25 Apr 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

3.0°C > 7.0°C: Medium level cloud after overnight slight frost. Soon cleared to thin high overcast before more lower cloud. Light south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:50 BST

* = a species photographed today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:10 // 07:05 – 07:40

(91st visit of the year)

Two short visits either side of the usual walk to, around and from The Flash. I had to leave early. Particularly frustrating as I received a report of a Cuckoo calling from the North side after 09:00!

Species Count
No species counts from here, just a log of species recorded

Other bird notes:
- no first year Mute Swans remained.

Birds species noted flying over:
- Canada Geese
- Greylag Geese
- Wood Pigeons
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Jackdaw

Hirundines etc. noted:
- Sand Martins
- Barn Swallows

Warblers noted:
- Cetti's Warbler
- Willow Warbler
- Chiffchaff
- Reed Warbler
- Blackcap
- Common Whitethroat
'nominal' warbler:
- Goldcrest
No Sedge Warbler today

Partial counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Moorhen
- Coots
- Great Crested Grebes

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

It was cold

Arthropods:
- *1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders:
- *2 Stout Sac Spiders Clubiona sp.

Noted later:

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

More or less as good as it got this morning.

Not much to show you this morning so let us have another White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger.

There were two of these Stout Sac Spiders Clubiona sp. together on the same street lamp pole. This, with the relatively large palps, is a male.

This looks to be the female. I am not sure why it is a different colour. I do recall a difference at the time so perhaps it is an effect of angle of the light from my LED torch.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- various midges
- *small cranefly, just possibly Austrolimnophila ochracea

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

This was a smaller than usual cranefly with an apparently longer than usual antennae. I can't get a positive ID. It just possibly may be Austrolimnophila ochracea.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:00

(93rd visit of the year)

A normal, if slightly earlier, walk around here.

Bird notes:
- three immature Mute Swans again.
- what I presume were a pair of Treecreepers were seen chasing around and around a tree trunk on the East side.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Great Crested Grebe: or did this take off from here?

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 27 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese
- 5 Mute Swans
- 14 (12♂) Mallard
- 13 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 2 Herring Gulls: adults, arrived together, bathed and departed to be replaced by...
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults, arrived together

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Flowers:
- Lords & Ladies or Cuckoo Pint Arum maculatum
- *(English) Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta
- *Hybrid Bluebell Hyacinthoides x massartiana.

I believe these are Hybrid Bluebells Hyacinthoides x massartiana. Note that the stems are straight and the bells are all around the stem.

These bluebells are not yet fully open but are showing features of (English) Bluebell H. non-scripta. Note the stems are bending over and the bells look to be on one side of the stem only.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Reed Warbler
1 Sedge Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Lesser Whitethroat
5 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Tawny Owl
4 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
2 Lapwings
2 Common Sandpiper
3 Reed Warblers
14 Blackcaps
8 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Great Crested Grebe
1 Greylag Goose
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
12 Tufted Duck
5 Song Thrushes
3 Blackcaps
3 Chiffchaffs
3 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Woodhouse Lane
3 Common Whitethroats
2 Linnets.
7 Yellowhammers
Blackcaps
Chiffchaffs
Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
4 Meadow Pipits
4 Skylark
20 Wheatear
2 Fieldfare
1 Lesser Whitethroat.
2 Common Whitethroats.
3 Blackcaps.
2 Chiffchaffs.
1 Linnet.
2 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
1 Whimbrel
2 Curlew
6 Dunlin
2 Ringed Plover
(JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
35 Swallows
2 House Martins
Grey Wagtail
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
2 Swift
1 Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood, J W Reeves, Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Yellow Wagtail
Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
9 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
3 Common Sandpiper
(Andy Latham)

Nedge Hill
Swift
12 Wheatear
1 Whinchat
Lesser Whitethroat
2 Whitethroat
Blackcap
(Andy Latham)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
19 Wheatear
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Turtle Doves
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
Sand Martins
Swallows
1 Tufted Duck
1 Sedge Warbler
4 Reed Warblers
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Common Whitethroat
3 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
1 Common Whitethroat
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee
3 Great Crested Grebes
1 Tufted Duck
1 Wheatear
1 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Tit
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
5 Wheatears
1 Whinchat
1 Sedge Warbler
Common Whitethroat
4 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
Swallows
1 Grey Wagtail
6 Blackcaps
6 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
4 Herons
4 Greylag Geese
4 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Duck
2 Kestrels
2 Common Sandpipers
1 Skylark
23 Sand Martins
12 Swallows
29 Wrens
2 Sedge Warblers
2 Reed Warblers
11 Blackcaps
8 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
2 Jays
7 Greenfinches
21 Redpolls
5 Reed Buntings.

Lanes
3 Whitethroats
2 Skylarks
3 Whitethroats
2 Blackcaps
1 Chiffchaff
4 Linnets
6 Yellowhammers
(Ed Wilson)