden of a mothing and birding friend of mine who, I am sad to say, died a few days ago.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Its delicate nature suggests this a Limonid cranefly. Many species on the NatureSpot web site are not shown at this angle. The best match to this narrow-necked and round-headed cranefly is perhaps Austrolimnophila ochracea. But...
A male mosquito: it is hard to be sure but it does not look to be banded on the abdomen or legs so is likely a Culex pipiens.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:05 – 10:10
(210th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- probably more geese inside the island. The Greylag Geese were all present when I arrived. Most of the Canada Geese flew in accompanied by a Canada x Greylag Goose. I only saw this from a distance before it went inside the island. My impression is that it was the same individual seen at the Balancing Lake recently.
- eight or nine Mute Swans. One or more always seemed to hiding behind the island whenever I checked.
- *a duck Common Teal flushed out of the top end.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Noted on / around the water:
- 35 Canada Geese
- 72 Greylag Geese
- *1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 8 (or 9?) Mute Swans
- 33 (?♂) Mallard
- *1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 16 (11?♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens again
- 90 adult and juvenile Coots
- 4 + 5 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- none: most odd considering the numbers recorded at the Balancing Lake
Noted around the area:
- 2 pipistrelle-type bats
A Common Nettle-tap moth Anthophila fabriciana. The only insect I found after the drizzle set-in.
A Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella sits alongside what looks to be half a spider! Most odd.
The small ichneumon / braconid wasp I found on a street lamp pole pre-dawn (and pre- the rain!).
Another male Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum.
This is the Muscid fly Phaonia pallida. Not very "pallid" I would have thought.
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Moths: [45 species here before today; no addition]
none
none
Flies:
*1 Limonid cranefly, just possibly Austrolimnophila ochracea
*1 male mosquito likely Culex pipiens
1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
3 midges of various species only
*1 Limonid cranefly, just possibly Austrolimnophila ochracea
*1 male mosquito likely Culex pipiens
1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
3 midges of various species only
Arthropods:
3 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger
3 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
*2 unidentified spiders
*1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
*2 unidentified spiders
Me and my Shadow: a Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata.
An unidentified spider devouring a small insect with patterned wings. I will never know.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 09:05 – 10:10
(210th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- probably more geese inside the island. The Greylag Geese were all present when I arrived. Most of the Canada Geese flew in accompanied by a Canada x Greylag Goose. I only saw this from a distance before it went inside the island. My impression is that it was the same individual seen at the Balancing Lake recently.
- eight or nine Mute Swans. One or more always seemed to hiding behind the island whenever I checked.
- *a duck Common Teal flushed out of the top end.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
Noted on / around the water:
- 35 Canada Geese
- 72 Greylag Geese
- *1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 8 (or 9?) Mute Swans
- 33 (?♂) Mallard
- *1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 16 (11?♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens again
- 90 adult and juvenile Coots
- 4 + 5 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- none: most odd considering the numbers recorded at the Balancing Lake
Noted around the area:
Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]
- 1 Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea [previously Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer]
- 1 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]
- 1 Chevron Grass Moth Agriphila geniculea [previously Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer]
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
Plants:
- *Niger Guizotia abyssinica [Niger-seed]
- *Water Mint Mentha aquatica
Not as extensively white as on many individuals, especially juveniles. Although Rooks seem to be superficially similar it is apparently unknown for that species to show white feathers. Rooks also differ in having glossy plumage (as well as a very differently-shaped beak).
A flower I cannot recall ever seeing before: it is Niger Guizotia abyssinica, or as Obsidentify calls it Niger-seed. I found this at the water's-edge. It probably propagated from bird-food seed dropped by a passing bird.
Looking somewhat bedraggled is one of the last flowers of Water Mint Mentha aquatica. The leaves are still very strongly scented if you tread on them.
(Ed Wilson)
2013
Nedge Hill
2 Yellow Wagtails
(John Isherwood)
2011
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)
- *Niger Guizotia abyssinica [Niger-seed]
- *Water Mint Mentha aquatica
On the right the Canada x Greylag Goose.
A duck Common Teal showing white on the side of her tail.
One of the local Carrion Crows with a few white feathers in its back.
(Ed Wilson)
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2013
Nedge Hill
2 Yellow Wagtails
(John Isherwood)
2011
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)