6 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 15.0°C: Another cloudy start. Soon sunny for a while, clouding again c.08:30. Moderate / fresh westerly wind, gusting strong at times. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 05:36 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 – 09:20

(177th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
Another group of Barn Swallows seen: eleven were noted flying south-west together over the football field c.05:50. More seen feeding low over the water much later.

Other bird notes:
- a lone Canada Geese early which did not depart. The now usual later arrival.
- no Tufted Duck seen.
- *one of the erstwhile brood of four Great Crested Grebes seemed to be missing.
- a Common Sandpiper was present throughout.
- a single Swift dashed through at 05:45. Two were seen to the East of the dam 07:55 for several minutes and were possibly the same two seen there c.09:00.
- more than 15 House Martins were high over the Ricoh area at 07:30. No juveniles were heard and they seemed to be heading south-west though equally likely just flying in to the wind to make catching food easier. At least two were over the water with Barn Swallows later, joined by at least one *Sand Martin
- Thursday is Racing Pigeons day. Two groups totalling 29 birds were seen flying north-west.
- four of the calling Chiffchaffs seemed to be travelling together and were likely a family party including recently-fledged juveniles: three of them were giving squeakier calls than usual.
- a Common Whitethroat was giving its contact call from the Ricoh hedge.
- a Blackbird was heard giving the special warning call usually reserved to warn recently-fledged juveniles of danger. This species is multi-brooded: this seems a late date to still have young.
though

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 85 Canada Geese: 79 flew East in seven groups; six flew West as a duo (with a Greylag Goose) and a quartet.
- 6 Greylag Geese: 5 flew East as a single and two duos; a single flew West with Canadas.
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 29 Racing Pigeons: see notes
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves again, together
- 38 Wood Pigeons
- 171 Jackdaws
- 26 Rooks only

Counts from the lake area:
- 59 Canada Geese: one throughout; 58 arrived in four groups
- 2 Mute Swans
- 30 (?♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 56 Coots
- 7 + 9? (4 broods) *Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 38 Black-headed Gulls: again none of these visited the football field
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 (5?) Swifts: see notes
- 1+ *Sand Martin
- >17 *Barn Swallows: see notes
- >15 House Martins: see notes

Warblers noted (no song):
- 12 Chiffchaffs
- no Reed Warbler
- 1 Blackcap
- 1 Common Whitethroat

Also noted:
cloudy and windy

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
- 1 *Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
several bees seen in flight only

Hoverflies:
none

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]

True flies:
very few and none of interest

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 3 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
- 1 ! *Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.

The early cloud soon cleared to give some slight colour to the sunrise.

I only noted three juveniles with this adult Great Crested Grebe. It is just possible the fourth was with the other parent. There were several adults on view, none with juveniles in attendance.

The cloudy and breezy conditions brought the hirundines down to feed low over the water. This is a Sand Martin. Note the short, stubby bill and white throat.

Here again. The dark chest-band is just about visible and note the short forked tail. This species is normally the first Summer migrant to arrive, usually somewhere in the UK during the last few days of February. I see it here from mid-March and it can occur in some numbers during bad weather while birds are still arriving in to late-April. Sightings here after this are uncommon with birds mainly staying around their breeding territories. Atcham Bridge on the old A5 is a good place to see them.

This Barn Swallow seems to be a male from the length of the tail streamers.

A juvenile or female with shorter streamers.

This is a juvenile with white on the forehead and throat instead of the adult's red.

Two of the three Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella I noted on the West end street lamp poles pre-dawn.

I pursued this moth until it eventually perched where I could see it. It looks to be "just" a Straw Grass-moth A. straminella though the reason I went after it was that it looked smaller than I expected.

Well the eye is in focus! My first Common Carpet moth Epirrhoe alternata of the year.

"Come in #6". A Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris taking a break from whatever it was doing.

The neat, parallel yellow band on the side of the thorax confirms the species identity.

Before the cloud rolled back and the insects went in to hiding I found this Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 *unidentified micromoth [Harpella forficella?]
- 1 *Yellow Shell Camptogramma bilineata

Flies:
- 2 *midges
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 3 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

Frustrating. I had no idea what I was photographing on the wall of the tunnel – perhaps just part of the idiot scribblings was my thought at the time. Not so: it is a (small!) micromoth. Obsidentify was 94% sure it is Harpella forficella (since given the name Yellow-striped Bark Moth). This species has only recently arrived in the UK and is not described or illustrated in my Field Guide. NatureSpot describes it as "a very distinctive species" with their photos looking nothing like this. Google Lens suggested Indian Meal Moth Plodia interpunctella described by NatureSpot as "distinctively marked" and also looking nothing like my photo. Had I realised at the time it might be a moth I would have taken an angled photo which might have helped.

What a splendid moth. It is a Yellow Shell Camptogramma bilineata. Ignoring several moth identities outstanding this is species #29 for me in the tunnel this year.

A male midge of a species for which I have never been able to find an identity.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:15

(174th visit of the year)

New bird species:
As it was a week or so ago at the Balancing Lake *Kingfisher becomes a belated addition (and my 73rd bird species) here this year.

Other bird notes:
- I could only find 16 Mute Swans today.
- a lower number of Mallard and Tufted Duck for some reason.
- I managed a walk around without seeing or hearing a single Moorhen.
- no Great Crested Grebe seen again.
- five Cormorants were again in trees on the island, four of them noted flying in together.
- two *Grey Herons today.
- a Little Egret was with Black-headed Gulls on the edge of the island when I arrived but seem to have gone later.
- the Ring-necked Parakeet was heard calling from the island and then flew off South only to return a flew minutes later and disappear in to the wooded area behind Ennerdale Road.
- Bullfinch is a species I record here only sporadically. I noted birds calling from two different locations today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
all these gulls loosely together
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 13 Canada Geese
- 10 Greylag Geese: of these two departed and four arrived
- 16 Mute Swans
- 24 (?♂) *Mallard
- 3 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- no Moorhens!
- 45 *Coot
- no Great Crested Grebe again
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: briefly
- 5 Cormorants again
- 2 *Grey Herons
- 1 Little Egret: departed?
- 1 *Kingfisher

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins again

Warblers noted (no song):
- 2 Chiffchaffs
- 2 Blackcap

Noted around the area:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 small spider at the top of a tall street lamp pole.

One of the two Grey Herons I noted here this morning. This was wandering through the Coots all the while stabbing away at small fry. The Coots (four in this view) seemed remarkably unconcerned.

"Can you see what it is yet?" It was a long way away and travelling at speed. I am surprised the camera even managed to pick out the Kingfisher as it dashed by.

A Song Thrush peers at me. For once I managed to persuade the camera not to focus on the twig.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
Green Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Nedge Hill
1 (imm/fem) Common Redstart
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Dunlin
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Tern
(Merv)