25 Oct 16

The Flash: 07:15 – 07:25: 09:45 – 10:30
Location

Sunrise: 07:54 BST

6°C > 8°C: Broken medium cloud, especially to E & N; filled in later. Calm start; light ESE wind later. Moderate visibility and rather misty

The duck Teal remained at the lake; another high count of Goosander at The Flash but Wigeon gone

(97th visit of the year)

Notes
- 2 Siskins here seemed to come out of trees (rather than be fly-overs)
and
- at least two Shaggy Inkcaps or Lawyer's Wigs (Coprinus comatus) [4 days earlier than my 2014 record]

Birds noted flying over
- 2 Redwings

Geese leaving while passing in the dark
- none: lighter start meant these had probably left before I arrived

The counts from the water later
- 2 Mute Swans
- 30 Greylag Geese
- 32 Canada Geese
- 1 all white feral goose
- 22 (16?) Mallard
- 27 (14?) Tufted Ducks
- 30 (1?) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron but only on my early transit
- 2 + 1 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Moorhens
- 12 Coots
- 35 Black-headed Gulls

A rare sight indeed: the normally rather shy Goosanders were sitting and preening on tree-roots quite close to the Derwent Drive overlook and allowed a few close-up shots. Here a Black-headed Gull gets in on the action.

And two birds sitting it out.

Here is one of the Shaggy Inkcaps or Lawyer's Wigs (Coprinus comatus). A few hawthorn berries in the leaf-litter give scale to the fungus.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Lake: 07:30 – 09:35

Location

(132nd visit of the year)

Notes from today
- Water Rail not heard today
- 1 of the 10 Moorhens was an obvious immature
- 3 of the 64 Coots were obvious immatures
- the rather low cloud to the S and E probably deterred any significant Wood Pigeon migration
- the brighter morning probably meant that the big groups of Jackdaws and Rooks had passed before I arrived
- 3 Ravens flew N with a small group of Rooks, the latter flying the ‘wrong way’: later another(?) Raven flew S
- some 10 minutes after a single Starling flew out of S side bushes the main group of c.350 left the NW reeds and broke in to several smaller parties to leave to both the E and W. A minute later a further 25 left the same reeds and headed E
- all 6 Siskins were in one group: looks to be as if the Alder cones are not yet ready to eat which is perhaps why they flew on
and
- 3 Epirrita sp. moths on the lamps today
- cluster of fungus, possibly Psathyrella gracilis

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- c.20 Canada Geese
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Stock Dove
- 57 Wood Pigeons (3 groups)
- 21 Jackdaws (see notes)
- 7 Rooks
- 4 Ravens
- 1 Skylark
- 6 Starlings (1 group)
- 39 Fieldfare (5 groups)
- 4 Redwings (all singles)
- 9 Pied Wagtails
- 1 Meadow Pipit again
- 3 Greenfinch again
- 7 Goldfinches
- 6 Siskins

Count of birds seen leaving roosts around the lake
- >350 Starlings (3 groups) (see notes)
- 4 Redwings
- 2 Reed Buntings once more

Warblers seen / heard
None

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 4 (2?) Gadwall again
- 1 (0?) Teal again
- 7 (3?) Mallard
- 2 (2?) Pochard again
- 105 Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 10 Moorhens
- 64 Coots
- >125 Black-headed Gulls (see notes)

A female Blackbird contemplates the haws

A different female Blackbird. This one shows some pale shafts to the flanks feathers. Whether this is an effect of the different angle or a genuine plumage difference is hard to say. It intrigues me that photos of what we regard as common species can raise these questions

And another, showing fewer pale shafts to the flanks feathers. Just how many different subtle colours can you identify?

A cluster of delicate fruiting bodies of this fungus – possibly Psathyrella gracilis, but I am far from confident when it comes to fungi.

and from another angle.

A promising sunrise: clouded later from the W. No rain or wind as is often portended by the shepherds’ warning of red sky in the morning.

A hazy start to the day with some Autumn colours. Note the tree that has collapsed in to the water on the left, complete with the root bowl.

A close-up of the fallen tree (with a Coot, a drake Pochard and duck Tufted Duck in view)

More Autumn colour

And more

And yet more!

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in ...........

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
1 Wigeon
1 Common Gull
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
1 Goosander
7 Pochard
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
12 Golden Plover
1577 Wood Pigeons
28 Sky Larks
12 Fieldfare
8 Redwings
4 Siskins
1 Linnet
2 Redpoll
1 Brambling
(Ed Wilson)