16 Oct 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 11.0°C: Small amount of cloud clearing to the East otherwise clear after overnight rain. The light north-westerly wind dropped away for a while and then returned. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:36 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 06:00 – 09:30

(231st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a male Pheasant on the south-west grass at c.09:00 was unexpected.
- for the third day the pair of Mute Swans "appeared". Surely they must emerge from the reeds. Atypical behaviour as this species usually sleeps on the open water.
- six Tufted Duck new in or returned.
- both Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls started to arrive at 06:55 with eventually >500 and >400 present, respectively. Only three Herring Gulls noted at this time.
- later I logged three more Herring and 38 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arriving (back?) from the East.
- no gulls were noted over-flying.
- a reasonable passage of Wood Pigeons between 07:40 and 08:30. 612 birds were counted in 16 flocks. Only one of the flocks contained >100 birds. One flock had an interloping Stock Dove. I likely missed some flocks as their height against the clear sky made them difficult to find.
- a disappointing number of Jackdaws and Rooks flying South on roost dispersal. They had a slight tail-wind today which always means they fly much higher on a flight-path further to the East.
- just four Redwings noted flying over. They were difficult to see against the clear sky and impossible to hear due to the ever-increasing traffic noise – tyre noise from big SUVs does not help..
- no Starling roost noted.
- in addition to two Siskins overhead there were at least four, much later, in trees around the Teece Drive gate.
- one (or more?) Reed Bunting(s) heard calling along the South side. My first record here since they apparently disappeared in the middle of the breeding season [previous record was a male in song on 25 June].

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 18 Canada Geese: flew West together
- 33 Greylag Geese: flew West in two groups
- no gulls!
- 1 Stock Dove
- 646 Wood Pigeons: of these 612 flew South in 16 migrant groups
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 158 Jackdaws
- 176 Rooks
- 4 Redwings
- 2 Chaffinches
- 2 Siskins again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 16 (9♂) Mallard
- 6 (3?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 32 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes only: just one immature
- >500 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Herring Gulls
- >440 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Warblers noted:
None

Also noted:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:
The poles were still wet after the overnight rain.

Moths:
- 3 *November Moth type Epirrita sp.

True flies:
- 2 small male plumed midges
- 1 *NOT Hooded Dryomyza Dryomyza anilis; possibly Suillia affinis
- 3 dew-covered unidentified flies

Springtails:
- 2 *globular springtail sp., probably Dicyrtomina saundersi
- 1 *springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Bugs:
- 1 *possibly nymph of unidentified bug

Beetles:
- 1 Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

Running around on the south-west grass was this fine male Pheasant. I typically see, and more often hear, this species in Spring. I had fewer records than usual this year. This species has bred / tried to breed in the Ricoh copse in years gone by. Too many cats now from the recent estate I suspect.

One of those pesky November Moth types Epirrita sp. This one appears to be giving a left turn signal with a banded leg.

Now is this another? I think it is. It is most unusual to see this species at rest with the antennae not folded back along the wing-edges. It is also a slightly different shape. I think both these are because it had been flying around and had only momentarily settled around the catkin. Obsidentify's best suggestion was a Winter Moth Operophtera brumata but that species is noticeably smaller with a more rounded wing-tip. Google Lens suggested a New World species.

This small red fly is NOT, as both my apps suggested, a Hooded Dryomyza Dryomyza anilis. That species has the area between the eyes bright red and also two short dark cross-veins in the wings. It is possibly Suillia affinis: I can find insufficient images on the internet for me to be happy with the ID. Note top-left in the photo is a very small plumed midge (midget? midgette?)

This is one of the globular springtails, probably Dicyrtomina saundersi. At just 2-3mm these are difficult to see and hard to photograph.

I am in two minds about this. It looks a subtly-different shape to the previous springtail and the markings are more extensive than any species illustrated in NatureSpot. I am inclined to think it is a nymph of a small bug which is what Google Lens thought: it is not the species suggested.

After the unusually-marked specimen yesterday here is today's more normal-looking springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis with bands across the abdomen and the antennae held at angles and one of them curving.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

True flies:
- 8 midges of several species
- 1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- 1 *cranefly Limonid sp.
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 *cranefly Tipula lateralis

Arthropods:
- 5 *Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 8 *Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

No: this cranefly Tipula lateralis does not have four wings. Two of them are shadows from the camera flash.

Another cranefly, this with its head at a jaunty angle. It is one of the Limonid species that mostly rest with their wings folded over the back hiding the abdomen markings (if any). Only those species with distinctively patterned wings can be identified at rest.

A Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber: one of five seen here this morning.

One of the many Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata. Look closely at the, mainly hidden, head and there is eye-shine from two of the eight eyes. I assume this indicates it can look behind it. A useful feature.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:50

(230th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *big numbers of both Canada and Greylag Geese with groups arriving and birds hiding inside the island. At least three all/mainly white feral geese with them. All counts "best effort" and likely under-recorded.
- now eight adult Mute Swans and *a first-winter cygnet.
- 16 Tufted Duck counted.
- I could not find any Little Grebes.
- one full adult Great Crested Grebe was seen close-by two still-begging juveniles. Another juvenile was on its own.
- not sure how many Cormorants there were. I noted 10 diving as a gang at the top end. They all exited the water together and seven seemed to be flying away though by view was partially blocked. Later I counted eleven in the trees and on the edge of the island. Perhaps they circled around?
- after six Grey Herons yesterday I could only find one today.
- now six Little Egrets with the Great (White) also present.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws
- 1 Skylark

Noted on / around the water:
- >50 *Canada Geese
- >125 *Greylag Geese
- 3 *all/mainly white feral geese
- 9 *Mute Swans
- 37 (24♂) Mallard
- 16 (>5♂) Tufted Duck
- 24 (0♂) *Goosander
- 3 Moorhens
- 20 Coot
- no Little Grebe
- 1 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe: see notes
- 11 Black-headed Gulls
- 11 *Cormorants: see notes
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great (White) Egret
- 6 *Little Egrets

Warblers noted:
None

Noted around the area:
Sunny but cool.

Butterflies and moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 2 *Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- 2 *Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
- >30 wasp Vespula sp. [after Wednesday's German Wasp I better be careful! Most not specifically ID'd]

Hoverflies:
- 1 Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax [Tapered Drone Fly]
- 3 *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax [Common Drone Fly]
- 1 *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus

Other true flies:
- 1 *Root-maggot fly sp.
- 1 greenbottle sp.
several other species of fly not identified

Beetles:
- 2 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Fungus:
- *possible Sulphur Knight Tricholoma sulphureum

At the centre-back is one of the mainly white feral geese. It is preening and the crown and nape look grey. I don't think it is just shadow. Also in view are Canada Geese, (bits of) Greylag Geese and a Cormorant (front left).

The cygnet Mute Swan slithers to a halt.

 Altogether more serene.

What a pity it is not sharp. An altercation between a brownhead Goosander and a Little Egret.

Still around: a Honey Bee Apis mellifera.

And another. I read in Steven Falk's Field Guide that it is workers that can appear all-black with very little or no hair on the abdomen.

The parallel sides to the yellow on the side of the thorax identified this as a Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris.

A Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax pretending to be a bee.

A Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus

One of the Root-maggot fly species. It looks to be similar to Botanophila fugax, a species not known to be active at this date so I will have to leave it as unidentified.

Probably not as initially suggested by Obsidentify: "Banded Garden Spider"! I tried again showing it a single fruiting body. It gave a more promising suggestion of Sulphur Knight Tricholoma sulphureum. Reference to NatureSpot supported the genus with other species looking as likely.

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Priorslee Lake
14 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Common Gull, though it could have been Mew/Ring-billed Gull!
Yellow Legged Gull
(Mike Cooper/Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
42 Redwing
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
4 Wigeon
1 Shoveler
8 Pochard
64 Tufted Ducks
30 Robins
(Ed Wilson)