Location
Sunrise: 04:45 BST again
15°C > 18°C Broken low cloud below high overcast. Light mainly E wind. Moderate visibility again
Not sure what is going on with the Great Crested Grebes at the moment. The pair at The Flash with a putative nest site upped and flew off. At the lake where they should long-ago have started sitting there still seem to be two pairs just loafing on the water. That said I recall there were 4 pairs doing the same thing last year and then suddenly they all had young
(59th visit of the year)
Notes
- I suspect the number of Canada Geese is not so variable as my counts would suggest: my numbers will not include most of the birds hiding inside the island which likely varies from day to day
- the Moorhen family on the island seen again
- no sign of the Coot juveniles
Birds noted flying over
None
Hirundines etc. seen here today
- 3 Swifts
- 6 House Martins
Warblers seen / heard around the water: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 2 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap
The counts from the water
- 2 + 6 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 50, exactly, Canada Geese
- 1 all white feral-goose
- 13 (12?) Mallard
- 2 (1?) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes (see introduction)
- 1 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 20 + 0 Coots
The pair of Great Crested Grebes apparently bid farewell.
(Ed Wilson)
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Priorslee Lake: 07:25 – 09:25
Location
(94th visit of the year)
Notes
- the Greylag Goose was completely ignored by the Mute Swans and flew off in its own good time
- the Grey Heron flew in, dropped in water; swam to the reeds; and disappeared
- the 2 Lapwings flying high E were a bit of a surprise – failed breeders?
- the presumed same 1st year Black-headed Gull again present throughout and now looking very lethargic
- just single Swifts noted on two widely separate occasions
- 1 Green Woodpecker over again, apparently taking food in to / across the old Celestica site
- 5 Mistle Thrushes together indicates successful fledging
- a Long-tailed Tit seen flying all on its own – normally these are in gangs
And
- my first Common Blue butterfly of the year; also a Speckled Wood butterfly
- Brimstone moth on one of the lamps
- at least 4 Silver-ground Carpet moths
- a Celypha lacunana (aka Common Marble) moth around the lake (after my first of the year yesterday in Woodhouse Lane)
- also two new moths for the year: a Hedya pruniana (Plum Tortrix); and an Aphelia paleana (Timothy Tortrix)
- the usual Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies
- another Harlequin ladybird
- more Pyrochroa serraticornis (Common or Red-headed Cardinal Beetles)
- a sawfly Tenthredo livida, sometimes aptly called White-tipped Fly
- several odd and as yet unidentified flies
- first full ‘clock’ of Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (Tragopogon sp.)
Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 2 Lapwings
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 6 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws
- 13 Rooks
- 5 Starlings
Hirundines etc. approximate maxima
- 2 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 4 House Martins again
Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 8 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 9 (7) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warbler
- 2 (0) Common Whitethroats
- 6 (6) Reed Warblers
The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 10 (9?) + 2 duckling Mallard
- 7 (5?) Tufted Duck (see notes)
- 1 Grey Heron
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 30 + 4 juveniles (3 broods) Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull
A Celypha lacunana (aka Common Marble) moth.
A Hedya pruniana (aka Plum Tortrix) moth.
An Aphelia paleana (aka Timothy Tortrix) moth.
A teneral damselfly – not identifiable at this stage.
All strung up.
The only thing to do was to rescue it – sorry spider!
And use the opportunity for a close-up.
This seems to be the sawfly Tenthredo livida, sometimes aptly called White-tipped Fly.
The Common Blue butterfly – here a female, the male being all blue on the upper wing.
A slightly different angle.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day in ...........
2015Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2009
Priorslee Lake
12 Swift
1 Lesser Whitethroat
Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
9 Greylag Geese
5 Tufted Duck
Kestrel
22 Swift
4 Swallows
6 House Martin
5 Reed Warbler
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Common Whitethroat
2 Garden Warbler
8 Blackcap
5 Chiffchaffs
2 Jays
10 Greenfinch
6 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)