20 Mar 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 7.0°C: Mist slowly lifting and beginning to clear to this high overcast. Light easterly breeze. Poor visibility: very poor to start.

Sunrise: 06:13 GMT

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:50 – 09:10

(64th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a late *Fieldfare was seen and heard calling from trees near Castle Farm Way. Later five Redwings flew out of West end trees.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 10 Canada Geese: three flew South together; seven flew West together
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair flew South
- 7 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw

Anything else lost in the mist.

Counts from the lake area:
- 9 Canada Geese: a pair throughout; one pair departed; two pairs and a single arrived separately
- 2 Mute Swans
- 14 (10♂) Mallard
- 16 (11♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 22 Coots: partial count in the mist?
- 5 Great Crested Grebes remain
- 1 Black-headed Gull: first-year, briefly
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult for c.20 minutes
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 2 Grey Herons: one departed 06:35

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler still
- 11 (11) Chiffchaffs

Noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn:
Dew-covered poles did not help.

Moths:
- *1 unidentified moth

Flies:
- *plumed midges Chironomus plumosus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later:

Flies:
- *1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp., probably S. fenestralis
- small plumed midges

Flowers:
- *Red Dead-nettle Lamium purpureum
- *either Sweet Violet Viola odorata or Early Dog-violet V. reichenbachiana

Dreadful light – indeed what light? This is a Fieldfare. Visible here is its grey rump and the yellow on the bill.

A slightly better view shows that the spotting is only on the throat and the sides of the breast. Also that the spotting is against a warm buff background.

A pair of Pied Wagtails, the female on the left. This pair have been regular visitors to the dam-top for ten days or so. I often also note a pair on the south-west grass. Are these the same?

Bother. This dew-covered moth on a street lamp pole pre-dawn will have to remain unidentified. I went back later when the dew might have gone but so had the moth. There are several candidate species of moth with this general shape that are on the wing at this date.

Also dew-covered is this male midge. I think the size and the banded abdomen mean it is likely Chironomus plumosus.

One without dew.

Here a wood gnat Sylvicola sp. The three stripes of the thorax, the patterned wings with dark tip means it is probably S. fenestralis though (all together now) "there are several similar species".

Do I need to say? A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. also found on a street lamp pole pre-dawn.

Just appearing on flower is Red Dead-nettle Lamium purpureum. The leaves of Lamium species do look somewhat similar to Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica though none of them stings – hence "dead nettle".

My photo does not show the specific identification feature to separate Sweet Violet Viola odorata from Early Dog-violet V. reichenbachiana. I have logged each of these species in previous years. I'll try and clinch the ID with a side-on photo of a single flower (if I remember!)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:

(62nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- one pair of Mute Swans. For a long while I was not sure which of yesterday's two pairs these might be as neither seemed interested in visiting the nest site. Eventually one did..
- two adult Great Crested Grebes today

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 23 Canada Geese: of these two pairs departed
- 4 Greylag Geese: arrived as two pairs at different times
- 2 Mute Swans
- 25 (19♂) Mallard
- 25 (15♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 28 Coots
- *2 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: one adult and two first-years
- 1 Herring Gull: second year
- 2 Cormorants: one adult and one immature in trees only

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 6 (6) Chiffchaffs

Of note around the area:

Flies:
- *1 wood gnat Sylvicola sp., probably S. fenestralis
- *several species of midge on street lamp poles

Springtails:
- *1 unidentified springtail

Water of a grebe's back. Great Crested of course.

It seems odd that while the plumage looks wet there are beads of water on the feathers.

Two Cormorants in trees on the island. The bird on the left with the white belly is an immature. The other bird was showing white thigh patches (not visible from this angle) and thus an adult.

It was very quiet around the wooded areas but I did find this Great Tit willing to pose.

As at the Balancing Lake a wood gnat probably Sylvicola fenestralis. Hickory's Smokehouse apologises for the split in their wooden post not being vertical.

A midge and a puzzling one – but then aren't they all. The antennae are not plumed suggesting this is a female. But those antennae are unusually long for a female.

Another midge: much smaller and stouter with an obvious mark in the wing. There seem to be no internet sites with more than token illustrations of midges.

This is a side-elevation view of an unidentified springtail on the edge of a sign. I included it because it shows that the body of this insect, like most springtails, is hairy.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
7 Wigeon
2 Gadwall
27 Tufted Ducks
6 Redwings
138 Jackdaws
1 Chiffchaff
1 Redpoll
7+ Siskins
2 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Great Crested Grebe
7 Mute Swans
1 Pochard
56 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

Long Lane, Wellington
133 Lapwing
17 Golden Plover
1 Redshank
3 Dunlin
2 Oystercatcher
3 Teal
c.600 Black-headed Gulls
5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 Herring Gull.
(Martin Grant)

2011
Priorslee Lake
17 Tufted Duck
11 Golden Plover
17 Meadow Pipits
5 Chiffchaffs (4 in song)
Raven
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
40 Golden Plover
11 Lapwing
1 Red-legged Partridge
2 Green Woodpeckers
8 Meadow Pipits
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
32 Tufted Duck
1 Curlew
2 Brambling
1 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
5 Great Crested Grebe
6 Gadwall
39 Tufted Duck
146 Jackdaws on roost dispersal
c.35 Greenfinches
c.15 Goldfinches
c.10 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Great Crested Grebe
36 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Yellow-legged Gull
435 Lesser Black-backed Gull
(Peter Wilson)

2007
Priorslee lake
3 Great Crested Grebe
12 Cormorant
24 Tufted Duck
1 Ruddy Duck
1 Merlin
1 Buzzard
2 Kestrel
1 Great Black-backed Gull
188 Wood Pigeon
1 Green Woodpecker
26 Wren
5 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Tit
55 Magpie
14 Greenfinch
5 Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson, Martin Adlam)

The Flash
9 Great Crested Grebe
2 Pochard
26 Tufted Duck
1 Chiffchaff singing
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
c.250 Black-headed Gulls
146 Lesser-black Backs
15 Herring Gull
2 Yellow-leg Gulls
2 Common Gulls
36 Tufted Duck
6 Great Crested Grebe
1 Cormorant
2 Water Rail
3 Siskins
2 Redpoll
3 Linnet
3 Reed Bunting
(Martin R Adlam)