16 Nov 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 8.0°C: Overcast though strangely a decent sunrise due to breaks in the cloud to the far East.. Moderate northerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:35 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: 06:10 – 09:15

(278th visit of the year)

More Wood Pigeons and fewer gulls.

Bird notes:
- a Pheasant was heard calling from across Castle Farm Way.
- two noisy Canada Geese flew East.
- a lone Greylag Goose flew West at 07:20.
- the Tufted Duck were again scattered all around the water and very mobile.
- yesterday's two Pochard still present.
- a drake Goosander visited briefly c.08:15.
- a brownhead Goosander flew around c.08:30 before leaving to the West.
- a strange passage of Wood Pigeons with several small flocks flying north-west after 07:30. Then several larger groups (c.50) were seen flying South. Two groups of >100 were then seen flying East before more small groups again flew north-west. No groups of any consequence was noted after 08:00
- c.30 Black-headed Gulls were just settling on the water at 06:55. No more than 125 arrived in total. As usual these (almost) all departed. Later I counted 84 – returning birds?
- only 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived before 07:30. 68 were noted later. A single Herring Gull was with the first arrivals and none more later.
- four Cormorants arrived as separate singles and a duo. A duo (the same?) was seen leaving followed by another single. Also a single overhead.
- with a northerly, and hence tail-, wind the Jackdaws and Rooks passed over very high and were hard to see.
- eight Song Thrushes were heard singing with four alongside Teece Drive (and a singing Blackbird) before dawn; three from the South side hedge after dawn; and one in the Ricoh grounds much later.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 1 brownhead Goosander
- 2 Stock Doves: together again
- 626 Wood Pigeons: of these 589 were counted in 18 groups of very different sizes: see notes
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 78 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 122 Jackdaws: see notes
- 64 Rooks: see notes
- 1 Redwing
- 4 Pied Wagtails
- 2 Siskins

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake

None

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 15 (9♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 27 (16♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 (1) Goosander: briefly
- 8 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes again
- c.125 Black-headed Gulls
- 10 Herring Gulls
- *80 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 4 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Moths:
- 2 male Winter Moths Operophtera brumata

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 "black ant" Lasius sp.

Flies
- 1 small plumed midge
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Beetles:
- 1 flea-beetle, possibly Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

Arthropods:
- *1 $ Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- *1 harvestman Opilio canestrinii
- 2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis

Nothing noted later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:
apart from....

Fungus:
- *single Trooping Funnel Infundibulicybe geotropa

Not a promising-looking start to the day. Grey again.

So where did this come from? A few gaps in the clouds to the far East produced an unexpected colourful sunrise. This taken with my smart phone...

...and this is what my "big camera" captured of the same scene at the same time (give or take a few seconds).

Some colour across at least half of the sky.

A very dark-backed Lesser Black-backed Gull. There is very little contrast between the back and the black on the folded wing-tips. This may indicate it is from the north-west Europe population and not a UK resident. The dark on the bill suggests it is a third-winter bird (born 2023).

A "black ant" Lasius sp.

Also not something I expected to see 15 feet up a street lamp pole: a Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus.

One of two Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius on the street lamp poles pre-dawn.

This is the harvestman Opilio canestrinii: another species that sheds legs as necessary. Just one for this individual.

This fungus appears to be a lone specimen of Trooping Funnel Infundibulicybe geotropa. It is hundreds of yards from those I photographed earlier. "Arrest that man for desertion!". Some authorities use the now superseded scientific genus with the name Clitocybe geotropa for this species.

Plane of the day: I have a sneaking suspicion this has featured before. It is a Bell 429 Global Ranger helicopter with an appropriate registration. It is owned by a York-based company called Harpin Ltd. Information on flight trackers is not very helpful as it uses "private sites". Here is was flying from near Newtown in Powys to a site near Melton Mowbray.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata

Flies:
- 8 midges again

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

An unusual view of a male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata, a species that normally rests with the wings open.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:20 – 10:45

(272nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the two Mute Swans were again mostly well-separated and when they were not one was raining its wings, apparently in threat.
- many fewer Goosanders counted. I did note birds in flight on several occasions and these may have been uncounted birds departing.
- with fewer Goosanders it should have been easier to get more accurate counts of Moorhens and Coots. So why did I find fewer of each species?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- 70 Canada Geese: more inside the island?
- 9 Greylag Geese: of these six departed
- 2 Mute Swans
- 26 (17♂) Mallard
- 23 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 15 (2♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 70 Coots
- 1 Little Grebe again
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 52 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- *1 Little Egret

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- *1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria

Bees, wasps etc.:
- >5 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris

Flies:
- *2 different fly sps.

A better-exposed photo of the Little Egret. Shame the yellow feet are hidden.

A belligerent-look Wood Pigeon.

"He's behind you!"

No he isn't". A Robin prepares for panto season.

A not-very-mottled male Mottled Umber moth Erranis defoliaria.

This is a root-maggot fly Anthomyia procellaris or similar. As usual not identifiable to species-level from photos.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
5 Gadwall
2 Teal
69 Tufted Duck
215 Coots
19 Lapwings
c.400 Black-headed Gulls
c.220 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
21 Herring Gulls
74 Starlings
8 Fieldfare
38 Redwings
93 Jackdaws
19 Rooks
3 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
12 Greylag Geese
3 Wigeon
1 Shoveler
3 Pochard
11 Tufted Ducks
Snipe
c.35 Redwings
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Caspian Gulls
8 Yellow-legged Gulls
1,600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
30+ Herring Gulls
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
Hybrid Lesser Black-backed x Herring Gull
(Tom Lowe)

2007
Priorslee Lake
140 Golden Plover
1 Gadwall
2 Wigeon
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
4 Cormorants
29 Pochard
54 Tufted Ducks
>675 Black-headed Gulls
2571 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
272 Wood Pigeons
32 Robins
26 Blackbirds
212 Fieldfares
5 Song Thrushes
50 Redwings
7 Mistle Thrushes
5 Goldcrests
563 Jackdaws
144 Rooks
33 Starlings
1 Redpoll
6 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)