28 May 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 14.0°C: Scattered below mostly thin medium-high overcast with the odd very light rain shower. Almost calm. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:56 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:15 – 05:40 // 06:30 – 09:40

(105th visit of the year)

Best today was my third record of Oystercatcher here this year. I first noticed the bird fly on to the SW grass at 04:35 though as it was uncharacteristically silent in doing so I suspect it had only repositioned from close-by. It spent the entire time in the area, mainly between the SW grass and the dam-face, moved around by dog-walkers. At one point it went to sleep on the dam-face. At 08:40 it flushed off the SW grass and headed off high W but returned within a few minutes.

Other bird notes:
- Both juvenile Coots from brood #1 were seen. I could find no other juveniles. They are having a bad year.
- Eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls were in the area coming and going between 04:20 and when I departed. Three of them came to drink, the other five stayed flying around.
- After yesterday's bumper Rook count it was back to a more normal number.
- Two Linnets flew over the SW grass. I suspect they had come from scrubby areas behind the sailing club shelter. They bred there is 2019 but not last year.

Overhead:
- 2 Canada Geese: duo inbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: duo inbound
- 1 Stock Dove
- 28 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 10 Cormorants: three singles, a duo and a quintet
- 48 Jackdaws
- 8 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 3 Swifts: two to N 07:55; one to S 08:20
- 2 Barn Swallows: tow flew W 09:05
Rather strange that there should be so few on a cloudy, if bright, day.

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 10 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler again
- 12 (12) Reed Warblers
- 16 (15) Blackcaps
- 4 (4) Garden Warblers
- 6 (2) Common Whitethroats

Count from the lake area
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 1 Moorhen only
- 25 + 2 (1 brood) Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Oystercatcher
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides cornutus)

Noted later:

Moths:
- *Common Roller (Ancylis badiana)
- *unidentified probable species of 'carpet moth'

Bees / Wasps:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Blotch-winged Hoverfly (Leucozona lucorum)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Other Flies
- *Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- *unidentified fly sp.

Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
- *Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

Beetles:
- *A soldier beetle possibly Cantharis pallida
- *A click beetle sp.

Mammals
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- *unidentified snail sp.

Spiders:
- *many stretch spiders (Tetragnatha sp.)

Flowers noted:
- Shepherd's-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
- Prickly Sow-thistle (Sonchus asper)
- presumed Common Hawkweed (Hieracium vulgatum)
- Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)

There was a very brief red sky despite it being mainly cloudy.

Not bad by the camera at 05:00 on a cloudy morning. The Oystercatcher on the SW grass.

Later it went to sleep on the dam face.

Now awake and alert, back on the grass. It has even cleaned its bill.

Sometimes things do not go well. No moths on the lamps pre-dawn yet again. Walking through the grass I flushed this moth. I only managed an underside view and it was off never to be seen again. Sadly from this view I cannot ID it! Grrr.

A moth I can identify. It is a Common Roller (Ancylis badiana). Moth species #14 for me this year (it was species #15 on 24 May last year and also species #14 in 2019).

This tiny caterpillar was descending in front of me. Here displayed on a small part of my glove for scale. ID uncertain.

Two for the price of one. The larger darker fly with the well-marked veins is an Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria). The other isn't!

I managed to find another specimen of the brown beetle that was hiding its head yesterday. It is a soldier beetle and I think Cantharis pallida.

The shape of the elytra and the contrast between that and the grey thorax suggests this is a click beetle (Elateridae). I cannot find an exact match but there are many species, not all illustrated on the web. I manfully tried to extract it from the stinging nettle for a better view but it fell off.

A Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus) on a dock leaf. Were that they all were so easy!

Well: a snail!

And a smart-looking snail. I cannot match it on the web. I had thought Brown-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) but it has too many spirals for that species.

There were many stretch spiders (Tetragnatha sp.) this morning. I am sure I read that the species can be determined from the pattern on the underside of the abdomen so here it is ... Not so apparently.

This one lacks the longitudinal white line down the centre of the abdomen.

This very small spider was running up and down the blade of grass – gives it some scale. Hard to get a decent photo.

I double-checked this flower. It looked like Shepherd's-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) but this specimen is just flowering. Some months ago I saw a plant with the 'purses' (seed heads). Checking the literature this plant flowers almost all year round.

There are not too many yellow-flowered 'thistles'. I am used to seeing Smooth Sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) but this is spiny and I think it is therefore Prickly Sow-thistle (Sonchus asper). I have a slight hesitancy in that most illustrations show flowers on branched stems, not evident here.

In contrast there are very many of these 'hawk-things' - hawkweeds, hawk's beards and hawk-bits. My vote here is for Common Hawkweed (Hieracium vulgatum) on the basis of the unopened flowers in tight clusters. But ...

Safer ground here: my first Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) of the year. Only three days later than in the warm spring of 2020.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- One adult Moorhen seen and another calling at the upper pool.
- Just one adult Moorhen on the lower pool nest again
- 1 Chiffchaff singing again by the lower pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:45 – 06:25

(91st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I have noticed that the flying geese are starting to moult their flight feathers. They will soon become flightless and there will probably be an increase in their numbers here. They seem to regard The Flash with its island as a safe place to moult and regrow their wings. At the moment they are still mainly in 'pairs' though they are no longer territorial and the noise-level is lower.
- Four pairs and two additional drake Tufted Duck, still including the drake with only the drake Mallard today.
- The same two juvenile Coots as yesterday.
- The Lesser Black-backed Gulls were likely birds from the Ricoh / lake area having a wander.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near) adults
- 1 Jackdaw yet again

Hirundines etc. noted:
None

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps

On /around the water:
- 51 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese: departed
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 19 (14♂) Mallard
- 10 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 2 juvenile Coots again
- 1 Great Crested Grebe only

Also noted:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- A to-be-identified spider on a street lamp.

I had to use flash to get any detail on this spider at the top of a street light pole. It did not like the flash and I did not get a second chance ... Unidentified at the moment.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day
2020
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Nedge Hill
2 Ravens mobbing Kestrel.
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Red Kite
(Ed Wilson)