12 Apr 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 12.0°C: Medium / high overcast with watery sun at best. Moderate / fresh south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:18 BST

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 06:25 // 07:15 – 09:55

(78th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two Common Sandpipers this morning.
- no Cormorants noted today.
- a pair of Stock Doves was on the south-west grass for a short while.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 12 Canada Geese: a pair and a trio outbound; two pairs and a trio inbound
- 11 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 12 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 5 (5) Willow Warblers
- 16 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 11 (9) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair throughout
- 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (5♂) Mallard: also 2 (2♂) on the lower pool; and 2 (2♂) on the upper pool
- 9 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- no Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Common Sandpipers
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Beetles:
- 5 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni
- 1 weevil sp. probably Parethelcus pollinarius

Spiders:
- 1 Stout Sac Spiders Clubiona sp.
- 1 Metellina sp.

Noted later:

Bees:
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax

Other Flies:
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- many other unidentified flies

Beetles:
- >30 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni at various points

Bugs:
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Arthropods
- Garden Snail Cornu aspersum

Spiders:
- Long-jawed orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Newly emerged flowers
- Hedge Garlic or Jack-by-the-Hedge Alliaria petiolata now in full flower
- Wood Forget-me-not Myosotis sylvatica

A medium-high overcast this morning with only...

...a hint of colour.

This Willow Warbler is the male who has been singing for at least two weeks and has set up a territory.

Here singing loudly.

Whereas this is one of the many Chiffchaff around the lake.

Keeping well out of sight was this barely-fledged Robin.

The size of this dozing Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris suggests it is a queen.

A Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax

My first Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria of the year. I could not get close so it is not a brilliant photo.

The sun was not strong-enough to bring out too many bees and hoverflies. As ever the flies were out and about. Here is a selection of them, none of which I can positively identify. Number one.

Number two.

Number three. The tip of the abdomen of this individual is an unusual shape.

Number four.

 Number five

Number six. The orange abdomen suggests it might be the Muscid (House) Fly Phaonia rufiventris.

I managed to get a better photo of a weevil on a street lamp pole before dawn. Obsidentify was 99% confident this is Parethelcus pollinarius.

The distinctive shape of Dock Bug Coreus marginatus. My first of the year.

What I think is an empty snail shell. This is a Garden Snail Cornu aspersum being investigated by a greenbottle fly.

A different spider: one of the Metellina species.

This is one of the Long-jawed orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp. trying to be inconspicuous.

The Hedge Garlic or Jack-by-the-Hedge Alliaria petiolata is now in full flower.

These are Wood Forget-me-not Myosotis sylvatica flowers.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:10

(80th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a drake Gadwall flew in while I was walking around. I did not see the pair at the Balancing Lake this morning.
- Most of yesterday's Willow Warbler have moved on.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 3 (3) Willow Warblers
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (5) Blackcaps

Noted on / around the water:
- 34 Canada Geese: of these four departed as two pairs
- 3 Greylag Geese: of these a pair arrived
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 14 (13♂) Mallard
- [no all-white feral duck noted]
- 10 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Moorhen
- 22 + 1 (1 brood) Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe

Noted elsewhere:

Beetles:
- 18 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni; 12 on fencing; 6 on street lamp poles

The four Mute Swan birds from 2023 took the air again and, as usual, splashed back down again.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years


2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
2 Grey Herons
1 Greylag Goose
2 Common Sandpipers
c.6 Sand Martins
2 Barn Swallows
1 Grasshopper Warbler
10 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Swallows flew through
2 Meadow Pipits
4 Great Crested Grebes
3 Tufted Duck
9 Blackcaps
4 Willow Warblers
12 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Swallow
1 Reed Bunting
3 Great Crested Grebes
33 Tufted Duck
5 Blackcaps
6 Willow Warblers
3 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
5 Lapwings
1 Swallow
1 Green Woodpecker
8 Skylarks
3 Willow Warblers
4 Chiffchaffs
1 Common Redstart
13 Wheatear
1 Raven
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

East Priorslee
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
2 Sand Martins
2 Greylag Geese
3 Stock Doves
1 Lapwing
(Ed Wilson)