12 Apr 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  05:30 – 06:35 // 07:40 – 09:35
The Flash:  06:45 – 07:30

1.0°C > 7.0°C:  Mainly clear. Just frosted. Light E wind developing. Good visibility and hazy at times

Sunrise: 06:19 BST

Priorslee Lake:  05:30 – 06:35 // 07:40 – 09:35

(97th visit of the year)

Bird notes from today
- Tufted Ducks all gone
- all five Cormorants flew S together
- again only three Great Crested Grebes. One bird was moving in and out of the N side reeds and I suspect the other bird was on a nest here
- clear skies always means fewer Sand Martins (and any other hirundines that might be around)
- still seems to be too many Blackcaps for them all to establish territories

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 9 Canada Geese (5 flew outbound, circled and went  inbound; pair inbound)
- 5 Cormorants
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves
- 17 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw
- 1 Starling

Hirundines noted
- c.15 Sand Martins
- 1 Barn Swallow again

Warblers noted (singing birds)
- 9 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Willow Warblers
- 16 (13) Blackcaps

The counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese (pair arrived)
- 7 (6♂) Mallard again
- [no Tufted Ducks]
- 2 Grey Herons again
- 3 Little Grebes
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 5 Moorhens
- 24 Coots

Nothing noted on the lamp poles

Noted elsewhere
- 1 Eristalis tenax (Common Drone-fly)
- Lady's Smock / Cuckooplant / Milkmaid (Cardamine pratensis) in flower
- Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) in flower on the dam

A bit hazy this morning so more colour in the sunrise.

Sun just peeping.

As the days lengthen the sunrises further to the north of east and different ‘fiery bushes’ become available.

This is a female Chiffchaff. I only know that because it was calling incessantly and a male was singing very close-by. Note the dark legs, the less obvious contrast to the lower mandible (all rather horn-coloured), the prominent eye crescents and buffy rather than yellowish wash. This bird has a rather more prominent supercilium than many.

Here she is again. See how things can vary with the angle: here the bill looks all dark. The eye-crescents are obvious.

This rather distant Nuthatch has been puzzling all the early dog-walkers in Teece Drive. It has been shouting its territorial rights here every morning and it is not a sound that many are familiar with. If you want to know what it sound like here is a link to a recording of this song - Here.

A female Pied Wagtail. We can easily eliminate any thought of White Wagtail by the grey flanks.

And to reinforce that diagnosis the lower part of the back is dark like the tail. On White Wagtail the whole back is pale grey.

After my confusion over the ‘crane’s bill’ species at Trench on Wednesday I thought I ought to check what this is flowering on the dam. It is Herb Robert aka Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum) identified by the leaf shape. Typically the edges of the leaves and, later some whole leaves, tinge red; though a few species of ‘crane’s bill’ also tinge red to some extent.

Here again we see the leaf shape as well as the side-elevation of the surprisingly hairy flower.

A record shot. After finding the Lady's Smock / Cuckooplant / Milkmaid (Cardamine pratensis) between the lake and The Flash (see below) I hunted around the lake and found this single specimen. It will (should!) be abundant here in a few weeks.

Another Eristalis sp. of hoverfly. I tried to ‘angle in’ to see whether the anterior tarsus was yellow. Still hard to be 100% sure but I don’t think so and therefore this is an Eristalis tenax (Common Drone-fly).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  06:45 – 07:30

(90th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- a pair of Mallard with three ducklings – I would judge about a week old and likely the remnant ducklings from the brood of 13 seen on Sunday. Early broods, in particular, always subject to high mortality as the drakes are more interested in siring the next brood than in looking after the current brood. Another pair with 11 very new ducklings
- two drake (I think – against the light) Goosanders leaving to the SW just as I arrived. A most unusual date for here
- just a single Great Crested Grebe
also
- 1 Chironomus plumosus (plumed midge) on a lamp pole

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
- 6 Feral Pigeons
- 2 Stock Doves
- 2 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines noted
None

Warblers noted (singing birds)
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 5 (5) Willow Warblers
- 6 (5) Blackcaps again

The counts from the water:
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans
- 28 > 24 Canada Geese
- 18 (12♂) + 14 (2 broods) Mallard
- 14 (9♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 (2♂) Goosanders
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 3 Moorhens again
- 28 Coots again

All say “aaah”! 

Mummy duck and her 11 very new ducklings.

The min ID feature of Willow Warbler are the orange / brown legs, well shown here!

After several days of chasing this Willow Warbler eventually gave itself up for a photograph. Other features separating it from a Chiffchaff (other than the song!) are the pale lower mandible, the rather yellowish wash and the weak marking around the eye. Also note the long wings – this bird flies to and from sub-Saharan Africa whereas the Chiffchaff goes only as far as the Mediterranean basin. This individual shows a shorter and less distinct supercilium than normal even allowing for the variability of appearance with change of posture.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash

Much as last two days
- the single Moorhen on the upper pool
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff at the lower pool
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler at the lower pool
- 1 (1) another Willow Warbler beside the upper pool
- 1 (1) Blackcap beside the lower pool
- 1 (1) another Blackcap singing above the upper pool
plus
- 1 (1) Reed Bunting at the lower pool – my second record this year and (I believe) only my second-ever here
- Lady's Smock / Cuckooplant / Milkmaid (Cardamine pratensis) in flower by the upper pool

At the upper pool I noted my first flowers of Lady's Smock / Cuckooplant / Milkmaid (Cardamine pratensis). ‘Cuckooplant’ because its appearance coincided with the arrival of the Cuckoo – in he days when Cuckoos were plentiful. It is the food plant for the caterpillars of Orange-tip butterflies so we should see those on the wing soon.

Another view of the flower cluster. Are they pinkish? or mauve? 

Here the veins in the flowers certainly look mauve.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
2 Grey Herons
1 Greylag Goose
2 Common Sandpipers
c.6 Sand Martins
2 Barn Swallows
1 Grasshopper Warbler
10 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Swallows flew through 
2 Meadow Pipits 
4 Great Crested Grebes 
3 Tufted Duck 
9 Blackcaps
4 Willow Warblers
12 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Swallow
1 Reed Bunting
3 Great Crested Grebes
33 Tufted Duck 
5 Blackcaps
6 Willow Warblers
3 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
5 Lapwings
1 Swallow
1 Green Woodpecker
8 Skylarks
3 Willow Warblers
4 Chiffchaffs
1 Common Redstart
13 Wheatear
1 Raven
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

East Priorslee
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
2 Sand Martins
2 Greylag Geese
3 Stock Doves
1 Lapwing
(Ed Wilson)