Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash
8.0°C > 14.0°C: Areas of medium-high cloud giving another stunning sunrise. Some sunny periods. Very light winds early with a light southerly breeze developing. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:58 BST
* = a species photographed today. NB photos will be added later
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:45 – 09:10
(220th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- a pair(?) of Mute Swans throughout. Probably the birds that visited briefly yesterday and then likely the extra two at The Flash where they were being chased. No extras at The Flash today.
- *two Little Grebes were seen at first light. No calls were heard.
- gull numbers were significantly smaller today:
- about 150 Black-headed Gulls were present early, all of these arriving after many of the Lesser Black-backed Gulls had made it in. I counted just 24 on the football field at 07:05.
- about 75 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were present early. No overflights were seen at this time.
- later the now-usual arrival from the East comprised 121 Black-heads, 18 Lesser Black-backs and three Herring Gulls.
- a single skein(?) of 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were the only overflying gulls I noted
- no hirundines were seen again [two Barn Swallows flew by my Newport house this afternoon].
- for the third day nine Chiffchaffs were noted with just one of them heard singing.
- single Chaffinches were heard calling from each side of Castle Farm Way. I had not seen or heard this species here since a bird stopped singing [last heard 06 July].
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 26 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Cormorants: together
- 15 Feral Pigeons: two groups flew East
- 2 Stock Doves: two duos flew West
- 28 Wood Pigeons
- 254 Jackdaws
- 60 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 12 (6♂) Mallard
- 3 (1?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 49 Coot
- 2 *Little Grebe
- 13 Great Crested Grebes again
- >150 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- c.90 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 *Cormorants visited separately
- 1 Grey Heron
Hirundines etc. noted:
None
Warblers noted:
- 9 Chiffchaffs: of these one in song yet again
Also noted:
Very little.
Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
True flies:
- cranefly Tipula confusa
On the West end street lamp poles before dawn:
Moths:
none
Four-winged flies:
- 1 *Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea
True flies:
- 2 *female plumed midge Chironomus plumosus
- 2 *Spotted-winged Drosophila Drosophila suzukii [male and female]
- *several other unidentified flies
Springtails etc.:
- 1 *barkfly Ectopsocus briggsi agg.
- 1 springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis-type
Beetles:
- 1 *unidentified flea beetle
Arthropods:
- 1 *possible Striped Millipede Ommatoiulus sabulosus
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus
- 1 harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Moths:
none
True flies:
- 15 midges of at least three species
- 3 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 winter cranefly Trichocera sp.
Arthropods:
- 3 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger
- 4 Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 11 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 09:15 – 10:30
(215th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- the arriving Canada Geese were all calling as they did so today after yesterday's "stealth mode".
- two Greylag Geese circled for a while and decided not to splash-down here and went off North.
- back to six Mute Swans.
- five Tufted Duck noted: four of them certainly drakes.
- 44 brownhead Goosander today.
- one full adult Great Crested Grebe was with the (now scattered) four dependent juveniles; another adult was on its own at the bottom end with Mallard..
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Greylag Geese
Noted on / around the water:
- 23 Canada Geese; of these 20 arrived in two groups
- 6 Mute Swans
- 44 (24♂) Mallard
- 5 (4♂?) Tufted Duck
- 44 (0♂) Goosander
- 5 Moorhens
- 18 *Coot yet again
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebe again
- 24 *Black-headed Gulls
- 7 *Cormorants
- 3 *Grey Herons
- 2 *Little Egrets again
Warblers noted:
- 2 Chiffchaffs: no song
Noted around the area:
Little sun and breezy on the best vegetation.
Bees, wasps etc.:
- 4 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris
- 1 *unidentified ichneumon
Hoverflies:
- 1 *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- 1 female Syrphus sp.
Other true flies:
- 1 *bluebottle from the Calliphora genus
- 1 *Root-maggot fly from the Anthomyiidae family
- several other flies not identified
Beetles:
- 1 *larva of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis
(Ed Wilson)
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2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)
Nedge Hill
1 Wheatear
1 Yellow Wagtail
(John Isherwood)