29 Apr 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Another extended exercise walk to also encompass one lap of The Flash

6.0°C > 7.0°C:  Very low cloud with spells of light drizzle. Light ESE wind. Often poor visibility, at best moderate.

Sunrise: 05:40 BST

Priorslee Lake:  early

(67th visit of the year)

New species for my 2020 lake list:
#85     Wheatear
A female on the dam throughout. Rather a late date for migrant Wheatears, but as with most species the females arrive after the males. My first Wheatear here since 5 April 2016

Bird notes:
- The two Canada Geese on the school playing field throughout,
- Just one of the rather strange, presumed female, Pheasants on the school playing field.
- Some of the Barn Swallows were noted resting on the buoys.
- The Feral Pigeon was on the roof of the academy again. It flew down to the ground, revealing a lot of white in the wing. Not sure I ever saw the bird present here last year flying. I certainly do not recall white in the wing.
- Two House Sparrows were in hedges in the school grounds.
- I originally had a Linnet as (the only) fly-over. Much later two Linnets were on a small tree alongside Teece Drive and likely included the bird seen overhead.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
None

Count of hirundines etc logged:
- 1 Swift
- >200 Sand Martins
- >20 Barn Swallows
- >2 House Martins

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 13 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 22 (19) Blackcaps
- 4 (4) Garden Warblers again
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat again
- 3 (3) Sedge Warblers again
- 6 (6) Reed Warblers again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- [2 Canada Geese on playing field]
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall again
- 10 (9♂) Mallard
- 4 (3♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Grey Herons
- [no Little Grebe]
- 4 Great Crested Grebes only
- 3 Moorhens
- [Coots not counted due to poor visibility]
- 1 Common Sandpiper again

New flower species recorded for the year:
- Prickly Sow-thistle (Sonchus asper)
- new generation Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)

On / around the street lights:
- 1 Lunar Marbled Brown moth (Drymonia ruficornis): third day in same place.
- 1 midge sp
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

It was a very dull morning and it hampered my attempts to photography. The hirundines feeding low over the water were a particular challenge in the low light. The problem is they only feed low over the water when the weather is dull (or very windy) so I have to try ....The smallest and brownest of the hirundines is this Sand Martin. Note the white collar and the dark breast band.

And from above. The small amount of white in the collar is the only relief to the grey-brown tones.

Apart from again illustrating the white collar and the breast band this just about shows the black underwing coverts (‘arm-pits’).

A Barn Swallow with its tail spread showing the row of white dots at the base of the tail. Note too half-way along the forewing the small alula feather is extended to aid manoeuvring.

In normal flight the white spots are not apparent. The tail is longer in males than females.

Little dots on the buoys. Barn Swallows having a rest.

Much tubbier and with a very obvious white rump is the House Martin. Also much darker on the back than Sand Martin but lacking the blue-tone of Barn Swallows.

Another view of a Garden Warbler singing away. The leaves will soon do a much better job than just a few twigs in hiding these birds. I am rather mystified by the apparent pinkish bill. My books say it should be pale grey!

Peering over rocks on the dam is this rather flighty female Wheatear.

Wheatears often raise and lower their tails. Raised here....

 ....lowered here.

From behind part of the white rump can be seen – the rest is hidden by the folded wings. The white rump is a very obvious feature of Wheatears. Indeed the name wheatear is thought to be a corruption of the original country name “white arse”.

With a rather ragged-looking tail is a female Linnet – a male would show red on the breast. This alongside Teece Drive.

As she turns to fly away we see the pale edges to the flight feathers and, less clearly due to the angle, the pale tail-edges.

This spider was on one of the lamp poles. It is one of the ‘stretch spiders’ in the Genus Tetragnatha. Specific identification requires an expert. Probably either T. extensa or T. montana.

Although this was actually on a lamp pole between the lake and The Flash it seems best to show it here. Another stretch spider, probably the same species.

Compare and contrast time: two umbellifers. Top left the straggly open appearance of Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris). Bottom right is the denser-looking Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) notable for the outer petals on each umbel being noticeably larger.

This is one of the tricky to identify sow-thistles. I think Prickly Sow-thistle (Sonchus asper).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:

(58th visit of the year)

New species for my 2020 Flash list (in sighting order):
#59     Barn Swallow
#60     House Martin
#61     Garden Warbler
- Two Barn Swallows heard and then seen over Derwent Drive as I started my lap
- Soon after I heard and then noted c.30 House Martins in a tight group almost lost to sight in the very low cloud. With them I noted at least four, not two, Barn Swallows.
- A Garden Warbler singing at the top end in the same location as I suspected breeding (for the first time?) last year

Other bird notes:
- Only one Great Crested Grebes noted: visibility not good.
- More Tufted Duck and they seemed to be very restless. Unless they have good radar they are likely to be here for a while.
- So where were all the Coots?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
None

Count of hirundines etc logged:
- 4 Barn Swallows
- c.30 House Martins

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler

Counts from the water:
- 3 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 15 Canada Geese
- 21 (18♂) Mallard only
- 23 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 4 Moorhen
- 9 Coots only

Also noted
- Many tadpoles found in one of the shallows
- Green Long-horn moth (Adela reaumurella) on one of the lamp-poles
- Unidentified spider sp. on a lamp-pole in squirrel alley.

Between the lake and The Flash:
- 3 (3♂) Mallard on lower pool briefly
- single Moorhens seen at both pools
- 1 (1) Blackcap near the upper pool
also
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider on one of the lamps

The big group of hirundines over included both Barn Swallows (on the right with the long forked tail) and the tubbier House Martin on the left. With tail spread the House Martin’s tail hardly looks ‘forked’ here.

This is a male of the Green Long-horn moth (Adela reaumurella) with the antennae three times its body-length. To the naked eye the wings of this moth seemed red. I had to use flash on this specimen lurking on a lamp pole shaded by trees. That resulted in this gold metallic reflection.

More ‘square-on’ the flash did not pick up the sheen and the name ‘Green ...’ seems more apposite. I recorded this moth here on 28 April last year. Consistent.

Many tadpoles for the fish to eat ..... Oddly I have never seen any frogs or frog-spawn here. Must look harder.

(Ed Wilson)

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If you are on your daily exercise and keeping a safe distance from others, we would love to see any photos or sightings from Priorslee Lake and The Flash, by contacting us at priorsleelake@hotmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.😊

(Martin Adlam and Ed Wilson)

Note:
Here are a few Garden Sightings from Ed Wilson Here on our Readers Corner from the past few days

And

A few of Martin Adlam's Sightings from the Isle of Portland Here.

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

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Nedge Hill
2 Lesser Whitethroat
10 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Great Crested Grebes 
1 Common Sandpiper 
4 Reed Warblers 
2 Common Whitethroat 
18 Blackcaps 
7 Chiffchaffs 
5 Willow Warblers 
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Greylag Goose 
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose 
1 Pochard 
11 Tufted Duck 
4 Blackcaps 
3 Chiffchaffs 
5 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Red-legged Partridges 
Swallows
7 Wheatear
2 Common Whitethroats 
3 Blackcaps 
1 Chiffchaffs 
4 Bullfinches 
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake 
3 Common Sandpipers
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood) 

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
The Wrekin
1 Wood Warbler
4 Common Redstart
1 Pied Flycatcher
(Paul Rutter)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
1 Sand Martin
2 Swallows
6 Reed Warblers
Common Whitethroat
3 Blackcap
4 Chiffchaff
3 Reed Buntings
3 Linnets
1 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebe
6 Tufted Duck
2 Ruddy Duck
3 Swifts
2 Sand Martins
4 Swallows
4 Cormorants
1 Kestrel
1 Sparrowhawk
3 Common Sandpipers
2 Grey Wagtail
6 Blackcap
1 Garden Warbler
2 Sedge Warbler
2 Reed Warblers
5 Chiffchaff
3 Greenfinch
2 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

Nedge Hill
1 Ring Ouzel
Common Whitethroat
2 Swallows
(Martin Adlam)

Priorslee Flash
2 Greylag Geese
1 Grey Wagtail here
2 Chiffchaffs
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
2 Ruddy Ducks
1 Common Buzzard
1 Kestrel
1 Swallows
1 Grey Wagtail
4 Sedge Warbler
2 Reed Warblers
4 Blackcaps
2 Garden Warbler
5 Chiffchaffs
3 Willow Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroat
4 Greenfinches
2 Reed Buntings
(Martin Adlam)