Priorslee Lake and The Flash
Priorslee Lake: 07:40 – 09:45
The Flash: 07:15 – 07:35 // 09:50 – 10:05
16°C > 18°C: Some breaks, tending to fill. Spots of drizzle after 09:45. Moderate / fresh WSW wind. Excellent visibility
Sunrise: 04:44 BST still
Priorslee Lake: 07:40 – 09:45
(79th visit of the year)
Bird notes from today:
- 7 Great Crested Grebes counted: later I heard birds calling from their usual N-side nesting area. None of those previously counted seemed to be from this area
- some of the juvenile Coots are old-enough to stray away from their nest-sites and their parents making the precise number of broods represented harder to count
- 2 pairs of Collared Doves flew S over the W end. Most unusually another bird was seen leaving the trees at the W end
- House Martins again feeding low over the sheltered grassy area in the SW area
- many tit parties heard: the extensive foliage and the breezy conditions made checking the groups difficult but most sounded like Great Tits and there seemed to be rather fewer Blue Tits than usual post-fledging
- a male House Sparrow made it as far as the scrubby area by the yacht club shelter
- 2 (Common) Whitethroats seen carrying food to the same area. Also two different birds heard in song
Today’s bird totals
Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull again
- 1 Wood Pigeon only again
- 4 Collared Doves (2 pairs)
- 2 Jackdaws yet again
- 1 Rook
- 1 Starling
Hirundines seen today
- 2 Swifts again
- 2 Barn Swallows yet again
- 9 House Martins
Warblers noted: figure in brackets is singing birds
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 12 (10) Blackcaps
- no Garden Warblers again
- 5 (2) (Common) Whitethroats
- 5 (4) Reed Warblers
The counts from the lake area
- 4 + 7 (2) Mute Swans as usual
- 15 (13♂) Mallard
- 7+ Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 2 Moorhens
- 35 + 16 (8? broods) Coots
- 1 Common Tern intermittently
Interesting insects, at least partly identified
- butterflies seen
- 1 Speckled Wood
- 2 Ringlets
- moths flushed from the vegetation
- >10 Common Nettle-taps (
Anthophila fabriciana) – my first of year here
- >5 Yellow-barred Longhorns (
Nemophora degeerella)
- 2 Common Marbles (
Celypha lacunana)
- damselflies / dragonflies
- >30 Common Blue Damselflies
- >10 Azure Damselflies
- >30 Blue-tailed Damselflies
- hoverflies
- >1
Eristalis sp. (drone-flies)
- 1
Leucozona lucorum – my first of year here
- flies identified
- >100 Black Snipe flies (
Chrysopilus cristatus)
- >2
Rhogogaster viridis (saw fly)
- >30
Poecilobothrus nobilitatus (‘Semaphore Fly’)
1 Scorpion Fly (
Panorpa communis)
1 possible
Helina abdominalis
- beetles and bugs
- 2 Harlequin Ladybirds (
Harmonia axyridis) adults and a larva
- 1 Kidney-spot Ladybird (
Chilocorus renipustulatus) – my first here
- 1 Common Green Capsid (
Lygocoris pabulinus)
- >5 small yellow and black beetles (
Malthinus flaveolus?)
- no spiders noted
- a few snails
Fast-growing juvenile Coot – even getting the forerunner of its white-shield – as bald as a Coot.
Yummy again. An adult Common Whitethroat with food.
And what I assume is the other one of the pair with more food.
And then posed nicely for me.
It is almost possible to identify the prey here – the wing-pattern looks like a Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly.
Mr. House Sparrow a long way from any houses. Here in the vegetation around the yacht club shelter.
A male Reed Bunting. He was singing again this morning so I guess after seeing fledged juveniles earlier this week there is the chance of a second brood.
From the top, the ‘rings’ of this Ringlet butterfly are not that obvious. With little sun it stayed with its wings open to warm up and refused to let me take the underside.
Possibly my best-ever photo of a Common Marble moth (
Celypha lacunana). Easily disturbed during the day but difficult to approach.
Common Marble moths are small: these are tiny. A Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana).
A fine perched male Common Blue Damselfly.
And another.
And a perched female Azure Damselfly.
I initially though this was a Grey Mining Bee (
Andrena cineraria) but the antenna are too short so it is must be the hoverfly
Leucozona lucorum. Note the dark mark in the wings. This had just had a lucky escape from a spider web though in truth it was probably powerful-enough to escape any web.
A Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus).
This may be the fly
Helina abdominalis. Then again there are many, many species of fly to choose from – there are 100,000 known species and likely as many unknown.
There were several adult Harlequin Ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis): here is a larva.
Right alongside one of the Harlequin Ladybirds (
Harmonia axyridis) I found this: a Kidney-spot Ladybird (
Chilocorus renipustulatus) and apparently my first at this site.
I cannot recall ever having seen these small, distinctively-marked beetles before – they are on Common Hogweed umbels here. Neither can I find any match with an on-line search. The nearest is
Malthinus flaveolus but that is noted as being similar to many other species. Helpful.
This is the first flower I have noted this year of Bistort (
Polygonum bistorta (was
Persicaria bistorta)). Will be abundant all around the shore of the lake soon.
This dense-flowered umbellifer is growing at the base of the dam and is clearly different to most of the umbellifers around the lake. I believe it to be Hemlock Water-dropwort (
Oenanthe crocata). DO NOT EAT! It has claims to be the deadliest plant in the UK.
New species of flowering plants
- Bistort (
Polygonum bistorta (was
Persicaria bistorta))
- Greater Willow-herb (
Epilobium hirsutum)
- what appears to be Hemlock Water-dropwort (
Oenanthe crocata)
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 07:15 – 07:35 // 09:50 – 10:05
(62nd visit of the year)
Notes from today
- just the cob Mute Swan seen. Did not meet anyone who could update me on cygnet status
- a very new group of Mallard ducklings with at least 6 zipping in and out of the vegetation: the oldest group of 7 still present with their mother. No sign of any intermediate brood(s)
- the drake Tufted Ducks are rapidly losing their breeding plumage and some are now hard to distinguish from ducks
- male Blackcap seen bringing food to begging juvenile. A different male heard in song
- party of barely-fledged Dunnocks with a parent on the ground in squirrel alley
Birds noted flying over or flying near The Flash
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1
Feral Pigeon
- 1 Jackdaw
Hirundines etc. seen today
- 2 Swifts to N
- 5 House Martin to N
Warblers noted: (singing birds in brackets)
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 3 (1) Blackcaps
The counts from the water
[nn > nn indicates counts taken c.07:20 > c.10:00, where materially different]
- 1 Mute Swan: the cob again (see notes again)
- 2 >12 Greylag Geese
- 97 > 104 Canada Geese
- 9 (7♂) + 13? (2 broods) Mallard
- 10 (8♂) Tufted Ducks
- no Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen
- 20 + 14 (6 broods) Coots
Lurking along the E side was this duck Mallard and a brood of new juveniles – as we see darting in and out of the overhanging vegetation. At least 6 ducklings.
This is the well-grown group of 7 ducklings with their mother (and a Canada Goose). It looks to me as if, numbering from the left, #1. #3 and #6 will be drakes – the rather pale bills. Not easy to tell what #5 might become.
Stupid shoes on this Coot.
Of interest between the lake and The Flash
- Moorhens heard calling from the upper pool
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........
2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2009
Priorslee Lake
A pair of Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2008
Priorslee Lake
A drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)
