9.0°C > 14.0°C: Clear and sunny. Almost calm. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 04:54 BST
* = a photo today
A bit pushed for time to complete this report. There may be corrections and additional pictures to come!
Priorslee Lake: 04:10 – 05:55 // 06:45 – 08:45
(107th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The very quiet roads allowed me to hear a distant Pheasant calling. All the birds that were in the wooded areas around the lake in March have long-since departed.
- Two juvenile Coots from what seemed to be a new brood - #10? I thought I heard begging calls from where I saw brood #9 a few days ago but could see nothing.
- Two Great Crested Grebes flew in from the W at 05:05. Much later two pairs seemed to be quite happy in he same general area. Then things turned nasty with birds fighting and after a short fly-around two birds departed at 07:45.
- Two Lesser Black-backed Gulls started making a lot of noise at 04:30 as they set off, apparently having roosted in the Ricoh area, chasing a local Common Buzzard. They soon returned and some 10 minutes later 11 birds appeared and headed off SE with three veering off to return to the area. These three were assumed the birds that appeared from time to time at the lake
- I think I will have to discount the Sedge Warbler records for the 27th and 28th. I was standing close to a singing Reed Warbler and very occasionally it was giving a short burst of typical Sedge Warbler song.
- Perhaps also due to the lack of traffic early today I was able to hear a Common Whitethroat singing from remnant scrubby area around the new housing estate. I heard one just once in the same area when the birds first arrived but had not heard anything from this location since.
Overhead:
- 2 Canada Geese: duo outbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: duo outbound
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 3 Wood Pigeons only
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 1 Cormorant
- 34 Jackdaws
- 23 Rooks
Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 Swifts through at 04:40
- 2 House Martins over the estate area.
Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 16 (14) Chiffchaffs
- *10 (8) Reed Warblers
- 16 (14) Blackcaps
- 4 (4) Garden Warblers again
- 4 (3) Common Whitethroats
Count from the lake area
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 7 (6♂) Mallard again
- 4 Moorhen
- 20 + 2 (1 brood) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 1 Grey Heron
On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides cornutus)
- to be identified fly.
Noted later:
Moths:
- Green Long-horn (Adela reaumurella)
- *Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
Bees / Wasps.
- *Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- *Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Hoverflies:
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- *Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)
- Syrphus sp.
- Green Long-horn (Adela reaumurella)
- *Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
Bees / Wasps.
- *Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- *Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
Hoverflies:
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- *Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)
- Syrphus sp.
Damselflies:
- *Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Other Flies
- Tipula crane-fly
- unidentified fly sp.
Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
- Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
Mammals
- 1 unidentified vole shot out of the undergrowth and back in.
Snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Spiders:
- stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
- *Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Other Flies
- Tipula crane-fly
- unidentified fly sp.
Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
- Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
Mammals
- 1 unidentified vole shot out of the undergrowth and back in.
Snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Spiders:
- stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
A close-up of a singing Reed Warbler.
A juvenile Long-tailed Tit. These look remarkably different from ...
.......a rather scruffy adult.
Not a bee – it has short antennae. It is a Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris) - a species of hoverfly.
A freshly-emerged Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans). I saw many this morning only one of which was a blue colour.
Between the lake and The Flash:
- A drake Mallard on the upper pool and presumed the same later on the lower pool.
- One adult Moorhen seen and another heard at the upper pool.
- One adult and one well-grown juvenile Moorhen at the lower pool. The vegetation has now grown to obscure the nest.
- 1 Chiffchaff singing by the lower pool.
The Flash: 05:50 – 06:40
(92nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- All three (two drakes) Tufted Duck were hauled out on the island.
- The Stock Doves overhead seemed to have no connection with the bird calling from trees beside one of the bridges.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 3 Stock Doves
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Starling
Hirundines etc. noted:
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the lake and The Flash:
- A drake Mallard on the upper pool and presumed the same later on the lower pool.
- One adult Moorhen seen and another heard at the upper pool.
- One adult and one well-grown juvenile Moorhen at the lower pool. The vegetation has now grown to obscure the nest.
- 1 Chiffchaff singing by the lower pool.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:40
(92nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- All three (two drakes) Tufted Duck were hauled out on the island.
- The Stock Doves overhead seemed to have no connection with the bird calling from trees beside one of the bridges.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 3 Stock Doves
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Starling
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs again
- 3 (3) Blackcaps again
On /around the water:
- 49 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 15 (12♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens again
- 1 juvenile Coot only
Also noted:
- A to-be-identified pug moth on a street lamp.
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs again
- 3 (3) Blackcaps again
On /around the water:
- 49 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 15 (12♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens again
- 1 juvenile Coot only
Also noted:
- A to-be-identified pug moth on a street lamp.
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day
2020