21 May 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  04:20 – 05:55 // 06:50 – 09:40
The Flash:  06:00 – 06:45

8.0°C > 12.0°C:  Clear start again with puffy clouds later. Moderate NW wind. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 05:04 BST

Priorslee Lake:  04:20 – 05:55 // 06:50 – 09:40

(133rd visit of the year)

Much feeding activity at the moment with birds ferrying food to nest sites. Juvenile Great Tits and Pied Wagtails noted today. All this means that song is becoming limited.

Other bird notes from today
- A small brood of three Mallard ducklings. Could be a different brood from the five seen earlier – these looked rather too small.
- As is usual with early broods of Coots there seems to be a very high mortality rate. New broods today mean numbers of juveniles have increased even though fewer broods seen.
- A Sparrowhawk overhead had Crows in hot pursuit, joined by the two parent Pied Wagtails who have nested near the dam. These left a youngster – their only? – on the dam with me on guard.
- A second Willow Warbler sang for a short while today in the same location as I logged a ‘late arrival’ between 29 April and 05 May. Does this mean it paired up and has spent the time breeding? And what about the bird that continues to sing and sing and sing at the W end – has it not found a mate?
- At least two House Sparrows ‘invaded’ my recording area again. This is happening much more often than in any earlier year.

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Stock Doves
- 11 Wood Pigeon
- 52 Jackdaws
- 4 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted
- 11 Swifts
- 5 Barn Swallows
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted (singing birds)
- 6 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Willow Warblers
- 23 (20) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers
- 5 (3) (Common) Whitethroats
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler again
- 8 (7) Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area: - very quiet today
- 2 Mute Swans
- 9 (8♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- 4 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 18 + 24 (5 broods) Coots

On the lamp poles pre-dawn
Nothing

Seen later 
- 2 pipistrelle-type bats
and then in the sun
- 1 Common Blue Damselflies
- 1 Azure Damselfly
- 1 Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), form conspicua?
- 2 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- a mating pair of 14 Spot ladybird (Propylea quattuordecimpunctata)
- 1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- 1 Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- >5 Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- >4 Syrphus sp. hoverflies
- 1 Pellucid (Hover) Fly (Volucella pellucens)
- >5 greenbottles (Neomyia sp.?)
- Many other fly sps. not identified including two presumed Phaonia species
- >10 Red-and-Black Froghoppers (Cercopis vulnerata)
- >4 Common stretch-spider (Tetragnatha extensa)
and
- First flowers of Dog Rose (Rosa canina agg.)
Strange that after good numbers of Orange-tip butterflies there are no butterflies at all at the moment

In case you were not awake at 05:10 this is what you missed.

The duck Mallard and her three ducklings. I think this is a different brood from those seen over the weekend.

No food passes today. The pair of Great Crested Grebes swim away and you can just about make out the three juveniles on one of the parent’s back.

A rather ‘fuzzy’ outline and the pronounced gape give this away as a newly-hatched Great Tit. 

The daily Common Whitethroat photo. One day they will come closer. The male with the grey head. 

The male was outbound from the nest with this female and food waiting to go inbound. A busy time for these birds.

The male back again – no idea what he has caught and a rather unhelpfully placed dead stick behind his bill makes it even harder to see.

Continuing the ‘yummy’ theme, how about becoming a juvenile Pied Wagtail and having this stuffed in your mouth by your mother?

My first Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [or, sometimes, Pellucid Hoverfly] of the year. A very distinctive species.

Another hoverfly – a Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax). 

I photographed what I assumed to be a Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare) from the side so that I could see the markings that were otherwise hidden by the folded wings. I did not expect to see the white (pale yellow?) flanks and will have to take advice!

From the shape of the markings on the last three segments I believe this to be a female Common Blue Damselfly still to acquire colour.

This is easier as it has colour and it is angled so we can see more of the markings. An Azure Damselfly.

This ‘greenbottle’ fly seems to have green jowls in which case it is one of the Neomyia species, likely N. cornicina as the most common, but requires microscopic examination of the underside to confirm the bristle-arrangement. Shall we leave it as ‘greenbottle’?

This well-marked fly has some similarity with Phaonia errans. As usual there are several confusing species it could also be.

This too looks like a Phaonia sp., this time P. angelicae with orange on the body only. 

A 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata). 

A Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), most resembling the form conspicua, though that usually shows small black dots in the red ‘eyes’.

A pair (I assume, even in these LGBT times) of 14 Spot ladybirds that delight in the amazing scientific name of Propylea quattuordecimpunctata (easy for Latin scholars, which I am not).

A Common stretch-spider (Tetragnatha extensa) lies in wait.

First flowers of Dog Rose (Rosa canina agg.). From the state of some of the flowers I have clearly overlooked this for some days.

A bright clump of what I think is Beaked Hawk's-beard (Crepis vesicaria) – there are many similar yellow flowering plants (including 345 species / forms of Hawkweed ....)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  06:00 – 06:45

(126th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- There were five cygnets with the adult Mute Swans. Confused? Me?
- Contractors cut the grass yesterday and the Canada Geese seemed to find their usual morning feeding area unattractive. Fewer around today.
- Two broods of Mallard ducklings located: one with five; the other tucked up and hard to count – probably eight but could only confirm ‘more than six’.
- Two Great Crested Grebes almost behaving as a pair. Disappeared later though I could hear one, at least, calling. Perhaps from a hidden nest-site?
- Just two of the juvenile Coots logged: did not try too hard ....
- At the location where the Garden Warbler has been I heard a call that could have come from this species. I am not too familiar with the calls and would have preferred to have seen one move at least.
- Family party of Coal Tits seen.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 3 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Starlings (one a juvenile)

Hirundines etc. noted
- 3 Swifts

Warblers noted (singing birds)
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs again
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 4 (4) Blackcaps
- ? Garden Warbler (see notes)

The counts from the water:
- 3 + 5 Mute Swans (see notes)
- 18 Canada Geese
- 16 (7♂) + 13? (2 broods) Mallard
- 13 (8♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen only
- 21 + 2 (1 brood) Coots

There seemed to be only four cygnets yesterday ... either I cannot count; or perhaps the one taken away by Cuan was patched up and returned?

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash

At or around the lower pool (singing birds)
- 1 Moorhen heard only
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 1 party of Long-tailed Tits

At or around the upper pool (singing birds)
- 1 juvenile Moorhen seen

(Ed Wilson)

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Redshank
Common Tern
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
Cuckoo
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)