12.0°C > 15.0°C: Once again a clear start gave way to persistent cloud that only started to clear c.08:15. Light W wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:08 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 04:44 – 07:05 // 08:05 – 09:35
(172nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- I am frustrated in not being able to find the Little Grebe. It calls from inside the same small area of the reeds but seems to be always hidden.
- One of the adult Great Crested Grebes from the pair in the SE area arrived with a small fish and proffered it to the juvenile on the other parent's back. Perhaps it was rather too large. Anyway the juvenile did not seem interested and the adult ate it itself. No chivalry: it did not offer the fish to its partner!
- As noted no more than 22 Black-headed Gulls at the lake. Eventually >225 seen on the academy playing field, some later arrivals noted from the W. When flushed they headed towards Ricoh or back to the W rather than to the lake.
- The Common Whitethroat was unexpected. The breeding birds seemed to have long-gone.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 13 Greylag Geese (group of six outbound; single and group of six inbound)
- 66 Canada Geese (14 outbound in two groups; 52 inbound in two groups)
- 1 Cormorant
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves: duo
- 72 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Barn Swallow
- >6 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 15 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (0) Blackcaps
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat
- 4 (0) Reed Warblers again
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 14 (?♂) Mallard
- *1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- *1 Cormorant again: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons: one departed
- Little Grebe heard yet again
- *17 + 7 (5 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 7 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 70 adult and juvenile Coots
- 22 Black-headed Gulls only
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two adults and juvenile together, briefly
- 1 Herring Gull: second year?
Gulls on the academy playing field c.06:30:
- c.225 Black-headed Gulls: including one very 'ginger' recent juvenile
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
- 1 Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella)
- 1 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa): same lamp from yesterday
Other things:
- >8 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Tipula confusa cranefly
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 unidentified spider sp.
- >8 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Tipula confusa cranefly
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 unidentified spider sp.
No real idea what the wasps are doing, all at one lamp – apart from being annoyed at me shining a torch on them. Yesterday I thought one was trying to steal gnats etc., caught in the orb-webs. Today it looked as if there was a rescue party for one of their number trapped in the web. The orb-web spiders themselves were keeping a low profile.
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
It had only just brightened up and rather little was flying
The full list of things noted:
Butterflies:
- *Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- *Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
It had only just brightened up and rather little was flying
The full list of things noted:
Butterflies:
- *Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- *Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
Moths:
- Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)
- Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)
Bees / wasps:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
- The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Dragonfly:
- Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Bug:
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) third instar nymph
Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Mammals:
- 5 Grey Squirrels: too many
- 4 Pipistrelle-type bats
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
- The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
Dragonfly:
- Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Bug:
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) third instar nymph
Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Mammals:
- 5 Grey Squirrels: too many
- 4 Pipistrelle-type bats
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
Made a change not to see the Cormorant on the buoy. This one fishing for breakfast, typically half-submerged.
In the SE corner one of the adult Great Crested Grebes tries to tempt its sole remaining juvenile with a fish.
Did not seem interested so tried from the other side. Perhaps the fish was too large. The adult ate it itself.
This drake Tufted Duck was present after 08:00. I had not noted it earlier. It is a rather strange-looking bird in some ways and it is just as well the 'tuft' rules out any other species. A few white feathers on the back suggests Scaup, though the white feathers would be finely barred black. And there is a North American vagrant called Ring-necked Duck. That is rather misnamed in the while drakes have a mark on the neck it is an almost-impossible-to-see brown mark and not the few white feathers seen here. The location of the tuft on this bird also precludes any Tufted Duck hybrids. So just a moult effect.
A very fresh Small White butterfly (Pieris rapae). The veins are very apparent, though not outlined black so as to suggest Green-veined White (Pieris napi).
In case of lingering doubt here with wings slightly parted the inner edge of the black on the wing-tip is almost straight. It is curved in both other species of 'white'.
If these are not cluster flies they ought to be. Pollenia rudis is generally the most common species, though there is not enough detail in the photo to make any identification.
(Ed Wilson)
Woodhouse Lane area: 07:05 – 08:05
(11th visit of the year)
Maximum cloud cover while I was here.
Very quiet apart from innumerable Chiffchaffs. A lone Chaffinch was the only finch – no Goldfinches, Linnets.
The fly-over Yellow Wagtail was by far the best bird.
Some numbers (singing birds in brackets):
- c.150 Wood Pigeons from fields in to trees in Ward's Rough (to N)
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
- 1 Jay
- 3 Barn Swallows: hunting along the lane
- 9 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (1) Willow Warbler
- 1 Nuthatch
- 1 Yellow Wagtail over
- 1 Pied Wagtail over
- 1 (0) Chaffinch
- 2 (0) Yellowhammers
The only insect recorded was:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:40 – 10:45
(157th visit of the year)
Note the very different timing. I am sure many more geese were present inside the island – indeed birds were climbing on and off all the while.
Bird notes:
- Back to three adult Great Crested Grebes. One patiently by the island again. If it has a partner on a nest I cannot locate it.
- One of the Black-headed Gulls was seen attempting to chase a House Martin. No contest.
- A passing Sand Martin was the best sighting. It was my first this year here – I missed them on Spring passage due to the start of lock-down. Species #71 for me here in 2020.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
It was clear very early but soon clouded. Just a hint of a sunrise.
This attractive cloudscape belied the general cloudiness.
Fine with puffy clouds later.
A Meadow Brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina). This specimen looks fresh-enough to be a newly emerged individual.
The two-tone yellow / brown on the abdomen identifies this as another female Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum).
A third instar nymph of a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina). At this age there is no black, just brown edging, on the abdomen.
(Ed Wilson)
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(11th visit of the year)
Maximum cloud cover while I was here.
Very quiet apart from innumerable Chiffchaffs. A lone Chaffinch was the only finch – no Goldfinches, Linnets.
The fly-over Yellow Wagtail was by far the best bird.
Some numbers (singing birds in brackets):
- c.150 Wood Pigeons from fields in to trees in Ward's Rough (to N)
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
- 1 Jay
- 3 Barn Swallows: hunting along the lane
- 9 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (1) Willow Warbler
- 1 Nuthatch
- 1 Yellow Wagtail over
- 1 Pied Wagtail over
- 1 (0) Chaffinch
- 2 (0) Yellowhammers
The only insect recorded was:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
(Ed Wilson)
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(157th visit of the year)
Note the very different timing. I am sure many more geese were present inside the island – indeed birds were climbing on and off all the while.
Bird notes:
- Back to three adult Great Crested Grebes. One patiently by the island again. If it has a partner on a nest I cannot locate it.
- One of the Black-headed Gulls was seen attempting to chase a House Martin. No contest.
- A passing Sand Martin was the best sighting. It was my first this year here – I missed them on Spring passage due to the start of lock-down. Species #71 for me here in 2020.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
None
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Sand Martin
- 2 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 5 (0) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 Greylag Geese
- 52 Canada Geese
- 37 (19+♂) Mallard
- *40 (13?♂) Tufted Duck: same total as yesterday
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 68 adult and juvenile Coots
- *6 Black-headed Gulls
On various lamp poles:
Moths:
- 1 Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella)
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Sand Martin
- 2 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 5 (0) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 Greylag Geese
- 52 Canada Geese
- 37 (19+♂) Mallard
- *40 (13?♂) Tufted Duck: same total as yesterday
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 68 adult and juvenile Coots
- *6 Black-headed Gulls
On various lamp poles:
Moths:
- 1 Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella)
Otherwise
- *1 presumed female Chironomus plumosus (plumed midge without plumed antennae)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus (harvestman)
Also seen
Butterflies:
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
- *1 presumed female Chironomus plumosus (plumed midge without plumed antennae)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus (harvestman)
Also seen
Butterflies:
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
The Holly Blue is my first at this site for at least six years. The time of day I usually visit is not conducive to finding butterflies.
Bees / wasps:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
Bees / wasps:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
Bug:
- *Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) instar
This drake Tufted Duck is moulting the grey feathers on its flanks – feathers it acquired as camouflage while it was moulting its flight feathers. Soon it will have bright white flanks of a breeding condition drake.
A study of what is now a first-winter Black-headed Gull. More of the brown tones on the feathers in the folded wing will tend to darken, otherwise it will look similar to this until late February when it moults again.
The presumed female Chironomus plumosus: a plumed midge without plumed antennae. Try and ignore the vertical dark mark – apparently a bird dropping down the lamp pole on which the midge is at rest.
Not come across this before – and one of at least five in close company. It seems to be a late instar nymph of a Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum), also known as Sloe Bug.
- *Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) instar
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........