11.0°C > 18.0°C: As yesterday, mostly clear with areas of thin high cloud at times. Light and variable, mainly northerly breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 04:45 BST again
* = a photo today
Priorslee Lake: 04:40 – 05:45 // 06:55 – 09:40
(139th visit of the year)
Highlight today was the unexpected appearance of a Marsh Tit. It is a species for which I do not have a 'first recorded' date though I know I did record it many years ago – at least eight. Traditionally it has been the very similar Willow Tit that has been the most frequent here with a resident breeding population until 2017 and an isolated record in July 2020. It was only because I decided to see whether there were any different insects along the damper and shadier North side that I found this bird. I heard its distinctive calls near the Wesley Brook bridge. I was able to make visual confirmation before it disappeared with other tits in to the foliage. Bird species #90 here this year for me.
Other bird notes:
- No sign of yesterday's Mallard ducklings.
- A family party of Reed Warblers seen briefly along the North side before they all went back and hid in the reeds.
- One of the long-term singing Garden Warblers was not heard this morning. Given up?
- There was what I assumed to be a second brood of Pied Wagtails on the dam-face with one adult and two juveniles.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Feral Pigeons: together again
- 7 Wood Pigeons again
- 1 Herring Gull
- 24 Jackdaws again
- 5 Rooks
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 7 Swifts
- 2 House Martins
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 11 (10) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Sedge Warbler
- 16 (12) Reed Warblers
- 15 (11) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
- 2 (1) Common Whitethroats
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 (8♂) Mallard
- 2 Moorhens yet again
- 39 + 24 juvenile Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult on the football field at 05:30
Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 Common Marble moth (Celypha lacunana)
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider
Noted later:
A smaller log as I tried for different insects along the shady North side – without success!
New sightings for the year:
Hoverflies:
- *Parhelophilus frutetorum or 'mini tiger'
Flies:
- *dozens of unidentified small flies on a lamp pole
Flowers:
- *Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)
- *Cut-leaved Crane's-bill (Geranium dissectum)
Repeat sightings:
Butterflies:
- Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)
Moths:
- Timothy Tortrix (Zelotherses paleana)
- Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- Burnet Companion (Euclidia glyphica)
Bees, wasps, etc.
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Damselflies:
- Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger)
Other flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
Beetles etc.:
- Swollen-thighed (Flower) Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
- *Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)
Bugs:
None
Slugs / snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis) as ever
Spiders:
None
Flowers
- *Common Spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)
High cloud again this morning. I was too late arriving to capture any colour.
I have no idea what this very small fly is. There were at least 50 on a sunlit lamp pole at the West end.
This Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus) seems to have eschewed the nettles to sit in the sun.
I have it on good authority - the PlantNet app. on my Smartphones - that this a Common Spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii). The app. confirmed that the orchid on which I photographed a Black Snipefly (Chrysopilus cristatus) yesterday is a Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) and not, as I had thought, an Early Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata). Isn't technology wonderful. Now where is the app. that will identify all the flies?
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 05:50 – 06:50
(Ed Wilson)
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(135th visit of the year)
Another unusual record here was a trio of Little Egrets that flew North. I had been counting geese and when I looked up they were disappearing so sadly no photos. Bird species #68 for me here this year.
Other bird notes:
- I could not find the smallest of the Canada Goose goslings again.
- The Canada Geese were all spread out today and there was no one spot from where I could easily separate birds I had already counted from the rest. My first attempt gave me 202 adults. My next try 234 but that may have included some distant Greylag Geese. I will go with >200.
- The pen Mute Swan was brooding the cygnets on the island so their number was not determined.
- Two quite small ducklings were with an adult duck Mallard, again hard up against the island.
- A Grey Heron was my first here (apart from fly-overs) since 22 April.
- No sight nor sound of yesterday's Reed Warbler.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Little Egrets
- 1 Sparrowhawk
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts
- 1 House Martin
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs still
- 6 (5) Blackcaps
Noted on / around the water:
- >200 + 8 (2 broods) Canada Geese: see notes
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose again
- 42 Greylag Geese
- 7 + ? (1 brood) Mute Swans: see notes
- *20 (16♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 12 (9♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 18 + 10 (5 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron
On / around the street lamp poles
Nothing noted
Noted elsewhere:
- *Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre)
Another unusual record here was a trio of Little Egrets that flew North. I had been counting geese and when I looked up they were disappearing so sadly no photos. Bird species #68 for me here this year.
Other bird notes:
- I could not find the smallest of the Canada Goose goslings again.
- The Canada Geese were all spread out today and there was no one spot from where I could easily separate birds I had already counted from the rest. My first attempt gave me 202 adults. My next try 234 but that may have included some distant Greylag Geese. I will go with >200.
- The pen Mute Swan was brooding the cygnets on the island so their number was not determined.
- Two quite small ducklings were with an adult duck Mallard, again hard up against the island.
- A Grey Heron was my first here (apart from fly-overs) since 22 April.
- No sight nor sound of yesterday's Reed Warbler.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Little Egrets
- 1 Sparrowhawk
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts
- 1 House Martin
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs still
- 6 (5) Blackcaps
Noted on / around the water:
- >200 + 8 (2 broods) Canada Geese: see notes
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose again
- 42 Greylag Geese
- 7 + ? (1 brood) Mute Swans: see notes
- *20 (16♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 12 (9♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 3 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 18 + 10 (5 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron
On / around the street lamp poles
Nothing noted
Noted elsewhere:
- *Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre)
Small Mallard ducklings tucked up against the island are never going to make a good photo with my camera. At least it shows they are a different brood from the near-adults seen yesterday.
(Ed Wilson)
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- An adult Moorhen and at least one juvenile were heard at the upper pool again.
- An adult and two juvenile Moorhens were seen at the lower pool.
- No warblers were seen or heard on either of my transits.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
- An adult and two juvenile Moorhens were seen at the lower pool.
- No warblers were seen or heard on either of my transits.
(Ed Wilson)
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- 1 Common Pug moth (Eupithecia vulgata) on the roof: a different location to yesterday's sighting
- The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) chrysalis has gone: hopefully a butterfly is flying happily about somewhere
- midges as usual
(Ed Wilson)
- The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) chrysalis has gone: hopefully a butterfly is flying happily about somewhere
- midges as usual
(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
2008
Priorslee Lake
Spotted Redshank
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)