5 Oct 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake only

13.0°C > 14.0°C: Again mostly thin high cloud with a few patches of lower cloud. Light south-westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:17 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:40 – 09:20

(225th visit of the year)

New Bird species:
New for my 2026 bird list here was Tawny Owl. I heard a single call from the Ricoh grounds c.06:00. Then at c.06:10 one was seen to fly from the area around the Teece Drive gate to the wooded area behind the sailing club's container/shelter. I strongly suspect this is the third day I should have been aware of a bird's presence. I heard what I thought was a single call note from the Ricoh area on Saturday. Shortly afterwards on Saturday, and again on Sunday, there was a kommotion (© Duane Eddy, Lee Hazlewood) in the area around the Teece Drive gate with Jays, Magpies and Blackbirds seeming to be mobbing something. I could not see the cause of their ire. Bird species #97 for me here this year.

Other bird notes:
- still no Mute Swans.
- a Little Grebe again heard only c.06:15.
- fewer Black-headed Gulls today with c.350 early arrivals.
- also fewer Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A wandering Grey Heron kept the birds moving around. My best estimate for today: no more than c.100 birds on the water. I noted 67 flying South to the East at this time.
- when I visited the football field c.07:20 I counted 299(!) Black-headed Gulls with no other species present.
- later I logged just three Herring and 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arriving from the East. There was again almost no passage of gulls overhead.
- a Racing Pigeon paused momentarily on the dam-top just long-enough for me to see, but not read, the rings. Separately a single Feral Pigeon flew over.
- of the 44 Wood Pigeon over-flights 17 of them were in two groups flying South. It seems the Autumn passage has started.
- just a single Chiffchaffs heard calling.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 65 Greylag Geese: in four concurrent groups westbound
- 1 Herring Gull
- 73 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 44 Wood Pigeons: see notes
- 384 Jackdaws
- 198 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 12 (8♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 36 Coot
- 1 Little Grebe
- 12 Great Crested Grebes
- c.350 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- c.125 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron

Warblers noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff: no song

Also noted:
Not much

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris many annoying me pre-dawn; also one later
- *German Wasp Vespula germanica
- European Hornet Vespa crabro

Hoverflies:
- *Syrphus sp.

Other true flies
- $ *possible Muscid fly Eudasyphora cyanella

Plant in flower:
- *White Dead-Nettle Lamium album

On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:

Moths:
- 1 *Lunar Underwing Anchoscelis lunosa.: moth species #75

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

True flies:
- two species of midge
- 1 *possible Flesh fly Macronychia dolini
- 1 *winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- three unidentified small flies

Springtails:
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type

Arthropods:
- 1 *Striped Millipede Ommatoiulus sabulosus again

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

Mammals:
-1 Noctule-type bat was flying around at this time

 Sunrise with more contrails across the sky. The dots in the water are mainly Black-headed Gulls.

Contrails ripped apart by upper-air winds again. 120mph is typical at the height aircraft fly at when leaving trails.

New for the year and moth species #45 in the tunnel yesterday another Lunar Underwing Anchoscelis lunosa was on a street lamp pole pre-dawn here today. Moth species #75 for my 2026 lake list.

Not at the best angle to clinch the identification but I think this is a German Wasp Vespula germanica here still gathering wood to take back to construct and expand the colony's nest – late in the season? My reasoning is that the yellow on the sides of the thorax is not parallel-sided and the black spots on the body are mostly separated from the black bands.

Here is a Common Wasp V. vulgaris for comparison.

The only hoverfly of the morning was this female Syrphus. As the hind legs is not clearly visible specific identification is not possible.

This struck me as not "just another greenbottle Lucilia sp.". It is more robust and has a brown cast to the abdomen though the colour and tone of all these species can vary with the angle of the light. The thorax has thin dark lines and that suggests it is the Muscid fly Eudasyphora cyanella. A (possible) new species for me.

None of my apps was prepared to hazard a specific ID for this fly but the pictures under the Google Lens result led me to investigate Flesh flies where I found this as possibly Macronychia dolini. Another (possible) new species for me.

A winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

This was the larger(!) of two species of plumed midge. This male is silhouetted against the identification sticker on one of the West end street lamp poles.

And again: surely not the same Striped Millipede Ommatoiulus sabulosus as the previous two days?

I usually see Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius lurking at the top of the street lamp poles. This one, smaller than usual, was scrunched up at head-height.

As yesterday a harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis showing white areas at the rear of the abdomen though to my eyes not so "bright white" as those I saw yesterday.

This is what I expect them to look like: the abdomen all-dark apart from the pale line running most of its length.

Not the best angle to show the flowers of White Dead-Nettle Lamium album. This plant will likely be in flower throughout the Winter.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 Rusty-dot Pearl Udea ferrugalis: presumed same
- 1 *Brick Sunira circellaris (formerly Agrochola circellaris)

True flies:
- 10 midges of several species
- 2 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.

Arthropods:
- 2 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber
- 3 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

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

A new species of moth for the year: a Brick Sunira circellaris (formerly Agrochola circellaris). Moth species #46 in the tunnel this year.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Chiffchaff
(Ed Wilson)