25 May 18

Priorslee Lake only

12.0°C > 11.5°C: After early rain had cleared became dry for a while: more rain after 07:40. Light N wind. Poor visibility

Sunrise: 04:59 BST

Priorslee Lake: 06:35 – 08:45

(59th visit of the year)

My start was delayed by early rain and the visit cut short when the rain resumed. I hoped the cloud and rain might have brought some birds to feed over the lake: apart from the two recent Common Terns there was nothing – not even a single hirundine

Other notes from today:
- lots of flying about by the Mallard: possibly more birds involved
- a pair of Tufted Ducks flew E over Teece Drive at 06:35 but did not seem to stop
- still cannot determine whether one of the Great Crested Grebes is carrying juveniles on its back
- low numbers of Coots: some probably brooding on nests. However numbers do seem low this year
- the same(?) two Common Terns again. It appears one bird spends most of its time on one of the buoys whilst the other fishes and brings food to it
- a Green Woodpecker calling from the N-side copse
- Blackbirds, at least, seemed to be enjoying the rain: 13 of the 18 birds logged were noted singing
- the Mistle Thrush singing near the Teece Drive gate again
- female Reed Bunting seen carrying food

and
- nothing on the lamps again this morning
- a Silver-ground Carpet moth flushed from the vegetation
- the wet weather had brought the slugs and snails out in force

Today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over / near the lake:
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 2 (1) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Jackdaw
- 1 Rook

Hirundines seen today
None

Warblers noted: figure in brackets is singing birds (not all the males seen might have been singing)
- 6 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 14 (14) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers
- 1 (1) (Common) Whitethroat again
- 3 (3) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 6 + 5 (1) Mute Swans again
- 10 (9♂) Mallard again
- 4 + ? Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Moorhen
- 19 Coots only
- 2 Common Terns remain

Complete with a leaf covering its belly here is a Garden Warbler in full song.

A different view of the same bird: for a warbler the bill is rather thick but otherwise has little features to identify it – apart from its distinctive song. We can just about make out the grey extending from the nape on to a basically brown bird.

Here is a portion of a spider’s web on one of the lamps showing a range of insects trapped. We see plumed midge sps. (Chironomus plumosus) and crane-fly sp.

After the overnight rain the slugs and snails had emerged from cover. The striped ‘skirt’ on this slug identifies it as the red form of Black Slug (Arion Agg.) There are at least three species involved which can only be separated by genitalia examination. All exhibit a range of colour morphs.

Here is a close-up of the end that gardeners dislike.

This is another specimen of the same Black Slug complex.

Another species complex: this is a Golden Shelled Slug (Testacella scutulum agg.) with two grooves along the body that meet in a vestigial shell at the tail.

As well as slugs the rain brought out snails: this is one of the glass snails, likely Cellar Snail (Oxychilus cellarius). Apparently you have to poke glass snails to see whether they smell of garlic to aid identification!

This is what most people think of as a snail – it is a Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum aka Helix aspersa).

(Ed Wilson)

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Nedge Hill
2 Ravens mobbing Kestrel.
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Red Kite
(Ed Wilson)