22 Jul 16

The Flash: 06:55 – 07:20

Sunrise: 05:13 BST

16°C > 19°C. Variable amounts of cloud and some sunny spells. Calm start with very light S wind later. Very good visibility

(75th visit of the year)

Notes
- 3 Tufted Duck ducklings still around

Birds noted flying over
None

Hirundines etc. seen here today
- 8 Swifts
- House Martins heard only

Warblers seen / heard around the water: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 1 (0) Chiffchaff
- 3 (3) Blackcaps

The counts from the water
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 54 Greylag Geese
- 50 Canada Geese
- 1 all white feral-goose
- 18 (13♂) Mallard
- 22 (11♂) + 3 (1 brood) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 + 1 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Moorhens
- 20 + 5 (2 broods) Coots
- 15 Black-headed Gulls (2 juveniles)

The Tufted Duck family

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Lake: 07:25 – 09:25

(110th visit of the year)

Notes from today
- the Swan did not seem really too concerned about either the Greylag or the Canada Geese
- another new brood of Coots: both of yesterday’s new broods already lots one of their number
- 49 mainly white / very pale birds flew S in a tight group – not the usual direction for racing pigeons
- 2 Kingfishers heard and then seen chasing in flight
- family party of Goldcrests seen
- family party of Dunnocks seen
- 4 juvenile Pied Wagtails from another recent brood together
and
- the lamps today held a Riband Wave, a Yellow-tail, a Beauty sp., and a
- grass moths Pearl Veneer (Agriphila straminella); the micro moth Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis); and Shaded Broad-bar moths all flushed from the grass
- Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet butterflies all logged. Both Large Skipper and Red Admiral were new for my Priorslee 2016 list
- the lone Ringlet butterfly was very worn and this species is likely about finished this year
- Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies as usual
- Common Darter dragonfly also seen
- Black-tailed Skimmers seen: new for the year here
- two more species of hawker dragonfly seen – but they shot by too quickly to ID
- a whole slew of small flies with white wing-tips that they seemed to wave in a display as they jumped about on the margins of the water. These were Poecilobothrus nobilitatus.

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 51 Feral Pigeons
- 1 Stock Dove
- 8 Wood Pigeons
[- no Jackdaws or Rooks]
- 1 Goldfinch

Hirundines etc. seen here today
- 3 Swifts
- 1 Swallow
- 3 House Martins

Warblers seen / heard around the lake: numbers in brackets are singing birds
- 6 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (3) Blackcaps
- 4 (0) Common Whitethroat
- 5 (2) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 4 Canada Geese
- 32 (?♂) Mallard
- 9 (6♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 juvenile Grey Heron again
- 6 + 4 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 + 3 (2 broods) Moorhens again
- 41 + 17 (11 broods) Coots
- 28 Black-headed Gulls (1 juvenile)
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

A Buzzard on a lamp post along Teece Drive. Did not fly off immediately as they usually do.

An immature bird I am sure.

Ruby Tiger moth on one of the lamps

You can just about see the yellow tail on the Yellow-tail moth.

A drake Mallard mainly in eclipse plumage but with a vestige of green sheen.

Amazing Poecilobothrus nobilitatus flies dancing around: at rest they have green eyes and white tips on dark ends to the wings which they wave is some type of display. This fly was one of the species in the Name a Species 2012 competition and won the lovely English name of Semaphore Fly.

A male Black-tailed Skimmer.

Gatekeeper butterfly

Common Darter dragonfly

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in ...........
2014
Priorslee Lake
Report from today Here



2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Kingfisher
Female Ruddy Duck
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
A drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)