14.0°C > 17.0°C: After a very wet and windy night still breezy with spells of light rain. Cleared for a while after c.08:15. Fresh S wind. Very good visibility except in rain.
Sunrise: 06:03 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 05:12 – 06:35 // 07:30 – 09:31
(169th visit of the year)
Best today was a Common Tern first noted amongst Black-headed Gulls c.08:25 It perched briefly on several of the buoys and also flew about a bit before disappearing c.08:35. At 08:45 it, or another, was calling as it circled high over for no more than two minutes before leaving to the S.
Other bird notes:
- In the fresh / strong wind the outbound geese passed well to the N of the lake and it is likely many were missed. Return passage was noticeably closer.
- Of the three recent Great Crested Grebe broods I saw just one juvenile with two of the pairs mostly hiding themselves as well as any juveniles in the swaying emergent vegetation.
- 48 Black-headed Gulls arrived from the W and again mostly just circled before leaving again. At c.06:10 more than 200 were just to the N, probably flushed off the academy playing field. None was seen there later. After c.08:30 a group of c.30, mostly juveniles, were over the lake, playing with sticks, dropping them in the water and diving to pick them up again.
- Two of the three Reed Warblers logged were, unusually, along the S side. Although a male was singing here almost throughout the breeding season I had seen no evidence of breeding there.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 151 Greylag Geese (30 outbound in three groups; 121 inbound in four groups)
- 42 Canada Geese (24 outbound in five groups; 18 inbound in one group)
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Feral Pigeons (with Canada Geese!)
- 31 Wood Pigeons
- 13 Starlings (one group)
Hirundines etc. logged:
- >8 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
Not good weather for finding small birds!
- 8 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcaps
- 3 (0) Reed Warblers again
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 10 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately and much later than usual
- 1 Grey Heron
- 15 + >5 (5? broods) Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- 1 juvenile Moorhen only
- 74 adult and juvenile Coots
- *1 (or 2?) Common Terns (as highlighted)
- >200 Black-headed Gulls:? juveniles (see notes)
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: first-year, briefly
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
- too wet and windy!
Other things:
- 2 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- very many small midges / gnats, not identified
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
A few things emerged during the brief sunny spell to dry out
The full list of things noted:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- *Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
- *Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
- *an unidentified gnat?
- *Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
- 2 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- very many small midges / gnats, not identified
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
A few things emerged during the brief sunny spell to dry out
The full list of things noted:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- *Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
- *Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
- *an unidentified gnat?
- *Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
The wasps seem to have stopped chewing the fence along Teece Drive and are concentrating on feeding on any over-ripe blackberries.
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
I was struck by how indistinct the white marks near the front edge of the wing were on this Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria). A trawl through the photos on NatureSpot Here, seems to suggest that this is a feature of later broods – this species is almost continually brooded from March to October. I have never read anything in the literature to highlight this.
I wish I knew what this tiny creature was. Seems likely to be a midge or a gnat though I am rather confused by the forked 'tail'. Or are these the back pair of legs – otherwise it seems to have only two pairs of legs. Just possible to make out the plumed antennae. Probably one of many that were around the street lights much earlier.
A Common Toad (Bufo bufo). Note the warty appearance and also the means of locomotion – frogs almost always hop with both back legs at the same time.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25
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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25
(154th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- All three adult Mute Swans eventually settled down together.
- With very high water-levels any Mallard deep inside the island would have been impossible to see. This probably accounts for the low number.
- Three adult Great Crested Grebes, all well-separated.
- A lone Black-headed Gull throughout and sitting on the water rather than by the island as is usual.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
None
Hirundines etc. logged:
None
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 3 (0) Chiffchaffs
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 11 Canada Geese
- 20 (?♂) Mallard
- 33 (11?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 4 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 31 adult and juvenile Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull again
On / beside various lamp poles:
Moths:
- 1 Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella)
- 1 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 3 (0) Chiffchaffs
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 11 Canada Geese
- 20 (?♂) Mallard
- 33 (11?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 4 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 31 adult and juvenile Coots
- 1 Black-headed Gull again
On / beside various lamp poles:
Moths:
- 1 Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella)
- 1 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)
Nothing else
Also
- 1 Grey Squirrel
Also
- 1 Grey Squirrel
(Ed Wilson)
Between the lake and The Flash:
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Between the lake and The Flash:
Of note
Moths on lamp poles:
- 1 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)
(Ed Wilson)
- 1 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........