10.0°C > 17.0°C: Early areas of high cloud increased for a while before moving away after 08:15. Light and variable breeze after a calm start. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:28 BST
* = a photo from today
Back from two weeks in the USA and trying to cope with jet-lag.
Priorslee Lake: 04:55 – 06:00 // 06:50 – 09:20
(162nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- Two pairs of Great Crested Grebe with young – a pair with a single juvenile and a pair with two juveniles. Another pair with one bird sitting on a nest. A fourth pair apparently not nesting. Also a lone adult (though it could have a mate on a nest inside the reeds).
- 19 Black-headed Gulls on the football field at 05:50 were probably some of the same birds as seen at lake earlier.
- As birds undertake their post-breeding moult the only species heard singing this morning were Robin and Wren, very intermittently. A lone Song Thrush, gave a brief song.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 1 Greylag Goose: inbound
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 1 Stock Dove
- 74 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 30 Jackdaws
- 12 Rooks
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
NB: I have seen but a single Swift over Newport during the last two days so the other 30+ seem to have departed. End-July / early-August is the normal date for most Swifts to depart with a few stragglers possible until as late as mid-September.
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 6 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (0) Reed Warblers
- 5 (0) Blackcaps
NB: I have seen but a single Swift over Newport during the last two days so the other 30+ seem to have departed. End-July / early-August is the normal date for most Swifts to depart with a few stragglers possible until as late as mid-September.
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 6 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (0) Reed Warblers
- 5 (0) Blackcaps
'Almost' a song from one of the Chiffchaffs and a Reed Warbler.
Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: arrived
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 18 (?♂) Mallard
- 7 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 63 adult / juvenile Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 9 + 3 (two broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 42 Black-headed Gulls: at least five juveniles
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: both adults, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron
Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Moths:
Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: arrived
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 18 (?♂) Mallard
- 7 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 63 adult / juvenile Coots
- 1 Little Grebe
- 9 + 3 (two broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 42 Black-headed Gulls: at least five juveniles
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: both adults, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron
Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Moths:
None
and:
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *5 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestmen
Noted later:
New for this year:
and:
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *5 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestmen
Noted later:
New for this year:
- Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis)
**about the only dragonfly I can identify when it is in flight.
Repeat sightings:
Butterflies:
- *Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
- *Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
Moths:
- *Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
** a very poor showing of just a single specimen of one species of hoverfly
Dragon/Damselflies
- *Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Other 'flies':
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *scorpion fly Panorpa sp.
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
** a very poor showing of just a single specimen of one species of hoverfly
Dragon/Damselflies
- *Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Other 'flies':
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *scorpion fly Panorpa sp.
Bugs:
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)
Still very impressive though. A Mallard provides the foreground.
The colour was fading by now but the texture of the cloud is better illustrated here.
An early instar of a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina).
With the very long pedipalps and often with its four pairs of legs held parallel and perpendicular to its body this used to be easily identified as a Dicranopalpus ramosus harvestman. Then it was noticed that there was another cryptic species, D. caudatus, visually identical and requiring the usual genitalia examination to separate. So Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus it has to be.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:05 – 06:45
(158th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- An additional adult Mute Swan since my last visit in mid-July.
- A brood of four juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen with just one adult. Perhaps the other adult was off on a feeding foray somewhere. Four is a good number of juveniles with all of them growing well.
- A juvenile Blackcap was the only warbler seen or heard here.
- A Dunnock sang once. Other than that just a Wren and Robin heard singing.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. noted:
- House Martin(s) heard distantly
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (0) Blackcap
Noted on / around the water:
- 37 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 6 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 25 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 26 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 31 adult / juvenile Coots
- 1 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
On / around the street lamp poles
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:05 – 06:45
(158th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- An additional adult Mute Swan since my last visit in mid-July.
- A brood of four juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen with just one adult. Perhaps the other adult was off on a feeding foray somewhere. Four is a good number of juveniles with all of them growing well.
- A juvenile Blackcap was the only warbler seen or heard here.
- A Dunnock sang once. Other than that just a Wren and Robin heard singing.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. noted:
- House Martin(s) heard distantly
Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (0) Blackcap
Noted on / around the water:
- 37 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 6 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 25 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 26 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 31 adult / juvenile Coots
- 1 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
On / around the street lamp poles
Nothing noted
(Ed Wilson)
Between the lake and The Flash:
- Moorhen(s) heard at both pools.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
- nothing of note
(Ed Wilson)
Sightings from previous years without links are below
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Between the lake and The Flash:
- Moorhen(s) heard at both pools.
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
- nothing of note
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.
2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Tern
(John Isherwood)