10.0°C > 13.0°C: Much as yesterday with the best early before thickening high cloud made it rather dull again. Light / moderate S breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:04 BST
A few technical problems mean that today's photos will be delayed. Apologies.
Priorslee Lake: 04:40 – 05:45 // 06:45 – 09:30
(117th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Canada Geese arrangements were difficult to work out. The resident pair and their two goslings were present throughout. Another pair were on the water when I arrived. A third pair flew in soon after. One of these pairs departed. Later a pair arrived before a pair departed. Six or eight adults involved, depending...
- At least 18 Swifts were overhead by 05:05, much earlier than usual for this number. At least 20 c.08:00.
- A group of three Little Egrets flew S to the E at 05:10. The early bird ... Sadly I saw them too late to get even a record shot, though it could well have been too dark anyway.
- A Common Buzzard was seen sitting on a lamp pole in Teece Drive before flying off in to the Ricoh copse. This suggests that they are nesting there again this year.
- A strange record was a Sky Lark singing high overhead Ricoh and then drifting away N still singing. This was presumably a different bird from the one heard and then seen singing over fields to the far E of the Castle Farm Way.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 10 Canada Geese: a pair and a sextet outbound; pair inbound
- 1 Greylag Goose: outbound
- 11 Racing Pigeons: together
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 3 Herring Gulls: all moulting birds hard to age
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: also mostly moulting birds
- 3 Little Egrets: together
- 1 Sparrowhawk again
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 14 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks
- 14 Starlings: group of 12 and two birds.
Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.20 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows again
- 3 House Martins
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 9 (8) Chiffchaffs only
- 2 (1) Sedge Warblers
- 6 (5) Reed Warblers
- 16 (15) Blackcaps
- 4 (3) Garden Warblers
- no Common Whitethroat
Counts from the lake area:
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese: at least: see notes
- 1 Greylag Goose: for a while
- 2 + 8 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 Moorhens again
- 18 + 12 (4 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider
Noted later:
Moths:
- Plain Gold (Micropterix calthella)
Bees, wasps, etc.
- Tenthredo-type sawfly sp.
- Tenthredo-type sawfly sp.
Hoverflies:
None
None
Damselflies:
- Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas)
- Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas)
Other flies:
- Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- tiger cranefly sp. None would stop for a photo to ID
- Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- tiger cranefly sp. None would stop for a photo to ID
Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
Beetles etc.:
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis including var. spectabilis)
- Common Malachite Beetle (Malachius bipustulatus)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis including var. spectabilis)
- Common Malachite Beetle (Malachius bipustulatus)
Slugs / snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
Spiders:
- Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider
- Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider
New flowers for the year
- Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
- Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)
Until mid-afternoon sunrise was the time the sky was at its clearest.
A Tenthredo-type sawfly.
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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:40
(114th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- A new brood of three Canada Geese goslings to add to yesterday's seven.
- Just two Mute Swans again keeping together. They are the two 2021 birds. No sign of the 2019 near adult again.
- The usual brood of four juvenile Coots was all correct today. A single well-grown juvenile from another brood also noted.
- A fourth Great Crested Grebe seen. This was not associating with the third bird seen for the last few days. A pair were close together throughout.
- An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull present when I arrived, in addition to the now almost daily fly-over.
- A party of Long-tailed Tits included recently fledged young.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult yet again
- 2 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 15 Swifts again
- 4 House Martins
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 6 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (6) Blackcaps
Noted on / around the water:
- 51 + 10 (3 broods) Canada Geese: of these nine flew off
- no Greylag Geese again
- 2 Mute Swans only: confirmed
- 19 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 6 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 + ? (1 brood) Moorhens: adult brooding the young
- 20 + 5 (2 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult: departed
Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- 1 Grouse Wing caddis fly (Mystacides longicornis)
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider
Noted elsewhere:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
Bird notes:
- A new brood of three Canada Geese goslings to add to yesterday's seven.
- Just two Mute Swans again keeping together. They are the two 2021 birds. No sign of the 2019 near adult again.
- The usual brood of four juvenile Coots was all correct today. A single well-grown juvenile from another brood also noted.
- A fourth Great Crested Grebe seen. This was not associating with the third bird seen for the last few days. A pair were close together throughout.
- An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull present when I arrived, in addition to the now almost daily fly-over.
- A party of Long-tailed Tits included recently fledged young.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult yet again
- 2 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 15 Swifts again
- 4 House Martins
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 6 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (6) Blackcaps
Noted on / around the water:
- 51 + 10 (3 broods) Canada Geese: of these nine flew off
- no Greylag Geese again
- 2 Mute Swans only: confirmed
- 19 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 6 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 + ? (1 brood) Moorhens: adult brooding the young
- 20 + 5 (2 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult: departed
Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- 1 Grouse Wing caddis fly (Mystacides longicornis)
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider
Noted elsewhere:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
A (very) Short video of a Nuthatch at its nest. If you are quick you will see that there are two birds just as the one emerges.
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Between the lake and The Flash:
- A pair of Mallard were sitting on the grass by the lower pool today
- 1 Moorhen at the lower pool.
- 1 Chiffchaff singing: back beside the lower pool!
also
- 1 Grey Squirrel
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
- 1 Green Carpet moth (Colostygia pectinataria)
- a few midges
A Green Carpet moth (Colostygia pectinataria), one of the easiest carpet moths to ID. These 'carpet moths' are not the tiny moths whose larvae east your carpets which are Case-bearing Carpet Moth (Tinea pellionella). The carpet moth group to which Green Carpet belongs were named at a time when only the rich had carpets, often richly patterned. It is said the moths were so-named as they resembled these patterns.
(Ed Wilson)
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.
Sightings from previous years without links are below
2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Redshank
Common Tern
(Ed Wilson)
Nedge Hill
Cuckoo
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)