Priorslee Lake and The Flash:
16.0°C: Mainly cloudy with spells of light rain and drizzle at times. Light / moderate SW wind. Good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:09 BST
NB: * means there is a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 04:19 – 05:45 // 06:30 – 08:53
(140th visit of the year)
Highlights this morning were
- A Ring-necked Parakeet flying W, calling loudly (as they do) at 08:00. My first here since the long-staying bird here and at The Flash between November 2018 and January 2019. Bird species #93 here in 2020.
- A Willow Tit heard singing and then seen near the Teece Drive gate. My first here since the lone male that sang throughout the breeding season in both 2016 and 2017. A strange date for song. Bird species #94 here in 2020.
- A Badger trundling along the W end footpath at 04:35. Only my second record of this mammal here.
Bird notes:
- Several small groups of geese seen passing in the distance (more heard passing below tree-height).
- The first Great Crested Grebe juvenile(s). At least one with the pair in the NW area.
- Another low Coot count.
- Several large loose groups of Wood Pigeons over, apparently flushed out of fields to the E
- My first post-breeding record of Willow Warbler this year.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- >12 Canada Geese
- >2 Greylag Geese
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 23 unidentified large gulls: too dark to ID
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves (singles)
- 103 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Ring-necked Parakeet
- 11 Jackdaws
- 16 Rooks
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Swift
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 9 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 8 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Willow Warbler
- 3 (2) Blackcaps
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat
- 11 (4) Reed Warblers
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 18 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 Grey Herons
- 12 + >1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 4 + 4 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 38 adult and juvenile Coots
- 31 Black-headed Gulls: 1 juvenile
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all near adults; all briefly
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 1 Meadow Neb (Metzneria metzneriella)
- 1 still to be identified moth.
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
The full list of things noted:
Butterflies:
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
Moths:
- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- Buff Footman (Eilema depressa) form unicolor
NB: What I incorrectly identified on Thursday's as a Dingy Footman (Eilema griseola) form straminola was also a Buff Footman (Eilema depressa) form unicolor.
Bees / wasps:
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
Damsel-/Dragon-flies:
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
Mammals:
- 1 Badger
Other things:
- Semaphore Fly (Poecilobothrus nobilitatus)
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
One of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls briefly at the lake. On the left wing it is just possible to make out the four outer remaining full-length primaries with new primaries inboard not quite grown. The rather mottled appearance of the upper wings is where the worn coverts are being replaced.
A Willow Warbler. The call was distinctive but clues here are the rather long and well-defined supercilium and the pale legs. I would have expected it to look more yellow-toned that this on the breast. Perhaps the very dull light at the time? My first on post-breeding dispersal / passage.
One that I misidentified on Thursday. It is a Buff Footman (Eilema depressa) of the form unicolor.
A Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris) doing what they like to do – chewing wood to take away for their nest.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:25
(126th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Despite the geese seen and heard flying near the lake there were still substantial numbers present here. A few flew off while I was present.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
None
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Swift
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 44 Greylag Geese
- 80 Canada Geese
- 18 (?♂) Mallard
- 11 (6?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 + 3 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 20 adult and juvenile Coots
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
On the lamp poles:
Nothing found on any of them
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the lake and The Flash:
Nothing of note
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........