25 Apr 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

5.0°C > 11.0°C: A few areas of thin high cloud taking the edge off the sun at times. Very light mainly easterly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:51 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 06:35 // 07:35 – 09:35

(100th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *three Black-headed Gulls dropped in: two first years and one apparent adult – perhaps a second year as adults should be at their breeding sites.
- *a first year Herring Gull dropped in at 05:30; then c.08:30 one first year and two second years visited.
- two adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls present at 05:30 flew off to join two more passing over.
- for the first time in a very long while I failed to hear (or see!) the Cetti's Warbler.
- just two Sedge Warblers singing both in locations where they have been singing for several days.
- five Reed Warblers heard today.
- the Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the Ricoh hedge throughout. Another was singing from the north-west area near the Teece Drive gate and then presumably this bird was heard singing as it moved West alongside Teece Drive.
- the one Common Whitethroat still singing.
- the Garden Warbler was singing very intermittently again

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Canada Geese: a pair flew East; a pair and a trio flew West
- 3 Greylag Geese: a trio flew West
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 19 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Jackdaws

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair arrived and were chased away by the cob Mute Swan
- 2 Mute Swans
- 8 (6♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens only
- 20 Coots only
- 4 Great Crested Grebes only
- *3 Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- *4 Herring Gulls: see notes
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *2 Grey Herons

Hirundines etc. noted:
Clear skies so only the local nesting birds visited
- 1 Barn Swallow flew through

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- no Cetti's Warbler!
- 18 (17) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Sedge Warblers
- 5 (5) Reed Warblers
- 24 (21) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler again
- 2 (2) Lesser Whitethroats
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat

On the West end street lamp poles post-dawn:
Continuing chilly overnight

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *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:
- *3 Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines: all males
- *1 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- *1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 1 Peacock Aglais io

Moths:
- *1 Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella

Caterpillar:
- *1 as yet unidentified

Bees, wasps, etc.:
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- *Willughby's Leafcutter Bee Megachile willughbiella
- *Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis

Other flies:
- *Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *Tachinid fly Tachina fera
- *cranefly Tipula sp.
- *otherwise unidentified flies.

Bugs:
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Plant:
- *Lords & Ladies Arum maculatum [Cuckoo Pint]

A very little mist and no low cloud today.

A first year Black-headed Gull. At this age birds develop a variable amount of dark on the head but always show dark tail-tips.

A first year Herring Gull – perhaps. I saw it earlier in flight while the light-level was still low. It had the paler inner-primaries of this species but they were not as extensive as I would have expected and I wondered about Yellow-legged Gull. I really cannot be sure. Most of the literature concentrates on birds in winter plumage.

A Grey Heron carefully steps across the rocks on the dam-face whilst trying not to attract the attention of the other Grey Heron that had been chasing it.

A male Orange-tip Anthocharis cardamines: tucks in to a flower of Lady's Smock (Cuckooplant or Milkmaid) Cardamine pratensis. Note the similarity in part of the scientific names. The butterfly feeds on the flower as we see here.

The pattern on the under-side of the hind-wing is shared with the female: she lacks any orange in her fore-wing.

My first Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi of the year. The veins are never green but black. On the underside of fresh specimens the black is edged pale yellow. This soon wears away.

My first Speckled Wood butterfly Pararge aegeria of the year.

This is a Green Long-horn moth Adela reaumurella waving its long-horns (antennae for detecting females).

Another view. I see this species most year though frequently as a small fighting group around the tops of bushes and trees.

An accident: I only noticed this caterpillar as I was looking through my photos. It is as yet unidentified.

This is a Willughby's Leafcutter Bee Megachile willughbiella. This is only my second record of this species here though my bee identification skills are not great and I have probably overlooked it in the past.

Here a Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis. I see this species around this date (only) most years.

A male Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax

For a change a male Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare. With wings folded across the abdomen it is difficult to see that the yellow spots are rectangular (and not triangular as they are on females).

As so often a male Syrphus so it remains either S. ribesii or S. vitripennis

A male Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria. I think this is a great-looking fly. Spectacularly ugly but good at doing what it says on the tin (it is the fly that is yellow and not the dung! Females are much browner)

Another spectacular fly. It is the Tachinid fly Tachina fera

A cranefly of the genus Tipula. Despite the clarity of the wing-pattern I cannot match it with photos on the NatureSpot web site.

Unidentified fly species #1.

And species #2. Note the white halteres.

And species #3. A Muscid fly but which?

Very strange: this is the harvestman Platybunus triangularis. It is my fourth this year. Last year I saw just one and it was my first-ever.

This is a Lords & Ladies Arum maculatum with the fruiting spike visible. The spike is pollinated by moth flies Psychodidae sp. and turns in to a cluster of bright red berries by the end of August. All parts of the plant are poisonous to Man.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 3 midges
- 3 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:30

(97th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- yesterday's Mallard ducklings seen again.
- I did not hear any Sedge Warbler song.
- a Lesser Redpoll was heard giving its rolling flight call notes and then its twangy call notes while I was in squirrel alley. I could not determine whether it was flying over or in the tree tops. An unusual date.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 11 Canada Geese: of these a pair departed
- 3 Greylag Goose: departed together
- 2 Mute Swans
- *19 (16♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 8 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens again
- 22 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- no Sedge Warbler
- 5 (5) Blackcaps

Noted around the area:

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

The duck Mallard with her two ducklings.

More Long-tailed Tit food delivery service.

And more.

They are clearly better at finding insects than I am.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
1 Reed Warbler
1 Sedge Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Lesser Whitethroat
5 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2013
Priorslee Lake
Tawny Owl
4 Great Crested Grebes
2 Cormorants
2 Lapwings
2 Common Sandpiper
3 Reed Warblers
14 Blackcaps
8 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
2 Great Crested Grebe
1 Greylag Goose
1 Richardson's / Cackling-type Canada Goose
12 Tufted Duck
5 Song Thrushes
3 Blackcaps
3 Chiffchaffs
3 Willow Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

Woodhouse Lane
3 Common Whitethroats
2 Linnets.
7 Yellowhammers
Blackcaps
Chiffchaffs
Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
4 Meadow Pipits
4 Skylark
20 Wheatear
2 Fieldfare
1 Lesser Whitethroat.
2 Common Whitethroats.
3 Blackcaps.
2 Chiffchaffs.
1 Linnet.
2 Yellowhammer
(Ed Wilson, John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
1 Whimbrel
2 Curlew
6 Dunlin
2 Ringed Plover
(JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
35 Swallows
2 House Martins
Grey Wagtail
Blackcap
Chiffchaff
2 Swift
1 Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood, J W Reeves, Martin Grant)

Nedge Hill
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Yellow Wagtail
Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
9 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
3 Common Sandpiper
(Andy Latham)

Nedge Hill
Swift
12 Wheatear
1 Whinchat
Lesser Whitethroat
2 Whitethroat
Blackcap
(Andy Latham)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
19 Wheatear
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Turtle Doves
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
4 Great Crested Grebes
Sand Martins
Swallows
1 Tufted Duck
1 Sedge Warbler
4 Reed Warblers
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Common Whitethroat
3 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
1 Common Whitethroat
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee
3 Great Crested Grebes
1 Tufted Duck
1 Wheatear
1 Chiffchaff
1 Willow Tit
1 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
5 Wheatears
1 Whinchat
1 Sedge Warbler
Common Whitethroat
4 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
Swallows
1 Grey Wagtail
6 Blackcaps
6 Willow Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
7 Great Crested Grebes
4 Herons
4 Greylag Geese
4 Tufted Ducks
2 Ruddy Duck
2 Kestrels
2 Common Sandpipers
1 Skylark
23 Sand Martins
12 Swallows
29 Wrens
2 Sedge Warblers
2 Reed Warblers
11 Blackcaps
8 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
2 Jays
7 Greenfinches
21 Redpolls
5 Reed Buntings.

Lanes
3 Whitethroats
2 Skylarks
3 Whitethroats
2 Blackcaps
1 Chiffchaff
4 Linnets
6 Yellowhammers
(Ed Wilson)