2.0°C > 8.0°C: Early frost. Fine and clear with only a few wisps of high cloud. Calm early with a light north-westerly breeze developing. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:07 BST
* = a species photographed today
Again fewer Willow Warblers at the Balancing Lake but still plenty around The Flash. More Blackcaps at the Balancing Lake.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 06:20 // 07:25 – 09:45
* = a species photographed today
Again fewer Willow Warblers at the Balancing Lake but still plenty around The Flash. More Blackcaps at the Balancing Lake.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 06:20 // 07:25 – 09:45
(84th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- another Grasshopper Warbler heard c.05:30 but so distant and intermittent I was unable to get a positive location. Somewhere in the Ricoh grounds near the noisy M54?
- I noted a while ago that there seemed to be four singing Chaffinches. There aren't now! Most mornings I record none singing or otherwise. Occasionally one is singing to the East of Castle Farm Way. Not today.
Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 4 Canada Geese: a pair flew outbound and a pair flew North
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair outbound
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 14 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 5 Cormorants: together
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 3 (3) Willow Warblers
- *15 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Grasshopper Warbler
- *18 (12) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: the resident pair throughout
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard: also 3 (3♂) on the upper pool
- *12 (8♂) Tufted Duck: of these a drake flew in and presumably the same bird flew out
- 3 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 3 (3) Willow Warblers
- *15 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Grasshopper Warbler
- *18 (12) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: the resident pair throughout
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard: also 3 (3♂) on the upper pool
- *12 (8♂) Tufted Duck: of these a drake flew in and presumably the same bird flew out
- 3 Moorhens
- 23 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
Frosted!
Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Noted later:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Noted later:
Surprisingly little in sunny conditions. Perhaps the insects had finished basking in the sun and were busy
Butterflies:
- *Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines
- *Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines
Bees wasps etc.:
- *Orange-tailed Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- *Orange-tailed Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Hoverflies:
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare
Flies:
- Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
- other miscellaneous fly species
- Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
- other miscellaneous fly species
Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
New flowers for the year
- *Green Alkanet Pentaglottis sempervirens
- *Green Alkanet Pentaglottis sempervirens
At last: a decent sunrise.
Some mist over the lake early.
The drake Tufted Duck that flew in and quickly out again. Note the 'tuft' streaming in the wind.
A Chiffchaff looking coy.
And here he is again sitting on a clump of last year's Ash keys.
A Mr. Angry. A male Blackcap shouts its song with its head-feathers raised.
Obsidentify was sure this is an Orange-tailed Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa.
Here is the FlightRadar24 data. So why is the airport code for O'Hare Airport at Chicago 'ORD'? Because when it was built in 1945 it was called Orchard Field. The airport was renamed in honour of O'Hare after Edward “Butch” O'Hare a WWII naval aviator. The airport code did not change any more than did that of Speke Airport at Liverpool when it was renamed John Lennon International.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Flies:
- *2 craneflies Tipula lateralis
- *2 craneflies Tipula lateralis
The pattern on the wings identifies this cranefly as Tipula lateralis, a species that flies from Spring through to Autumn.
(Ed Wilson)
Between the Balancing Lake and The Flash:
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the Balancing Lake and The Flash:
Flies:
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
Spiders:
- *1 running crab spiders, likely Philodromus dispar.
- *1 running crab spiders, likely Philodromus dispar.
This spider is one of the running crab spiders and likely Philodromus dispar. The background here is, believe it or not, a street lamp pole with a substantial growth of lichen.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:25 – 07:20
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:20
(86th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- where has the all-white feral duck gone? I have not seen it for a week now.
- a Mistle Thrush was singing from trees to the West of the houses.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Greylag Geese
Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- *15 (15) Willow Warblers
- 6 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 10 (9) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- *3 (1) Goldcrest
Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese: of these one flew off
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- 13 (11♂) Mallard
- 14 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 21 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
Noted elsewhere:
Flies:
- plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- *two species of cranefly
- plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- *two species of cranefly
Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni on a street lamp pole
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni on a street lamp pole
Flowers:
- *all-white Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta
- *all-white Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta
At last some sun to see some of the many Willow Warblers. Here is one.
"Give us a song".
Another Willow Warbler.
And another singing.
And yet another.
One of two Goldcrests that were chasing around.
Unusually photogenic...
...here with the crest partially raised showing the red it shows when threatening a rival.
Not often I get to photograph this species so here is another.
I think this cranefly is Tipula rufina. Note the black 'knees'!
(Ed Wilson)
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Sightings from previous years
2014
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)
Nedge Hill
1 Lesser Whitethroat
7 Wheatear
6 Lapwing
Whitethroat
(John Isherwood)
2013
Nedge Hill
21 Wheatears
3 Common Redstart
Common Whitethroat
(Peter Jordan, Ian Grant)
2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Sedge Warbler
25 Swallows
6 House Martins
1 Sand Martin
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
(John Isherwood, Martin Grant)
Nedge Hill
1 Redstart
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2009
Priorslee Lake
17 Tufted Duck
1 Common Sandpiper
Swallows
House Martins
Sand Martins
2 Reed Warblers again
(Ed Wilson)
Nedge Hill
Lapwing
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Redstart
(Ed Wilson)
2008
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
4 Willow Warblers
15 Sand Martins
27 Swallows
2 Gadwall
4 Tufted Ducks
2 Kestrels
9 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash
2 Sand Martins
6 Swallows
2 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
17 Willow Warblers (11 in song)
4 Redpolls
Nedge Hill
2 Willow Warblers
Trench Lock
2 Sand Martins
7 Swallows
2 Chiffchaff
3 Willow Warblers
2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpipers
1 Garden Warbler
Chiffchaff
Reed Bunting
1 Ring-necked Parakeet
(Ed Wilson, Martin Grant)
The Flash
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Curlew
(Ed Wilson)
Wood Lane
1 Grasshopper Warbler
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Swallow
1 Sand Martin
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
3 Tufted Duck
2 Ruddy Duck
5 Common Sandpiper
1 Kestrel
1 Buzzard
1 Skylark
2 Grey Wagtail
1 Willow Tit
5 Greenfinch
1 Linnet
3 Reed Bunting.
(Martin Adlam)
Lanes east of Priorslee Lake
4 Pheasants
4 Skylarks
4 Blackcaps
2 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
8 Linnets
4 Yellowhammers
1 Redwing
1 Tree Sparrow
1 Common Whitethroat
2 Stock Dove
2 Jay
2 Kestrel
(Martin Adlam)
1 Willow Tit
5 Greenfinch
1 Linnet
1 Redpoll
4 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)