13 Apr 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 11.0°C: Initially scattered below a medium / high overcast. More lower cloud developed with a light shower c.09:00. Moderate southerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:16 BST

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 06:40 // 07:30 – 10:00

(79th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
More summer visitors arriving with three additions by my 2024 bird list for here. In the order I noted them:
- a Sedge Warbler was singing from the north-west reeds at c.05:50.
- a Common Whitethroat was heard singing and calling from behind the sailing club shelter at c.05:55.
- a Grasshopper Warbler was giving its 'reeling' song from close-by the whitethroat a few moments later.
Only the Grasshopper Warbler was heard again (c.09:10) and none of the birds was seen. These bring my 2024 bird species total to #83.
I did not record Grasshopper Warbler last year: it is not annual though one was presumed to have nested here more than 10 years ago when a bird was heard singing throughout May and June (but this arch skulker was never seen). Both Sedge Warbler and Common Whitethroat dates are much earlier than my 2023 records, almost certainly because I was away in the USA in early April.

Other bird notes:
- perhaps due to lower traffic noise at weekends but I heard a Skylark singing above the fields to the East: my first here for over ten days.
- Starlings have returned to nest in the roof of a house in Teece Drive.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 6 Canada Geese: two pairs outbound; one pair inbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair inbound
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Sand Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 6 (6) Willow Warblers
- 16 (14) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 1 (1) Grasshopper Warbler
- 14 (9) Blackcaps

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: a pair throughout: another pair visited and were chased away
- 2 Mute Swans
- 3 (3♂) Mallard: also 1 (1♂) on the lower pool; and 4 (4♂) on the upper pool
- 5 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- *26 Coots
- *7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Flies:
- 2 male plumed midges

Beetles:
- 2 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni

Springtails:
- 2 springtail Tomocerus vulgaris-type

Earwigs:
- *1 male Common European Earwig Forficula dentata

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders:
- 1 money spider sp.
- 1 Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later:

Bees:
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Flies:
- *dung fly Scathophaga inquinata
- owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
- some other unidentified flies

Beetles:
- >10 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni at various points: many fewer today

Spiders:
- *Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica

Fungus:
- *Leocarpus slime mould

Newly emerged flowers
- *Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum
- *Wayfaring-tree Viburnum lantana

Another colour-free sunrise.

Despite most of the Coots having nests and therefore territories there is still scope for this species to have a scrap. There are three here.

One noisily makes its escape. Note the damaged wing tip feathers, though whether from this or earlier fights is impossible to say.

Another escaping the fray. It too is in the wars with a missing primary feather.

A Great Crested Grebe has caught breakfast...

 ...and lunch and dinner by the size of the Perch Perca fluviatilis in its bill.

"Down the hatch" in one!

A Common Buzzard on one of the street lamp poles in Teece Drive. This suggests they are nesting in the Ricoh copse again.

A dung fly, almost certainly Scathophaga inquinata with a grey thorax and orange legs.

 A male Common European Earwig Forficula dentata: males have the more-curved pincers.

I noticed this small spider on one of the verticals of the 'boxing ring' on the dam. It looks to be a Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica albeit a much smaller individual than I can recall ever seeing. I suppose all spiders start small.

I could not get an identity on this apparent fungus using my Obsidentify app either at the time or later on this edited photo. Looking at the eakringbirds.com web site I think it is one of the Leocarpus slime moulds and hence not a true fungus.

Just opening are unobtrusive flowers of Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum.

As usual an array of Cowslips Primula veris can be found, today not battered by the rain for a change.

Also just opening are the flowers of Wayfaring-tree Viburnum lantana. This shrub occurs widely around the lake, presumably planted at some stage.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies etc.
- 1 plumed midge sp.
- 1 cranefly Dicranomyia chorea
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.

Arthropods:
- 2 Common Shiny Woodlouse Oniscus asellus

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the Balancing Lake and The Flash:

On street lamp poles:
- *1 Brindled Pug moth Eupithecia abbreviata
- 1 Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea

One of the street lamp poles adjacent to a bridge over the Wesley Brook seems to attract moths. I noted this Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata there this morning.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:45 – 07:25

(81st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a day when there were very many drake Mallard on view. Why are they so variable in number?
- I forgot to note that yesterday I saw my first juvenile Coot of the year. One parent was brooding however many juveniles there are. The other parent arrived with food and a nasty-looking tiny red head appeared from under the brooding adults 'skirt' to grab a morsel.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 28 Canada Geese: of these a pair arrived
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 23 (21♂) Mallard
- 9 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 21 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere:

Beetles:
- 8 Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni; five on fencing; three on street lamp poles.

Another attempt to highlight the difference between Collared Dove (on the left) and Wood Pigeon.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
1 Grey Herons
2 Greylag Geese
1 Common Sandpiper
c.10 Sand Martins
>6 Barn Swallows
1 House Martin
2 Tawny Owls
2 Meadow Pipits
8 Blackcaps
8 Chiffchaffs
3 Willow Warbler
276 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Greylag Goose
1 Cackling-type Goose
17 Tufted Ducks
1 Swallow
5 Blackcap
5 Chiffchaffs
3 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2013
Priorslee Lake
3 Little Ringed Plover
>20 Willow Warbler
(John Isherwood)

The Flash
2 Shoveler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
2 Common Redstart
8 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
47 Black-tailed Godwit
6 Ringed Plover
3 Redshank
1 Dunlin
3 Swallows
(Andy Latham)

2011
Priorslee Lake
2 House Martin
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
7 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
4 Gadwall
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
12 Swallow
23 Sand Martin
1 House Martin
5 Great Crested Grebes
3 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
1 Water Rail
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
2 Fieldfares
3 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
6 Willow Warblers
2 Greenfinches
1 Siskin
1 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)