14 May 20

Priorslee Lake: 04:58 – 06:00 // 06:55 – 07:25 // 08:25 – 09:35
The Flash: 06:05 – 06:50
Woodhouse Lane: 07:25 – 08:25

Priorslee Lake and The Flash with Woodhouse Lane for good measure

1.0°C > 8.0°C: Almost cloudless. Early frost, stayed chilly. Light and variable wind, settling to NW. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:13 BST

Priorslee Lake:

(81st visit of the year)

Council contractors have once again mashed the vegetation between Teece Drive and the Wesley Brook alongside the academy and the football field. I see no reason to do this.

The site is now officially open again and the sailing club had returned, complete with wayward dogs completely ignoring the site owners posted notices requesting that dog are kept on leads.

Bird notes:
- The drake Gadwall was present throughout.
- First juvenile Coots noted with a well-grown brood of six – likely
- A significant number of gulls passing for this date. I think they were all different birds – they were flying in all directions and some could have flown over more than once? ‘Best effort’ on aging them.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 1 Greylag or Greylag x Canada Goose (outbound)
- 9 Canada Geese (three pairs and a trio outbound)
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 33 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: 25 (near) adults; 7 second years
- 1 Herring Gull: 1 first year
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 30 Jackdaws
- 13 Rooks

Birds noted on the ‘football’ field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]:
- 2 Jackdaws

Birds noted on the academy playing field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded here too]:
- 18 Starlings
I failed to beat the first dog-walkers and anything other than Starlings had departed

Count of hirundines etc logged:
- >30 Swifts
- 1 Sand Martins
- >10 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martins

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 14 (10) Chiffchaffs
- 15 (15) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers
- 4 (4) Common Whitethroats
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese: landed – soon chased away
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall: stayed throughout
- 6 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 Grey Heron, briefly
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 16 + 6 (1 brood) Coots
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: second year, briefly

Nothing on / around the street lights:

Insects / other things etc noted:
No bees

Damselflies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum): new for this year

Hoverflies
- unidentified Cheliosia sp.
- Eupeodes luniger: new for this year
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Helophilus pendulus
- Sphaerophoria scripta: new for this year

Other flies
- Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)

Other things
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)

No additional plant species recorded for the year at this site:

The sunrise, such as it was on this clear morning. Mist over the water.

A record shot of the six ugly cootlings.

To the naked eye this gull appeared so dark I (mis-) identified it as a second year Lesser Black-backed Gull. Notwithstanding the overall dark colour the pale inner primaries suggest a Herring Gull and this is confirmed by the grey at the top of the back.

Swift by name and swift by nature. Wings arched back for speed here. Not always easy to see the fork in the tail as they flash past.

Perhaps a more typical view of the sickle-shaped wings. A top-side view showing they are not jet black. There is a very hard to see pale throat.

Common Whitethroats have been very hard to photograph this year after the first arrival posed behind the shelter in the SW area. Ever since then they have been displaying from tree-tops. This is by far my best effort for many days.

The juvenile Pied Wagtail was less active this morning. Throw away yesterday’s poor photo.

With that glint in its eye exactly what has this Goldfinch got planned.

I struggle with damselflies when they are fresh and have yet to acquire their ‘proper’ adult colour – known as tenerals. This is a Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum). It is a female and they come in three forms – the yellowish-orange here is a less usual form.

Another colourless damselfly I found. This is a teneral male Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum).

The same specimen from a slightly different angle. Trimmed to get rid of annoying bright areas in the original background. Note the seed with ‘parachute’ alongside.

On this hoverfly the yellow marks (lunules) on the body segments (tergites) stop before the side of the abdomen. This it is Eupeodes luniger.

The common and distinctive hoverfly Helophilus pendulus. Care is needed as the striped thorax is not unique to this species.

This hoverfly is from the Cheliosia group. There are several all-dark species that are hard to separate from photos. Leg colour is important and these are largely hidden and anyway are sullied with pollen. So Cheliosia sp. it will have to stay.

Another distinctive hoverfly – at least, as here, in males. The body of male Sphaerophoria scripta extends beyond the folded wings which is unique for this species in the group. It is sometimes given the name Long Hoverfly.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:

(68th visit of the year)

New species for my 2020 Flash list (in sighting order):
#68 Reed Warbler
A bird singing in the very small reed patch alongside Derwent Drive. My most recent previous here were on 24 May 2018, 28 May 2017 and 11 May 2015. All these have been one- or two-day birds though some 10 years ago a bird song for several weeks in the area and may have bred. The construction of fishing platforms which flattened most of the reeds makes that and unlikely recurrence.

Bird notes:
- no broods of Mallard ducklings noted
- As at the lake a small passage of large gulls

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two (near) adults, three second year
- 1 Herring Gull: (near) adult
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 1 Jackdaw again

Hirundines etc logged:
None

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps only
- 1 (0) Garden Warbler
- 1 (1) Reed Warbler

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 9 (1 brood) Mute Swans: all cygnets present and correct
- 12 Canada Geese
- 21 (16♂) + 0 (0 broods) Mallard
- 9 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: one still on nest
- 5 Moorhens
- 16 + ? (? brood) Coots: juveniles again still being brooded?

Nothing else of note

Later than at the lake. My one idea for sunrise photos.

After the frosty night this pair of Mallard warm up in the sun atop one of the roofs in Derwent Drive.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Noteworthy
- A pair of Mallard flew off from the lower pool
- Moorhen(s) heard from the lower pool
- 1 adult and 1 juvenile Moorhen seen on the upper pool
- 1 Blackcap singing at the upper pool
- Starlings still calling from eaves of house in Everglade Road backing on to the footpath.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane area:

(5th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- An unremarkable day with only the drake Mallard flying from the lake to land in the Wesley Brook of note.

Notable species counts (singing birds in brackets):
- 1 (1♂) Mallard flew in to the Wesley Brook
- 1 Jay
- 5 (3) Skylarks
- 2 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler again
- 3 (3) Blackcaps still
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler again very briefly
- 5 (5) Common Whitethroats
- 2 (2) Song Thrushes
- 7 (6) Chaffinches
- 1 (0) Greenfinch
- 5 (1) Goldfinches
- 1 Linnets again
- 6 (2) Yellowhammers

Insects noted:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
- Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Eupeodes corollae

Additional plant species recorded for the year at this site:
- Barley (Hordeum vulgare)
- Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca)

Want to see a Wren in close-up?

Seems it helps to close your eyes to sing!

“Have you just taken a photo of me?” I do like the cocked tail.

I am not having much luck with Yellowhammers this year. There are more people walking the lane than in previous years and all the birds are harder to approach.

This one singing was against the light.

This small hoverfly is one of Eupeodes group, I think Eupeodes corollae, also called Migrant Hoverfly, though there is a significant resident population.

The Oil Seed Rape (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera) is finishing flowering and the pods are beginning to swell. Amongst these are characteristics heads of a previous crop – Barley (Hordeum vulgare). This is a specialised grass.

This vetch is quite different from the specimen I found around the lake – note the large cluster of flowers. I think this is Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca).

(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 you have, from Priorslee Lake and The Flash, by emailing them to 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

 2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

 2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

 2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

 2013
Priorslee Lake
Hobby
(Ed Wilson)

 2011
Priorslee Lake
Black-tailed Godwit
3 Whimbrel
(Ed Wilson)

 2009
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
5 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

 2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)