19.0°C > 23.0°C: Broken cloud with good sunny spells. Calm start with a light, even moderate, westerly breeze developing. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:49 BST
* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 06:15 // 07:20 – 09:30
(180th visit of the year)
New bird species:
New for my 2026 bird list from here was a Ring-necked Parakeet heard calling from or behind the Ricoh copse alongside Teece Drive. Almost certainly the bird I heard a few minutes previously (and on many days recently) at The Flash. My species #92 here in 2026.
Other bird notes:
- the only geese this morning were a few eastbound groups.
- 19 Mallard flew off East at 05:30 together.
- a pair of Tufted Duck today.
- an apparently single previously unseen juvenile Great Crested Grebe.
- Grey Heron(s) coming and going.
- as yesterday the gull totals quoted are likely to be under-recorded. When I arrived Lesser Black-backed Gulls were calling from the inside / overhead the Ricoh grounds and while I was checking the West end street lamp poles at least 80 flew low over going East. As soon as I could see the water there was none of these visible on the water but there was c.100 Black-headed Gulls scattered about. Thereafter more Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived in dribs and drabs and then at least 100 arrived from the West and South c.05:30. Only a handful arrived later. Among all these I noted noted a single Herring Gull.
- a single Swift was over the North wood by 05:45 and still there c.06:00. None was seen later.
- even fewer Jackdaws and Rooks were noted flying by on roost dispersal.
- a Willow Warbler was heard to sing once from the West end. It is always a puzzle that males (I presume) of this species sing when they are on return/Autumn passage but that the outwardly similar Chiffchaffs never do, only call.
- a Reed Warbler was heard calling in the West end reeds.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 28 Canada Geese: flew East together
- 5 Greylag Geese: flew East together
- 10 Black-headed Gulls
- >100 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 64 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws only
- 11 Rooks only
Counts from the lake area:
- no geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 25 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) *Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 38 Coots
- 6 + 9 (5 broods) *Great Crested Grebes
- >100 Black-headed Gulls
- no Herring Gulls
- >180 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 *Grey Herons
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift: see notes
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 4 House Martins
Warblers noted:
- 1 Willow Warbler: sang once
- 9 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Reed Warbler
- 6 Blackcaps
Also noted:
A few more things noted this morning:
Butterflies:
- 5 *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 2 unidentified "whites"
- 5 *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 2 unidentified "whites"
Moths:
none
none
Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
- *Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Hoverflies:
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]
- *Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]
- *Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn; Great Pied Hoverfly]
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]
- *Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]
- *Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn; Great Pied Hoverfly]
Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta
True flies:
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
- *Tachinid fly Tachina fera
a few other unidentified flies
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
- *Tachinid fly Tachina fera
a few other unidentified flies
Bugs:
none
none
Beetles:
none
none
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none
On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
none
On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
Moths:
- 1 *Common Masoner Blastobasis adustella [was Dingy Dowd]
- 1 *Common Masoner Blastobasis adustella [was Dingy Dowd]
Bugs:
- 3 *Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes
The other a juvenile or duck (female). The white on the face and the absence of any, even vestigial, "tuft" on the hind-crown might suggest a duck (Grater) Scaup. However on that species the edge of the white on the face would be aligned more vertically and extend above the bill on to the forehead. Also the highest point of the crown would be behind the eye. (There is always the remote possibility of a hybrid but we won't go there unless you have a DNA kit handy!)
A puzzle: this juvenile "humbug" Great Crested Grebe is smaller than any juveniles in the broods I have seen before. There were several adults nearby, none taking any particular interest and there were no other juveniles that seemed to be part of the same brood.
A Common Masoner moth Blastobasis adustella on one of the street lamp poles pre-dawn. My first of the year here though I have seen two in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel.
After struggling in the hot days to find any insects I did better this morning and managed some close-ups. Here a Honey Bee Apis mellifera tucks in.
Climbing out of a convolvulus flower is a Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum. It has a very ginger or orange "pile" of hairs on the thorax and a pure white tail.
A Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea tries to look camouflaged on the Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris. I suppose I can just about see why it also known as a Common Batman Fly.
A Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis. I previously noted that all three obvious body segments are yellow unlike the Hornet Hoverfly V. zonaria (or Hornet Plumehorn) where the uppermost segment is orange. On that species that upper segment is not divided as it is here.
This seems to be a female Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum but there are some puzzling features. There is a rufous form of females of this species: this one shows some red as well as blue in the eyes; and the abdomen is almost wholly black.
Among the debris at the top of a street lamp pole was this, one of three, Red-legged Shieldbugs Pentatoma rufipes on various poles.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
No report: torch failure!
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:20 – 07:15
(177th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
Surprise this morning was finding *two Little Grebe here. This is a species I have yet to record this year at the Balancing Lake though I noted bird(s) here frequently in January and February.
Other bird notes:
- 13 Mute Swans again.
- one Great Crested Grebe still sitting. I heard a bird calling when I was out of sight of the nest and then later noted *an immature in the middle of the water.
- what were presumably the same three Cormorants seen circling overhead on two occasions.
- two Grey Herons, one flying off.
- no Little Egret.
- a Ring-necked Parakeet was heard again, calling at some distance.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 3 Cormorants
Noted on / around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese: four of these flew off together
- no Greylag Geese
- 13 Mute Swans
- 27 (?♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 46 Coot
- 2 *Little Grebe: as highlighted
- 2 *Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: departed
- no Cormorants
- 2 Grey Heron
- no Little Egret
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins
Warblers noted (no song):
- 3 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Blackcap
Noted around the area:
- 3 *Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes
Photos of the sunrise from two locations this morning. #1
Even more colourful at #2.
One of the Tufted Duck was clearly a drake.
Interesting. The adult Great Crested Grebe with the fish by-passed the three begging juveniles on the right to feed it to the one on the left. Does this mean they keep track of which juveniles have been fed and do not necessarily give food to whomever ever is closest or begs loudest?
Looking distinctly mean is this arriving Grey Heron.
A good view of a Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi.
A very typical Common Carder Bee B. pascuorum with a pale "pile" and white banding in the tail.
A Buff-tailed Bumblebee B. terrestris.
A male Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax.
Altogether broader in the abdomen is this female Common Dronefly E. tenax
A Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens.
This more typical blue form of the female shows blue around the black areas on the abdomen segments.
What a splendid fly! It is the Tachinid fly Tachina fera.
Worth another look.
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
No report: torch failure!
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 06:20 – 07:15
(177th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
Surprise this morning was finding *two Little Grebe here. This is a species I have yet to record this year at the Balancing Lake though I noted bird(s) here frequently in January and February.
Other bird notes:
- 13 Mute Swans again.
- one Great Crested Grebe still sitting. I heard a bird calling when I was out of sight of the nest and then later noted *an immature in the middle of the water.
- what were presumably the same three Cormorants seen circling overhead on two occasions.
- two Grey Herons, one flying off.
- no Little Egret.
- a Ring-necked Parakeet was heard again, calling at some distance.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 3 Cormorants
Noted on / around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese: four of these flew off together
- no Greylag Geese
- 13 Mute Swans
- 27 (?♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 46 Coot
- 2 *Little Grebe: as highlighted
- 2 *Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: departed
- no Cormorants
- 2 Grey Heron
- no Little Egret
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins
Warblers noted (no song):
- 3 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Blackcap
Noted around the area:
Moths:
- 1 *White-streak Grass-moth Agriphila latistria [was White-streak Grass-veneer]
- 1 *White-streak Grass-moth Agriphila latistria [was White-streak Grass-veneer]
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
- 1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Bugs:
- 1 *Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale
- 1 *Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes
The two Little Grebes I noted this morning. The fading rufous tones on the neck suggest post-breeding adults. The left bird also shows a hint of the yellow at the base of the bill that is present in the breeding season. There would be at least remnants of face stripes if these were juveniles.
Very distant and hence none too clear. This is the Great Crested Grebe that was not sitting on the nest. It seems to have a facial stripe, albeit brown rather than black, suggesting it is a well-developed first-winter bird from an early brood this year.
Typically at the very top of a street lamp pole was this grass moth. It looks to me as if the white streak extends undivided along the length of the folded wing and hence it is a White-streak Grass-moth Agriphila latistria.
Also at the very top of a street lamp pole was this Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale. It seems to have succumbed as it was trying to break free from its entanglement in the spider's web with wings sticking out from under the elytra.
(Ed Wilson)
2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)
- 1 *Hawthorn Shieldbug Acanthosoma haemorrhoidale
- 1 *Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes
A Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes seems also to be ensnared in a web.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)