12 Apr 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

6.0°C > 10.0°C: Yet another clear and fine start with some wispy high cloud developing. Again a calm start with a very light and variable breeze later. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:18 BST

More Willow Warblers passing today.

* = a species photographed today.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 06:30 // 07:25 – 09:30

(90th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no sign of any Gadwall today.
- I could not locate the duck Pochard either
- just six confirmed Great Crested Grebes.
- four Common Sandpipers at 06:00 on and around the south-west grass. Fishermen and (separately) uncontrolled dogs meant they were nowhere to be seen later.
- A Little Egret flew South c.07:50.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: pair inbound
- 1 Greylag Goose: single outbound
- 1 Stock Dove
- 18 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Little Egret
- 8 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- no Gadwall
- 5 (4♂) Mallard again
- no Pochard
- 7 Moorhens
- 31 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- *4 Common Sandpipers: departed? see notes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 4 (4) Willow Warblers
- 21 (18) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Reed Warbler
- 9 (9) Blackcaps

On the West end street lamp poles

Pre-dawn and still very little to be found.

Spiders:
- *Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later:

Butterflies:
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria: two seen, neither would pose

Bees, wasps etc.:
*possible possible Orange-tailed Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa [aka Early Mining Bee]
*possible Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
possible Flavous Nomad Bee Nomada flava

Hoverflies:
Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
*Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis

Alder flies:
Alder Fly Sialis lutaria

Other flies:
Dark-edged Bee-fly Bombilius major
many unidentified flies.

A slightly different perspective on another hazy sunrise. Two Canada Geese are at the bottom of the view.

An only-slightly-better record shot of Common Sandpiper. Here are two of the four on the south-west grass area. Taken at c.05:50 so still pre-sunrise.

Black bill and yellow feet means this egret is a Little Egret.

My best suggestion for this is a possible Orange-tailed Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa [aka Early Mining Bee]. I am sure it has nothing to do with the hole in the Cherry Laurel leaf.

And for this a possible Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica

A slightly different view.

Another possible Flavous Nomad Bee Nomada flava. I cannot decide whether it has a very furry face or whether it has something in its jaws.

A sunny Syrphus species of hoverfly, either. S. ribesii or S. vitripennis. A female. Again I am sure it has nothing to do with the hole in the leaf.

Today's lone creature on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn was this Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:35 – 07:20

(86th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- three Great Crested Grebes. One at the bottom end loosely around the nest area where I noted mating earlier in the week. And a pair patrolling the top end and hiding beneath overhanging trees.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 21 Canada Geese: of these three departed
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- *15 (11♂) Mallard
- 20 (14♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens again
- 27 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- *4 (4) Willow Warblers
- *10 (9) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps again

Of note.

Nothing else

This duck Mallard flew up on to the hand rail of one of the footbridges, demanding to have its picture taken.

The only Willow Warbler today that would pose was this one, taken against what light there was c.06:35. The distinguishing feature here is the well-defined eye-brow (supercilium). Note also the length of the wings.

For comparison a Chiffchaff. No supercilium, just a pale area in front of the eye. I could convince myself the wings look shorter (as they should do) but this is accentuated by the angle. Definitely black legs.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
1 Cormorant
2 Grey Herons
1 Greylag Goose
2 Common Sandpipers
c.6 Sand Martins
2 Barn Swallows
1 Grasshopper Warbler
10 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Swallows flew through
2 Meadow Pipits
4 Great Crested Grebes
3 Tufted Duck
9 Blackcaps
4 Willow Warblers
12 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
1 Swallow
1 Reed Bunting
3 Great Crested Grebes
33 Tufted Duck
5 Blackcaps
6 Willow Warblers
3 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
5 Lapwings
1 Swallow
1 Green Woodpecker
8 Skylarks
3 Willow Warblers
4 Chiffchaffs
1 Common Redstart
13 Wheatear
1 Raven
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

East Priorslee
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
2 Sand Martins
2 Greylag Geese
3 Stock Doves
1 Lapwing
(Ed Wilson)