Priorslee Lake and The Flash
16.0°C > 20.0°C: Another cloudy start. A clearance from the SE after 08:00 with some sunny spells. Calm / light S breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:38 BST
* = a photo today. Note Photos will be uploaded tomorrow.
Priorslee Lake: 04:18 – 06:35 // 07:30 – 09:47
(157th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Where have the geese gone? Low number out and, especially, in.
- Perhaps the same adult Lesser Black-backed Gull as seen recently. It landed on both a lamp in Castle Farm Way and then on the surround for the exit sluice. It, or another, flying over much later circled as if interested in landing on the lamp, but it noted the activity in the lay by and carried on.
- Of the 233 Wood Pigeons logged flying over I logged more than yesterday (112), mainly outbound, before 06:30. then after 07:45 many fewer than recently (121) mainly inbound. Of these 62 were in a scattered group at c.08:20.
- Just a lone Swift passing over. Most of the breeding birds in Newport left after Monday. Just two seen yesterday.
- A rather strange sighting of a party of 10 Barn Swallows heading S. This seems very early for them to be migrating; yet too large a group for a family party on a reconnoitre.
- After yesterday's comment that no Reed Buntings were singing of course two decided to do so today.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 37 Greylag Geese (31 in five groups outbound; six together inbound)
- 16 Canada Geese (16 in three groups outbound; none inbound)
- 1 Cormorant
- 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 27 Racing Pigeons: single group
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves
- 233 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Collared Doves (single and duo)
- 2 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Swift: briefly
- 12 Barn Swallows
- >15 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 13 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (0) Blackcaps
- 2 (0) Common Whitethroats
- 2 (0) Reed Warblers again
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 18 (?♂) Mallard
- *2 (1♂) Tufted Duck: the duck apparently departed
- 2 Cormorant: arrived separately
- 2 Grey Herons
- *14 + 4 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes again
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 68 Coots
- *>34 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
- 1 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 Little Grey (Eudonia lacustrata)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata)
Other things:
- 2 Common Green Lacewings (Chrysoperia carnea)
- *4 orb-web spiders, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- *1 Common Candy-striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata): lineata form
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
New for me here:
- *Rhagio tringarius: a Snipe Fly- *Sicus ferrugineus: a Thick-headed Fly
The full list of things noted:
Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- *Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
- Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)
- Peacock (Aglais io)
Moths:
- only unidentified grass moths
Bees / wasps:
- *Andrena sp. Mining Bee: probably two different species.
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- *Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris): nest investigated without conclusion.
Damsel-/Dragon-flies:
Where are they all? Just three individuals seen
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Hoverflies:
- Cheilosia illustrata
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Unidentified drone-fly (Eristalis sp.)
- Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta)
- Syrphus sp.
- *Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis)
Mammals
- 5 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 1 medium-sized bat.
- 4 Grey Squirrels, at least
Other things:
- *Rhagio tringarius: a Snipe Fly
- *Sicus ferrugineus: a Thick-headed Fly
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
A parent and one of the juveniles of the newer brood of Great Crested Grebes
Peering out the other side as well. I could only see this one juvenile and...
...I suspect the other is tucked-up inside the fluffed-up feathers of the other parent here. Certainly there were two trying to climb aboard later.
Meanwhile these two are still in love.
Chattering away noisily. Note the water droplets on their backs. They were repeatedly diving and resurfacing together before recommencing their amorous moves.
Another view of a head-moulting Black-headed Gull. Note also the deep red bill of a breeding condition bird now has a dark shading towards the tip.
Another view of the same bird, unable to neatly fold its wings during the moult.
Is this the same adult Lesser Black-backed Gull as Monday, standing on the sluice platform rail?
Not likely to see too many more Common Whitethroats around the lake. Birds will still pass through for several weeks but unlikely to appear in the open. This is probably one of the birds that bred here undertaking its pre-migration moult.
A rather worn Meadow Brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina). Unusually this specimen shows a very small second white dot in the black circle on the forewing – normally the ID feature of Gatekeeper. Looking at photos on the web this very small second spot seems to be not unusual on females - which this is. Males lack the orange areas in the wing.
This resembles a Honey Bee but it is too hairy. It is one of the many Andrena species of mining bee and I am not sure which.
With its head stuck in a Great(er) Willowherb flower (Epilobium hirsutum) is what seems to be a different species of Andrena mining bee – one with more extensive pale hairs between the segments of the abdomen (tergites). I cannot identify this either!
Here is a Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum), likely a worker bee. Certainly with plenty of pollen for the nest. This species of bee is very variable in the colour of the hairs on the thorax (know as the 'pile'). Especially in Spring they can be bright ginger. Here very buffy but always rather scruffy-looking.
This is a spectacular hoverfly. It is a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis), named for supposed resemblance to a Hornet. Not sure about that.
I do not see this species too often so I took the opportunity to photograph it from several angles.
This is a wonderfully ugly fly with the yellow face, red eyes and its rufous body with abdomen tucked back underneath. Its mummy probably loves it. It is one of the Thick-headed flies, specifically Sicus ferrugineus.
This fly has me beaten. It looks distinctive but I cannot track anything down. The long legs might suggest an Empid stilt-fly. This group of flies has very small heads..
Two of the trio of orb-web spiders await their catch. The middle one is eating its breakfast. After some more research I think these are Larinioides sclopetarius and I shall record them as such from now on. This species favours man-made structures and is notable for only being active during darkness (or street-light?). I certainly only ever see them pre-dawn. They are sometimes called Bridge Spiders or Grey-cross Spiders, though neither term is in widespread use.
This lineata form of the Common Candy-striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata) rather makes a mockery of the vernacular name as it has neither one nor two red-stripes of the other forms. If you look closely it seems to have two small friends. No idea what either of them is.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25 yet again: in a rut!
(143rd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- After yesterday's attack on one of this year's Mute Swan cygnets the 2018 immature was not seen. Meanwhile the cob had resumed duty preventing the Canada Geese entering the water near the Wordsworth Way turn.
- Two Common Buzzards, one a begging juvenile, were again heard calling from the copse on the W side of the top end.
- A party of Long-tailed Tits was much more alert than I was to the passing Hobby, even though I doubt it was real threat to them.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Hobby
- 12 Feral Pigeons (six singles / small groups)
- 3 Wood Pigeons
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 4 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 6 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap
Counts from the water:
- 2 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 9 Canada Geese
- 32 (?♂) Mallard again
- 26 (7?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 38 adult and juvenile Coots
- 12 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles
On the wall of the Priorslee Academy beside a security light
- 1 Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata)
On various lamp poles:
Moths
None
and
- 1 Chironomus plumosus (plumed midge)
- 4 Dicranopalpus ramosus-type (harvestmen)
- 2 Leiobunum rotundum-type (harvestmen)
Otherwise
- 2 Grey Squirrels
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the lake and The Flash:
Of note
- 1 Chiffchaff calling by the lower pool. Have not heard any since Spring passage ceased and birds took up territories elsewhere.
- Absent were any Greenfinches. A few have been noisily present until a few days ago. Since then none.
also
- 1 Epistrophe grossulariae hoverfly on a lamp pole.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........