6.0°C > 8.0°C: Cloudy. Once again brighter-looking to the East. Light / moderate south-easterly breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:27 BST
* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:30 // 07:25 – 09:45
(109th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- all seven Greylag Geese goslings present and correct.
- no Mallard ducklings seen.
- *after a respite yesterday it was back to chasing a lone female for many of the Tufted Duck – eleven drakes involved! Another pair remained well away from the action.
- I confirmed seven Great Crested Grebes today.
- all the gulls seen today were fly-overs again with one group of two Herring Gulls with eight Lesser Black-backed Gulls heading East.
- more changes in the warblers:
no Sedge Warblers heard.
two Garden Warbler singing: one near its traditional nesting area in the tallest bushes alongside the M54; the other in the copse beside the sailing club HQ. Neither was seen.
- at c.05:30 I thought I heard a snatch of a Lesser Whitethroat song from beside the (very noisy) M54. Nothing was heard later.
Only two singing Common Whitethroats noted: yesterday's third at the West end alongside the footpath was not noted.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Canada Geese: a pair flew East and a pair flew North
- 4 Greylag Geese: a pair flew South again and a pair flew East
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 3 Stock Doves: a pair and a single
- 4 Wood Pigeons
Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: one pair throughout: another pair arrived and were presumed to have been the pair that departed
- 2 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 7 (6♂) Mallard
- *14 (12♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 3 Moorhens
- 17 Coots only
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron: departed
Hirundines etc. noted:
Minimum numbers as birds swirled around
- *10 Swifts
- *20 Sand Martins
- *25 Barn Swallows
- 4 House Martins
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 18 (16) Chiffchaffs
- no Sedge Warblers
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers again
- 15 (13) Blackcaps
- 1 (1)? Lesser Whitethroat: see notes
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers: see notes
On the West end street lamp poles post-dawn:
Once again very disappointing:
Flies:
- *1 unidentified midge.
Noted around the area later:
Very little in the overcast conditions with temperatures below the magic 10°C
- *1 unidentified midge.
Noted around the area later:
Very little in the overcast conditions with temperatures below the magic 10°C
Flies:
- *probable Spotted Cranefly Nephrotoma appendiculata
- *female cranefly Tipula lunata
- *probable Spotted Cranefly Nephrotoma appendiculata
- *female cranefly Tipula lunata
Plants:
- *probable Rapeseed Brassica napus [rape; oilseed rape]
- *Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata
- *Common or Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica
Eleven drake and one duck Tufted Duck all together on the surface. The duck is none too easy to spot: behind the sixth drake from the left.
If this were sharp it would be amazing. A Sand Martin twisting with its mouth wide open to catch and insect. Hey ho!
Another "pity it is not sharp" photo: this Barn Swallow is concentrating hard on the insect on the water...
A distinctive-looking cranefly. It is probably a Spotted Cranefly Nephrotoma appendiculata though to be 100% sure I would have needed to see the markings on the abdomen. This species has an almost unbroken and thick black line down the abdomen: the similar Tiger Cranefly N. flavescens has, a thin, broken black line down its abdomen. Spotted Cranefly is the most abundant of the two species in April and May.
Another morning with "just the one" on the street lamp poles around dawn. This time a common-enough midge species for which I have never been able to find an ID.
These are probably flowers of Rapeseed Brassica napus or a similar brassica cultivar that has escaped from the fields across Castle Farm Way.
(Ed Wilson)
Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
(106th visit of the year)
Neither of yesterday's additional species here, were noted today.
Bird notes:
- still five visiting Mute Swans with the resident cob giving occasional half-hearted chase.
- no Tufted Duck for the second day.
- *I noted one of the recently erected nest boxes was in use by a pair of Blue Tits.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Cormorant
Noted on / around the water:
- 13 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese: of these a pair arrived
- 7 Mute Swans: (assuming the resident pen hidden on the nest): see notes
- 20 (16♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck again
- 4 Moorhens
- 19 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
Hirundines etc. noted:
- *probable Rapeseed Brassica napus [rape; oilseed rape]
- *Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata
- *Common or Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica
Yet another morning when it was clearer to the East. No clearance arrived today.
And again: here the duck is fourth from the left. And added bonus: two Sand Martins in the distance.
And talk about Sand Martins and one comes along.
A speeding Swift has a very distinctive shape.
Three of the twenty-five or so Barn Swallows in crowded airspace.
One in reflective mood.
The best of a generally uninspiring set of photos.
...and flying away with the insect in its bill.
Most Robins are too busy on nesting duty to pose for the camera. This one taking time off.
Another distinctive-looking cranefly: it is a female (the ovipositor) Tipula lunata.
The "flowers" of Ribwort Plantain Plantago lanceolata.
And, such as they are, the flower clusters of Common or Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica.
(Ed Wilson)
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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Flies:
- 11 midges of at least two species
- *2 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 unidentified cranefly
- 11 midges of at least two species
- *2 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 unidentified cranefly
One of the moth flies Psychodidae sp. in the tunnel shows, unusually. a different pattern on each wing. The pattern is irrelevant in identifying which of the 100 or so species any individual belongs to so this is not useful. I have never noted any such discrepancy previously.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:35 – 07:20
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:35 – 07:20
(106th visit of the year)
Neither of yesterday's additional species here, were noted today.
Bird notes:
- still five visiting Mute Swans with the resident cob giving occasional half-hearted chase.
- no Tufted Duck for the second day.
- *I noted one of the recently erected nest boxes was in use by a pair of Blue Tits.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Cormorant
Noted on / around the water:
- 13 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese: of these a pair arrived
- 7 Mute Swans: (assuming the resident pen hidden on the nest): see notes
- 20 (16♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck again
- 4 Moorhens
- 19 Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (4) Blackcaps again
Notes around the area:
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (4) Blackcaps again
Notes around the area:
Flies:
- 2 unidentified midges
- 2 unidentified midges
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 money spider Erigone sp.
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
I need faster reactions. A Blue Tit flew in and out of this nest box twice and I was too slow to capture it on camera.
On another pole I noticed this Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. The "mess" behind it does not, I think, have any direct connection with the spider: as I recall it was there yesterday and the spider wasn't.
(Ed Wilson)
- *1 money spider Erigone sp.
- *1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
On one of the street lamp poles I noted this money spider Erigone sp.
(Ed Wilson)
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2013
Nedge Hill
Yellow Wagtail
3 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2012
Wrekin
2 Wood Warblers
4 Pied Flycatchers
(Mike Stokes)
2011
Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2008
Priorslee Lake
18 Mute Swans
(Martin Adlam)
2006
Priorslee Lake
Pair of Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)
Nedge Hill
Yellow Wagtail
3 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2012
Wrekin
2 Wood Warblers
4 Pied Flycatchers
(Mike Stokes)
2011
Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2008
Priorslee Lake
18 Mute Swans
(Martin Adlam)
2006
Priorslee Lake
Pair of Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)