12.0°C > 15.0°C: Only thin high cloud to start. Some patches of medium cloud after 07:30 and later lower puffy clouds Moderate / fresh WNW breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 04:46 BST again
***pressed for time today. Some insects still to be identified and photos to follow, probably tomorrow
Priorslee Lake: 04:20 – 05:55 // 06:45 – 09:30
(117th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The Canada Goose goslings survived another attack by the cob Mute Swan. The adults were seen wing-flapping along the dam with the goslings in hot pursuit. Clearly much too early for them to be able to fly but perhaps allowing them to speed to safety?
- The first Swift turned up at 04:40 with up to 16 being present.
- Two brood of two juvenile Coots seen. Another brood heard calling from the reeds
- Nine Great Crested Grebes again early. Later I could find only five!
- A juvenile Buzzard heard begging from the Ricoh copse – a traditional nest site.
- My third sighting of a Hobby this year when one flew S across Teece Drive at 05:50
- A group of three Starling noted flying very high E well above normal visual range (well mine anyway!) silhouetted against a dead vapour trail and only noted as I was watching a passing Rook. Meanwhile still 19 adults collecting food from the academy playing fields.
Overhead:
- 31 Canada Geese: quartet and party of 20 outbound: quintet inbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: outbound
- 16 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 2 Common Buzzards once more
- 1 Hobby
- 1 Herring Gull: immature
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: two (near) adults and two immatures
- no Cormorants surprisingly
- 9 Jackdaws
- 44 Rooks
- 3 Starlings
Hirundines etc., noted:
- c.16 Swifts again
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 2 House Martins again
Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 13(12) Chiffchaffs
- 10 (8) Reed Warblers
- 12 (11) Blackcaps
- 5 (4) Garden Warblers
- 6 (3) Common Whitethroats
Count from the lake area
- 12 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese: 10 arrived and departed
- 1 Greylag Goose: arrived and departed
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 5 (4♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens
- 24 + >4 (>2 broods) Coots
- 9 Great Crested Grebes again
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull: one adult and one first year, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron: early only again
On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:
- 1 Chocolate-tip (Clostera curtula)
- 1 unidentified caddis fly sp.
- 1 spider sp.
Noted later: *** as noted above some photos still to be checked
Butterflies / Moths:
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
- Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)
Bees / Wasps:
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Blotch-winged Hoverfly (Leucozona lucorum)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans)
- Xanthogramma pedissequum
Damselflies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Other Flies:
- Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- Sawfly sp.
Bugs:
- Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
Beetles:
- Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
- Soldier beetle Cantharis decipiens
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
Spiders:
- Stretch spider sp (Tetragnatha sp.)
Mammals
- Grey Squirrel
Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Newly identified flowers for the year:
- Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Blotch-winged Hoverfly (Leucozona lucorum)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans)
- Xanthogramma pedissequum
Damselflies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Other Flies:
- Black Snipe fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- Sawfly sp.
Bugs:
- Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
Beetles:
- Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
- Soldier beetle Cantharis decipiens
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
Spiders:
- Stretch spider sp (Tetragnatha sp.)
Mammals
- Grey Squirrel
Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Newly identified flowers for the year:
- Hedge Woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)
Today's sunrise. No time at the moment to do any more work on the photos. Hopefully I will be able to sort some out tomorrow. Apologies
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the lake and The Flash:
As the pool are now so overgrown I will only report numbers of juveniles I see. None today
- Chiffchaff still singing at the lower pool.
and
Both on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
- What seemed to be a different Common Pug moth (Eupithecia vulgata).
- 1 Common Marbled Carpet moth (Dysstroma truncata)
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:00 – 06:40
(102nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The Greylag x Canada Goose was my first sighting of any of these hybrids for a while. It surprises me how often obviously 'different' birds turn up, never to be seen again or at least not for a while. The Canada Goose with a lot of white on its head was a one-day bird. Just how many different geese use the water?
- No sign of any Mallard ducklings. I hope wherever the mother was she was keeping herself and her brood safe.
- A well-grown juvenile Moorhen by one of the bridges again.
- The usual two well-grown Coot juveniles and the single small juvenile on the island.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw
Hirundines etc., noted:
- 8 Swifts
- 1 House Martin
Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps
On /around the water:
- 78 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 27 (29♂) Mallard [yesterday's totals were mistyped – read 24 (19♂)]
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 2 juvenile Coots (2 broods)
Also noted
- 1 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) on a lamp pole. My first at this site
- Presumably the same Pale Tussock moth (Calliteara pudibunda): it had moved street lamps since yesterday.
- 2 Grey Squirrels
- What seemed to be a different Common Pug moth (Eupithecia vulgata).
- 1 Common Marbled Carpet moth (Dysstroma truncata)
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:40
(102nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- The Greylag x Canada Goose was my first sighting of any of these hybrids for a while. It surprises me how often obviously 'different' birds turn up, never to be seen again or at least not for a while. The Canada Goose with a lot of white on its head was a one-day bird. Just how many different geese use the water?
- No sign of any Mallard ducklings. I hope wherever the mother was she was keeping herself and her brood safe.
- A well-grown juvenile Moorhen by one of the bridges again.
- The usual two well-grown Coot juveniles and the single small juvenile on the island.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw
Hirundines etc., noted:
- 8 Swifts
- 1 House Martin
Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps
On /around the water:
- 78 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 27 (29♂) Mallard [yesterday's totals were mistyped – read 24 (19♂)]
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 2 juvenile Coots (2 broods)
Also noted
- 1 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) on a lamp pole. My first at this site
- Presumably the same Pale Tussock moth (Calliteara pudibunda): it had moved street lamps since yesterday.
- 2 Grey Squirrels
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day