3.0°C > 9.0°C: Just frosted. A few clouds tending to increase. Moderate south-easterly breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:14 BST
* = a species photographed today.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:40 – 06:35 // 07:35 – 09:25
(92nd visit of the year)
*Workers from the council were cutting down more vegetation alongside Teece Drive. The council don't care a toss do they?
Bird notes:
- I was surprised to see four Mute Swans asleep together at 06:00 – three adults and a first winter. Later just the two new resident adults. It seems odd that they should have allowed the visitors to stay overnight. Later still the new pen was inside the reeds, probably at her chosen nest site. No rings read to confirm any identities.
- the pair of Gadwall not seen today.
- the duck Pochard still present.
- eight confirmed Great Crested Grebes.
- at least six Common Sandpipers. Four seen together early and late with six together in flight several times in between.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 13 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Jackdaws
- no Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 7 Canada Geese: of these four arrived
- 4 Greylag Geese: briefly; together
- 4 Mute Swans: two departed: see notes
- 6 (5♂) Mallard again
- 1 (0♂) Pochard as ever
- no Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- *29 Coots
- *8 Great Crested Grebes
- *6? Common Sandpipers: see notes
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Sand Martins
- 2 Barn Swallows
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 2 (2) Willow Warblers
- 23 (17) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Reed Warblers
- 13 (13) Blackcaps
On the West end street lamp poles
Pre-dawn:
Beetles:
*1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Noted later:
*1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Noted later:
Bees, wasps etc.:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Hoverflies:
*Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis
*Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis
Alder flies:
Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
Other flies:
many unidentified flies.
many unidentified flies.
Beetles:
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
There is no way to get better lighting on the sailing club jetty at this time of day so I was forced to shoot these four Common Sandpipers against the light.
A pair of Coots and a pair of Great Crested Grebes often seem to be disputing who owns this platform. It was built by the Coots and it may merely be that it is too close to the Great Crested Grebes' intended nesting site.
A frosty start and the only creature on the street lamp poles around dawn was this Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni.
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
"Only cutting brambles and birds don't nest in brambles" I was told. Wrong on two counts. There were other stems being fed in to the shredder. And Wrens and Blackbirds use brambles as cover for their nests. Anyway what is wrong with brambles? The flowers are an important food resource for many insect species, especially Gatekeeper butterflies. And in the Autumn warblers consume the berries to fatten up before their long migration. Sure the vegetation along Teece Drive that can overhang the fence needs to be kept in check. But not in the bird nesting season. Do the council just not care about the regulations?
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:40 – 07:30
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:30
(89th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- it seems a strange time of year for Tufted Duck numbers to be increasing. Today all bar one drake were in two tight groups chasing and calling. Could the lone drake have a partner on a nest somewhere? This species has occasionally bred here.
- three Great Crested Grebes seen again. Two were chase-diving off Derwent Drive as I arrived. Later a pair was at the top end near the overhanging trees with another in the middle of the water.
- I am uncertain as to the number of Willow Warblers: they seemed to be moving steadily through the vegetation and I may have counted any one bird in more than one place.
- *a lesson in not to implicitly trust the Merlin bird song app. I can recognise most songs and calls but occasionally use it to check. I could not decide on a distant song – Blackbird or Mistle Thrush? Merlin said Blackbird but the camera showed a Mistle Thrush singing! In fairness Merlin did change its mind.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Jackdaw
Noted on / around the water:
- 25 Canada Geese: of these two departed together
- 4 Greylag Geese: of these two departed also together
- *1 Mute Swan: only one seen; again the other almost certainly on the hidden nest.
- 14 (11♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) feral Mallard x ?
-* 31 (23♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 24 Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 6 (6) Willow Warblers
- *7 (6) Chiffchaffs
- *7 (7) Blackcaps
Of note.
Nothing else
One of the two groups of Tufted Duck that were calling and chasing around. The other group had almost as many ducks as drakes. This group had just one duck...
...which was showing a white flash in the folded wing so I zoomed in to check. It is a duck Tufted Duck and I can only assume that some of the wing feathers are missing / still re-growing and part of the white wing-bar, normally covered when at rest, is showing.
The new resident cob Mute Swan went for a fly the length of the water. Just for fun apparently.
What a pity it is not sharp! A Chiffchaff doing a bunny-hop.
A male Blackcap singing away.
I wonder why they are called blackcaps?
(Ed Wilson)
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2014
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
12 Cormorants over
3 Grey Herons
2 Tufted Duck
4 Common Sandpipers
c.6 Sand Martins
1 Swallow
Green Woodpecker
9 Blackcaps
7 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warbler
193 Jackdaws
(Ed Wilson)
The Wrekin
Tree Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Willow Tit
Marsh Tit
5 Pied Flycatchers
2 Common Redstarts
Willow Warblers
Siskins
(Ed Wilson)
2013
Priorslee Lake
2 Little Ringed Plover
6 Willow Warbler
5 Chiffchaff
1 House Martin
4 Sand Martin
(Martin Grant)
2012
Priorslee Lake
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Blackcap
Willow Tits
2 Jays
(Martin Grant)
Nedge Hill
4 Common Redstart
31 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
The Wrekin
5 Pied Flycatcher
1 Common Redstart
2 Tree Pipit
6 Willow Warbler
Marsh Tit
Goldcrest
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Siskin
Lesser Redpoll
Crossbill
(Glenn Bishton)
2011
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
1 Reed Warbler
(Ed Wilson)
Nedge Hill
4 Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)
2008
Priorslee Lake
1 Osprey
4 Gadwall
12 Sand Martin
2 Swallows
6 Willow Warblers
4 Chiffchaffs
1 Blackcap
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash
1 Common Sandpiper
6 Willow Warbler
4 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)
Trench Lock
5 Sand Martin
Swallows
4 Willow Warbler
2 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)
Nedge Hill
2 Swallows
1 Willow Warbler
2 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Pintail x Mallard
17 Tufted Duck
1 Grey Heron
2 Willow Warblers
8 Chiffchaffs
5 Blackcaps
20 Wrens
2 Linnet
6 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)
Nedge Hill
2 Willow Warblers
1 Blackcap
2 Chiffchaff
1 Fieldfare
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Swallow
1 Buzzard
4 Skylark
2 Meadow Pipit
4 Yellowhammer
3 Greenfinch 3
4 Linnet
(Martin Adlam)
2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
7 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Duck
1 Water Rail
3 Common Sandpiper
8 Chiffchaff
5 Willow Warbler
5 Blackcaps
1 Garden Warbler
3 Swallows
1 Kestrel
2 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Skylark
1 Willow Tit
2 Siskin
5 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)