27 May 18

Priorslee Lake only

11.5°C > 13.5°C: Mainly cloudy: hazy high cloud to start before thunder-clouds from the S and SE. Gusty moderate NNE fell away and rather variable for a while. Moderate visibility

Sunrise: 04:58 BST

Had intended to make a very early start today. This was thwarted by heavy rain and thunder at 04:00. By 05:30 the rainfall radar suggested that the storms had moved off N with remnant rain over the Welsh border moving W. Not quite so: soon after I arrived thunder could be heard to the SW and this gradually encroached on the lake from the S / SE with dramatic lightning and rain driving me away

Priorslee Lake: 05:50 – 07:25

(61st visit of the year)

Notes from today:
- I was told that the Mute Swan nest in the NW area contains 4 cygnets and 1 unbroken egg: the adults have yet to put the cygnets in the water
- 2 sub-adult Mute Swans came from the W at 06:45 and circled awhile, inspecting the arched feathers on the residents and headed off S
- a Pheasant heard calling from the brownfield area to the N: my first log since 01 April
- 2 similarly-sized Sparrowhawks seen sparring over the SW area 06:15. I suspect one pair is again nesting in its usual area as Blackbirds can often be heard scolding loudly from the general area
- the same(?) two Common Terns present throughout with the presumed female almost stuck to her buoy and calling to be fed when the flying, presumed male, catches a fish
- a single Barn Swallow flew E at 06:50
- Long-tailed Tit juveniles seen being fed
- the male Pied Wagtail briefly on the dam again

and
- nothing on the lamps apart from a few damselfly exuvia
- no longer any Alder flies (likely Sialis lutaria) on the sluice entrance
- most of the now desiccated exuvia seemed to have been blown / washed off of the sluice entrance

The following plant added to previous sightings this month
- Red Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) [noted as early as 09 May in 2017]

Today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over / near the lake:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard
- 2 Sparrowhawks
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw

Hirundines seen today
- 4 Common Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martins

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

The counts from the lake area
- 6 + 9 (2) Mute Swans (see notes)
- 4 (3♂) Mallard
- 2 (1) Tufted Ducks
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- no Moorhens again
- 17 Coots
- 2 Common Terns remain

Well after dawn the rather angry-looking sky between the thunderstorms.

The camera reveals what I did not note at the time: some brown in the plumage of the two Mute Swans that thought better of landing suggests they are sub-adults. Likely 1st year birds and perhaps the two present at The Flash this week.

One of the Common Terns passing. Likely the male if indeed that is the bird doing all the fishing. There are no plumage differences between the sexes.

Here one bird brings a fish for the bird sat on the buoy.

The food-pass.

And the transfer is complete. They were some way away and the pictures are necessarily rather over-enlarged.

The male Pied Wagtail paid a brief visit to the dam-face, calling as it did so.

A bird as dark as this is unlikely to be a White Wagtail. That species is normally seen only on passage in Spring and Autumn. All White Wagtails show a grey rump contrasting with the black back – no hint of that here so no doubt about it being a regular male Pied Wagtail.

The Yellow Flags (Iris pseudacorus) here are now fully open here.

This morning was the first time this year I recorded Red Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) flowers on the dam-top.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2009
Priorslee Lake
3 Little Egrets
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Little Ringed Plover
(John Isherwood)