30 Jun 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  04:05 – 05:45 // 06:45 – 08:40
The Flash:  05:50 – 06:40

15.0°C > 17.0°C:  Clear start, soon clouding at medium level. Moderate SW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:48 BST again

Priorslee Lake:  04:05 – 05:45 // 06:45 – 08:40

(163rd visit of the year)

A Hobby was hurtling around at 04:25 apparently trying to catch bats rather than the Swifts. I have never seen them chase bats before. In Africa and Asia there is a Bat Hawk that specialises in catching bats. In America a Bat Falcon does the same. Became bird species #93 for Priorslee Lake in 2019

Other bird notes from today
- A single unsexed Tufted Duck seen flying off at 04:35. A pair were on the SW grass by 08:00.
- Only the adult Great Crested Grebe sheltering juveniles on its back was seen from the pair in the NW area. Neither of the additional recent pair was noted.
- An adult Common Tern arrived at 07:25 and stayed fishing until I left.
- An adult Black-headed Gull dropped in for a few minutes at 07:10. Later, at 08:10, a recently fledged juvenile flew through W.
- A very new brood of at least two Chiffchaffs with big yellow gapes seen at W end.
- Even my dependable Garden Warbler, recorded every day since it was the first to arrive in Spring, was not heard this morning as song winds down.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 1 Hobby
- 1 juvenile Black-headed Gull
- >60 Feral / Racing Pigeons (at 05:20!)
- 40 Wood Pigeons
- 62 Jackdaws
- 117 Rooks
- 1 Raven

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >30 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows again
- 16 House Martins

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 11 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 14 (12) Blackcaps
- no Garden Warblers
- 5 (2) (Common) Whitethroats
- no Sedge Warblers
- 6 (5) Reed Warblers

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 15 (13♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 3 (1+♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 + 4? (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 25 + 22 (? broods) Coots
- 1 Common Tern
- 1 adult Black-headed Gull

On the lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 unidentified spider sp.

Seen later:
- 2 noctule-type bats
Despite the generally cloudy start there were some insects to log
- The following butterflies
- 1 Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)
- >5 Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- 1 Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
- The following moths
- 2 Timothy Tortrix (Zelotherses paleana)
- 4 Garden Grass-veneer moths (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- The following damselflies (a few of each)
- Azure Damselfly
- Blue-tailed Damselfly
- Common Blue Damselfly
- The following hoverflies
- >10 Episyrphus balteatus (Marmalade hoverfly)
- 1 Melanostoma scalare (Chequered Hoverfly)
- >5 Syrphus sp. hoverflies
And
- 2 species of cranefly
- 1 Harlequin Ladybirds larva
- >25 Black Snipe flies (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- 2 Scorpion Flies (Panorpa communis)

After yesterday’s sweltering heat the morning’s clear skies soon gave away to clouds with only a brief sunrise opportunity.

A few minutes later. 

A motley collection of moulting drake Mallard. The closest bird perhaps looks least like a drake: however the unmarked rather yellowish bill rules out it being a duck. Look at the rather smooth-plumaged bird at the back left ....

... it briefly showed an equally plain bill so it too is a drake Mallard. It does lack the ‘curly’ tail usually such a prominent feature. Perhaps some farmyard duck in the genes?

The pair of Tufted Duck that turned up. Note how the drake’s white flanks are fading away as it starts its moult. From now until after the New Year it will become increasingly hard to sex these birds – especially once juveniles start arriving.

The / a Common Tern was marginally more cooperative this morning. We see the dark-wedge of the outer primaries – indeed here they are so-spread that we can see the white shafts. The dark tip to the bill is not readily apparent, however the bill-colour is clearly orange rather than blood-red as it would be on an Arctic Tern.

The massive bill, well separated flight feathers and long tail (diamond-shaped when opened) identify this as a Raven.

Today’s rather better marked specimen of the Common Marble micro moth (Celypha lacunana).

This is an Azure Damselfly. Note the ‘U’ shaped mark on the top segment of the body and the width of the black-marks on the thorax.

Compare with the same markings of this Common Blue Damselfly. The mark on the top segment is often described as ‘anchor-shaped’ (really?). The black lines on the thorax are narrower.

There is a very obvious wing-pattern on this cranefly: no problem I thought. Wrong! I cannot find any species with the pale extending across the whole wing and not ‘leaching’ horizontally as well. The colour of the body suggests it is Tipula fascipennis, but ...

Another cranefly and a smaller species. No problem with this – it is a Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens).

This is a female snipe fly Chrysopilus cristatus. The much more common males have reddish-black bodies whereas the females are this rather different grey colour. I can find no other fly species with grey bodies and a ‘shade’ in the wing.

I first saw this combination in flight and was rather confused. Only from the photo could I see there are two Snipe Flies (Chrysopilus cristatus) apparently mating. The female shows the same grey body as above, though it is less obvious at this angle. Male snipe flies present females with a ‘present’ of a prey to entice her – we can see the offering in her jaws.

A male Oedemera nobilis, also known as the false oil beetle, thick-legged flower beetle or swollen-thighed beetle. Only the male has the swollen femur. On a flower of blackberry here.

This is a rather unusual. It looks vaguely like a ladybird: and in a way is. It is the pupa of a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) – as far as I know my first ever sighting of any ladybird pupa.

This spider shot off before I could get any different views. Is it carrying a parcel of eggs? 

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  05:50 – 06:40

(156th visit of the year)

An Oystercatcher heard and then seen in flight just as I arrived. Not clear whether it had been present or was passing by. Became bird species #73 for The Flash in 2019

Other notes from here:
- Only one of yesterday’s brood of four Mallard ducklings noted. However it and its parent were under overhanging vegetation and it is possible others were lurking there too.
- After yesterday’s blank day for Tufted Ducks it was back to a more typical count with a pair noted flying in.
- Two Grey Herons sparring.
- The first returning Black-headed Gull – an adult. Decided to move off when the two Grey Herons started to fly around.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Oystercatcher
- 6 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts in far distance

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 1 (1) Blackcap
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 4 Mute Swans
- 47 Greylag Geese
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose still
- 123 Canada Geese
- 31 (17♂) + 4 (2 broods) Mallard
- 6 (4♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons
- 2 + 1? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Moorhens
- 19 + 11 (4 broods) Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull

The cob Mute Swan introduces his brood to grass and to walking.

Seems they find walking tiring!

A trio of teenage juvenile Coots having a Sunday lie-in. Their two siblings were on the water begging their parents for breakfast.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- 1 adult Moorhen with two small (second brood?) juveniles at the lower pool
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff between the pools
- 1 (1) Blackcap remains at the lower pool
- Bullfinches again heard calling near the upper pool – will they ever come out of the leaves?
and
- mating pair of shieldbugs on one of the lamps

Another picture we should wait until after the watershed before we look. On one of the lamp-posts a pair (I hope) of Hawthorn Shieldbugs (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale). Had to use flash – twentieth of a second using natural light – so a bit of reflection I am afraid.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's sighting Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2010
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)