4 Jun 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 12.0°C: Mostly cloudy, threatening to lift and break but didn't. Moderate and chilly ENE wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:50 BST

**photos from the last three days are presented as a compendium

Priorslee Lake: 04:40 – 05:45 // 06:40 – 08:55

(130th visit of the year)

Most unusual at this date was a Common Sandpiper. Late for a northbound migrant; early for post-breeding dispersal. I would surmise either a failed breeder or perhaps a first year bird not paired this year.

Also worth highlighting is a report from two of the fishermen of a Tawny Owl flying through along the North side at c.23:00 yesterday. No one I have spoken has heard this species this year in the area so quite what it was doing is hard to say.

Bird notes:
- The breeding Canada Geese now gone after losing all their goslings.
- I only noted two Great Crested Grebes on the water. I did see one bird flying around for a while. I am unsure whether or not this was a third bird.
- A Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling in the NE area again.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 31 Canada Geese: single and loose group of 30 inbound
- 7 Greylag Geese: single outbound; a single and quintet inbound
- 4 Wood Pigeons:
- 2 Herring Gulls: immatures
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: various ages
- 1 Cormorant
- 5 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 8 Swifts
- 3 Barn Swallows
- 6 House Martins

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 11 (9) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warblers
- 9 (9) Reed Warblers again
- 11 (10) Blackcaps
- 3 (3) Garden Warblers still
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat still

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 Moorhens
- 26 + 6 (3 broods) Coots
- 2 (3?) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one second year; later two adults, all briefly
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 Silver-ground Carpet moth (Xanthorhoe montanata)

Noted later:

Very little in cloudy, cool and breezy conditions

Moths:
- Plain Gold (Micropterix calthella)
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)

Other flies:
- Lucilia sp. greenbottle
- unidentified midge-type

Beetles etc.:
- Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)

Bugs:
- Green Myrid bug, perhaps Calocoris alpestris

Slugs / snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

New flowers for the year noted:
- Bramble [Blackberry] (Rubus fruticosus agg.)
- Cleavers (Galium aparine)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:35

(125th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I guess the two small Canada Goose goslings seen were the remnants of the latest brood of five. Quite where all the other goslings were is unclear: I did look around some of the gardens in Wordsworth Drive to no avail.
- Yet another new brood of Mallard ducklings. I thought initially five though certainly only four later.
- Two Great Crested Grebes together, neither on a nest.

Birds noted flying over here:

None

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaff
- 4 (4) Blackcaps

Noted on / around the water:
- 107 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese: see notes
- 6 Greylag Geese
- 3 Mute Swans
- 19 (15♂) + 4 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 7 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 20 + 6 (3 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- 1 Common Marbled Carpet moth (Chloroclysta truncata) again
- several midges of unknown species

Elsewhere:

Nothing of note 

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- An adult Moorhen seen at the upper pool with juveniles noted calling. None seen / heard at the lower pool.
- 1 Chiffchaff still singing alongside the lower pool, but very intermittently this morning.
- 1 Blackcap singing from scrub between the two pools.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) chrysalis still clinging on.
- >10 midges of at least three species
- 1 soldier beetle, perhaps Rhagonycha lignosa.

(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

Holmer Lake

Black Swan

(Marilyn Morton)