12 Jun 17

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

12.5°C > 13.5°C: Broken cloud. Moderate / fresh W wind. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 04:45 BST

Priorslee Lake: 04:55 – 06:00 // 06:55 – 08:00

(75th visit of the year)

Notes from today:
- the Mallard ducklings not located
- a pair of Tufted Ducks glimpsed lifting off the water and flying off W; could not have been present for long as I had only just done a complete scan of the water
- a male (on size) Sparrowhawk seen carrying food
- 2 Sky Larks in song over the fields to the E
- for the first day in many months the Mistle Thrush was not heard singing
- the Willow Warbler still singing away: now moving around and no longer only using the same two branches of one same tree
- the Garden Warbler has also forsaken his branch alongside the W end footpath. Perhaps this bird was singing at a new location for 2017 near where the Willow Warbler had been singing. The male of the paired birds in the NW area was singing intermittently
- a party of 4 Common Whitethroats suggested successful breeding: not able to see birds well-enough to age / sex
- a Sedge Warbler sub-singing whilst carrying food indicated breeding here this year – not annual
- a female Reed Bunting seen carrying nesting material
and
- as expected no moths on the new street lamps
- c.20 small moths flushed from the grass early on. The wind tended to carry most of them too far to get any ID: at least one was a Timothy Tortrix
- generally too windy, dull and cool for insects
.... a Spotted Cranefly (Nephrotoma appendiculata) was new
.... several Black Snipe flies (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- the Cow Parsley has just about finished flowering now

On with the bird totals

Birds noted flying over the lake:
- 4 Canada Geese (1 group)
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 2 Starlings

Hirundine etc. counts:
- c.20 Swifts
- 2 House Martins

Warblers counts: number in brackets = singing birds
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs still
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler yet again
- 8 (7) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers once more
- 4 (0) Common Whitethroats
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 5 (4) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans- 8 (7♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 24 Coots

Not so much a sunrise ... Here we see that the wind had abated overnight and while still fresh there places in the lee of trees etc. where the water was quite calm.

With rather dull and breezy conditions it was necessary to ‘flash’ what insects I could find. This is a Spotted Cranefly (Nephrotoma appendiculata).

And from a slightly different angle. The most common craneflies (daddy long-legs) are most associated with Autumn but some species are active from early Spring.

This is a Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus).

The Common Spotted Orchid (Orchis fuchsii) are now in profusion with many groups of spikes like this.
(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 – 06:50

(56th visit of the year)

Notes from here
- 3 Great Crested Grebes seen: one fishing; one ‘standing guard’; one on a nest – now located
- fewer Coots: probably some birds on nests brooding their young as it was early and breezy

Birds noted flying over
- 1 Jackdaw

Hirundine etc. counts
- 2 Swifts again
- 4 House Martins

Warblers counts: number in brackets = singing birds
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Blackcaps

The counts from the water
- 2 + 7 Mute Swans
- 82 Canada Geese!
- 1 white feral goose
- 11 (10♂) Mallard again
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Ducks again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhen
- 14 + 5 (3 broods) Coots

Of interest between the lake and The Flash today
- Moorhens flushed from the grass in to both pools. Too overgrown to see into the pools
- Chiffchaff still singing around the lower pool

(Ed Wilson)

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

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)