14 Aug 20

Priorslee Lake and The Flash: 

16.0°C > 17.0°C: Low overcast with occasional dampness in the wind. Light NE wind. Moderate visibility, improving somewhat.

Sunrise: 05:51 BST

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 04:24 – 06:35 // 07:35 – 09:31

(164th visit of the year)

The most frustrating sighting today was a gull that arrived with the first Black-headed Gulls at 05:15. I did not pick it up until after 05:30 when I heard unusual calls from the water. The bird was in flight at that time and left directly over my head. It was still very gloomy (20 minutes before the nominal sunrise on a very cloudy morning). Apart from noting that it appeared slightly larger than a Black-headed Gull and that the wing shape looked wrong, even for a moulting BHG then I noted no other features. My suspicion is it could have been an immature Mediterranean Gull but I am not familiar-enough with their calls to ID it from what I heard.

Bird notes:

- What seemed to be a group of 23 Canada Geese and a lone Greylag Goose going outbound decided instead to pitch in to the lake at c.06:20. They stayed on the SW grass throughout and were ignored by the Mute Swans.
- Great Crested Grebes:
- Both existing pairs with two juveniles present.
- The pair in the SW area have at least one juvenile.
- Only one of the adults from the S side pair was seen: no juveniles seen, probably in the reeds.
- The pair SE area have at least two juveniles.
- The fledged juvenile first noted yesterday was present again and doing a lot of flying about.

Birds noted flying over / near here:

- 215 Greylag Geese (111 in 9 groups outbound; 104 in five groups inbound)
- 9 Canada Geese (3 groups outbound)
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Stock Dove
- 45 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc. logged:

- >2 House Martins: heard only

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 14 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (0) Blackcaps
- 2 (0) Reed Warblers again

Counts from the lake area:

- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived with Canadas
- *23 Canada Geese: arrived
- 15 (?♂) Mallard
- *1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons: one departed
- Little Grebe heard
- *15 + >7 (6 broods) Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 8 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 75 adult and juvenile Coots
- >36 Black-headed Gulls: ? juveniles
- 1 unidentified gull as highlighted
- 1 Herring Gull: immature, briefly

Gulls on the football and academy playing fields at c.06:10:

- 18 Black-headed Gulls on the football field: no juveniles noted.
- 37 Black-headed Gulls on the academy field: no juveniles noted.

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:

Moths:

- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)

Other things:

- *1 unidentified beetle?
- 1 plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus)
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
- 3 Orb-web spiders, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 unidentified spider
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum-type (harvestman)

Insects / other things etc. noted later:

Not much in the cloudy conditions.

The full list of things noted:

Butterflies:

None

Moths:

- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)

Bees / wasps:

- *Andrena sp. mining bee
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris): nest found (gulp!)

Damsel-/Dragon-flies:

None

Hoverflies:

- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Other things

- *Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
- *Mystacides longicornis (caddis fly)
- *Black Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)

Mammals

- 4 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 1 other unidentified bat sp.
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Other things:

- (Great) Black Slug (Arion agg.) again

Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:

None

The Mute Swan family. The cygnets are almost full-size now. I have not seen any flap their wings recently so not sure how developed their flight-feathers and how soon we will see flying lessons begin.

Looked long and hard at the Canada Goose on the right. It seemed rather small. A few years ago there was a 'Cackling Goose' amongst the flock. The taxonomy of Canada Geese is almost as bad as gulls but 'Cackling Goose' refers to small races / species from the Arctic that occur amongst resident flocks from time to time, usually in winter. The bird a few years ago was ringed though I could not find out who by and was likely an escape from a wildfowl collection. This is clearly not that bird. Indeed looking closely the bill is far too large for a 'Cackler' and it must just be a small Canada Goose – probably a female as these average smaller than ganders (males). [Female geese are just that – geese].

The Cormorant at ease again

Of course they occasionally have to stand up! Very nice, Thank you.

The second brood of Great Crested Grebes here. One adult is bringing a fish for juvenile.

'Down the hatch' it goes.

This is the pair of Great Crested Grebes in the SE area.

One head sticking out each side of the adult's neck. Could be another hidden – there were certainly three eggs.

This is the pair from the SW area. There are juvenile(s) under the raised feathers of the closer bird – I saw one earlier.

In the poor light I was reasonably pleased with this flying shot of the juvenile Great Crested Grebe that appeared on Tuesday for the first time. Note the head-stripes.

Not much better when it settled on the water.

This adult Black-headed Gull has just the two outer primaries to go in its wing moult.

I need summon up more enthusiasm and really get to grips with these Andrena sp. mining bees. Meanwhile 'mining bee sp.' is what it is.

This is a Mystacides longicornis caddis fly. I cannot recall seeing one apparently feeding before – here on Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris). Normally they are in dancing groups over the vegetation at the water's-edge or resting, post-emergence' on any suitable vertical surface. Look closely and the very long antennae almost go out of the picture to the top right.

The only hoverfly around today was the ever-reliable Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus).

Some while since I saw any Black Snipe Flies (Chrysopilus cristatus). Quite a small fly, identify by the wing-cloud and the rather long legs. This is a male – the females look very different with banded abdomens.

I ignore most flies unless they are distinctively marked. These two caught my attention. I am sure I know what they are doing but they would seem to be different species. The front one is the female – her eyes do not meet. I suppose since Black Snipe Flies are sexually dimorphic (males and females look different), then other flies can do as well. Some hoverflies are of course, though not at strikingly so as these two.

This beetle was scurrying down a lamp pole in the dark. A scan of the web shows there are several species of beetle with this basic colouration from several different groups of beetles. I could not find a match that I was happy with.

I needed to double-check this – the ratio of black to red seemed wrong for a 'standard' Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis). Seems there really is not such thing as a 'standard' even amongst the several forms – this is in the succinea type. My first adult for a while.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:30

(150th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

- Again just a lone adult Great Crested Grebe. Maybe its partner is back on a nest for another brood. Need to look harder when the light is better.
- The earlier Racing Pigeon still using the roof-top in Derwent Drive.
- I think it was party of 11 Feral Pigeons from St. Georges that flew over and not Racing Pigeons.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:

- 11 Feral Pigeons

Hirundines etc. logged:
None

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):

- 6 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Willow Warbler
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Counts from the water:

- 2 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 23 Canada Geese: four of these departed
- 31 (?♂) Mallard
- 24 (7?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only
- 2 adult and juvenile Moorhens only
- 38 adult and juvenile Coots
- 6 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles

On various lamp poles:

Moths:

- *1 Swallow Prominent (Pheosia tremula)

and

- no harvestmen found

Otherwise:

Moths on the Neighbourhood Watch sign (why here?):

- *1 presumed Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria)

Also

- 1 Grey Squirrel

Signs have been put up on the Derwent Drive fence warning people of this blue-green algal bloom. Does not look inviting. Both humans and pets should avoid drinking the water as it can give nasty stomach upsets. It can kill dogs.

I am not at all sure about this moth. The streak along the wing seems much bolder than a typical Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella). Also it does not obviously fork towards the wing tip. The ground colour looks too brown though that might be reflection from the Neighbourhood Watch sign. It might just be a White-streak Grass-veneer (A. latistria), a species that I have never previously seen. I have logged it as A. tristella.

A Willow Beauty moth (Peribatodes rhomboidaria). Moth species number #29 for me here in 2020. Just what is the attraction of the Neighbourhood Watch sign?

The latest in a long line of Swallow Prominent moth (Pheosia tremula) records this year. 

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Of Note

- A Chiffchaff calling by the upper pond.

And

- 1 Common Grey moth (Scoparia ambigualis) on a lamp pole

(Ed Wilson)

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

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Local area

Today's Report Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

1 Common Sandpiper

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Common Sandpiper 

Wheatear

(Ed Wilson)