Priorslee Lake and The Flash
10.0°C > 13.0°C: The few early breaks in the medium cloud became more extensive for a while. Then fair weather puffy clouds developed, still with a few sunny intervals. Light WNW wind. Very good visibility.
10.0°C > 13.0°C: The few early breaks in the medium cloud became more extensive for a while. Then fair weather puffy clouds developed, still with a few sunny intervals. Light WNW wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:31 BST
* = a photo today
Priorslee Lake: 04:55 – 06:00 // 07:15 – 09:35
(103rd visit of the year)
Another day with nine species of warblers. A bit of shuffling about has taken place:
- today's Willow Warbler was singing from the N side: Monday's was in the SE area.
- one of today's Sedge Warblers was in the scrub behind the sailing club shelter: Monday's second bird was in the NE area. What was probably the first to arrive was in the W / NW area both days. There was a third today, singing quietly from the Ricoh hedge where Monday's Lesser Whitethroat was.
- the Sedge Warbler by the shelter seems to have displaced the Common Whitethroat to the area around the sailing club's containers.
- today's Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the S side hedge and not the Ricoh hedge.
Other bird notes:
- Now seven Great Crested Grebes: I suspect an eighth may be sitting on a nest. Two new pairs of birds were sitting together throughout, staying in almost the same place.
- Two of the Barn Swallows flew off towards the farms to the E: the other was over the academy.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: trio outbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: pair outbound
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull: immature
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: immatures
- 7 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Barn Swallows
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler still
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler again
- 14 (14) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Sedge Warblers
- 8 (7) Reed Warblers
- 20 (15) Blackcaps
- *1 (1) Garden Warbler again
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat again
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat again
Counts from the lake area:
- 3 Canada Geese: a pair arrived and were eventually chased away by the Mute Swan
- 2 Mute Swans: pen on nest
- 8 (6♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 18 + 11 (3 broods) Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- no gulls
Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 springtail sp.
- *1 weevil sp., perhaps Nedyus quadrimaculatus
Noted later:
Another day with nine species of warblers. A bit of shuffling about has taken place:
- today's Willow Warbler was singing from the N side: Monday's was in the SE area.
- one of today's Sedge Warblers was in the scrub behind the sailing club shelter: Monday's second bird was in the NE area. What was probably the first to arrive was in the W / NW area both days. There was a third today, singing quietly from the Ricoh hedge where Monday's Lesser Whitethroat was.
- the Sedge Warbler by the shelter seems to have displaced the Common Whitethroat to the area around the sailing club's containers.
- today's Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the S side hedge and not the Ricoh hedge.
Other bird notes:
- Now seven Great Crested Grebes: I suspect an eighth may be sitting on a nest. Two new pairs of birds were sitting together throughout, staying in almost the same place.
- Two of the Barn Swallows flew off towards the farms to the E: the other was over the academy.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: trio outbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: pair outbound
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull: immature
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: immatures
- 7 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Barn Swallows
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler still
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler again
- 14 (14) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Sedge Warblers
- 8 (7) Reed Warblers
- 20 (15) Blackcaps
- *1 (1) Garden Warbler again
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat again
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat again
Counts from the lake area:
- 3 Canada Geese: a pair arrived and were eventually chased away by the Mute Swan
- 2 Mute Swans: pen on nest
- 8 (6♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 18 + 11 (3 broods) Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- no gulls
Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 springtail sp.
- *1 weevil sp., perhaps Nedyus quadrimaculatus
Noted later:
Butterflies:
- *Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- *Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
- *Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- *Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
Bees:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Hoverflies
- *Cheilosia albitarsus agg. (C. ranunculi (Early Buttercup Cheilosia) or C. albitarsis (Late Buttercup Cheilosia))
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Platycheirus sp. hoverfly
- *Cheilosia albitarsus agg. (C. ranunculi (Early Buttercup Cheilosia) or C. albitarsis (Late Buttercup Cheilosia))
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Platycheirus sp. hoverfly
Other things:
- St Mark's Fly or Hawthorn Fly (Bibio marci)
- *Greenbottle type fly, possibly Lucilia ampullacea or L. sericata
- *Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider
Just a touch of early colour.
A Long-tailed Tit flies off with a morsel for the nest.
The Garden Warbler singing away.
A distinct lack of features. Here the all-dark and rather stout bill shows.
Open wide...
...really wide!!
A slightly battered and worn Small Tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae).
Here is a male (large pedipalps) Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider waiting for a meal to pass by.
Not immediately obvious but here is another with breakfast. The spider is facing us with the body towards 11:30 on the clock-face. The banded body hanging down to 5:00 on the clock face is a plumed midge that it has caught.
The Flash: 06:05 – 06:50
(Ed Wilson)
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(100th visit of the year)
Three new species of bird for my 2022 log at this site.
Three new species of bird for my 2022 log at this site.
In order:
- A Lesser Whitethroat was heard singing from the scrub alongside the mini football pitch at the top end. A few minutes later it, or another, was heard singing along the E side and mixing with all the nesting House Sparrows. And a few minutes after that what was likely the second bird was singing from the small wooded area between the water and the houses along the E side. It may be my first-ever record of this species here – certainly my first since 2012 when my easily accessed computerised records commence.
- Two Barn Swallows were then seen flying around before five birds were noted heading off W.
- Finally as I was walking down squirrel alley I heard a Lesser Redpoll trilling away. I could not tell whether it was a fly-over or whether it was sitting in a tree somewhere. This species had been unusually scarce in the area over the winter period.
My 2022 species total moved to 65.
Other bird notes:
- Four Canada Geese goslings again, today as duos with different parents.
- The long-term cob Mute Swan was found dead yesterday and taken away by DEFRA for analysis. He had sometimes been behaving strangely for several weeks and it may just be old age. No-one seems to know where the pen went – she was last seen by me on 20 April. I had it confirmed today that when Cuan were called out around that time to a swan with a fish-hook problem the bird was released back on the water and declared fit.
- A duck Mallard with a very new brood of just five ducklings.
- The pair of Coots with two juveniles was noted again. No other juvenile was seen or heard.
- No gulls this morning.
- I did not hear anything of the Reed Warbler.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Lesser Redpoll: see highlight
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 7 Barn Swallows
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (4) Blackcaps
- 1 or 2 (1 or 2) Lesser Whitethroats: as highlighted
Noted on / around the water:
- 36 + 4 (2 broods) Canada Geese: 11 of these flew off
- 4 Greylag Geese again
- 3 Mute Swans only
- *19 (15♂) + 5 (1 new brood) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 4 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 24 + 2 (1 brood) Coots: see notes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- *1 Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- 1 presumed grasshopper
Elsewhere:
- A Lesser Whitethroat was heard singing from the scrub alongside the mini football pitch at the top end. A few minutes later it, or another, was heard singing along the E side and mixing with all the nesting House Sparrows. And a few minutes after that what was likely the second bird was singing from the small wooded area between the water and the houses along the E side. It may be my first-ever record of this species here – certainly my first since 2012 when my easily accessed computerised records commence.
- Two Barn Swallows were then seen flying around before five birds were noted heading off W.
- Finally as I was walking down squirrel alley I heard a Lesser Redpoll trilling away. I could not tell whether it was a fly-over or whether it was sitting in a tree somewhere. This species had been unusually scarce in the area over the winter period.
My 2022 species total moved to 65.
Other bird notes:
- Four Canada Geese goslings again, today as duos with different parents.
- The long-term cob Mute Swan was found dead yesterday and taken away by DEFRA for analysis. He had sometimes been behaving strangely for several weeks and it may just be old age. No-one seems to know where the pen went – she was last seen by me on 20 April. I had it confirmed today that when Cuan were called out around that time to a swan with a fish-hook problem the bird was released back on the water and declared fit.
- A duck Mallard with a very new brood of just five ducklings.
- The pair of Coots with two juveniles was noted again. No other juvenile was seen or heard.
- No gulls this morning.
- I did not hear anything of the Reed Warbler.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Lesser Redpoll: see highlight
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 7 Barn Swallows
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (4) Blackcaps
- 1 or 2 (1 or 2) Lesser Whitethroats: as highlighted
Noted on / around the water:
- 36 + 4 (2 broods) Canada Geese: 11 of these flew off
- 4 Greylag Geese again
- 3 Mute Swans only
- *19 (15♂) + 5 (1 new brood) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 4 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 24 + 2 (1 brood) Coots: see notes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- *1 Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- 1 presumed grasshopper
Elsewhere:
Nothing of note
You have to look closely: there are five baby ducklings with their duck Mallard mother.
I cannot quite make this out. It seems to have the shape of a grasshopper. Is that one of its back legs that is sticking out? Sadly it jumped off as soon as I had taken this photo and I could not get any more detail. It strikes me as rather early in the year for a grasshopper and what was it doing ten feet up a lamp pole?
Between the lake and The Flash
(Ed Wilson)
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- 1 Chiffchaff singing at the upper pool.
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel
(Ed Wilson)
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- *2 owl midges sp.
- many plumed midges
- many plumed midges
I think it is time for another Owl Midge photo.
Or two. I think they are cute but you have probably guessed that.
(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
Wrekin
Several Pied Flycatchers
2 male Common Redstarts
2 Wood Warbler
3 male Tree Pipits
(Glenn Bishton)
2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)
Nedge Hill
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2007
Nedge Hill
2 Wheatears
(John Isherwood)
2006
Priorslee Lake
1 drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)