Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash
8.0°C > 9.0°C: Overcast. The forecast rain began on schedule c.10:30. Light south-easterly wind. Good visibility.Sunrise: 08:18 GMT
Photos will be added later
More or less back to normal hours thanks to the later arrival of today's deluge.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:30 – 09:25
(306th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a Canada Goose flew in from the East c.08:20
- an adult Mute Swan was noted near the dam by 07:45 when another flew to join it. Whether this flew from the West end or was a new arrival I cannot say. Neither were the bird from The Flash that was still there later. When I first saw them together they did a short display in greeting.
- yesterday's pair of Pochard still present.
- a dire number of gulls this morning. The first Lesser Black-backs did not appear overhead until 07:47 and with none of the water they carried on. A very few were seen later. No Black-heads arrived until 08:05 with at most 45 being counted.
- a Great (White) Egret was already on the dam-face by 07:45 when another flew in from the north-east. After some sparring they were both present for a while until someone exercising their dog alongside the water (read the signs that Severn Trent erected on their private land) flushed one – probably the bird seen at The Flash later.
- unusually there were more Rooks than Jackdaws noted passing overhead on roost dispersal. I suspect many other Jackdaws were passing low and at some distance to the East and not visible from my position.
- a Mistle Thrush was giving its rattling call from a tree between the lake and Castle Farm Way.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Herring Gull
- 58 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 66 Jackdaws
- 95 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose: arrived
- 2 Mute Swans: see notes
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 55 (37♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 35 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes as usual
- c.45 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls only
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls only
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great (White) Egrets: see notes
Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
A bumper haul in the mild conditions.
Moths:
- 3 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria
Springtails:
- 3 springtail sp., probably all Dicyrtomina saundersi
- 1 larger globular springtail sp., possibly Dicyrtoma fusca
Flies:
- 8 winter cranefly Trichocera sp., probably of two species
- 1 fungus gnat sp.
Beetles:
- 1 unidentified ground beetle
- 3 flea beetles, possibly Cabbage-stem Flea Beetles Psylliodes chrysocephala
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 money spider Erigone sp.
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
- 1 harvestman Opilio canestrinii
- 2 harvestmen Paroligolophus agrestis
Noted on the Teece Drive fence:
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
(Ed Wilson)
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(300th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- an extra pair of Pochard today.
- the Coot count is the result of my promised (threatened?) "concerted effort".
- a Blackbird was heard singing (along with four Song Thrushes).
- a lone male Siskin was feeding on Alder seeds along with a charm of Goldfinches at the top end.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 2 Jackdaws
Noted on / around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese
- 1 Mute Swan
- 34 (24♂) Mallard
- 8 (4♂) Pochard
- 24 (13♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 (2♂) Goosander
- 8 Moorhens
- 47 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes again
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons
- 1 Great (White) Egret
Noted around the area:
Moths:
- 1 male Mottled Umber Erranis defoliaria
(Ed Wilson)