5 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

17.0°C > 19.0°C: A cloudy start. The forecast rain did not arrive and the clouds broke to give sunny spells. A moderate south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:34 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 06:15 // 07:15 – 09:45

(176th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
Unusual today was a group of at least 30 Barn Swallows heading more or less East over the football field at 05:55. These had to have been migrants heading off. Seems very early. Perhaps they too are experiencing difficulty in finding insects. A few minutes later at least a dozen House Martins were high overhead. I noted juvenile begging calls and I doubt these would be migrating before the youngsters were independent.

Other bird notes:
- just three Canada Geese early and I am not sure these ever departed. The now usual later arrival.
- a trio of Tufted Duck present throughout.
- yesterday's large count of gulls was not repeated. Apart from a change in the wind direction I can offer no explanation.
- no Swift sightings.
- 19 Starlings flew East c.06:10 in singles / small groups.
- the lower counts of passing Jackdaws and Rooks is likely down to my incompetence. With that change in the wind direction their flight path was very different and I probably missed many until I realised where I should be looking.
- another indication of the passage of the seasons was the first overflying Pied Wagtail leaving wherever the roost is these days and heading out to feed.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 59 Canada Geese: all flew West in six groups
- 24 Greylag Geese: 20 flew East in two groups; a quartet flew West later
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Stock Doves together
- 44 Wood Pigeons
- 95 Jackdaws
- 36 Rooks
- 19 Starlings
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Counts from the lake area:
- 82 Canada Geese: three throughout? 79 arrived in at least six groups
- 2 Mute Swans
- 36 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens again
- 55 Coots
- 7 + 10 (4 broods) *Great Crested Grebes
- 28 Black-headed Gulls: none of these visited the football field
- 5 *Herring Gulls
- 34 *Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.30 Barn Swallows: see notes
- c.12 House Martins again: see notes

Warblers noted (no song):
- 7 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Reed Warbler
- 3 Blackcaps

Also noted:
more today though still very quiet

Butterflies:
- 2 Small White Pieris rapae
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 1 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 2 *Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 1 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
- 1 *Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas

Moths:
- 3 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
other grass moths too faded / seen too fleetingly to confirm their identity.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- ! *probable Field Cuckoo-bee Bombus campestris
- *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
singles only of each species
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]
- *Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
an unidentified dragonfly flew off: they always seem to see me before I see them

True flies:
- ! *Thick-headed Fly Conops quadrifasciatus [Four-banded Beegrabber]
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
other flies that I could not identify and did not seem worth the effort.

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 3 female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

Not an exciting dawn sky.

An adult and immature Great Crested Grebe from a family I have not previously photographed. Their territory in the south-west area is not easy to access and they usually keep out of the way.

Some scruffy-looking gulls at the moment as they moult. This is an immature Herring Gull (the pale inner primaries identify it as such). Most of its outer secondaries are missing. Also missing are the secondary lesser coverts exposing the white bases of the greater coverts. Two (near?) adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls look on.

Another immature Herring Gull, this one showing little sign of moult. It is a juvenile / first- winter showing the typical Herring Gull paler inner-primaries. At this age these feathers have darker tips. The black tail-band does not wrap around the side of the tail as it would on a Lesser Black-backed Gull and it shows mottling on the upper tail.

An immature Lesser Black-backed Gull showing many instances of moult. Just two old outer primaries remain to be replaced and white bases to the secondaries show where the relevant greater coverts have been dropped as have some primary coverts.

A Common Buzzard appeared from the local wood again - against the light. So it was down to the photo-editor to produce as good a result as I could achieve.

A Gatekeeper butterfly Pyronia tithonus at rest with the wings held such that the number of white spots in the black circle of the forewing is hidden. Luckily the colour, just visible, is enough to identify it.

A smart butterfly: a Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas

A Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella at rest with the right wing wrapped over the left preventing the split of the pale streak in to "fingers" being visible.

This is a puzzle and I initially tended to agree with Obsidentify: "unidentified bumblebee"! But we are made of stronger stuff.

A bumblebee species with a white collar and a white tail with no obvious midriff band. Hmm. After a partial ID from Google Lens and then studying both the Field Guide and Steven Falk's Flickr pages I suspect it is a male Field Cuckoo-bee Bombus campestris. As he – the expert – notes "it is a highly variable species which can produce challenges during field identification". A species I have not (mis?)identified for some years.

Like all cuckoo-bees it does not make its own nest. The female of this species lays her eggs in that of the Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum.

Just enough here to identify this as a Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum with ginger on the thorax and white on the tail just showing through the Knapweed. This is the first I have seen of this species from what is most probably a second brood.

This is a Common Carder Bee. The ginger on the thorax is faded and bald in the centre and there is extensive white along the flanks.

 It was singles of each species of hoverfly again. Here is the Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus.

A male Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta (or Long Hoverfly if you prefer).

And another Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis.

Along with the cuckoo-bee this was the find of the day. It is the Thick-headed Fly Conops quadrifasciatus also known, for obvious reasons, as Four-banded Beegrabber. There were precious few bees for it to grab today.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 *Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata

Flies:
- no midges
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata

Arthropods:
- none

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

One of the few pug moth species I feel happy to identify unaided – a Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:10

(173rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
Best today was a Common Sandpiper seen amongst the Black-headed Gulls on the East side of the island. Just as I noticed it a Magpie flushed it. I heard it calling as it was flying around for a few minutes but I never saw it again.

Other bird notes:
- 17 Mute Swans today. At least one was heard in flight while mu view, was typically. blocked by trees.
- no Great Crested Grebe seen.
- five Cormorants were in trees on the island.
- just one Grey Herons noted.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: singles

Noted on / around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 17 Mute Swans
- 31 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck again
- 6 Moorhens
- 39 Coot
- no Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Common Sandpiper: departed
- 34 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (no song):
- 3 Chiffchaffs
- 2 Blackcap

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 1 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Unlike the specimen at the Balancing Lake this Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella is resting with the left wing overlapping the right. As a result the end of the clear streak is visible as it splits in to two "fingers" beyond half-way along the wing. So this species is ambidextrous (or whatever the adjective is for wings rather than hands).

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
A female Teal
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
30 House Martins
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Little Grebe
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

4 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

18.0°C > 21.0°C: Cloudy and humid after very slight overnight rain. A moderate southerly breeze after the usual calmer start. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:32 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 06:15 // 07:15 – 09:45

(175th visit of the year)

Best today was a fly-over Little Egret heading East at c.05:40. Perhaps the bird recently at The Flash as none was seen there this morning.

Bird notes:
- no geese early again. A later arrival.
- a hitherto unseen Tufted Duck lifted off the water at 09:05 and circled away to the East.
- many more gulls this morning:
most (74) of the Black-headed Gulls arriving from the West flew straight over with at 06:00 just seven on the lake and 11 on the football field.
at 04:45 c.40 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew low from the West. I was not in a position to see the water but when I was there were 15, presumably of these, leaving the East. I have assumed that they all visited briefly. At c.05:50 there were 31 more on the football field, these also leaving to the East. A few more visited. A steady passage of birds overhead was also noted.
- a Sparrowhawk dashed through c.09:30 putting up at least 25 Goldfinches from the Poplar trees at the West end.
- four Swift sightings. A single was high over the estates to the north-west at 07:25 with at least a dozen House Martins. Two were over the South side at 08:50. A single was over the West end at 09:20 and then two were high to the North at 09:40. How many individuals were involved?
- two groups of Starlings flew East c.05:50.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 9 Canada Geese: two groups flew West
- 32 Greylag Geese: 25 flew East in four groups; seven flew West together later
- 74 Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 55 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Little Egret
- 1 Stock Dove
- 66 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 139 Jackdaws
- 53 Rooks
- 18 Starlings

Counts from the lake area:
- 61 Canada Geese: arrived in four groups
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived with Canadas
- 2 Mute Swans
- 26 (?♂) Mallard only
- 1 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 53 Coots only
- 7 + 10 (4 broods) *Great Crested Grebes
- 18 Black-headed Gulls: 11 of these were on the football field c.06:00
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 77 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 2 Grey Herons: at least two birds coming and going

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6? Swifts: see notes
- 5 Barn Swallows
- c.12 House Martins: see notes

Warblers noted (no song):
- 3 Chiffchaffs
- 2 Reed Warblers
- 5 Blackcaps

Also noted:
not much in the cloudy conditions

Butterflies:
- 1 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Moths:
- 5 *Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
other grass moths too faded / seen too fleetingly to confirm their identity.
- 1 ! Blood-vein Timandra comae

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]: two
- *Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn; Great Pied Hoverfly]: one

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- Brown Hawker Aeshna grandis
another, unidentified, dragonfly flew by

True flies:
- I didn't see any flies that I could identify or seemed worth the effort.

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
Some you win and some you lose. The long-term failed street-lamp along the West end path has been fixed since yesterday but my torch was in terminal decline.

Moths:
- 1 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]

Four-winged flies:
- 1 *Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea

Earwigs:
- 1 Common European Earwig Forficula dentata

About as good as the sunrise got this morning.

I tried later but most of the colour had faded. It is mostly Coots (and a few Mallard) in the foreground.

Family party. The four "humbug" Great Crested Grebe juveniles look to be thriving.

On a street lamp pole around dawn was this Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella. Note the clean edge to the white streak along the folded wing which splits in to only two (three?) "fingers" towards the (battered) tip of the wing.

Compare with this Straw Grass-moth A. straminella which shows a poorly defined pale streak which splits in to four (or five) "fingers" more in the middle part of the wing. It is unusual to find this species at rest anything other than head down.

My first Blood-vein moth Timandra comae of the year. I record this species most years. Note the feathered antennae indicating this is a male. There is a similar species, the Small Blood-vein Scopula imitaria, which is easily distinguished as the "blood line" does not go from wing-tip to wing-tip.

A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum covered in pollen from Knapweed.

Also on Knapweed a Buff-tailed Bumblebee B. terrestris managing to avoid getting covered in pollen.

Very few hoverflies again: a Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis.

Another happily(?) resting on a street lamp pole.

And just this one Pellucid Fly V. pellucens.

A Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea. Not a "true fly" as this species has two pairs of wings (true flies have one pair and halteres).

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

Flies:
- 6 midges
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum

- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 *cranefly Tipula lateralis

Arthropods:
- none

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

The commonly-seen cranefly Tipula lateralis. Note the relatively long antennae, the pale stripe down the abdomen and the pale area toward the leading edge of each wing.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:10

(172nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 16 Mute Swans was all I could see this morning. It is always possible one was hiding the "other" side of the island.
- a single Cormorant was standing on a tree on the island.
- three Grey Herons again.
- no Little Egret: possibly the bird seen here recently was the individual noted flying over the Balancing Lake earlier.
- a Ring-necked Parakeet was heard again, this time from across the water. I then saw one, perhaps two, flying in front of the trees between Ennerdale Road and the A5. I tried playing its calls on my Merlin app but it failed to respond or was too far away to hear.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: singles

Noted on / around the water:
- 11 Canada Geese
- 8 Greylag Geese: of these a pair departed and two singles arrived
- 16 Mute Swans
- 36 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens only
- 41 Coot
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 15 *Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 *Grey Herons

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (no song):
- 1 Chiffchaff
- 1 Blackcap

Nothing noted around the area

A relatively recently-fledged Black-headed Gull. When it has moulted in to first-winter plumage it will have lost the brown on its crown and on its hind-neck but not in the wings which will continue to show brown area, albeit fading, until the moult in to adult-winter plumage this time next year.

One of the three Grey Herons here today. This was sitting on the railings alongside Derwent Drive.

Aren't you glad you are not a fish?

Another of the Grey Herons, this one standing on what seems to be a plank of wood in the water by the entrance to Wordsworth Drive.

Still glad you are not a fish?

Something all the bird guides tell you Song Thrushes do but I rarely see. The thrush contemplates a snail it has found and brought to the path.

 Lift it up and...

...thwack!

The snail is now separated from its shell.

"Looks delicious".

"All gone!"

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Trench Lock Pool
4 Common Terns
(Dave Tromans)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Green Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
3 Common Terns
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Black-tailed Godwit
Little Grebe
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Black-tailed Godwit
Little Grebe
(Ed Wilson)

3 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 21.0°C: A few clouds especially early. Some good sunny spells. A moderate easterly breeze started up after the usual almost calm start. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:31 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 06:15 // 07:20 – 09:40

(174th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no geese early, probably all chased away yesterday by the sailing club's activities. A few later.
- my Great Crested Grebe report is what I saw. Somehow my heart was not in it today and I did not do a full-scan.
- no Swifts seen.
- at least one *Lesser Whitethroat was a surprise find in the Ricoh hedge c.09:20.
- a small group of eight Starlings flew East.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 11 Canada Geese: ten flew East in two groups; a single flew West
- 11 Greylag Geese also: all flew East as a group of ten followed by a single.
- 34 Black-headed Gulls
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 56 Wood Pigeons
- 197 Jackdaws
- 83 Rooks
- 8 Starlings

Counts from the lake area:
- 30 Canada Geese: arrived in three groups
- 2 Mute Swans
- 49 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 65 Coots
- 5 + 7 (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 26 Black-headed Gulls: 11 (of these?) were on the football field c.06:00
- 1 Herring Gull
- 16 *Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- no Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 1 House Martin: heard only

Warblers noted (no song):
- 6 Chiffchaffs again
- 3 Reed Warblers
- 1 Blackcap only
- 1 *Lesser Whitethroat

Also noted:
It was very, very quiet

Butterflies:
- 4 *Small White Pieris rapae
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 1 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
- 1 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

Moths:
- 2 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
other grass moths mostly too faded to confirm their identity

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
no other bees seen

Hoverflies:
- *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]: just one
- *Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]: just one also

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]: one female and four males
- Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
an unidentified dragonfly flew by

True flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *fly Minettia longipennis from the Lauxaniidae family
- *possible Suillia affinis
very few other flies all unidentified.

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 *unidentified micro moth
- 1 *possible Slender Pug Eupithecia tenuiata

The Buck Moon is well and truly waning now.

Meanwhile it did not look to be a promising sunrise. However...

...it perked up.

Most gulls are undertaking their annual post-breeding moult (this also applies to immatures). This adult Lesser Black-backed Gull has five old outermost primaries still to be dropped and replaced. On the right wing a few short, regrowing inner primaries can be seen.

For once one of the local Common Buzzards from the copse across Castle Farm Way came far enough overhead to be "down-sun" of me and eased the task of editing the photo to show the plumage patterning.

And again.

This a Lesser Whitethroat. The first clue I had there might be one about was when I saw this flitting around but the calls were more like a Blackcap than a Common Whitethroat. The photo confirms the identity because there is no hint of brown in the wing and the tone of the head is a darker grey. The eye colour would have been useful but you can't have everything. It seems very probable that this species bred here this year: always difficult to prove.

It was (nearly) all Small White butterflies Pieris rapae this morning. As yesterday an annoying shadow across the folded wing.

This is a female Small White (black dots in all four wings – only in the forewings on males). This view clearly shows the black wing-tip marking that can be used to separate the "white" species. On Small White the inner-edge of the black is almost straight and the black down the trailing edge does not extend below the black spot in the wing. Size is of course relevant but good luck being certain about any isolated individual...

...as here.

Not at all sure about this micromoth on one of the street lamps before dawn. Obsidentify thought it might be (54%) a Diamond-backed Moth Plutella xylostella but it clearly isn't. Google Lens suggested a moth in the genus Epinotia though the species given is not in the UK list. The genus did look promising but I cannot match the pattern in the Moth Field Guide.

And I am not 100% sure about this one either. It is a pug moth and Obsidentify was confident it is a Slender Pug Eupithecia tenuiata. While this is a common-enough species Obsidentify seems to come to this conclusion very frequently when there are other confusing species of pug moths that are equally common.

Just two hoverflies seen this morning: a single Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea.

And this Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta not at a very helpful angle. The yellow on the face combined with the yellow scutellum are the best features to note.

A female Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum.

And one of three males I noted.

With red eyes on the side of its head; a black thorax with a grey lip to the scutellum; and silvery-looking wings with brown at the base all suggest this fly is Minettia longipennis from the Lauxaniidae family.

This red fly with no obvious dark marks in the wings seems likely to be Suillia affinis.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

Flies:
- 8 midges
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum
- 1 *female mosquito Culex pipiens
- 2 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

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

This female mosquito seems to be Culex pipiens. It is smaller and lacks the banded legs (and abdomen, though that is hidden here) of Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:15

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- back to 17 Mute Swans visible.
- two Black-headed Gulls visited briefly and separately: an adult and an immature (or should that be described as first-winter by now?)
- two trios of Cormorants flew in to perch in trees on the island. Later two seen in flight over the water. From my position I was unable to determine whether these were two leaving (or about to go fishing) or yet more arrivals.
- three Grey Herons seemed to be at peace.
- one Little Egret.
- a Ring-necked Parakeet was calling loudly (do they do anything else?) from the houses / gardens in Derwent Drive. I was unable to determine exactly where as the calls were reflecting from the buildings. I then saw it fly off toward the trees between Ennerdale Road and the A5.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 13 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 17 Mute Swans
- 31 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 *Moorhens
- 40 *Coot only
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 2 Black-headed Gulls only
- 6? Cormorants, arrived: see notes
- 1 *Little Egret
- 3 *Grey Herons

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 House Martin heard only

Warblers noted (no song):
- 2 Chiffchaffs yet again
- no Blackcaps

Of note around the area:

Moths:
- 1 *Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]

Nothing else

Two of the three Grey Herons share the island with a Little Egret (and three Coots and a Moorhen).

The features to separate this Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella from Common Grass-moth A. tristella are well-illustrated here. On this species the white streak along the folded wing lacks the clean-edging shown by the Common Grass-moth. That streak soon splits in to four (sometimes five) "fingers" (two or at most three on Common).

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Immature Common Tern
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
1 (imm/fem) Common Redstart
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
4 Shoveler (all females/immatures)
(John Isherwood)