Priorslee Lake and The Flash
9.0°C > 14.0°C: Clear start. Area of medium cloud from NW dispersed somewhat. Then clear again before puffy clouds after 08:30. Light W breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:12 BST
NB: * means there is a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 04:16 – 05:50 // 07:00 – 09:36
(142nd visit of the year)
Best today was the Hobby that flashed past me at 04:35. Whether I had flushed this from its roost or whether it had been chasing bats is hard to say. Apparently it is not unknown for Hobbies to eat bats and I often record Pipistrelle-type bats in the area that it flew from. A catch-up on all the fishermen who regularly see this species hawking dragonflies. Bird species #95 for me from the lake area.
Bird notes:
- Now two duck Tufted Ducks early only.
- A group of three Cormorants flew NW. All recent fly-overs have been of birds flying S / SW. The fourth, lone, bird looked as if it was going to fish in the lake but then carried on.
- The Great Crested Grebe with young was not seen, though what I take to be its partner was present.
- The Great Crested Grebe that is visible sitting on a nest is having to suffer a Coot refurbishing its nest a few feet away.
- Another pair of Great Crested Grebes displaying again.
- The Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived and left before any of the Black-headed Gulls arrived.
- Just two Swifts, singles. Both located very high up beyond my visual range as I was checking on the outbound Jackdaws and Rooks.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 6 Canada Geese (quintet outbound; single inbound)
- 4 Cormorants (trio and single)
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls yet again
- 183 Wood Pigeons
- 47 Jackdaws
- 38 Rooks
- 1 Linnet
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 2 Swifts
- 3 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
Several family groups of Chiffchaffs noted. Singing about ceased.
- 16 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (0) Blackcaps
- 5 (0) Common Whitethroats
- 5 (1) Reed Warblers
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 20 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (0♂) Tufted Ducks: departed
- 1 Grey Heron
- *9 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 37 adult and juvenile Coots only
- 47 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles again
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
A clear chilly night meant no moths
- 1 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman
Yesterday's unidentified micro moth is a Scoparid moth, too worn to specifically ID
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
No new species for the year
The full list of things noted:
Butterflies:
- Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola)
- Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)
- *Green-veined White (Pieris napi)f
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
Moths:
- many unidentified grass moths
- Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata)
Bees / wasps:
- *Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Ichneumon, probably Amblyteles armatorius
Damsel-/Dragon-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Hoverflies:
- Cheilosia illustrata
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- *Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
- The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
- *Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Bumblebee Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans)
Mammals:
None
Other things:
- *Nephrotoma flavipalpis cranefly sp.
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis): adult and pupa
- Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
- *Cucumber Green Orb Spider (Araniella cucurbitina)
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
- *Himalayan Honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa): presumably a garden escape?
Just a touch of cloud arriving from the NW to give some colour to the otherwise clear sunrise.
The Great Crested Grebe sits placidly on its nest whilst a Coot blunders about behind rebuilding its nest.
This adult Black-headed Gull is not showing much sign of post-breeding moult, retaining much of the dark-brown hood and most of its primaries.
Enjoying the Bramble flowers is this very fresh-looking Green-veined White butterfly (Pieris napi). You can see how it got its name even if the black veins on the a yellow wash are not really green.
Another busy Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), dusted in pollen and with white pollen in its pollen-basket.
A rather unusual Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax) in that the abdomen has no brown in it. The dark legs we can see ensure this female is this species and not a Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax).
For once the angle of light was right to allow a view through the closed wings to the abdomen markings of this Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare). There are similar species, though most as not as slim-looking as this. It is about the smallest regularly encountered hoverfly and I have had to enlarge this more than somewhat.
A cranefly unhelpfully sitting with its wings closed obscuring the markings on the abdomen. But there is enough here to ID it as Nephrotoma flavipalpis. There is a dark stigma in the wings and the head is mainly yellow.
This is a tiny spider: a Cucumber Green Orb Spider (Araniella cucurbitina). That is its web alongside it. It does not retreat to its web to hide relying on its camouflage. It needs to find paler green leaves if you ask me. Note the red mark at the tip of the abdomen, more extensive on the underside.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 05:55 – 06:55
(128th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Very strange: there seemed to be very many duck Tufted Ducks and rather few drakes. Perhaps some of these were juveniles new in; but that does not explain why there were fewer drakes than recently.
- One adult Great Crested Grebe not located: I suspect lurking somewhere.
- Yet another Common Sandpiper record. My best-ever returning passage of this species here.
- Mixed party of silent Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps at the top end – likely more birds involved.
- Green Woodpecker heard calling again: from in / near squirrel alley.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Feral Pigeons
- 1 Wood Pigeon again
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Swift
- 3 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 5 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (4) Blackcaps
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 34 Greylag Geese
- 44 Canada Geese
- 20 (?♂) Mallard
- 21 (6?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron: flew off
- 1 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 27 adult and juvenile Coots
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 17+ Black-headed Gulls: at least one juvenile
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: third-summer?
On various lamp poles:
- 1 Common Grey moth (Scoparia ambigualis)
- 1 *Early Thorn moth (Selenia dentaria)
- 5 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris): all on same pole and the same as yesterday
- 1 Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- 1 Mystacides longicornis (caddis fly)
This Lesser Black-backed Gull shows a white head, a pale eye and no black on the bill, all features suggesting an adult. However there is extensive brown in the folded primaries and secondaries. I would judge a third summer bird.
This moth is an Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria). It is a second brood of this species so the epithet is not entirely inappropriate. All thorn moths rest with wings closed or only partially open.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Between the lake and The Flash:
Of Note
- 1 *Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata) on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel.
- 1 *picture-winged or trembling-winged fly – Palloptera umbellatarum
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this day..........
2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here
2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)