30 Apr 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 12.0°C: Another mostly clear to start. It stayed clear to the East with variable medium-level cloud below a high overcast to the West and overhead. Fresh south-easterly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:39 BST

* = a species photographed today

Quite a day today with numerous highlights:
- best was two Whimbrel that flew south-west together over Teece Drive at 07:25. My only other record of this species in the area was of a single bird heard calling overhead on 26 April 2019.
- my second Common Sandpiper of the year at The Flash. Surprisingly I did not note any at the Balancing Lake.
- no fewer than seven singing Sedge Warblers: six at the Balancing Lake, all along the South side where several were almost shoulder-to-shoulder. Also one at The Flash in water-side vegetation between the two footbridges.
- a second Lesser Whitethroat record at the lake with one singing in the Ricoh hedge both at 05:30 and 09:30 (and probably in between).
Frustratingly I was not able to get photos of any of these!

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:20 // 07:20 – 09:50

(95th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
The Whimbrel as highlighted is my 90th bird species here this year.

Other bird notes:
- still seven Greylag Goose goslings despite two Carrion Crows hanging around. The adults did not seen particularly concerned.
- after confirming just two Great Crested Grebes yesterday I noted seven on the surface at one time today.
- a Kestrel flew West at 05:40 and soon after was seen hovering over the Ricoh grounds. Possibly the same bird flew East at 08:50. The number of recent sightings suggests that this declining species is once again nesting locally.
- Starlings are now ferrying food from the playing fields toward the estate. I have not heard begging juveniles so I assume they are feeding egg-sitting partners.
- the only Common Whitethroat to have set up a territory was singing as usual until at least 07:30. I did not hear him later.
- as they do every year during late Spring and early Summer the House Sparrows from the estate are venturing around the lake area. Today one reached as far as the dam. I have never proven that they have nested around the lake.
- after weeks (months) of almost no records a Nuthatch has been calling loudly from the Ricoh copse for the last two mornings.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 7 Canada Geese: a pair outbound and a quintet inbound
- 6 Greylag Geese: four flew South together and a pair inbound
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Cormorants: a single and two duos
- 5 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Swifts
- 10 Sand Martins
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 8 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
An almost full-house of species: just Grasshopper Warbler missing
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 14 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (6) Sedge Warblers
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers
- 17 (12) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (1) Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: the resident pair throughout: a pair visited and stayed on the dam top
- 2 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 3 (2♂) Mallard: also 1 (1♂) on the lower pool
- no Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 12 Coots only
- 7 Great Crested Grebes

On the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Nothing at all seen

Noted later:

The sun was not out and a brisk wind again:

Hoverflies:
- "Buttercup" Hoverfly Cheilosia albitarsis/ranunculi agg.
- Short Melanostoma Melanostoma mellinum aka Variable Duskyface

Other flies:
- plumed midges
- Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
- a 'greenbottle', perhaps Eudasyphora cyanella
- at least five other species of fly

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- 24 Spot Ladybird Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata

A couple of photos of a sunrise for which it was worth getting up.

A different view. As so often it was all downhill for the next few hours.

The family party of Greylag Geese seem happy on the dam-top.

All seven goslings gathered together.

A Kestrel hovering over the Ricoh grass just as the sun is rising. The narrow white tips to the otherwise broad black tail band indicate it is a female.

And again. With the tail more or less closed the missing feather(s) are less obvious.

I think this is one of the species pair Cheilosia albitarsis/ranunculi that favour buttercups. All members of this genus of hoverflies are glossy green/black and apart from one large species with patterned wings they are very difficult to separate.

A female Short Melanostoma hoverfly Melanostoma mellinum aka Variable Duskyface. Many females are all-dark (melanistic): not this one.

Obsidentify is not good at flies: the scientific name it gave to its 100% identification of this turns out to be a black and yellow hoverfly with bold stripes on the thorax. I think not! Searching NatureSpot leads me to the Muscid fly Eudasyphora cyanella on the basis of the white collar and the dark lines extending across the thorax. But...

A different individual. These are different-looking 'greenbottle' flies with the green increasing in intensity toward the rear of the abdomen. I read that as they age the green turns to bronze. That's helpful!

Another greenish fly, this one apparently having lost (part of) an antenna. No white collar or marks on the thorax of this species.

I said Obsidentify is not good at flies. It was 100% sure this was a Common Cranefly. I am 100% sure it isn't. But what it is I have no idea.

 I wonder whether this is the same species of fly?

My initial thought this might be "another Cheilosia hoverfly". The white around the inside of the eyes is not a feature of any species of hoverfly. So yet another unidentified fly.

Another two-fer. I can't tell anything about either of the flies but I can identify a Dandelion when I see one.

A red ladybird with lots of spots immediately suggests a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea. However this was about a quarter the size of a typical Harlequin and...

...does not show white on the face. The head and thorax are the same colour as the elytra. It is a 24 Spot Ladybird Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata. It is a good job that they wear a label showing their scientific name: you would need a microscope to read it. They do not always have exactly 24 spots.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- various midges

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:15

(98th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
The Sedge Warbler as highlighted is my 65th bird species here this year. I record this species on passage most years.

Other bird notes:
- big reduction in Tufted Duck numbers recently (none today at the Balancing Lake)
- only juvenile Coot seems extant from the first-noted brood. The second noted brood not seen.
- now only one Willow Warbler singing here. It has been singing strongly in the same place for several days as if it has set up a territory.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 6 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 6 (4) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (1) Goldcrest

Noted on / around the water:
- 22 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 5 Mute Swans
- 13 (10♂) Mallard
- 4 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 19 + 1 (1 brood) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper

Noted elsewhere around The Flash on different lamp poles:

Moths:
- all gone! The street lamp was getting the full force of the breeze

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Would you believe a Common Sandpiper in flight? The best I could do.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
2 Raven
2 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Whinchat
1 Yellow Wagtail
1 White Wagtail
2 Common Redstart
40 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
3 Whimbrel
(JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Common Redstart
15 Wheatear
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Raven
(John Isherwood)

The Wrekin
2 Pied Flycatchers
Common Redstart
(Observer Unknown)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Hobby
2 Red-legged Partridge
Lesser Whitethroat
Cormorant
5 Lapwings
6 Reed Warblers
3 Whitethroats
8 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
4 Linnet
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
17 Mute Swans
(Martin Adlam)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Swift
c.20 Sand Martins
1 Swallow
6 House Sparrows
2 Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
2 Stock Dove
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Sedge Warbler
4 Reed Warblers
Chiffchaff
126 Jackdaw
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Buzzards
Swallow
Ring Ouzel
2 Common Whitethroat
1 Chiffchaff
2 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
3 Great Crested Grebes
Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
2 Greylag Geese
6 Tufted Ducks
2 Common Sandpiper
1 Cuckoo
1 Skylark
c.10 Sand Martins
c.8 Swallows
c.20 House Martins
1 Meadow Pipit
2 Grey Wagtails
32 Wren
26 Blackbirds
2 Sedge Warblers
3 Reed Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroats
2 Garden Warbler
10 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
1 Jay
11 Chaffinches
8 Greenfinches
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)