12 May 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 11.0°C: Persistent low cloud kept threatening to break but never did. Moderate northerly wind. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:19 BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:55 – 06:30 // 07:20 – 09:15

(95th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The family group of Greylag Geese was always too far away for me to count the bobbing heads of the goslings: at least seven.
- I could only see two Mute Swan cygnets. It is possible that other(s) were riding on the pen's back as she had her wings raised. Yesterday I was convinced there were only two cygnets for a while before a third emerged, perhaps from the pen's back. Dave the fisherman reported there had been five cygnets when they first emerged: a low number to start with and a higher attrition rate than usual.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 6 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 2 Greylag Geese: outbound together
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 4 Jackdaws again

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 10 (9) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 11 (11) Reed Warblers
- 12 (11) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
- 3 (2) Common Whitethroats

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 7 Swifts
- 3 Barn Swallows

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 + 5 (1 brood) Canada Geese: the resident pair with goslings; an extra pair and single throughout
- 2 + 7? (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 + 2? (1 brood) Mute Swans: see notes
- 7 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens
- 19 + 4 (2 broods) Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes again

On the street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Nothing

Noted later:
- *unidentified red-eyed fly
- *cranefly Tipula lateralis
- *another cranefly species
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)
- *Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
- *flowering Broom (perhaps Cytisus scoparius)
- *possible Small-flowered Crane’s-bill (Geranium pusillum)
- *first flowers of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

On the ceiling and one wall of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
- 6 midges of c.2 species.

Between the lake and The Flash:
- Moorhen noted around the upper pool and presumably breeding here as usual.

The dull conditions provided very little reward for five hours around the lake and The Flash. There are numerous flies with white-rimmed red eyes and brown areas at the base of the wing. Thus they are hard to specifically identify. I have never read anything that explains why so many species have these features.

Not too easy to see. We are looking straight at a cranefly with patterned wings. I believe the cranefly is Tipula lateralis, a species that is in flight from early Spring right through to Autumn. The hairy plant is Cleavers (Galium aparine) which will have small white flowers in a few weeks time though it also spreads vegetatively. The hairs latch on to passing animals and part of the plant breaks off. When that drops to the ground it can root and start a new plant.

Here is a plan view of the cranefly. The pattern in the wing does not show quite so well.

Two small and unidentified craneflies, the one nearest the camera was waving its wings, perhaps a mating gesture?

Earlier I showed two Dock Bugs (Coreus marginatus) alongside each other. These two seem to have worked out how they should be arranged for maximum pleasure!

I found this Broom (perhaps Cytisus scoparius) in flower near the sailing club HQ. Usually the flowers of this shrub are plain yellow. This form is probably a cultivar.

My first flowers of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) this year. This species starts flowering about two weeks before White Clover (T. repens) and continues to flower after the last White Clover dies in October.

My PlantNet app suggested this might be Small-flowered Crane’s-bill (Geranium pusillum) though it wasn't very sure (25%). Neither am I! It is certainly a species of crane’s-bill, named after the shape of the seed cases once the flowers are over.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:35 – 07:15

(87th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- No goslings or ducklings seen again.
- The cob Mute Swan was associating with last year's remaining juvenile for a while but then went to sit by the nest. The pen was still sitting there but with her wings spread suggesting she was brooding cygnets rather than eggs.
- The drake Gadwall was not seen.
- The all white drake was seen without his hitherto faithful duck Mallard companion.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaws

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 5 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (4) Blackcaps

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water
- 19 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 1 Mute Swans: ? cygnets
- 15 (11♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 7 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens again
- 17 + 5 (3 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes

On / around the street lamp poles or of interest elsewhere:

Nothing noted 

(Ed Wilson)

NOTE

10 May 23 - Belvide Reservoir Here