12 Sep 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  05:30 – 07:00 // 08:00 – 09:50
The Flash:  07:05 – 07:55

11.0°C > 17.0°C:  Patchy medium cloud mostly cleared: then low cloud after 08:00 with a few breaks after 09:15. Mostly calm / light S breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:38 BST

Priorslee Lake:  05:30 – 07:00 // 08:00 – 09:50

(219th visit of the year)

Bird notes from today:
- At dawn the cob Mute Swans flew off down to the E end of the water. The cygnets were scattered all around. Everyone back together again later.
- All three broods of Great Crested Grebes were in the water today: broods of four, three and two.
- At least five Common Buzzards seen. One flew over the E end from a roost pre-dawn. Later four birds together over Teece Drive after bird(s) heard calling from the nest-area here.
- No House Martins heard overhead before 07:00. A group of 12 over the estate at c.09:30 may have been some of the birds seen earlier from The Flash.
- The 06:50 ‘football’ field count gave me 38 Black-headed Gulls, 34 Wood Pigeons, 14 Magpies, six Starlings, one Grey Wagtail, and 62 Pied Wagtails. There was also 32 Black-headed Gulls and nine Wood Pigeons on the academy playing field at this time.
- An unusually late Willow Warbler seen.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 103 Greylag Geese (82 outbound in six groups; 21 inbound in two groups)
- 31 Canada Geese (31 outbound in five groups; none inbound)
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Common Kestrel
- 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 12 of these first- winter birds
- 1 unidentified large gull: too dark to ID
- 5 Stock Doves
- 44 Wood Pigeons
- 24 Jackdaws
- 108 Rooks
- 1 Meadow Pipit again
- 8 Starlings

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Barn Swallows
- c.12 House Martins (see notes)

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 8 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Willow Warbler
- 2 (0) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans: the usual
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 (0♂) Tufted Ducks again
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Little Grebes
- 7 + 6 + 9 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 1 + 4 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 88 + 1 (1 brood) Coots
- 70 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls : both of these first-winter birds
- 3 Herring Gulls: all of these first-winter birds
- 1 Kingfisher

On the lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 Common Crane-fly (Tipula oleracea)
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis

The following logged later:
Brief sunny bursts after 09:15 brought out:
- Butterflies
        - Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Comma (Polygonia c-album)
- Hoverflies
        - Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
        - The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
        - Helophilus trivittatus
        - Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
        - Syrphus sp.
and
- a few Common Crane-flies (Tipula oleracea)
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)

In some ways the cloud was annoying in making early fly-overs hard to spot, but it did produce a great sunrise. Here ....

... and here.

A classic first-winter Herring Gull sits on a buoy. They do like buoys, especially orange ones and they can often be seen pecking at them. The thought is that orange triggers the automatic response that causes gulls, as juveniles, to peck at the orange spot on adults’ bills to persuade the adults to regurgitate food and feed them.

A different first-winter Herring Gull. With a view like this easy-enough to separate from a first-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull by the paler inner primaries. Needs the light in the right direction to be certain though.

Spot the insect time! Just about the only clue is the white ‘c’-shaped mark ....

When it opens its wings – easy! A Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album). Knowing this we can now recognise the unusually ragged wing outline of this species on the previous photo and there is also a clubbed antenna just about visible providing another clue.

Here it is preparing to get some nectar from the blackberry. It was surrounded by dead and decaying blackberries in previous photos against which it was well camouflaged.

... and here, in all its splendour, it reaches its goal. It won’t drink from this blackberry tomorrow – I ate it for a late breakfast!

Sitting quietly soaking up the sun is this hoverfly The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus). It has another common name ‘The Sun Fly’ which seems apposite.

But also sitting quietly soaking up the sun is this different hoverfly – Helophilus trivittatus. Slightly different marks to The Footballer, above. This species is a strong flyer and many specimens are likely migrants from Europe. This is the first I have recorded, though I am sure I have overlooked it previously.

 In one of the convolvulus flowers are these two hoverflies.

Zooming in we see the body marking and wing venation. This shows that there are four pairs of yellow marks on the body of the right-hand insect. It is a female Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare). It is not often that all the marks are so clearly visible and I had never been aware that females of this species show four pairs of yellow spots. My British Hoverflies handbook illustrates this species with almost no yellow in the lowest pair of spots. Reference to photos on the excellent Naturespot web site confirms the ID.

A Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea) covered in dew!

This tiny creature is the springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis – well it’s cornis are certainly long! Not sure I have ever consciously seen a springtail before. Springtails are among the most primitive of insects and have no wings. This species, in some books as Tomocerus longicornis, can coil its antennae. It is noted as regularly climbing tree-trunks to become an important part of the canopy community – the lamp pole was clearly a case of mistaken identity!

At the time I was not sure whether this was a long-legged spider or a small harvestman. Looking at the photo it has a long second pair of legs with the basal part much thicker. Hence it is the harvestman species Paroligolophus agrestis. It seems it might have its #2 leg on the left side taking something to its mouth?

This White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger) dropped out of tree on top of me and then fell on to the ground, scurrying off with neither of us apparently any worse for the encounter. The front is at the right – well I assume it is, unless it has a reverse gear fitted.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  07:05 – 07:55

(209th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- Six Tufted Ducks seen circling the water. Assumed to be birds already logged here and frustrated by the attentions of the Black-headed Gulls that were pouncing on any duck that surfaced with potential food.
- The two juvenile Great Crested Grebes must have gone. I hope they were able to fly away – I never saw them trying their wings.
- Several groups of House Martins seen overhead. Not clear whether these were the same birds flying around or separate groups moving through. Largest group was 16 birds.
- A Grey Wagtail present when I arrived but not seen later.
- At least one Meadow Pipit heard overhead: unable to locate against the, at the time, clear blue sky. Sounded like c.4 birds, but ...

Nothing noted on any of the lamp poles – all the harvestmen gone elsewhere!

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 9 Feral Pigeons
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 6 Jackdaws
- >1 Meadow Pipit

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >16 House Martins (see notes)

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 2 (1) Chiffchaffs

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans as usual
- 94 Greylag Geese: all arrived
- 1 Canada Goose again
- 36 (15♂) + 1 (1 brood) Mallard
- 20 (3♂) Tufted Ducks (see notes)
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes remain
- 2 Moorhens
- 12 Coots only
- 6 Black-headed Gulls: none of these first-winter birds

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Two juvenile Moorhens on the upper pool.
- One Blackcap calling from a garden alongside the lower pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
9 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 immature Peregrine Falcon
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
3 Wheatear
Yellow Wagtail
(John Isherwood)

Trench Lock Pool
1 Arctic Tern
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Albino Wood Pigeon
3 Swifts
1 Sedge Warbler
Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)