Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash
6.0°C > 10.0°C: Another clear start. The Telford "hat" of low cloud soon moved in and only sporadically cleared after c.09:30. Moderate southerly wind. Good visibility.Sunrise: 08:12 GMT
photos will be added later
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:15 – 09:30
(299th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- 24 Mallard flew in from the East in several concurrent small groups. I did not find all of them on the water so do have the complete sex breakdown.
- the early gull arrival took place out of line of sight from my chosen vantage point. I do know that birds were later than usual arriving, with none seen or heard until 07:30.
- an only slightly larger post 08:30 gull arrival again with many birds flying overhead.
- a Great (White) Egret present again and probably the bird seen at The Flash later.
- unusually I noted more Rooks than Jackdaws on their roost-dispersal flight. Many of Jackdaws were well to the East and I assume the "missing" birds were unseen even further East.
- one (or more) Redwings were heard calling from a traditional roost site in the north-east area. This seems to be being used very intermittently these days. Ten years ago counts of >150 birds seen leaving the area were not uncommon.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 6 Wood Pigeons only
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 95 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 126 Jackdaws
- 146 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 24 (>14♂) Mallard
- 31 (20♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens again
- 44 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- >75 Black-headed Gulls
- 14 || 9 Herring Gulls
- >250 || 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Cormorants: arrived; one of them departed
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great (White) Egret
Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Moths:
- 1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
- 1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
Flies:
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
Springtails:
- 1 globular springtail sp., possibly Dicyrtomina saundersi
Later on the Teece Drive fence or elsewhere:
Nothing noted
(Ed Wilson)
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Flies:
- no midges
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 4 spiders: three usual suspectsbut...
1 lace-weaver spider Amaurobius sp.
That was a waste of a visit!
The Flash: 09:35 – 10:50
(Ed Wilson)
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(293rd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- I did not seen the drake Shoveler.
- Neither did I see yesterday's feral-type drake Mallard.
- I did see a pair of (Common) Teal by the island.
- a Great (White) Egret seen in flight between various locations.
- a Kingfisher seen at the bottom end.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Noted on / around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese
- still no Greylag Geese
- no Shoveler
- 29 (21♂) Mallard
- 7 (4♂) Pochard yet again
- 22 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (2♂) Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 43 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 43 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls: various ages
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: (near) adults; arrived separately
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret
- 1 Kingfisher
Noted around the area:
On street lamp poles:
Moths:
- 1 male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
On the bank of Ivy:
Bees, wasps etc.:
- >3 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris
- 1 male Winter Moth Operophtera brumata
On the bank of Ivy:
Bees, wasps etc.:
- >3 Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris
Hoverflies:
None
Flies
- >5 Common Blow Flies Calliphora vicina
- 1 Muscid fly Phaonia subventa/rufiventris
(Ed Wilson)