8.0°C > 13.0°C: Mostly cloudy with a few breaks then c.10:00 an unforecast spell of heavy drizzle. Moderate south-westerly wind. Very good visibility but poor in drizzle.
Sunrise: 06:59 GMT
* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:30
(239th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- four Mute Swans today. A pair presumably throughout though the managed to "disappear" for a while. Another pair flew in without causing much aggro.
- as yesterday no more than c.50 Black-headed Gulls on the water. It seems that some / many are heading direct to the football field where I counted 137 (together with single first-winters of both Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls) at c.07:30 [there were still 12 there at c.09:15].
- the first Lesser Black-backed Gulls started arriving at 06:25 all from the West. With one of the Grey Herons standing on a buoy near their preferred bathing point they spent many minutes circling around before c.100 settled on the water. Seven Herring gulls were with them.
- later I noted six Herring Gulls and 61 Lesser Black-backs visiting, again with smaller numbers passing over.
- a small passage of Wood Pigeons today: 259 birds in six groups.
- another big number of Jackdaws and Rooks flying South on roost dispersal.
- no Starlings left any roosts around the water. A single of this normally gregarious bird was an unusual fly-over.
- also a small passage of Redwings with 74 seen in four groups.
- a Reed Bunting was calling and then seen to fly out of a roost in the West end reeds.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Goose: flew East together
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 38 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants together
- 1 Stock Dove again
- 287 Wood Pigeons: of these 259 were seen flying South in six groups
- 446 Jackdaws
- 234 Rooks
- 1 Starling
- 74 Redwings: flew West in four groups
- 1 Pied Wagtail again
Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Mute Swans: see notes
- 7 (4♂) Mallard only
- 47 (>15♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens again
- 27 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes only
- c.50 Black-headed Gulls [but 137 on the football field]
- 14 Herring Gulls
- c.160 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants: two arrived separately (one departed); also a quartet arrived
- 2 *Grey Herons
Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 1 Reed Bunting
Noted later on the Teece Drive fence:
Moths:
- 1 *Large Pale Masoner Blastobasis lacticolella [was London Dowd]
- 1 *Large Pale Masoner Blastobasis lacticolella [was London Dowd]
Slugs, snails etc.:
- 1 Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella
- 1 Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
- 1 *harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
Noted elsewhere:
True flies:
- 1 *Muscid fly Phaonia subventa
- 1 *moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:
A much smaller haul but at least some moths
- 1 *Muscid fly Phaonia subventa
- 1 *moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:
A much smaller haul but at least some moths
Moths:
- 1 *Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana
- 12? *November Moth type Epirrita sp. Eight at rest on poles; four more, presumed this species, flying around the lamps.
- 1 *Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana
- 12? *November Moth type Epirrita sp. Eight at rest on poles; four more, presumed this species, flying around the lamps.
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 *ichneumon wasp.
- 1 *ichneumon wasp.
True flies:
- 2 *small midges
- 2 *small midges
Beetles:
- 5 Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala
- 1 *unidentified beetle
- 5 Cabbage-stem Flea Beetle Psylliodes chrysocephala
- 1 *unidentified beetle
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none!
A surprise find on the Teece Drive fence well after dawn was this, my second Large Pale Masoner moth Blastobasis lacticolella this year. "Large" is a misnomer as this a species of micro moth with a wingspan of about 20mm. There are two other Masoner species, neither given the "Small" epithet. It is perhaps better than the historic name London Dowd.
none!
An unspectacular sunrise.
Either a punk Grey Heron or it is having a bad hair day.
Also a second for the year: a Garden Rose Tortrix moth Acleris variegana.
This ichneumon wasp was the most interesting sighting on the street lamp poles. Almost none of them can be identified from photos. There are about 2500 species in the UK. There are no identification guides, just a select photos of a handful of the larger and more distinctive species. This isn't one.
Just one fly caught me eye: this Muscid fly Phaonia subventa.
A male small midge. There was another with "simple" antennae and therefore a female.
A particularly strongly-marked harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Why did I bother?
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 *ichneumon wasp.
True flies:
- 1 midge
- 1 midge
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 2 Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
The only thing of interest in the tunnel this morning, indeed just about the only insect I noted, was this smaller ichneumon wasp.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:35 – 10:50
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:35 – 10:50
(237th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- now just a single adult Mute Swans.
- a trio of (Common) Teal (one drake) just about visible beside the island through the drizzle.
- fewer Tufted Duck once again
- no Goosander seen.
- the usual two adult and four juvenile Great Crested Grebe seen
- three Grey Herons today.
- singles of Jay and Bullfinch seen: species I do not see too often here.
So far only tentative information on the ringed Mute Swan seen here yesterday. Martin Grant has better eye-sight than me and notes it as "4IAN" which was ringed in Lancashire earlier this year. He is awaiting further information.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- >30 Redwings: a large party was fast disappearing when I first noted them
Noted on / around the water:
- 8 *Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan
- 32 (21♂) Mallard
- 3 (1♂) *(Common) Teal
- 29 (13?♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 7 Moorhens
- 14 Coot only
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) *Great Crested Grebe: see notes
- 37 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants: one of these departed
- 3 *Grey Herons
Noted around the area:
Still drizzling and wet vegetation. A surprise to see anything!
Bees, wasps etc.:
- c.25 wasp Vespula sp.
- c.25 wasp Vespula sp.
Hoverflies:
- 1 *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- 1 *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
True flies:
- 1 *unidentified root-maggot fly
- 1 *unidentified root-maggot fly
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *harvestman Opilio canestrinii
Of note:
- 1 *harvestman Opilio canestrinii
Of note:
Nothing else
I was very pleased with the camera rendering this view so clearly, all the way to the island in the heavy drizzle. Behind the trio of Canada Geese are three (Common) Teal. A duck visible between the geese; a drake behind the right-hand goose showing the green speculum in his wing and the yellow patch near his tail; and what I believe to be another duck with her head in the water.
A headless Grey Heron? I am sure it was tucked up somewhere but I cannot work out where.
The only fly I saw here this morning was this otherwise unidentified root-maggot fly.
This is a harvestman Opilio canestrinii.
(Ed Wilson)
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2010
Priorslee Lake
c.75 Starlings left roost at W end
118 Wood Pigeons
2 Skylarks
7 Meadow Pipits
478 Fieldfare
76 Redwings
9 Siskins
13 Linnets
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
2 Cormorants
26 Pochard
47 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
64 Coots
35 Fieldfares
3 Song Thrushes
24 Redwings
4 Mistle Thrushes
(Ed Wilson)
2005
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Grebes
Wigeon
Cormorant
300 Black-headed Gulls
40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
c.75 Lapwings
2 Fieldfares
1 duck Pochard
34 Tufted Duck
200 Coot
(Ed Wilson)