31 Oct 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 11.0°C: Early high overcast after overnight rain. Patches of low cloud later. Moderate south-easterly breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:05 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Other things to do today so it was an abbreviated look at both locations

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 08:35

(266th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the usual westbound Greylag Geese were accompanied by a small group of Canada Geese as well as three mainly white feral birds.
- a drake Gadwall was a new arrival. It later flew off.
- Mallard were difficult to count accurately with birds flying to and fro across Castle Farm Way to the fields and pools to the East.
- only one migrant group of just 32 Wood Pigeons noted and these seemed unsure about where to go and landed back in trees to the far south-west.
- at most c.300 Black-headed Gulls noted. Once these have dispersed there are very few new birds and/or returnees.
- c.200 Lesser Black-backed Gulls before 07:00 when they departed. Another c.150 arrived after 07:30. Herring Gull only noted after 07:30.
- three small groups of Redwings seen overhead. At least eight were seen later in West end trees and bushes.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 14 Canada Geese: two eastbound together; 12 westbound with...
- 122 Greylag Geese: 106 counted flying westbound together with 16 laggards in three groups
- 3 mostly white geese with Greylags
- 1 Stock Dove again
- 70 Wood Pigeons: of these 32 were in a migrant group that didn't: see notes
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 82 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- 376 Jackdaws
- 181 Rooks
- 15 Redwings: three groups
- 3 Pied Wagtails: singles
- 3 Siskins: singles

Counts from the lake area:
- *2 Mute Swans
- *1 (1♂) Gadwall: departed?
- 18 (11♂) Mallard
- 39 (>23♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 62 Coots
- *6 Great Crested Grebes
- c.300 Black-headed Gulls
- 31 Herring Gulls
- c.350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Not much: wet poles

Moths:
- 2 November Moth types Epirrita sp.

Flies:
- 2 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.
- *1 possible Long-horned Black Legionnaire Beris geniculata.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later on the Teece Drive fence:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

It did look for a while as if there might be another decent sunrise. This was as good as it got.

I have commented previously how the current pair of Mute Swans are prone to making flights around their territory, something previous occupants have only done when seeing off unwelcome visitors.

A drake Gadwall paddles past showing an orange leg as well as its black stern. Not much else visible in the poor light.

These two different-looking Great Crested Grebes seem to be an item. I guess the left-most bird is a first winter though, as I have remarked previously, I would have expected more in the way of the juvenile facial stripes to have been retained as yet.

None too sure about this fly. Prominent red eyes and dark wings suggest the soldier fly Long-horned Black Legionnaire Beris geniculata . That should have an iridescent bottle-green thorax whereas the thorax here looks dark, albeit slightly iridescent. Perhaps because this is a flash photo?

A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. using the lichen growing on a street lamp pole as camouflage.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Moths:
- none: the long-term Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria has gone

Flies:
- *1 cranefly Tipula lateralis
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 17 midges of various species again

Arthropods:
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 10 spiders: usual species

A cranefly Tipula lateralis. The pale areas in the wings combined with the pale line running the length of the abdomen are identification features.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:40 – 09:40

(261st visit of the year)

*Yesterday's Little Egret still present.

Bird notes:
- only a drake (Common) Teal noted. However the side of the island was jammed with geese so anything else was hard to see.
- it was a quick canter around which probably explains the lower totals of e.g. Moorhens and Coots.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Starling
- 8 Redwing: together

Noted on / around the water:
- >52 Canada Geese: more inside the island?
- *>68 Greylag Geese: more inside the island?
- 2 mainly white feral geese
- 7 Mute Swans again
- 29 (21♂) Mallard
- *1 (1♂) (Common) Teal
- 8 (1?♂) Tufted Duck
- 48 (5♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 78 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 24 Black-headed Gulls
- 16 Herring Gulls: all ages
- 6 Cormorants again
- no Grey Herons
- *1 Little Egret

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 1 November Moth types Epirrita sp. only
a different individual to that seen yesterday: in squirrel alley

Bees, wasps etc.:
- >10 wasps: only Common Wasps Paravespula vulgaris specifically identified

Springtails:
- *1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris: same location for three days

Fungus:
- *Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus: looking very sad

At the right the drake (Common) Teal can be seen mostly stern-on. Otherwise five Greylag Geese, four in the water and one preening on the edge of the island.

It is a paper bag?

No. Careful repositioning allows the black bill of the Little Egret to be seen. The yellow feet are hidden.

A springtail Tomocerus vulgaris has now been on the same street lamp pole for three days. The same individual?

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday this was a smart Lawyer's Wig fungus Coprinus comatus. By today it has almost deliquesced away.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Candles Landfill Site
2nd winter Caspian Gull
8 Yellow-legged Gulls
Great Black-backed Gull
c.700 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Chiffchaff
Mistle Thrush
29 Fieldfares
32 Redwings
13 Siskins
3 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Shoveler
5 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)

2005
Trench Pool
2 Goosander
10 Shoveler
(John Isherwood)