11 Jun 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 12.0°C: Overcast and rather dull, especially early. Occasional light drizzle. Fresh NE wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST yet again

Priorslee Lake: 04:10 – 05:45 // 06:40 – 08:10

(107th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The 13 Cormorants were in a single skein headed SW at 04:40 (or is it only geese that can be in a skein?).
- Given the weather conditions rather few Swifts and hirundines. Three single Swifts between 04:35 and 04:45. Then rather strangely 23 flew E at medium height at 05:05. Up to six House Martins were over the estate c.06:30 – could have been more as they were in the base of the very low cloud. Nothing else until 07:45 when three Swifts, three Barn Swallows and two House Martins were low over the water.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 8 Greylag Geese: one group inbound
- 2 Tufted Duck: pair from E, circled, left to E
- 13 Cormorants
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all in wing-moult
- 3 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks

Birds noted on the ‘football’ field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies not included]:
None

The long-term ‘Homing Pigeon’ was again on the roof of the academy early but had gone by 08:00.

Birds noted on the academy playing field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies not included here either]:
None

Count of hirundines etc. logged:
- c.30 Swifts: first at 04:35
- 3 Barn Swallows
- 8 House Martins

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
Not the weather for bird song
- 12 (10) Chiffchaffs
- 15 (10) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warblers
- 3 (3) Common Whitethroats
- 6 (6) Reed Warblers

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 10 (10♂) Mallard
- 10 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens
- 26 + 9 (5 broods) Coots
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly

On / around the street lights pre-sunrise:
- 1 Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Insects etc. noted later on a very dull and breezy morning:
None

Additional plant species recorded in flower for the year at this site:
- Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)

Six rather scruffy-looking drake Mallards now well in to their post-breeding moult. They can be surprisingly hard to see tucked up asleep on the dam.

The rather fresh wind encouraged one of the local Common Buzzards to ape a Kestrel and hover in to the wind.

A short video of the rather distant Common Buzzard getting harassed by one of the local Magpies.

A very short clip of a Carrion Crow doing the same – this would be best viewed in slow motion, if you have that capability.

And another short but rather more stable clip of the hovering Common Buzzard. My excuse is that it was rather windy.

Name that (again rather distant) bird – not the two Coots: the emergent wings.

Rising like a phoenix (wasn't that fire and not water?) from its bath is this near adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Just a Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) but my first this year in my lake recording area. This one beside the security fence around the academy, no doubt because the ground was disturbed during the construction.

Most of the Common Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) I have seen so far have been very pale. This one is rather more colourful and also illustrates how it gets its vernacular name – it is the leaves that are spotted.

In close-up some of the flowers in the spike.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:55 – 06:35

(93rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Canada Goose goslings not seen. They do seem to wander deep in to the estate so perhaps still around.
- Only the one adult Great Crested Grebe noted. The two juveniles were briefly in the water.
- Reed Bunting singing again.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Feral Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. logged:
None

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 5 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcap
- 1 (1) Reed Warbler: needed goading to sing

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 7 Greylag Geese
- 4 Greylag x Canada Geese
- 101 Canada Geese
- 20 (16♂) Mallard
- 11 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes only
- 6 Moorhens
- 16 + 16 (6 broods) Coots

Otherwise of note
- 1 non-plumed midge on a lamp pole

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Noteworthy
- Stock Dove calling from bushes around the upper pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2018
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Candles Landfill Site
4 Yellow-legged Gulls
c500 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
6 Herring Gulls
(Tom Lowe)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)