10.0°C > 12.0°C: An early light shower. Clear for a while then a short period of mist / very low cloud before a few sunny intervals.. Light mainly northerly breeze. Mostly very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:23 BST
* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:35 // 07:30 – 09:50
(111th visit of the year)
New bird species:
A good morning with a new bird species and a new moth species for the year:
- *an Oystercatcher was heard at 06:10 and the spent time on the south-west grass. Presumably the same bird was seen (and heard) flying East over Teece Drive c.09:35.
My bird species total for 2026 moves on to #84.
Bird notes:
- all seven Greylag Geese goslings present and correct.
- a drake Gadwall was hiding in plain sight among a group of drake Mallard.
- the same three Mallard ducklings as seen yesterday were seen again.
- an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was the only visiting gull.
- no Grey Heron seen: possibly spooked by the presence of four police cars and two ambulances all blue-lighting in the Castle Farm Way lay-by
- more changes in the warblers:
no Sedge Warblers seen or heard
nine and perhaps ten singing Reed Warblers. Two of them are singing from well-away from any footpaths and are difficult to pinpoint where they are to avoid double-counting.
only one Garden Warbler singing and today from a dense bush adjacent to the South side of the lake. As usual unseen.
*again just one Common Whitethroat singing.
- unusual was a Skylark singing high overhead, apparently somewhere over the Ricoh grounds and audible from the Priorslee tunnel area. It could be that this is a regular songster here and it was the lack of traffic early on a Saturday morning that allowed it to be heard.
- *a group of at least four Starlings flushed off the football field: from the call-notes there was one or more fledged juvenile among them.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: a pair and a single flew East.
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant yet again
- 1 Stock Dove
- 5 Wood Pigeons
Counts from the lake area:
- 5 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: a trio arrived
- 2 Mute Swans
- *1 (1♂) Gadwall
- *8 (6♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- 11 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 17 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes again
- *1 Oystercatcher
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- no Grey Heron
Hirundines etc. noted:
A few birds appeared when the mist and low cloud descended
- 6 Swifts
- 2 Sand Martins
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martins
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 15 (14) Chiffchaffs
- no Sedge Warblers
- 9? (9?) Reed Warblers: see notes
- 15 (13) Blackcaps
- *1 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
On the West end street lamp poles post-dawn:
Moths:
- *1 Ruby Tiger Phragmatobia fuliginosa: moth species #18 for me here this year
Noted around the area later:
The sun was still lurking behind clouds
- *1 Ruby Tiger Phragmatobia fuliginosa: moth species #18 for me here this year
Noted around the area later:
The sun was still lurking behind clouds
Butterflies:
- none
- none
Bees, wasps etc.:
- none
- none
Hoverflies:
- *Buttercup Blacklet-type: either Cheilosia albitarsus or C. ranunculi.
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus [Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or White-footed Hoverfly]
- *Buttercup Blacklet-type: either Cheilosia albitarsus or C. ranunculi.
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus [Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or White-footed Hoverfly]
Dragon- / damsel-flies:
- none
- none
Alder and other four-winged flies:
- *Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
- *Alder Fly Sialis lutaria
Other true flies:
- dagger fly Empis tessellata
- *Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *Tachinid fly Tachina fera
- *other unidentified flies
- dagger fly Empis tessellata
- *Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *Tachinid fly Tachina fera
- *other unidentified flies
Bugs:
- *Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
- *Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
Beetles:
- *7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- *Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. spectabilis
- also var. succinea
- *7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- *Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. spectabilis
- also var. succinea
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *wolf spider Pardosa sp., probably Common Wolf Spider P. pullata
- *wolf spider Pardosa sp., probably Common Wolf Spider P. pullata
New flowers for the year:
- *Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon Tragopogon pratensis minor
- *Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon Tragopogon pratensis minor
Other things:
- *Oak gall
Sort of dawn. Just one police car and the two ambulances remain in the lay-by as the Classic Catering van arrives.
Drake Mallard on the left and drake Gadwall on the right. A smaller, neater bird. The black stern is the most obvious feature. He seems to have lost much of his breeding finery.
The only Starling that did not flush away from the football field. The blue at the base of the bill indicates this is a male – blue for a boy and pink for a girl in this species!
This splendid-looking moth is a Ruby Tiger Phragmatobia fuliginosa. I have only logged them in July in previous years. I do not know anything about its companion.
A Grey-spotted Boxer hoverfly Platycheirus albimanus, also known as a Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or a White-footed Hoverfly, posing for me. And no: it is not responsible for the chunk missing from the leaf on which it is about to settle.
I am short of time (as ever) so many of the flies I photographed today will remain unidentified. Here is one
A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata. This species tends to be a deeper shade of red than any Harlequin Ladybird.
This Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis is of the less frequently encountered form spectabilis. It may have two or four spots.
When I tried to get closer(!) this wolf spider Pardosa sp. ran away. It is probably a Common Wolf Spider P. pullata though a microscopic examination is needed to confirm.
This is Goat's-beard Tragopogon pratensis minor. Its other common name, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, refers to its behaviour in only flowering in the morning with the petals retreating and the long sepals closing to a point.
Another(?) Common Pug moth Eupithecia vulgata: yesterday one was on the wall; is this the same one on the ceiling?
(108th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- the five visiting Mute Swans remain.
- no Tufted Duck seen.
- the same(?) pair of Coots seen now with only three well-grown juveniles.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near?) adult
Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese: one of these arrived in the company of a Greylag Goose
- 6 Greylag Geese: of these a trio and the bird accompanying a Canada Goose arrived
- 7 Mute Swans: (assuming the resident pen hidden on the nest): see notes
- 14 (11♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 17 + 3 (1 brood) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: the bird on the nesting platform looking alert today: have the eggs hatched?
Hirundines etc. noted:
- *Oak gall
The Oystercatcher has been sticking its bill in the mud!
Three shots of a fine-looking male Common Whitethroat. This is the new arrival along the South side.
The breeze ruffling his throat feathers here.
I could not decide whether he was taking the food in to a nest. I have not seen a female in the area.
This hoverfly is a Buttercup Blacklet-type: either Cheilosia albitarsus or C. ranunculi.
A female Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare.
An Alder Fly Sialis lutaria. So far these have been nowhere near as common as in most year.
How could I resist? A female Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
Another splendidly ugly fly. It is the Tachinid fly Tachina fera
Another. Certainly from this angle it appears big-eyed.
Likely a Muscid fly.
A similar-looking in different lighting conditions but the thorax pattern is different.
Expect more Dock Bugs Coreus marginatus next year.
An Oak gall. Oak trees have very many different galls, each produced by a distinct gall wasp. You need to be an expert to identify most of them.
(Ed Wilson)
Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
(Ed Wilson)
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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Moths:
- *1 Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata
- *1 Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata
Flies:
- 5 midges of at least two species
- *1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- 1 unidentified cranefly
- 5 midges of at least two species
- *1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- 1 unidentified cranefly
The combination of well-marked wings and banded legs is sufficient to identify this as the cranefly Limonia nubeculosa.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25
(108th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- the five visiting Mute Swans remain.
- no Tufted Duck seen.
- the same(?) pair of Coots seen now with only three well-grown juveniles.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near?) adult
Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese: one of these arrived in the company of a Greylag Goose
- 6 Greylag Geese: of these a trio and the bird accompanying a Canada Goose arrived
- 7 Mute Swans: (assuming the resident pen hidden on the nest): see notes
- 14 (11♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 17 + 3 (1 brood) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: the bird on the nesting platform looking alert today: have the eggs hatched?
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps only
Notes around the area:
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps only
Notes around the area:
Fish:
- *1 Pike Esox lucius
A Blue Tit emerges from the nest box with a faecal sac. There has been no avian equivalent of Thomas Crapper and the adults have to keep the nest clean themselves.
"Who? Me?". I suspect this is a female that had drawn a short straw. A male was singing a few feet away.
A lurking Pike Esox lucius. It was difficult to stop the camera focussing on the water surface with reflections of the trees to further confuse.
- *1 Pike Esox lucius
A picture of concentration as the Song Thrush looks for food.
(Ed Wilson)
2013
Priorslee Lake
Shelduck
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood)
2009
Nedge Hill
Whinchat
Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2008
Priorslee Lake
Arctic Tern
(Ed Wilson)
Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013
Priorslee Lake
Shelduck
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood)
2009
Nedge Hill
Whinchat
Wheatear
(John Isherwood)
2008
Priorslee Lake
Arctic Tern
(Ed Wilson)
Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)