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.
! = 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
Did I mention it was another good sunrise.
Very colourful for a while.
From a different perspective.
As the colour spread across the sky it faded away.
A heavy dew this morning as evidenced by the speckled Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea.
One of several unidentified flies of different species on the street lamp poles before dawn.
And another. It is strange that there is more activity at this time than later when it is light.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
A Grey Heron and a Cormorant stare each other out.
How could I resist?
A fine-looking female Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.
This appears to be a Root-maggot fly from the Anthomyiidae family
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)
Nedge Hill
1 Wheatear
1 Yellow Wagtail
(John Isherwood)