12 Jun 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash: 

11.0°C > 12.0°C: Very low overcast / mist. Occasional light drizzle. Light N / NE wind. Poor visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST still.

Priorslee Lake: 04:12 – 05:40 // 06:35 – 07:40

(108th visit of the year)

The conditions did not make for easy viewing...

Bird notes:

- I mentioned some while ago that the cygnets seemed to keep to three with one adult and two with the other. Yesterday they were 'four and one'. Today all five were with dad. Ho hum.

- The pair of Gadwall back again.

- All three Garden Warblers have started (intermittent) singing now their first brood has fledged.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: both (near) adults

- 2 Stock Doves

- 1 Wood Pigeon only

- 2 Jackdaws

Birds noted on the ‘football’ field or the academy playing field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies not included]:

None

The long-term ‘Homing Pigeon’ not seen on the academy roof.

Count of hirundines etc. logged:

- 1 Barn Swallow

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

Again not the weather for bird song

- 10 (9) Chiffchaffs

- 11 (9) Blackcaps

- 3 (3) Garden Warblers

- 3 (3) Common Whitethroats again

- 8 (8) Reed Warblers

Counts from the lake area:

- 2 + 5 Mute Swans

- 8 Canada Geese: present at 04:20; gone later.

- 2 (1♂) Gadwall

- 12 (10♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard

- 1 Grey Heron: early only

- 8 Great Crested Grebes

- 4 Moorhens

-?? + 6 (4 broods) Coots

On / around the street lights pre-sunrise:

- 1 spider sp., perhaps Larinioides sericatus

Conventional wisdom is that mild, calm, drizzly nights mean moths come to light. Conventional wisdom....

Insects etc. noted later on a very dull and breezy morning:

- Timothy Tortrix moth (Zelotherses paleana)

- Mystacides longicornis (caddis)

- Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum aka Helix aspersa)

- 1 Noctule-type bat

- 1 Grey Squirrel

Additional plant species recorded in flower for the year at this site:

- A species of Cinquefoil that I am struggling to identify.

- The buds of Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris).

- Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed (Centaurea nigra).

[I logged this some 10 days ago between the lake and The Flash but seem to have overlooked it here.]

The only bird that wanted to be in the open in the drizzle and mist was this Reed Warbler. May be just the way it is holding its tail or it may be wear from climbing about in reeds but the tail no longer seems rounded at the end.

I am pretty certain this is one of the Cinquefoils (Potentilla sp.) but I cannot match the leaves on view with any species in my books. Perhaps the leaves are from a different plant? Also the petals look rather too 'separated'. A puzzle. Note the 'cinque' in 'cinquefoil' refers to the typical leaf structure and not to the fact the flowers (usually) have five petals.

The rather thistle-like flower of Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed (Centaurea nigra). This has been flowering here for some days but I have overlooked photographing it.

These are the buds of Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). A much maligned flower. A horse would have to eat a field-full of ragwort and would not likely even then die as a result. As it is unpleasant to taste it is most unlikely to happen anyway. For all manner of insects it is a vital food-source.

A Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum aka Helix aspersa) slithers away. A rather battered-looking shell in places.

This spider 'ran away' as I was trying to photo it pre-dawn. Can only see part of the markings but looks good for the orb-web spider Larinioides sericatus, seeming to lack the white cross of the more familiar Garden Spider.

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Lake

Whilst out walking the usual route around Priorslee Lake this afternoon, my wife and I spotted lots of young Toads crossing the path along the woodland side of the lake. Here are a few images of them.

(Matt & Sue Jewkes)

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The Flash: 05:45 – 06:30

(94th visit of the year)

All 'best effort' in poor visibility and low light.

Bird notes:

- Two Canada Goose goslings still survive.

- Seemed to be three adult Great Crested Grebes. Only one juvenile seen in the water trying to persuade the adult to let it on its back. Did not seem to be another juvenile there.

- One brood of Coots 'missing'. The adults were seen refurbishing the nest but the well-grown juveniles not located.

- Reed Bunting singing yet again.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

None

Hirundines etc. logged again:

None

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs

- 2 (2) Blackcaps

- 1 (1) Reed Warbler

Counts from the water:

- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans

- 17 Greylag Geese

- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose

- 133 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese

- 22 (17♂) Mallard

- 10 (6♂) Tufted Duck

- 3 + 1? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes

- 3 Moorhens

- 16 + 13 (5 broods) Coots

Otherwise nothing of note

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Noteworthy

- Adult Moorhens seen on grass outside both pools

- Goldcrest at the upper pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)