14.0°C > 19.0°C: Clear early with cloud bubbling up after c.08:30. Light south- westerly breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:57 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– 06:25 // 07:30 – 09:35
(185th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- just a single Tufted Duck noted.
- a surprise today was finding *a new brood of Great Crested Grebes. Are these a second brood from one of the existing pairs or has a new pair set up territory?
- at least 350 Black-headed Gulls were present by 05:25. At least 80 (of these?) flushed off the football field c.06:10. Only c.30 were present on the water at 08:00.
- I heard a small early arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls beginning by 05:00 flying low from the West. After c.05:10 when it was light-enough to see them I began a count as the numbers increased. By 05:25 I had counted 342 when a huge group arrived together on a broad front defying all attempts to count even blocks of, say, 10s. There must have been well over 600 on the lake by 05:35 when many were starting to depart. I failed to see (or hear) any Herring Gulls though the calls of juveniles of the two species are hard to differentiate. An insignificant number visited later.
- House Martin were heard overhead on several occasions but remained invisible against the clear sky Later three flew South.
- a Kingfisher flew along the North side of the water c.06:00 again.
- a *Common Whitethroat was in the south-west scrubby area c.09:00
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2+ Canada Geese: a duo flew East again; others heard
- no Greylag Geese
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 62 Wood Pigeons
- 16 Jackdaws
- 78 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 26 (?♂) *Mallard
- 1 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 52 Coot
- 15+ *Great Crested Grebes
- >350 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls
- >600 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 2 Grey Herons: see notes
- 1 Kingfisher
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 House Martins: see notes
Warblers noted (no song):
- 14 *Chiffchaffs
- 5 Blackcaps
- 1 *Common Whitethroat
Also noted:
A few more insects today:
Butterflies:
- 1 *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 1 *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
Moths:
none
none
Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
including a nest site!
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
including a nest site!
Hoverflies:
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- *Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- *Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
True flies:
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
very few other unidentified flies seen.
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
very few other unidentified flies seen.
Bugs:
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
Beetles:
none
none
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- White Crab Spider Misumena vatia [Flower Spider]: same location as other recent sightings
On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
- White Crab Spider Misumena vatia [Flower Spider]: same location as other recent sightings
On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
Moths:
- 10 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
- 10 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
Flies:
- 1 possible fly *Minettia inusta from the Lauxaniidae family
- 1 other fly of different species not identified
- 1 possible fly *Minettia inusta from the Lauxaniidae family
- 1 other fly of different species not identified
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Common House Spider Eratigena atrica
- 1 *Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
And from a slightly different perspective. Note the "beach" at the bottom right in front of the south-west grass. I can only remember seeing such extensive mud on one previous occasion.
A slightly better photo as it looks for inspiration. Note the dark centres to the wing feathers. I assume this means they have been freshly grown during the post-breeding moult.
A Common Whitethroat identified by the rufous edges to the folded wing feathers. I think this is an adult female. A juvenile would probably still have a yellow eye and a male would show a contrast between a darker grey head and the back. A Lesser Whitethroat would look more slender and lack the rufous in the wings. Always more difficult when the bird does not sing or call.
One of ten Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella I noted on various street lamp poles. Included here as it shows the banded antennae better than many photos I have taken. There were four more on various street lamp poles around The Flash. Oddly I have not managed to flush any from the grassy areas, perhaps only because most of the grass is very dead-looking.
The darkened wing tips suggest this fly may be Minettia inusta from the Lauxaniidae family [look it up if you are interested: I could not condense information on the web to anything meaningful!]. If so it is a new(ly identified?) species for my log here. On a street lamp pole pre-dawn.
I believe this to be a Common House Spider Eratigena atrica. There seem to be other species with this vernacular name.
A Common Marbled Carpet moth Chloroclysta truncata and my first in the tunnel this year. As its name implies it is a very common moth, It comes in a bewildering array of colour forms.
(182nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a single Greylag Goose arrived and soon departed. Later *a party of 92(?) arrived noisily.
- only nine Mute Swans confirmed. They had a habit of swimming clockwise around the island as I was walking anti-clockwise along the paths. It is just possible others were missed.
- a Little Grebe was diving at the top end again.
- an adult Great Crested Grebe was seen feeding either the sitting bird or youngsters on that adult's back. A sub-adult was at the top end again.
- three Cormorants were circling overhead as I approached the area. How these relate to the two that I saw fishing in the water some while late and which then flew in to the trees on the island is unclear.
- two Grey Herons were together on the island again
- the Little Egret still here.
- at least two Willow Warblers were seen feeding in willows (what else?) at the top end. No call or song was heard.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Cormorants: perhaps – see notes
Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese again
- *93(?) Greylag Geese
- 9 Mute Swans
- 31 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 44 Coot
- 1 Little Grebe
- 3 + ? (1 brood?) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: see notes
- 2 Grey Herons: see notes
- 1 Little Egret
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 *Common House Spider Eratigena atrica
- 1 *Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
A good sunrise this morning.
Somewhere on the back of this Great Crested Grebe is...
...at least one very new juvenile.
Sometimes the Grey Herons tolerate each other and sometimes...
A Common Buzzard in full cry, so as to speak.
In horrible cross-lighting a Chiffchaff looks quizzically along the Teece Drive fence.
With four black spots on the wings this is a female Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi.
Just one bee seen today: this Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Three hoverflies noted this morning. This is one of two Tapered Droneflies Eristalis pertinax.
And a male Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax here climbing out of a convolvulus flower.
This pugnacious Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum chased and saw off...
...this male Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
A Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius, a species I frequently see around the street lights pre-dawn and not usually later in the day.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Moths:
- 1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata
- 1 *Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata
- 1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata
- 1 *Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata
Flies:
- 3 midges
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 6 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 3 midges
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 6 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
Arthropods:
- 1 $* millipede from the genus Polydesmus.
- 1 $* millipede from the genus Polydesmus.
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 3 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 3 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
Frustrating: I did not pay much attention to photographing this millipede, assuming it to be "the usual" White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger. Not so. It appears to be a species from the genus Polydesmus and while the individual species in this genus are not identifiable from photos a better shot would have been useful as it is a new genus for me.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:30 – 07:25
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 06:30 – 07:25
(182nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a single Greylag Goose arrived and soon departed. Later *a party of 92(?) arrived noisily.
- only nine Mute Swans confirmed. They had a habit of swimming clockwise around the island as I was walking anti-clockwise along the paths. It is just possible others were missed.
- a Little Grebe was diving at the top end again.
- an adult Great Crested Grebe was seen feeding either the sitting bird or youngsters on that adult's back. A sub-adult was at the top end again.
- three Cormorants were circling overhead as I approached the area. How these relate to the two that I saw fishing in the water some while late and which then flew in to the trees on the island is unclear.
- two Grey Herons were together on the island again
- the Little Egret still here.
- at least two Willow Warblers were seen feeding in willows (what else?) at the top end. No call or song was heard.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Cormorants: perhaps – see notes
Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese again
- *93(?) Greylag Geese
- 9 Mute Swans
- 31 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 44 Coot
- 1 Little Grebe
- 3 + ? (1 brood?) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 12 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants: see notes
- 2 Grey Herons: see notes
- 1 Little Egret
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
Warblers noted (no song):
- 2 Willow Warblers
- 3 Chiffchaffs yet again
- 1 Blackcap
Noted around the area:
Warblers noted (no song):
- 2 Willow Warblers
- 3 Chiffchaffs yet again
- 1 Blackcap
Noted around the area:
Moths:
- 4 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
- 4 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 2 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
- 2 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Bugs:
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes: sixth day, trapped in a web
(Ed Wilson)
2011
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
Female Ruddy Duck
(John Isherwood)
2006
Priorslee Lake
A male Cockatiel
1 drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes: sixth day, trapped in a web
Greylag Geese arrive. I counted them so you don't have to. By all means prove me wrong!
(Ed Wilson)
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2011
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
Female Ruddy Duck
(John Isherwood)
2006
Priorslee Lake
A male Cockatiel
1 drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)