20 May 20

Priorslee Lake: 04:27 – 05:50
The Flash: 05:55 – 06:35

9.0°C: Mainly clear start with some high cloud. After 05:45 mist rolled in from the E. Calm. Very good visibility but poor after arrival of mist.

Sunrise: 05:04 BST

Priorslee Lake:

(87th visit of the year)

An abbreviated visit after the mist rolled in.

The site is now formally open with “Keep 2m (6 feet) apart” notices. The fishermen have returned.

Other bird notes:
- Saw something I have never seen before – a Coot flying in to the lake. One bird flew in from the E, high over the dam and circled down to the water. In all my 20+ years seeing variable numbers of this species (sometimes as many as 250 birds) I had never seen one flying more than a few feet above the water.
- A rather late record of Common Sandpiper.
- A Swift raced through at 05:00. A single over later

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 2 Greylag Geese (singles inbound and outbound)
- 5 Canada Geese (two pairs and a single outbound)
- 10 Lesser Black-backed Gull: at least 4 immatures
- 10 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 30 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks

Birds noted on the ‘football’ field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]:
- 2 Starlings only
The strange Feral Pigeon was on the academy roof again.

Birds noted on the academy playing field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded here too]:
- 2 Jackdaws only

Count of hirundines etc logged:
- 2 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 11 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 18 (17) Blackcaps
- 4 (4) Garden Warblers
- 3 (3) Common Whitethroats
- 9 (9) Reed Warblers

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- [Gadwall not seen]
- 6 (5♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron: departed
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen only
- [Coots not counted]
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: (near) adults, briefly

On / around the street lights:
- Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)

Insects / other things etc noted later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Later visit [c.10:00 – c.13:00]

Hot and sunny

While my car was being serviced I returned to the lake area mainly to find insects in the rather warm sun. This was mostly unrewarding. A few comments on things I noted. No formal log made and none of these sightings is included in my usual totals as given above.
- A second pair of Tufted Ducks arrived at some point.
- 3 Sparrowhawks circling over, one male at least in full display with fluffed up undertail.
- 1 Kestrel hovering over the SW grass until chased away by Magpies
- 2 Kingfishers flew in to bushes in the SW area, making a lot of noise. A number of people have asked me recently about Kingfishers here and I have told them it is unlikely as there are no banks for them to excavate their nest holes. The latter remains true so what they were doing here is a bit of a mystery.
- Reed Warblers were singing from tow locations where I had not heard them earlier. One of these was a new site for this year.

Very early there was a slight sunrise and no sign of the mist and fog that rolled in by 05:45

This Common Kestrel was hovering over the SW grass until chased away by the local Magpies.

The grey head identifies it as a male. A grab shot. The attentions from the Magpies drove it away before I could reset the camera to use a faster shutter-speed to freeze the wings. The tail is nice though!

One of the local Buzzards taking advantage of the thermals.

There were three Sparrowhawks circling over. As far as I could tell they were all males – females are notably larger and more robust, though when birds are at different heights this is not always obvious. On this example the inner primaries are either not yet fully grown suggesting this is a juvenile – which seems an early date. It also seems a bit early for the annual moult. Puzzling too is the obvious fluffed-up undertail coverts meaning this bird is displaying over a territory.

Not sure whether this is the same bird – lost track of them as swirled around. It also shows short inner primaries. The fluffed-up undertail coverts are even more obvious here.

This is a Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus). A common insect that I see most years.

This is the ladybird whose scientific name is longer than the insect – a 14 Spot Ladybird (Propylea quattuordecimpunctata).

A not very blue male Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum).

This is a female Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas). My first of the year.

This has to be a teneral male Red-eyed Damselfly – the blue on the last segment only and otherwise black body indicates this species. The eyes at this age are brown and not yet red. Rather a puzzle are the pale lines on the thorax which this species does not normally show. There seems to be no alternative though.

Thanks to some help this small, rather featureless moth has been identified as a Marsh Pug (Eupithecia pygmaeata): new for me.

While chasing the moth I found this small flower – like a miniature stitchwort. Turns out it is Field Mouse-ear (Cerastium arvense) and is the food plant for the moth. Apparently the moth is often found flying around the food plant on warm sunny days.

Another view of what is a newly identified flower species for me.

Not a bumblebee – the short antennae confirm. It is the hoverfly Merodon equestris, often known as Narcissus Bulb Fly. Its larvae attack Daffodil bulbs in your garden but mostly it will be Bluebells in the countryside that are the host.

Not able to identify this spider – I think in the genus Neriene, but far from confident about that.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:

(74th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Only three Canada Geese goslings seen. There were with a group of three adults sitting on the front lawn of one of the houses. One wing of one of these adults was being held at an unusual angle and may have been brooding the fourth, smaller, gosling.
- Unable to see the part of the island where the Great Crested Grebe is nesting to check whether the other bird was still sitting.
- Yesterday a plethora of Blackcaps: today fewer than usual.
- Both parent Nuthatches busy again.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
None

Hirundines etc logged:
- House Martins heard over

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

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 9 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 22 + 3 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 19 (17♂) + 0 (0 broods) Mallard
- 7 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 3 Moorhens
- 16 + >2 (3? broods) Coots

Otherwise of note:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

It makes my neck-ache. One of the adult Nuthatches at the nest-site with a tasty(?) morsel.

Checking the coast is clear.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Noteworthy
- 1 adult Moorhen on the grass at the lower pool
- 1 adult Moorhen heard at the upper pool
- 1 Goldcrest singing at the lower pool again
- Long-tailed Tit party at lower pool again
and
- a picture-winged fly (Tephritidae sp.)

On one of the lamp poles I found this tiny creature. It is from a group known variously as owl-midges or moth-flies. It has no vernacular name. Call it Pericoma fuliginosa.

(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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
Black Tern
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)