11 Apr 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 14.0°C: Mostly cloudy with some brighter intervals. Light south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:20 BST

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 06:35 // 07:30 – 09:45

(77th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- seven Great Crested Grebes now. As three pairs and a single.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 4 Canada Geese: a quartet outbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: pair inbound
- 10 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- *12 (12) Willow Warblers
- 17 (17) Chiffchaffs
- 13 (10) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: one pair throughout; one pairs arrived and it took the cob Mute Swan to persuade them to go.
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 3 (2♂) Mallard: also 2 (2♂) on the lower pool
- 12 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 24 Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Herring Gull: second year
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: both adults
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Flies etc.
- *1 Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea
- *3 owl midges Psychodidae sp. (also known as Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly)

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- *1 weevil, perhaps Hypera rumicis

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders:
- 2 Stout Sac Spiders Clubiona sp.
- *1 Wolf spider of the Lycosidae family
- *1 Comb-footed spider of the Theridiidae family

Noted later:

Bees:
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Flies:
- *male plumed midge sp.
- *owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- *Alder Fly Sialis lutaria [not a true fly but included here]

Beetles:
- >60 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni at various points
- 17 of these on the Wesley Brook Bridge
- 28 of these on the Teece Drive fence
- many others noted on nettles, crawling up Alder trunks etc. etc.
- *7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- *Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea

Spiders:
- *money spider probably an Erigone sp. and perhaps E. atra
- *Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius

Newly emerged flowers
- *Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum

I just about managed to photo one Willow Warbler here. This one shows the long pale eye-brow (supercilium) typical of this species.

Much clearer when seen during the day: a male plumed midge – a non-biting species.

This Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea is now in full 'Summer' green colour after the brown tones acquired during Winter.

An owl midges Psychodidae sp. that I found on a street lamp pole pre-dawn.

 Rather clearer when seen in daylight.

And another. It is not possible to separate the 99 species from photos.

Here is an Alder Fly Sialis lutaria: not a true fly. It usually appears black but as this photo shows it is dark brown.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata here on a leaf of Yellow Archangel Lamium galeobdolon.

Here is a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the most common form succinea.

This weevil is perhaps Hypera rumicis. I'll try and get it confirmed.

On the 'boxing ring' was this tiny money spider probably an Erigone sp. and perhaps E. atra. Note what appears to be enlarged eyes which is a feature of this species.

This is an unusually small Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius that was also on the 'boxing ring'.

 This spider on one of the street lamp poles is one of the Wolf spider of the Lycosidae family.

Also on a pole was this Comb-footed spider of the Theridiidae family.

My first flower of Herb-Robert Geranium robertianum this year. Ignore the branch of a bramble which I could not remove without ripping the plant apart.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies etc.
- 1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa

Springtails:
- *2 unidentified small specimens

Arthropods:

- *3 Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus
- *1 Common Pygmy Woodlouse Trichoniscus pusillus agg.
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

On the wall of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel I photographed this Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus. Only when I looked at the photo did I notice two tiny springtails, seen here rather out of focus at the bottom right of the image.

Close-by was this smaller woodlouse – about a quarter the size in real life. I think one from the group of the Common Pygmy Woodlouse Trichoniscus pusillus agg.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25

(79th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- there were Willow Warblers everywhere near the water. Accurate numbers were hard to obtain as many of the birds were very active and 'leap-frogging' each other as they moved through the bushes and trees.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- *16 (16) Willow Warblers: see notes
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (8) Blackcaps

Noted on / around the water:
- 29 Canada Geese: of these six departed as three pairs
- 5 Greylag Geese: of these a pair arrived
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 21 (18♂) Mallard
- [no all-white feral duck noted]
- 14 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere:

Beetles:
- 4 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni on fencing

Arthropods:
- 1 Blunt-tailed Snake Millipede Cylindroiulus punctatus on a street lamp pole.

Despite the large number of Willow Warblers around the area this was the only one I managed to photograph. Unlike the one at the Balancing Lake this does not show a strong pale eye-brow. It was singing so there is no question as to its identity.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
3 Grey Herons
2 Greylag Geese
4 Tufted Duck
1 Common Sandpiper
>6 Sand Martins
1 Grasshopper Warbler
7 Blackcaps
7 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
4 Greylag Goose
1 Cackling-type Goose
24 Tufted Ducks
3 Sand Martins
3 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaffs
4 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Lock Pool
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Greylag Geese
22 Tufted Ducks
3 Blackcaps
2 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Trench Middle Pool
12 Greylag Geese
4 Tufted Duck
2 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
12 Swallow, House Martin & Sand Martin.
2 Little Ringed Plover
2 Common Sandpiper
2 Willow Warbler
(Arthur Harper, Ian Grant and John Isherwood)

The Flash
Cackling Canada Goose
4 Sand Martins
2 Shoveler
(John Isherwood, Martin Grant)

Trench Middle Pool
House Martin
4 Sand Martin
2 Chiffchaffs
(Martin Grant)

Trench Lock Pool
12 Sand Martins
(Martin Grant)

2008
Priorslee Lake
4 Gadwall
80+ Hirundines
1 House Martin
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
10 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
1 Buzzard
2 Blackcap
3 Chiffchaff
3 Linnet
2 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)

Priorslee Village
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
(Martin Adlam)

Nedge Hill
1 Mallard
1 Buzzard
2 Red-legged Partridge
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
8 Skylark
3 Meadow Pipit
1 Fieldfare
1 Blackcap
2 Willow Warbler
2 Chiffchaff
4 Linnet
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
4 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
2 Stock Doves
90 Wood Pigeons
2 Kestrels
1 Skylark
1 Meadow Pipit
4 Grey Wagtails
6 Pied Wagtails
2 House Martin
24 Wrens
15 Robins
24 Blackbirds
1 Wheatear
4 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
13 Greenfinches
3 Siskins
2 Linnets
7 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)