7.0°C > 12.0°C: Clear early with only a few patches of cloud and light mist over the water. More broken cloud later. Calm. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 07:10 BST
* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:35 – 09:10
(238th visit of the year)
Update
Yesterday I showed a photo of four flying ducks and noted "You will probably have to take my word for it that these are four Common Teal". You should not have taken my word for it and thankfully Tom Lowe didn't either. He has pointed out the long thin necks identifies them as $ Pintail. I am enormously grateful to Tom for putting me back on the straight and narrow yet again. As my school report use to say so often: "must try harder"! This brings my bird species total this year to 101 – so far.
Today's bird notes:
- eight Mallard (I hope!) flew off to the East around dawn. They may or may not have returned but are not included in the counts.
- back to four Great Crested Grebes. None of them is an immature.
- another large arrival of gulls commencing with at least 350 Lesser Black-backed Gull by 06:50 with up to 300 Black-headed Gulls by 07:00. There may have been more: a low-flying helicopter put them all to flight with many leaving. Among those settling back on the water could well have been new arrivals.
- when I went to check the football field I noted 45 Black-headed Gulls flying off: there was none on the grass.
- a small later arrival of large gulls after 08:00 produced the only Herring Gulls on the water.
- the Jackdaws and Rooks different again with three sizeable groups of Rooks and only a scatter of Jackdaws.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 32 Greylag Geese: inbound in three groups
- 49 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 43 Jackdaws only
- 176 Rooks
- 2 Pied Wagtails
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 13 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 39 Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- >300 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- >350 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: seen briefly
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 5 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap
Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 5 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap
Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Moths:
- *1 Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana: same as yesterday
- *1 Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana: same as yesterday
Springtails:
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
- *1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
Other flies:
- 1 Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- 1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 1 Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii
- 1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:
- 1 Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
Noted on the walls of the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:
Flies:
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 cranefly Tipula confusa
- *1 unidentified fly
- 1 plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 1 cranefly Tipula confusa
- *1 unidentified fly
Slugs, snails etc.:
- 1 snail, not identified
- 1 snail, not identified
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 27 spiders: usual suspects
Noted later elsewhere:
- 27 spiders: usual suspects
Noted later elsewhere:
Bees, wasps, etc.:
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: at least 10 around the nest site
- European Hornet Vespa crabro: at least 10 around the nest site
Flies:
- 2 craneflies Tipula confusa
- *1 dead European Cranefly Tipula paludosa in a spider web
- 2 craneflies Tipula confusa
- *1 dead European Cranefly Tipula paludosa in a spider web
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
- *1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
Fungus:
- *Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus
- *Shaggy Inkcap or Lawyer's Wig Coprinus comatus
Around dawn this was the view looking westward with cloud approaching. Mist hangs over the water. The disturbed area in the middle of the water is several hundred mainly Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Well after sunrise with the cloud closer. The lake flat calm with all the gulls departed.
An adult "king of the castle" Goldfinch.
Another chance to see....yesterday's Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana was still in the same place but slightly less dew bespattered. The species part of the scientific name indicates it has a variety of forms. Most have the a significant part of the forewing white, wholly so in some instances.
The springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis. The dew is covering the banding normally obvious on the abdomen.
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Flies:
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 80 midges of various species
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
- 80 midges of various species
Arthropods:
- 14 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger
- 14 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 5 spiders: usual suspects
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 09:15 – 10:20
- 5 spiders: usual suspects
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:20
(229th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- only eight Mute Swans noted.
- *a duck Common Teal (honest!) lurking by the island.
- ten Cormorants counted.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws
Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 4 Greylag Geese
- *8 Mute Swans
- 33 (10♂) Mallard
- *1 (0♂) Common Teal
- 23 (5?♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 91 Coots
- *7 Great Crested Grebes: not all aged
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 10 Cormorants
- no Grey Heron
Warblers recorded:
None
Noted around the area:
Noted around the area:
Bees, wasps, etc.:
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: just one
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: just one
Flies:
- moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli
The juvenile Great Crested Grebes still show stripes on the head when close-to. Birds can be hard to age at a distance.
A view of a female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli showing her unique dark saddle marking to good effect. Less obvious is the white around the oculum, present on both sexes.
(Ed Wilson)
- *1 female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli
Little and large. In front of the Mute Swan is a duck Common Teal.
(Ed Wilson)