24 Apr 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 8.0°C: Again a sliver of clear sky to the East while it was raining to start! Soon cleared with sunny spells later. Still chilly with a cool north-easterly breeze springing after a calm start. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:52 BST

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 06:25 // 07:20 – 09:40

(90th visit of the year)

I was not surprised that the Lesser Whitethroat was not heard again today. New in was the second Sedge Warbler of the year.

Other bird notes:
- only one first year Mute Swan remained from yesterday's chaos and that had left by 07:30.
- an improbably high count of Blackcaps: they seemed to be singing everywhere.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 7 Canada Geese: a quintet outbound; a pair inbound
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- *2 possible Yellow-legged Gulls: immatures, together
- 3 Cormorants: a duo East and a single West
- 1 Jackdaw
- 2 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 9 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 3 (3) Willow Warblers
- 15 (15) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 4 (4) Reed Warblers
- 21 (19) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (1) Goldcrest

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: the resident pair throughout: another pair briefly
- 3 Mute Swans: see notes
- 2 (2♂) Mallard
- 6 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhen
- 28 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Common Sandpipers
- 2 Herring Gulls: adults briefly on the football field at 06:15 apparently chased off by...
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults, together, briefly

On the street lamps poles pre-dawn:
Nothing noted, it was raining

Noted later:
The sun was not strong enough to tempt anything much to show:

Flies:
- Alder Fly Sialis lutaria

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Flowers:
- *Lords & Ladies or Cuckoo Pint Arum maculatum
- *Red Dead-nettle Lamium purpureum
- *Red Campion Silene dioica

 It was raining at the lake. Nevertheless the sliver of clear sky to the East allowed some red in the sky.

I had thought I was spared of difficult gulls for the summer. This one (of two similar birds together) is a puzzle. I think it is a first year Yellow-legged Gull. It is too dark to be a first year Herring Gull. If it was a first year Lesser Black-backed Gull then the secondary coverts would be more solidly dark. So I am left to conclude it is a Yellow-legged Gull.

Two Carrion Crows attempt to escort a Common Buzzard off what they claim as their territory.

Some rough and tumble

 The buzzard makes its escape. Note the shape of the tail in this phase of flight and compare with...

...this view.

Not my best but one hand was holding a flopping leaf covering the emerging flower of Lords & Ladies or Cuckoo Pint Arum maculatum. It is much easier to see the fruiting spike of this plant in the Autumn.

The flowering top of my first Red Dead-nettle Lamium purpureum of the year.

 Another new flower for the year: a Red Campion Silene dioica.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 3 various midges
- *1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.

The owl midge Psychodidae sp. on the wall of the tunnel.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash: 06:30 – 07:15

(92nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- now three immature Mute Swans, all likely last year's birds returned after being chased back from the Balancing Lake.
- what is likely to be the same peripatetic drake Gadwall was here again.
- Willow Warblers keep coming – or won't go away.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Canada Goose

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 5 (5) Willow Warblers
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 12 (9) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (1) Goldcrest

Noted on / around the water:
- 28 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 5 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 18 (15♂) Mallard
- 17 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 22 Coots

Noted elsewhere around The Flash on different lamp poles:

Flies:
- *cranefly Limonia nubeculosa

Slugs/snails:
- *White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Flowers:
- *White Dead-Nettle Lamium album

Gardeners might not agree this but the shell of this White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis is very smart.

As yesterday a cranefly with well-patterned wings. It is Limonia nubeculosa. Unlike that I photographed yesterday there is no parasite on the neck area.

New flowers of a White Dead-Nettle Lamium album. This species has been flowering all winter but those flowers have been rather battered and ragged. So good to see some pristine new flowers.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sightings from previous years

2014
Nedge Hill
2 Redstart
7 Wheatear
Whitethroat
Willow Warbler
(Ian Grant)

2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
5 Greylag Geese
5 Common Sandpipers
2 Reed Warblers
6 Blackcaps
9 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
20 Tufted Duck
2 Chiffchaffs
5 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Long Lane, Wellington
1 Little Ringed Plover
3 Ringed Plover
2 Dunlin
Lesser Whitethroat
(JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
8 Great Crested Grebes
11 Greylag
1 Tufted Duck
1 Grasshopper Warbler
1 Sedge Warbler
14 Blackcaps
4 Willow Warblers
11 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
4 Great Crested Grebes
5 Greylag Geese
17 Tufted Duck
5 Blackcaps
3 Willow Warblers
4 Chiffchaffs
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
1 Wheatear
1 Common Whitethroat
2 Lapwings
1 Green Woodpecker
6 Skylarks
4 Blackcaps
1 Willow Warbler
3 Chiffchaffs
9 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
8 Wheatear
28 Fieldfare
2 Whitethroat
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Reed Warblers
3 Common Sandpipers
1 Sedge Warbler
1 Common Whitethroat
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Common Sandpipers
1 Tufted Duck
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Trench
8 Tufted Duck
8 Swallows
3 House Martin
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
1 Common Whitethroat
2 Linnet
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Flash
4 Great Crested Grebe
1 Ruddy Duck
4 Common Sandpiper
3 Swift
32 House Martin
3 Swallow
3 Reed Warbler
2 Sedge Warbler
1 Garden Warbler
6 Blackcap
1 Lesser Whitethroat
5 Chiffchaff
4 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
14 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Ducks
7 Sand Martins
14 Swallows
1 House Martin
3 Stock Doves
3 Grey Wagtails
30 Wrens
2 Sedge Warblers
1 Reed Warbler
1 Common Whitethroat
9 Blackcaps
7 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
1 Willow Tit
8 Greenfinches
1 Linnet
1 Redpoll
5 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

Lanes to the East of Priorslee lake
6 Stock Doves
2 Skylarks
2 Whitethroats
3 Blackcaps
3 Chiffchaffs
4 Linnets
1 Reed Bunting
7 Yellowhammers
(Ed Wilson)