18 Apr 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 11.0°C: Mostly clear with a few medium-level clouds. Light southerly wind, veering moderate westerly. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:06 BST

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

Just one Willow Warbler noted this morning – at The Flash.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:30 – 06:30 // 07:30 – 08:55

(94th visit of the year)

Other things to do today so a shorter than usual visit which may have affected some of the counts.

New bird species:
Yet another addition to my 2026 bird list for here: a Garden Warbler was singing from the south-west copse c.08:40. Species #79 this year for me and another warbler recorded on my earliest-ever date [20 April in 2020 was my previous earliest record]. Also the last of the warbler species I record every year here. Still a few possibilities for passage birds.

Not a species to add to the formal list: a Common Peafowl (Peacock) was calling distant. I think from across the M54 though in previous years it has been in the now-deserted university campus grounds. It is the first year I have heard it before the start of May.

Other bird notes:
- *just one Common Sandpiper noted.
- one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull flew on to the football field at 05:32; two were on the south-west grass at 05:45.
- one of the only two Sedge Warblers noted was in a new location and heard pre-dawn only.
- no Reed Warblers were heard or seen. Their usual breeding areas are not in very good condition. Much of the larger areas of reeds was cut by the sailing club during the Winter. Some smaller stands of old reeds are in locations prone to human disturbance,
- the only Pied Wagtail seen on the dam this morning was a male taking away nesting material.
- *a pair of Siskin was seen in tree tops around the Teece Drive gate.
- a Reed Bunting was heard singing along the South side c.05:50. A male (the same) was seen along the North side c.08:35.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Goose: a pair flew East
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *1 Grey Heron: very high
- 7 Wood Pigeons
- 13 Jackdaws

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair arrived
- 2 Mute Swans: the pen on the nest throughout
- 12 (9♂) Mallard
- 6 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 21 Coots once more
- 7 Great Crested Grebes again
- *1 Common Sandpiper
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- *1 Grey Heron
- the Great (White) Egret seems to have deserted us

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Sand Martins
- 2 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- no Willow Warblers
- *14 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Sedge Warblers
- no Reed Warblers
- 16 (12) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat again

On the West end street lamp poles post-dawn:

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 possible Noble or False Widow Spider Steatoda nobilis
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *1 harvestman Platybunus triangularis (also known as Rilaena triangularis)

Noted around the area later:
[numbers only given for moths and butterflies unless exceptional counts noted]

Butterflies:
- *1 male Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines

Flies:
- only a few unidentified flies.

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Mainly clear skies at dawn.

Very little colour.

 I could only capture the Common Sandpiper in flight today. One view.

Here, as it prepares to land, note the small feathers where the front of the wing bends. These are called alula and, just like the leading edge flaps on aircraft, they aid manoeuvrability at low speed by increasing airflow over the upperwings.

Probably the Grey Heron seen here earlier flying off West.

This Grey Heron flying very high East some ten minutes later I have assumed is a different bird.

Mrs. Blackbird on the academy fence. She seems to be carrying a leaf that is mostly decomposed, presumably to form part of her nest lining.

The daily Chiffchaff.

A second helping of Chiffchaff. I suspected the Cetti's Warbler was about to pop in to this bush as it made its regular round. When I saw this warbler shoot in to the bush I thought I had nailed it. Drat! The Cetti's dived in a few seconds later and completely hid away from view. How does it do that?

High up in tall poplar tree is a male Siskin. Hard to identify here but colour could only reasonably confused with a Greenfinch which is a bulkier bird and has a much larger bill. An unusually late date for this species here according to my records (18 March last year).

A not very good photo of a very flighty male Orange-tip butterfly Anthocharis cardamines with an annoying shadow across one wing. Only the males have the orange area on the wing. Look hard: the wing-tips are in fact black with white fringes but that does not trip off the tongue so easily!

One of three "spiders" found on the street lamp poles. This is possibly a Noble or False Widow Spider Steatoda nobilis.

This is one of the Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders of the Tetragnatha group. The large palps indicate it is a male. I cannot, off hand, recall seeing such obvious palps on any of this group previously.

Not strictly a spider because the body comprises a single part. It is the harvestman Platybunus triangularis (also known as Rilaena triangularis). As their name suggests this group is more associated with Autumn (harvest-time) and are found mostly between July and December, sometimes in to January. This species is an exception and the only species found in Spring. My first-ever record was here on 05 May last year.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Nothing noted. I forgot to take my torch – doh!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:35 – 07:25

(90th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the only Great Crested Grebe noted was well away from the putative nest site.
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming loudly near the bottom of squirrel alley. Could I see it? Nope.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 25 Canada Geese: of these a pair departed
- 6 Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 22 (19♂) Mallard
- 6 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 19 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 6 (6) Chiffchaffs
- *12 (9) Blackcaps: seemed to be everywhere

Noted around the area later:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Lacewings and allies:
- *1 Alder Fly Sialis lutaria

Flies:
- *4 plumed midges, all female Chironomus plumosus

It is just possible to make out this is a Blackcap. It takes more imagination to identify it as a female with a brown cap. Not easy high overhead against the light. Edited as best I can.

A different Song Thrush from my recent photos. This one was in one of the lower car parks of Hickory's Smokehouse.

The parallel-sided yellow stripe down the side of the thorax identifies this as a Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris.

An Alder Fly Sialis lutaria: in the same place as seen on 08 April but not there since.

One of four plumed midges that I found here today. All females (antennae without plumes) and all, like this one, large enough to be Chironomus plumosus.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Lesser Whitethroat
7 Wheatear
6 Lapwing
Whitethroat
(John Isherwood)

2013
Nedge Hill
21 Wheatears
3 Common Redstart
Common Whitethroat
(Peter Jordan, Ian Grant)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Sedge Warbler
25 Swallows
6 House Martins
1 Sand Martin
Chiffchaff
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
(John Isherwood, Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
1 Redstart
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
17 Tufted Duck
1 Common Sandpiper
Swallows
House Martins
Sand Martins
2 Reed Warblers again
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
Lapwing
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Redstart
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon
4 Willow Warblers
15 Sand Martins
27 Swallows
2 Gadwall
4 Tufted Ducks
2 Kestrels
9 Chiffchaffs
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Sand Martins
6 Swallows
2 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
17 Willow Warblers (11 in song)
4 Redpolls

Nedge Hill
2 Willow Warblers

Trench Lock
2 Sand Martins
7 Swallows
2 Chiffchaff
3 Willow Warblers

2007
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpipers
1 Garden Warbler
Chiffchaff
Reed Bunting
1 Ring-necked Parakeet
(Ed Wilson, Martin Grant)

The Flash
1 Common Sandpiper
1 Curlew
(Ed Wilson)

Wood Lane
1 Grasshopper Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Swallow
1 Sand Martin
4 Great Crested Grebes
1 Heron
3 Tufted Duck
2 Ruddy Duck
5 Common Sandpiper
1 Kestrel
1 Buzzard
1 Skylark
2 Grey Wagtail
1 Willow Tit
5 Greenfinch
1 Linnet
3 Reed Bunting.
(Martin Adlam)

Lanes east of Priorslee Lake
4 Pheasants
4 Skylarks
4 Blackcaps
2 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
8 Linnets
4 Yellowhammers
1 Redwing
1 Tree Sparrow
1 Common Whitethroat
2 Stock Dove
2 Jay
2 Kestrel
(Martin Adlam)
1 Willow Tit
5 Greenfinch
1 Linnet
1 Redpoll
4 Reed Bunting
(Martin Adlam)