12.0°C > 16.0°C: Persistent low cloud again though clear to far E. Thinned to hazy sun after 08:30. Moderate E wind. Good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:48 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 05:19 – 09:47
(195th visit of the year)
Two highlights this morning:
- at 07:30 a Snipe was seen climbing away, calling. It appeared to come off the dam-face (or just perhaps the sluice exit across the other side of Castle Farm Way). Species #101 for me here this year.
- at 08:05 a Little Egret was seen overhead. It circled and pitched in to the S side and stayed less than two minutes before heading off W. Species #102.
Other bird notes:
- The fishermen reported the adult Little Grebe again yesterday evening. He did not see the juvenile.
- As previously noted the Great Crested Grebes are increasingly hard to keep track of. There did seem to be two of the oldest juveniles missing and their parents were asleep 'on territory'. Perhaps one of these was the juvenile seen at The Flash later.
- An optimistic Coot was still carrying material to add to its nest.
- 31 Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew SE between 06:25 and 06:50. Just six of these visited the lake. Later arrivals and overflights were all from the E / SE. Almost all of these were single birds or loose groups of two or three.
- Just three House Martins and those were disappearing to the S. Have they mostly gone? There has been none over my Newport house for two days. I usually see a few around in to October.
- Two Blackcaps were singing quietly in more or less the same location as the last few days which suggests these are late breeding birds and not migrants passing through. One of them was singing with very long phrases and I wondered whether it could be a Garden Warbler. I checked it out and it was a Blackcap.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- c.60 Greylag Geese (all outbound in large distant group)
- 33 Canada Geese (32 outbound in four groups; singleton inbound)
- 43 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves (duo)
- 36 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 2 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 7 Pied Wagtails
- 4 Meadow Pipit
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 3 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 9 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (2) Blackcaps
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 15 (9♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck again
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Little Egret (as highlighted)
- 1 Grey Heron: arrived and departed
- [Little Grebe – see notes again]
- 16 + 5 (5 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 10 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 85 adult and juvenile Coots
- 1 Snipe (as highlighted)
- 47 Black-headed Gulls
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Birds on academy playing fields c.06:55:
[Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]
- 110 Black-headed Gulls
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
None
Other things:
- 2 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 unidentified spider
Insects / other things etc. noted later. Just:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- fan-shaped fungus sp.
Mammals
- 5 Pipistrelle-type bats again
- 1 Grey Squirrel again
Interesting behaviour observed between two of the bats. These are usually darting about with a typically erratic flight as they hunt down prey. These two seemed to be playing chase in close proximity and then they zipped past me 'as one'. It was very brief but I wondered whether they were mating 'on the wing' (well 'on the membrane' really). Reading up I find they do indeed mate in September with the female storing the sperm until post-hibernation. The gestation period is 44 days with the young born in June. I cannot find any reference as to where mating takes place.
I also noted one bat flying across the lake and over the dam. Whether this was a Pipistrelle-type off to roost and taking a short cut I could not say. I have once noted a Daubenton's Bat hunting over the water, many years ago.
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
The Flash: 09:49 – 10:56
(179th visit of the year)
A duck Common Teal was tucked up against the E side of the island – a favourite hiding spot, amongst the geese, coots and gulls. A species I did not see here in Spring and becomes species #73 here this year.
Other bird notes:
- All of the Mute Swan cygnets achieved lift-off together. They are doing this without help from any of the adults
- An immature Great Crested Grebe with stripey head was noted. Perhaps one from the lake?
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. logged:
A long, long way away. A small duck Teal tucked up against the island. There are not too many ducks this small but the best feature to confirm the ID is the white along the side of the tail. I cannot really explain the dark cheek mark and I panicked as to whether it could be a Marbled Teal that was an escape from a collection. Not so: the dark mark on the face of that species is around the eye. Must be a trick of the light.
The immature Great Crested Grebe seen this morning. Many weeks since the juveniles that were raised here were seen so this is a new arrival. One of those missing from the main lake?
- 2 Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris)
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
- 1 unidentified spider
Insects / other things etc. noted later. Just:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- fan-shaped fungus sp.
Mammals
- 5 Pipistrelle-type bats again
- 1 Grey Squirrel again
Interesting behaviour observed between two of the bats. These are usually darting about with a typically erratic flight as they hunt down prey. These two seemed to be playing chase in close proximity and then they zipped past me 'as one'. It was very brief but I wondered whether they were mating 'on the wing' (well 'on the membrane' really). Reading up I find they do indeed mate in September with the female storing the sperm until post-hibernation. The gestation period is 44 days with the young born in June. I cannot find any reference as to where mating takes place.
I also noted one bat flying across the lake and over the dam. Whether this was a Pipistrelle-type off to roost and taking a short cut I could not say. I have once noted a Daubenton's Bat hunting over the water, many years ago.
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
To the far east there was clear sky. The wibbly-wobbly sun through the haze...
..soon disappeared in to the blanket of cloud.
Just not quick-enough for a repeat photo of a Cormorant tossing a Perch in the air. This fish half-way down already.
The red tail fins means this could be another Perch but equally a Rudd or a Roach. Must be a sizeable fish with the bulge of its head halfway down the Cormorant's neck.
The first, distant sighting I had of the Little Egret just as it decided to descend.
Naturally pitching in almost as far away as possible with the camera struggling to deal with the contrast of the white bird and the dark trees. However the diagnostic yellow feet show.
Which is more than they do on this 'against the light' departing view. All of two minutes covers these photos.
The Grey Heron looking stately on 'his buoy'. He had resisted the dive-bombing Black-headed Gulls and they had tired of the game.
A lot going on here. After catching his fish the Cormorant wants the buoy and chased the Grey Heron away. Meanwhile two ever-aggressive Coots battle over weed.
Now I can digest the fish in peace.
Still feeding their young. This is an adult Great Crested Grebe from brood #2 arriving with breakfast.
An unusually-shaped fungus. As always I can find nothing on the web like this.
(Ed Wilson)
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(179th visit of the year)
A duck Common Teal was tucked up against the E side of the island – a favourite hiding spot, amongst the geese, coots and gulls. A species I did not see here in Spring and becomes species #73 here this year.
Other bird notes:
- All of the Mute Swan cygnets achieved lift-off together. They are doing this without help from any of the adults
- An immature Great Crested Grebe with stripey head was noted. Perhaps one from the lake?
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. logged:
None
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 5 (1) Chiffchaffs
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 21 Greylag Geese
- 44 Canada Geese
- 1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 19 (9♂) Mallard only
- 55 (17?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 + 1 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 59 adult and juvenile Coots
- 16 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher
On the lamp poles:
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 5 (1) Chiffchaffs
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 21 Greylag Geese
- 44 Canada Geese
- 1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 19 (9♂) Mallard only
- 55 (17?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Grey Heron
- 3 + 1 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 59 adult and juvenile Coots
- 16 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher
On the lamp poles:
Nothing yet again
Elsewhere:
Butterflies:
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
Moths
- Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella): I confirmed their presence today. Moth species #36 for me here this year.
Bees / wasps:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Butterflies:
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
Moths
- Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella): I confirmed their presence today. Moth species #36 for me here this year.
Bees / wasps:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris)
Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Caddis flies:
- Mystacides longicornis
A postscript to the provisional ID of yesterday's hoverfly as a Cheilosia scutellata (AKA Brown-horned Truffle Cheilosia). My expert help (thanks Leon) believes it more likely a species of Xylota on the basis of the relative size of the hind femur. It most closely resembles X. xanthocnema. This is a rare species and confirmation would have required a view of the abdomen which I could not obtain. Sadly it will have to be relegated to 'unidentified'. One for another day.
A postscript to the provisional ID of yesterday's hoverfly as a Cheilosia scutellata (AKA Brown-horned Truffle Cheilosia). My expert help (thanks Leon) believes it more likely a species of Xylota on the basis of the relative size of the hind femur. It most closely resembles X. xanthocnema. This is a rare species and confirmation would have required a view of the abdomen which I could not obtain. Sadly it will have to be relegated to 'unidentified'. One for another day.
Could be a surrealistic painting but in fact a juvenile Moorhen with reflections in the water.
Does not show up too well but this Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner moth (Cameraria ohridella) is really tiny. I have enlarged the zoomed-in image as much as I dare. The moth larvae mine the leaves of Horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) trees and make characteristic brown blotches. The moth is pinkish-brown with white bands and has relatively long antennae.
There are four moths here, two rather washed out by the sun. The brown blotches can be seen on the leaves – gives some scale to the moths. Yesterday none of the moths seemed to want to land. Today they did so only momentarily and then ran around anyway so I was pleased to get any result.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........