Priorslee Lake and The Flash
12.0°C > 15.0°C: Clear periods to start. Then band of light showers before clearer again. Moderate / fresh WNW wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:23 BST
NB: * = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 04:12 – 06:15 // 07:10 – 09:40
(148th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- I suspect there may be 13 adult Great Crested Grebes with two on nests I cannot see. There seem to be five pairs at / around presumed nest sites; and three birds 'without portfolio'.
- My largest count of Black-headed Gulls around the lake was 79 with one juvenile. I counted 86 on the academy playing field earlier and as this did not include any juveniles there has to have been more birds involved.
- The better-than-normal return passage of Common Sandpipers continues. One more today. Some different wader species would be appreciated.
- Fewer Wood Pigeons again with no sizeable movements – mainly a steady stream of ones and twos.
- Four Swifts raced through at 05:40. None seen later. Getting to be the time for most to leave.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 35 Greylag Geese (29 in small groups outbound; six inbound)
- 170 Canada Geese (92 in eight groups outbound; 78 in six groups inbound)
- 4 Cormorants (one group)
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 12 Racing Pigeons (one group)
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 4 Stock Doves (two duos)
- 111 Wood Pigeons
- no Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Grey Wagtail
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 4 Swifts
- 12 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- *15 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Blackcaps only
- no Common Whitethroats
- 6 (0) Reed Warblers
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 3 Greylag Geese: one departed
- 1 Canada Goose: arrived
- 22 (?♂) Mallard
- *3 Cormorants: arrived singly
- *2 Grey Herons again
- 11 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 51 adult and juvenile Coots
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- >79 Black-headed Gulls: one juvenile
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult?
- *1 Herring Gull: first-summer?
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- *1 Phoenix moth (Eulithis prunata)
- 1 unidentified caddis fly
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Cucumber Green Orb Spider (Araniella cucurbitina)
- 2 unidentified spiders – different species and neither of the usual orb-web species
- 2 Dicranopalpus ramosus (harvestmen)
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
New species for the year:
- Holly Blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus)
- Broad-banded Epistrophe hoverfly (Epistrophe grossulariae)
A few things showed during the sunny spell
The full list of things noted:
Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
- *Comma (Polygonia c-album): a bumper number of sightings this year.
- *Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Moths:
None
Bees / wasps:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
Damsel-/Dragon-flies:
- *Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
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)
- Syrphus sp.
- *Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis)
Mammals
- 1 Grey Squirrel
- 5 Pipistrelle-type bats
Other things:
- *plumed midge, probably Chironomus plumosus
- Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) var. succinea
- Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
- Hairy Tare (Ervilla hirsuta): the photo was rubbish with the wind blowing the plant around. Try again tomorrow
This Grey Heron seems to enjoy standing on buoys. When it felt I was too close it flew to another.
Do you need to know what the silhouette of a Cormorant looks like? This will do nicely.
Here is a first-summer (born 2019) Herring Gull. Not sure why the bill seems to show a pale band. By now the base of the bill should be starting to go pink / orange.
A good size contrast between the Herring Gull and an adult Black-headed Gull. Why do gulls like to stand on one leg?
A good year for Chiffchaffs with many birds here. And, as at The Flash, one to photograph.
Note the somewhat 'fuzzy' look suggesting an immature, though I cannot see a gape line to confirm.
I get a quizzical look.
A Goldfinch getting at the seeds on the thistles. These look like Creeping (or Common Field) Thistles (Cirsium arvense).
A Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album). Seems to have lost one of its antennae.
A Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). As with most (all?) 'blues' the sexes differ (known as sexual dimorphism). This is a female – the male has only a thin black edging to the wing. My first for at least six years here.
This is the Phoenix moth (Eulithis prunata). Moth species #69 for me this year at the lake (I had one at The Flash earlier).
This might look like a Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) but the red in the eye is a reflection from the red thorax. This is a female Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) of the rufescens form. This tone means it is at an early stage of development after hatching. It will turn browner as it matures. Some immature females are violet-hued, these usually becoming olive-green.
Well: I suppose since White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) does not occur in this area then this has to be a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) despite there being no hint of buff between the black abdomen and the white tail. In fact a White-tail would have a more lemon-toned band across the front of the abdomen so I am happy this is indeed Buff-tailed.
I have previously shown several Cheilosia illustrata hoverflies. From this angle the small amount of ginger on the tail can be seen.
This hoverfly is my first Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis) of the year
Caught in a spider's web we get a different perspective on a plumed midge, probably Chironomus plumosus. Note the body is very hairy – something I have not noted on the many seen on lamp poles pre-dawn.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:05
(134th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The Mute Swan cygnets seemed to be having a paddling race when I arrived. They later settled down to some serious preening and wing flapping.
- The erstwhile juvenile Canada Goose with the deformed wings seen again. Counted as an adult as otherwise inseparable.
- Mallard seem to have emerged from wherever they were hiding and returning to normal numbers.
- I thought there was a group of c.10 all-duck Tufted Duck at the S end. By the time I got there they seemed to have gone. Not included in the count.
- The Blackcap with the aberrant song still singing away. I guess he may still be trying for a mate who might well not recognise him as a potential partner.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 4 Feral Pigeons
- 4 Wood Pigeons
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 11 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 3 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (1) Blackcaps
Counts from the water:
- *2 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans (see notes)
- 2 Greylag Geese
- *27 Canada Geese
- 39 (?♂) Mallard
- 14 (9?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 + 4 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 34 adult and juvenile Coots
- 27 Black-headed Gulls: one juvenile
On different lamp poles:
- 2 Common Grey moths (Scoparia ambigualis)
Also
- fungus in squirrel alley: the photo was naff and I'll try again tomorrow to get an ID.
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
- *Purple-loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
One of the three Mute Swan cygnets flaps its still-growing wings. Some way to go before lift-off.
Here is the latest episode of the poor Canada Goose with deformed wings. What is to become of it?
This plant is Purple-loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). With a healthy breeze blowing it around I was not able to get a more detailed photo. I also need thigh-waders to get really close!
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the Lake and The Flash
- 1 Common Grey moth (Scoparia ambigualis) on a lamp pole
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........
2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here
2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood)
Nedge Hill
17 Mistle Thrush including several juveniles
(John Isherwood)
2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Terns
(Ed Wilson)