21 Jun 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 16.0°C: Mostly clear. Light southerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST: last day!

No photos today: a selection will appear in tomorrow's blog

+ = my first sighting of this species at this site this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:00 – 06:20

(133rd visit of the year)

A single early lap of the lake before some of the Coots etc. has emerged from the reeds.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 6 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Jackdaws

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 10 (10) Chiffchaffs
- no Sedge Warbler
- 11 (11) Reed Warblers
- 12 (12) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warblers
- no Common Whitethroats

Hirundines etc., noted:
- c.15 Swifts

Counts from the lake area: it remains very quiet
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens
- ? + 13 (? broods) Coots
- 9 + ? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes

Noted on and around the street lamp poles around dawn:
- 1 Swan-feather Dwarf moth (Elachista argentella)
- 3 Garden Grass-veneer moths (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 other spider

Noted later: I departed before most insects had thought about flying

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:15

(122nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The cob Mute Swan was seen to kill a Canada Goose.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Jackdaw
- 1 Starling

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap

Hirundines etc., noted:
- c.10 Swifts
- 2 House Martins

Noted on / around the water
- 119 Canada Geese
- 38 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 21 (16♂) Mallard: no ducklings seen
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 10 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 22 + 6 (4 broods) Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on / around the street lamp poles around the water:
- 1 midge sp.
- 1 drain fly

Noted elsewhere:
- A Little Grey moth (Eudonia lacustrata) on a street lamp pole between the lake and The Flash.
- A dead Common Toad (Bufo bufo) in the lower car park for the medical centre: road casualty?

(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

2013
Priorslee Lake
Possible Black-necked Grebe seen by locals yesterday evening.
(Ed Wilson)