13 Nov 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 13.0°C: Mostly clear with a few small areas of thin high cloud. Light southerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:29 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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:30

(276th visit of the year)

The better weather failed to produce anything much apart from a calling Chiffchaff at the West end. Possibly my first November record. I need to do some more investigation as the call struck me as "unusual". I am wondering about Siberian Chiffchaff, known to over-winter in very small numbers in the UK. I have not encountered this species since I was in Russia in 1993. At that time I did not pay it that much attention as it was then regarded as a race of Common Chiffchaff. I only ever managed a glimpse of today's bird perched and then in flight but I do have a sound recording of its call.

Bird notes:
- the only geese seen today were two Canada Geese arrivals.
- an adult Mute Swan flew in from the East at c.07:25, took one look and the raised wings on the resident pair, circled and departed. A wise move!
- three small migrant parties of Wood Pigeons noted, unusually flying West.
- Coot numbers remain at what seems like an all time low. There are fewer birds than during the breeding season discounting all the juveniles that successfully fledged.
- only c.100 Black-headed Gulls noted.
- in contrast there was an early and large arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. At least 350 birds with some others that did not bother to stop and flew over headed South. As normal these birds almost all departed by 07:30 with c.110 visiting after c.08:00. Just a scatter of Herring Gulls with them
- the Tawny Owl was calling alongside Teece Drive c.06:15
- one distant party of eight Redwings noted.
- I was close-by the traditional Reed Bunting roost at the West end and neither heard not saw any birds.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Mute Swan: see notes
- 102 Wood Pigeons: of these 76 in three migrant parties flying West
- 1 Herring Gull
- 56 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 235 Jackdaws
- 89 Rooks
- 8 Redwings

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: arrived
- 2 Mute Swans
- 14 (8♂) Mallard
- 44 (28?♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 47 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- c.100 Black-headed Gulls
- 19 Herring Gulls
- c.460 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *3 male Winter Moths Operophtera brumata
- *1 male Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria

Springtails:
- *2 globular springtails Dicyrtomina-type, perhaps D. ornata
- 1 springtail Orchesella cincta
- 2 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type
- *1 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris

Flies:
- 2 winter craneflies Trichocera sp.
- 2 plumed midges

Beetles:
- *1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis
- 3 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis

Later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:

Nothing noted

If the weather forecast is correct this will probably be my last opportunity to photo the waning Beaver Moon. "Nice Beaver" [© Leslie Nielsen Naked Gun 1988]

Its November so the November Moth types Epirrita sp. are getting scarce and now we have Winter Moths Operophtera brumata. Here is one of three seen this morning.

And another. These are males: the females, like many species of winter-flying moths, are almost wingless. There is another closely-related species, the Northern Winter Moth O. fagata. Males are separated by subtle difference in wing-shape and also by looking at the underwing which is whiter on the Northern species. Females are easier to separate as the Northern species has a larger but still vestigial wings.

These tiny (1.5mm) globular springtails are too small for my camera to reproduce clearly. This is one of the Dicyrtomina-type, perhaps D. ornata.

A male Feathered Thorn moth Colotois pennaria.

The antennae here are too short for it to be the springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis. It is the springtail Tomocerus vulgaris.

This 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata has found a sheltered spot in the crevice in a street lamp pole.

A Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis dotted with dew.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 10 midges

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 18 spiders: usual species including
*Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata

One of the many Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata that were outnumbering the number of midges that were available to eat.

Another one doing its callisthenics.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:40

(270th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the two remaining Mute Swans were usually together today.
- a significant drop in both Goosander and Cormorant numbers. Have they eaten all the fish?
- only one Little Grebe confirmed.
- the Little Egret remains.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Skylark

Noted on / around the water:
- 58 Canada Geese: more inside the island?
- ? Greylag Geese: heard only from inside the island
- 2 Mute Swans
- 32 (21♂) Mallard
- 8 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 22 (2♂) Goosander
- 12 Moorhens
- 91 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 13 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants
- no Grey Heron
- 1 Little Egret

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *>25 wasps: only Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris positively identified

Hoverflies:
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger [Lunuled Aphideater]

Other flies:
- many blowfly sps. including *Common Blow Flies Calliphora vicina.

Beetles:
- *1 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

A Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris. The antennae here are unusually being held straight and hence look longer than usual.

Another Common Wasp with the antennae held more typically. Note just how hairy wasps are.

A female drone fly with pale front legs and so it is a Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax. Females do not have a tapered abdomen.

The dark front legs mean this is a Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.

Another male Common Dronefly.

Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger was the third species of hoverfly I noted on the Ivy.

One of the very many flies noted. This is a Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina.

This 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata does not look to have found a sheltered spot in the midst of an expired Ivy flower.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
7 Gadwall
2 Teal
67 Tufted Duck
1 Water Rail
25 Moorhens
230 Coots
290+ Black-headed Gulls
Female Peregrine
359 Wood Pigeons
308 Fieldfare
30 Redwings
517 Jackdaws
119 Rooks
22 Starlings from roost
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
40+ Fieldfare
34 Greylag Geese
46 Canada Geese
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Gadwall
6 Pochard
8 Tufted Ducks
148 Coots
1 Great Black-backed Gull
294 Wood Pigeons
88 Redwings
149 Fieldfares
c.75 Starlings
c.779 Jackdaws
159 Rooks
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
10 Great Crested Grebes
101 Canada Geese
8 Pochard
132 Tufted Ducks
124 Coots
31 Lapwings
Several Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
1 Yellow-legged Gull
c.800 Fieldfare
c.425 Redwings
218 Jackdaws
146 Rooks
c.550 Starlings
c.10 Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
39 Pochard
52 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
1 Great Black-backed Gull
251 Wood Pigeons
20 Robins
293 Fieldfares
105 Redwings
145 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
11 Pochard
55 Tufted Duck
Single female Ruddy Duck
400 Black-headed Gull
8 Redwing
1 Fieldfare
5 Reed Bunting
A few Redpoll
Siskin
1 Brambling
(Martin Adlam)