10.0°C > 14.0°C: Scattered medium-high cloud gradually became mostly overcast after excellent sunrise. Calm start with light SSE breeze later. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:23 BST
* = a photo today.
Priorslee Lake: 04:59 – 06:50 // 07:50 – 09:38
(181st visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- A Mute Swan trial flying lesson this morning. The first attempt by the cob to interest the cygnets met with no response. At the second attempt the pen and the cygnets all flapped wildly for a while before taking a rest.
- Perhaps the same two Greylag and ten Canada Geese stopped off briefly whilst inbound.
- The pair of Great Crested Grebes that moved to the NE were back in the SW area now the sailing club event is over and their caravan has left from the SW grass. The last pair to hatch a youngster – the bird I photographed yesterday – seem to have lost their young and there were nine spare adults this morning. One, I assume of these, apparently arrived at 06:15 – at least it was flying around high up and then landed on the water.
- The Coot total seems rather high, but the total at The Flash was lower than recently. Have some flown across? I did however do the count in two halves this morning: there is always scope for double counting when I do this.
- Bird of the day was the adult Common Gull with Black-heads on the academy playing field at 06:35. Only my second here this year.
- A bigger passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls with exactly 100 logged flying SE between 06:00 and 06:25. With three of these pausing to perform a 'touch and go' only 97 are in the logs as overflying at the time. Four flew N later.
- I double-checked this morning that the Sand Martin I keep seeing with the House Martins is not just a House Martin without the white rump. It checked out with a breast band and dark underwing coverts.
Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 19 Greylag Geese (single group outbound)
- 9 Canada Geese (single group outbound)
- 5 Cormorants
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 101 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 29 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Jackdaws
- 1 Grey Wagtail
- 1 Linnet
Hirundines etc. logged:
- 1 Sand Martin at least
- 1 Barn Swallow at least
- >25 House Martins
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 14 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (0) Blackcaps
A fisherman reported seeing two Reed Warblers today.
Counts from the lake area:
- *2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese for a while again
- 10 Canada Geese, also for a while again
- 13 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- [no Grey Herons]
- 17+ 6 (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes (see notes)
- *4 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 89 adult and juvenile Coots
- 15 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull: three together briefly, ages not determined
Gulls on the football and academy playing fields c.06:35:
- 55 Black-headed Gulls on the football field.
- 78 Black-headed Gulls on the academy playing field.
- *1 adult Common Gull on the academy playing field.
On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
Moths:
- 3 Pale-streak Grass-veneers (Agriphila selasella)
- 1 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer (Agriphila geniculea)
- *1 Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria): moth species #94 for me here this year
- 1 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)
Other things:
- >10 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
Overcast but bright:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- *Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- 2 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 3 Grey Squirrels
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
- >10 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Orb-web spider, presumed Larinioides sclopetarius
Insects / other things etc. noted later:
Overcast but bright:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- *Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- 2 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 3 Grey Squirrels
Additional flowering plant species recorded for the year at this site:
None
Now for the sunrise....
Colouring up well.
About as good as it got. The old saw worked well - "red sky in the morning shepherds' warning": it was raining by 12:30.
Some of the early passage of Lesser Black-backed Gulls against the dawn.
A Moorhen silhouetted against the reflected sunrise makes a change from Coots.
One for cloud fans. This line of cloud had what seemed to be precipitation hanging like wind-blown curtains below it.
"One of our cygnets is missing"
Not really. Just out of the previous shot.
On the left an adult Common Gull. On the right an adult winter Black-headed Gull. Note that the slightly larger Common Gull has a darker mantle and a dark eye in an otherwise white head.
From this angle the rounded head is evident. Apologies for rather poor quality – long range in the early light at 06:15.
The best-looking of the thorn moths in my view is this Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria). All thorn moths typically rest with their wings held partially open. This one has a small friend – no idea what. I last recorded this moth here in 2017.
We can here, just about.
More clearly here.
(Ed Wilson)
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(166th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The seven Mute Swan cygnets ended up on the island with the geese while all three 'white' birds were doing their own thing. Thanks to Neil for sending me some photos he took of both parents looking on as the cygnets were exercising their wings.
- Again most the geese arrived in one huge group making accurate counting difficult.
- There seemed to be five different Greylag x Canada Geese located. Two arrived with Canada Geese and the usual trio in with a group of Greylags.
- So where were many of the Coots logged recently?
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. logged:
Bird notes:
- The seven Mute Swan cygnets ended up on the island with the geese while all three 'white' birds were doing their own thing. Thanks to Neil for sending me some photos he took of both parents looking on as the cygnets were exercising their wings.
- Again most the geese arrived in one huge group making accurate counting difficult.
- There seemed to be five different Greylag x Canada Geese located. Two arrived with Canada Geese and the usual trio in with a group of Greylags.
- So where were many of the Coots logged recently?
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Pied Wagtail
Hirundines etc. logged:
None
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 6 (0) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *c.224 Greylag Geese: all but two of these arrived
- *5 Greylag x Canada Geese: all arrived
- c.180 Canada Geese: all but seven of these arrived
- 31 (19♂) Mallard
- 36 (10?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 adult and juvenile Moorhens only
- 36 adult and juvenile Coots only
- 2 Black-headed Gulls again
On different lamp poles:
- 6 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris): all together
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
Otherwise:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 6 (0) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Counts from the water:
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *c.224 Greylag Geese: all but two of these arrived
- *5 Greylag x Canada Geese: all arrived
- c.180 Canada Geese: all but seven of these arrived
- 31 (19♂) Mallard
- 36 (10?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 adult and juvenile Moorhens only
- 36 adult and juvenile Coots only
- 2 Black-headed Gulls again
On different lamp poles:
- 6 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris): all together
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
Otherwise:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
Here they come – well just a few of the 250+ geese.
A trio of Greylag Geese flying in. In order to quickly lose height the right-hand bird is actually upside down.
And now righting itself.
Still they come – three more Greylag Geese
And more...
This Greylag is a late arrival at the goose ball. Where to touch down could be a problem.
Back left is one of the Greylag x Canada Geese. Not seen this one too often. The others all went and hid before I could take their mug shots.
(Ed Wilson)
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- 1 Chiffchaff calling by the upper pool again
- 1 Blackcap calling at the lower pool again
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........