Priorslee Lake and The Flash
14.0°C >16.0°C: Initially very low overcast / mist with light rain. Rain soon ceased. Clearance for a while 07:00 – 07:30, then low cloud again. Very light and variable wind. Moderate visibility
[Sunrise: 04:45 BST once again]
With continuing rain after overnight storms I waited for the rainfall radar to show a clearance was on the way.
Yesterday's afternoon / evening / overnight deluges had clearly caused the Wesley Brook and the drainage outflows to combine and to over-top the footbridge at the lake. Strangely the brook was now almost dry. All the outflows were running clear – unlike January / February when they deposited huge quantities of mud.
Priorslee Lake: 05:22 – 06:10 // 07:05 – 09:15
(112th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Yet another Great Crested Grebe noted. As previously noted they are very 'challenging' to count. At least two pairs seen displaying. Apart from one bird noted carrying a stick last Sunday there has been little evidence of breeding.
- A Lesser Whitethroat gave a single short burst of song – from the same location as it did some 10 days ago. This furtive species is likely nesting here. Proof is unlikely!
- Fledged juvenile Reed Warblers noted.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
My later start meant none of the usual early movement was seen
- 2 Tufted Duck: sexes not determined
- 1 Herring Gull: first year
- 3 Wood Pigeons
- 8 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
Count of hirundines etc. logged:
- 4 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 10 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 15 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 13 (10) Blackcaps
- 3 (2) Garden Warblers
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 6 (5) Common Whitethroats
- 9 (6) Reed Warblers
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- no Gadwall seen
- 9 (8♂) Mallard
- 9 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Moorhens again
- 29 + 9 (5 broods) Coots
Visit to the street lights pre-sunrise:
No visit made.
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
NB: a prefix * means there is a photo today.
Butterflies:
None
Moths:
- Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- *Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
Bees / wasps:
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Vespula (Paravespula) vulgaris)
- *Dolerus genus sawfly
Damselflies:
- Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
- *Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Hoverflies
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
Other things:
- Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) forms succinea; and larvae
- *Cricket nymph(?): by accident
Additional plant species recorded in flower for the year at this site:
None
A pensive Chiffchaff.
A noisy Chiffchaff. Evidently a male.
A not white-throated Common Whitethroat. He had been doing his dancing song-flight moments previously. Just as I pressed the shutter (or what the electronic equivalent should be called) he turned his head to hide the usual white gash.
And now a pensive young Robin.
My previous attempt to photograph a Common Marble moth (Celypha lacunana) was poor. This is better. One of many similar species of micro moth. As the vernacular name states, by far the most frequently encountered.
A Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). In the UK they have white tails, usually (as here) with a buff wash where the 'tail' and rest of the abdomen meet. An orange 'collar' and paler orange 'midriff' are typical.
This Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) had me confused – the body seems to be at the wrong angle with respect to the head. It is the club-shaped mark in the top segment that identifies this as a male of this species. It is a young male, yet to acquire blue colouration.
This female Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) shows a bent body. I cannot recall seeing this before. Again it is a freshly-emerged individual and it may still 'pumping itself up' after emerging.
A particularly well situated Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus). Only when looking at the edited photo did I notice the small green 'thing' at the bottom left. Hard to see but I think I can just detect long antennae which means it is a cricket and probably at this date a nymph. Cannot be more specific.
A Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina).
When I saw this small insect in a buttercup flower I was anticipating a micro moth, but no. This one of the Dolerus genus of sawflies. Without seeing its abdomen there is no realistic chance of a specific identification.
Evidence of yesterday's deluge – a benign Wesley Brook in the foreground belies the flattened vegetation beyond.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:00
(98th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Soon after the second year Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived it emitted what is known as the 'long call' - with head thrown back and bill raised, the typical sound of the seaside. This was the prelude to an adult peeling off from a party of six Lesser Black-backs passing over. Both birds were then present for a few minutes before leaving to follow the others.
- A Pied Wagtail preening (to dry out?) on the roof of a house in Wordsworth Way. I am sure they must be nesting near here.
- The Reed Bunting singing again.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. logged:
None
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (3) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Reed Warbler: noisy today
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 16 Greylag Geese
- 5 Greylag x Canada Goose still
- 98 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 23 (16♂) Mallard
- 6 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes again
- 6 Moorhens
- 14 + 15 (7 broods) Coots
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adult and second year, briefly
Other things of note:
- 1 midge sp. on a lamp pole
The visibility and light were not good at the time I photographed this worn-looking Lesser Black-backed Gull. Ageing is none too straightforward with the bill showing significant amounts of both red (suggesting third year or later) and black (suggesting second year).
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the lake and The Flash:
Of note:
- Moorhens heard at both pools, including juveniles at the upper pool.
Also
- 1 caddis fly sp. on roof of Priorslee Avenue tunnel
Here on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel is a caddis fly sp. Identification of most species requires detailed examination of the layout of the spurs on the legs and the pattern of the veins in the wings. Neither is evident here. Even if they were the identification keys are primarily for specialist use.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........
2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here