9 Jul 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 18.0°C: Another mixed bag. Clear to South otherwise a low overcast. This produced a spell of light drizzle c.06:00. After c.07:00 cloud began to lift and break with some sun after 08:30. Light NW breeze increasing somewhat. Very good visibility, less so in drizzle but excellent once the sun came out.

Sunrise: 04:57 BST

Apologies: no time to sort the photos at the moment. Watch this space.

Priorslee Lake: 04:40 – 05:50 // 06:50 – 09:35

(156th visit of the year)

I was shown pictures of a Great White Egret taken here by one of the fishermen on Friday 01 July.

Bird notes:
- A lone Greylag Goose flying over was my first since their moult.
- A Common Sandpiper was heard only when it was flushed by dog-walkers and I was not positioned to be able see the water. There may have been more.
- After yesterday's silence I heard two Blackbirds singing today.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Greylag Goose: inbound
- 2 Feral Pigeons: together
- 1 Stock Dove
- 77 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 24 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook again

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts: one very high over 05:20; three high over 08:30
- 1 House Martin

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 10 (9) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (1) Sedge Warblers
- 9 (5) Reed Warblers
- 7 (6) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 17 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens: all adults
- 67 adult and juvenile Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Black-headed Gulls again: all adults: none on the football field
- 1 Common Sandpiper: see notes

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Bird-cherry Ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella)
- 1 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 Common Emerald (Hemithea aestivaria)

also:
- 3 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)

Noted later:

New for this year:

Flowers:
- Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Repeat sightings:

Butterflies:
- Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)
- Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)
- Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- Comma (Polygonia c-album)

Moths:
- as yet unidentified micro moth
- Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [Pied Plumehorn]

Dragon/Damselflies
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Other flies:
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus

Beetles:
- Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
- darkling beetle Lagria hirta
- pollen beetles as usual.

Snails / Slugs etc.
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:55 – 06:45

(152nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Several groups of geese of both species were flying strongly around the water and some may have departed – hence the slightly lower numbers?
- A Kingfisher was seen again both in the NW area and presumably the same bird later along the East side.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: singles
- 1 Jackdaw

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Swifts

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 5 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap only

Noted on / around the water:
- 187 Canada Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 70 Greylag Geese
- 5 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 23 (?♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 15 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 + 2 (? broods) Moorhens: so where were the youngsters?
- 19 + 9 (? broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- 1 Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 click beetle sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Moorhen(s) heard only at the upper pool again.
- One juvenile Moorhen at the lower pool.
- A Chiffchaff decided to sing alongside the lower pool after several days of being quiet.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata)

(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 reeling

(Ed Wilson)