Priorslee Lake and The Flash:
6.0°C > 13.0°C: Early cloud to far E, otherwise clear. Light NW breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:18 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 05:01 – 06:45 // 08:10 – 09:45
(178th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- One Grey Heron when I arrived. Another soon afterwards which then flew out NW. Some 10 minutes later one flew in from the SW – the same? It did not stay long either. None by 08:15.
- Now two adult Little Grebes in the NE area.
- One of the family parties of Great Crested Grebes has moved from the SW area to the NE area, causing momentary alarm. There seemed to be two fewer 'spare' adults which did not help.
- Two very new juvenile Moorhens seen.
- Only eight Black-headed Gulls arrived early and soon left for the football/academy fields. Thereafter just 1's and 2's until c.45 arrived after 09:00.
- 2 House Martins were high over at 06:00, moving away W. A lone bird did the same at 06:10. A group of >40 appeared high, just to the N, at 06:15, increasing in number to at least 57 before these too moved away. None was then seen over the estate area. By 08:20 at least 50, possibly the some of the same birds, were feeding in the shelter of the trees along the N side. As yesterday there was at least one Sand Martin with them. Later a single Swift was noted though it did not seem to be joining the group.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- Greylag Geese heard only
- 38 Canada Geese (all inbound long after I returned from The Flash): others only heard earlier.
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Stock Doves (two duos)
- 14 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw again
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Swift
- 1+ Sand Martin
- >60 House Martins (see notes)
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 13 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Blackcaps
- 2 (0) Reed Warblers
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 16 (?♂) Mallard again
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 or 3 Grey Herons (see notes)
- 2 Little Grebes
- 16 + 7 (5 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 6 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 81 adult and juvenile Coots
- c.45 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two adults, one immature, all briefly
Gulls on the football and academy playing fields c.06:30:
- 38 Black-headed Gulls on the football fields.
- 38 Black-headed Gulls – same number at the same time – on the academy playing fields.
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Rather chilly and also some of the poles covered in dew.
Moths:
- 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers (Agriphila geniculea): my first at this location this year; species #92 for me.
Sunrise: 06:18 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 05:01 – 06:45 // 08:10 – 09:45
(178th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- One Grey Heron when I arrived. Another soon afterwards which then flew out NW. Some 10 minutes later one flew in from the SW – the same? It did not stay long either. None by 08:15.
- Now two adult Little Grebes in the NE area.
- One of the family parties of Great Crested Grebes has moved from the SW area to the NE area, causing momentary alarm. There seemed to be two fewer 'spare' adults which did not help.
- Two very new juvenile Moorhens seen.
- Only eight Black-headed Gulls arrived early and soon left for the football/academy fields. Thereafter just 1's and 2's until c.45 arrived after 09:00.
- 2 House Martins were high over at 06:00, moving away W. A lone bird did the same at 06:10. A group of >40 appeared high, just to the N, at 06:15, increasing in number to at least 57 before these too moved away. None was then seen over the estate area. By 08:20 at least 50, possibly the some of the same birds, were feeding in the shelter of the trees along the N side. As yesterday there was at least one Sand Martin with them. Later a single Swift was noted though it did not seem to be joining the group.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- Greylag Geese heard only
- 38 Canada Geese (all inbound long after I returned from The Flash): others only heard earlier.
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Stock Doves (two duos)
- 14 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw again
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Swift
- 1+ Sand Martin
- >60 House Martins (see notes)
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 13 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Blackcaps
- 2 (0) Reed Warblers
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 16 (?♂) Mallard again
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 or 3 Grey Herons (see notes)
- 2 Little Grebes
- 16 + 7 (5 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 6 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 81 adult and juvenile Coots
- c.45 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two adults, one immature, all briefly
Gulls on the football and academy playing fields c.06:30:
- 38 Black-headed Gulls on the football fields.
- 38 Black-headed Gulls – same number at the same time – on the academy playing fields.
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Rather chilly and also some of the poles covered in dew.
Moths:
- 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneers (Agriphila geniculea): my first at this location this year; species #92 for me.
Other things:
- 5 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 plumed midge possibly not the usual Chironomus plumosus as it seemed rather small
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 unidentified spider
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
The full list of things noted:
- 5 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 plumed midge possibly not the usual Chironomus plumosus as it seemed rather small
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 unidentified spider
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
The full list of things noted:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
- The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
- Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale)
- 1 Pipistrelle-type bat only: too cold? too bright a morning?
- 3 Grey Squirrels
Now two Little Grebes, both adults.
Oops. Zoomed in too much. This is one of the pair of Common Buzzards that bred in the Ricoh copse this year. The barring across the chest indicates it is an adult.
I thought this one was calling as if it were the juvenile. In fact it is also an adult and looking in detail at the markings I think it is the same adult. Perhaps the juvenile was calling from a nearby tree.
Not likely to see too many more Blackcaps this year. They will be around a few weeks yet but will mostly stay inside the vegetation. A few do overwinter, though they are birds from Central Europe and seem to frequent bird feeders.
Immature males are noted as beginning to show black in the crown but my books are none to helpful about timing. This shows no hint of black so I guess it is a female. Often young birds of many species have paler eyes. Again my books are not too helpful about Blackcaps. So perhaps an adult female.
Very obliging.
When I saw this bee I noted how dark much of the abdomen was and thought it might be a Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum), the only common bumblebee with a ginger / reddish thorax apart from Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum). It is just a dark variant of a Common Carder Bee. The scruffy pile, as the hair on the thorax is called, is one clue. Had it been a Tree Bumblebee the abdomen would have been unrelieved black with a clear white tail.
An unusual head-on view of a Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea).
Catching the sun is a Hawthorn Shieldbug (Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale). A catchy scientific name!
(Ed Wilson)
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(163rd visit of the year)
Much of the weed has now died and is sinking to the bottom. One of the fishermen indicated the small amount of fresh growth.
Many geese arrived back before me and likely some of these were already inside the island before I could count them.
Other bird notes:
- Closer examination of the trio of Greylag x Canada Geese indicates that the face / head pattern of each in now quite distinct.
- Another of the fishermen reported the Kingfisher present earlier.
- Spent a long while trying to photograph the singing Willow Warbler to no avail. Did give me a higher count of Chiffchaffs though as non-calling birds flitted around.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 7 Feral Pigeons (two groups)
- 2 Wood Pigeons
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 2 Sand Martins
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 8 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 6 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler again
- 1 (0) Blackcap again
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- >74 Greylag Geese
- 3 Greylag x Canada Geese
- >147 Canada Geese
- 29 (17?♂) Mallard
- 26 (7?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- 10 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 69 adult and juvenile Coots
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
All on the same lamp pole:
- 10 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
Otherwise:
- 1 Grey Squirrel once more.
One of those 'name that bird' challenges. Not too hard.
Easier now.
This should erase any doubts – Long-tailed Tit.
A tit two-fer.
(Ed Wilson)
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Of note
- 4 Moorhens on the grass – all immatures from three different broods.
(Ed Wilson)
- 4 Moorhens on the grass – all immatures from three different broods.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........