Priorslee Lake [with Woodhouse Lane] and The Flash
Priorslee Lake: 04:20 – 05:55 // 06:50 – 09:45
[
Woodhouse Lane: 07:50 – 08:40]
The Flash: 06:00 – 06:45
10.0°C > 15.0°C: Clear and hazy start. Low cloud after 07:15 with a few sunny spells. Light W wind. Good visibility
Sunrise: 05:00 BST
Priorslee Lake: 04:20 – 05:55 // 06:50 – 09:45
(135th visit of the year)
Species added to my 2019 bird log from here
90
Red Kite
A bird to the SE of the lake at 08:45 drifting W and being harassed by a pair of Ravens.
Also worthy of special mention is the
Great White Egret that flew very high W at 05:05. High and against what little light there was, I was not 100% sure of its identity – it looked ‘wrong’ for a Grey Heron with more folded neck and longer legs with less prominent feet. A ‘grab’ shot with the camera and suitable editing on the PC showed it indeed to be this species. My second record of this species here this year after one on 27 February. Strangely I have both more records of and have seen more individuals of this species here than I have of the increasingly common Little Egret.
Other bird notes from today
- Another brood of Coots ‘missing’ this morning with several other broods reduced. Cloudy weather may have affected this. However several birds (re) building nests suggesting they are looking to raise another brood.
- Two pairs of Barn Swallow flew through W suggesting new arrivals.
- A Chiffchaff singing from a new location. Moving between broods?
- A Reed Warbler singing from yet another different location. Are birds still arriving?
- Noisy family parties of both Blue and Great Tits.
Bird totals:
Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 5 Canada Geese (outbound)
- 1
Great White Egret
- 1
Red Kite
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Stock Dove
- 17 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Collared Doves
- 87 Jackdaws
- 29 Rooks
- 2 Ravens
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift
- 5 Barn Swallows
Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 10 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 24 (22) Blackcaps
- 4 (4) Garden Warblers
- 3 (2) (Common) Whitethroats again
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler still
- 10 (9) Reed Warblers
The counts from what is now a very quiet lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 2 Canada Geese (briefly)
- 9 (8♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard again
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Moorhens
- 26 + 12 (4 broods) Coots
Nothing on the lamp poles pre-dawn:
Seen later
- 1 Small Skipper (
Thymelicus sylvestris) butterfly
- 1 Yellow-faced Bell (
Notocelia cynosbatella) micro moth
- Azure, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies
- 1 White-tailed Bumble Bee (
Bombus lucorum)
- 1 cuckoo bumblebee sp.
- 1 wasp sp.
- An ichneumon wasp possibly
Buathra laborator
- A dagger fly, probably
Empis tessellata
- Also three common species of hoverfly, many Red-and-Black Froghoppers, Scorpion Flies and Alder Flies
and some new flowers for the year
- Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (
Tragopogon pratensis minor)
- White Campion (
Silene latifolia formerly
Melandrium album)
- Prickly Sow-thistle (
Sonchus asper)
- Alkanet (
Anchusa officinalis)
- Common or Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
- One of the Dock / Sorrel family (Rumex sp.)
The contractors that cut the grass on the ‘football field’ have not mown the bank alongside Teece Drive and as a result it is full of flowers. Whether this is deliberate ‘green’ policy or an oversight is hard to say. I suspect the latter as the verges in Teece Drive also remain uncut. Long may it continue.
Not my best-ever ... offered as a record shot only of the Great White Egret this morning. Taken at 05:05 this high-flying bird was rather against the little light there was making ID tricky. The very long legs with the feet not bunched up as would show on a Grey Heron was my first indication of it being an egret. Editing the photo shows the white wings – or at least that they are unmarked and pale.
Another ‘record shot’ of the distantly passing Red Kite. The forked tail, pale inner primaries and rather weak hooked bill can be seen.
My first Small Skipper (
Thymelicus sylvestris) of the year. Appeared when the sun came out but would not open its wings completely. Separate from Large Skipper (
Ochlodes sylvanus), confusingly not really any larger, but the neat black border to the wings.
This is a Yellow-faced Bell (
Notocelia cynosbatella) micro moth. Right on cue – I recorded one on 26 May last year.
This is a species of cuckoo bumblebee though the photo does not show enough detail to specifically identify it. Cuckoo bumblebees enter the nests of their similar-looking real bumblebee and, like our Cuckoo bird, are brood parasites (note that most species of bird in the cuckoo families are not brood-parasites).
This larger bumblebee caught hovering is a White-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus lucorum)
This fly looks relatively harmless. It is a dagger fly of the genus
Empis, almost certainly
E. tessellata...
... but it looks rather evil from the side-view with its ‘dagger’ – the long proboscis.
This is a species of Ichneumon wasp. It looks like a species named
Buathra laborator, though the web-site concerned advises caution as there are other similar insects. Quite spectacular.
I have no real idea what this is – a caterpillar? I wondered about the ‘lump’ at the right-hand end and when I looked at my photo I saw it was a small black spider with red legs. That soon scurried away.
A flower of Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon (
Tragopogon pratensis minor). As one of the vernacular names implies the flowers only open in the morning. Separate from all the other confusing yellow flowers by the dark marks on the inner ring of petals and the long pointed bracts.
I think this is Prickly Sow-thistle (
Sonchus asper) – sow-thistles are not easy to separate. Despite looking ‘prickly’ the leaves are in fact quite soft, unlike real thistles.
Here is White Campion (
Silene latifolia formerly
Melandrium album) – difficult to photograph and show the plant detail without ‘blowing out’ the flower detail.
This seems to be Alkanet (Anchusa officinalis) – a newly identified species for me here.
This is a species of
Rumex family – Docks and Sorrel. Usually only the seeds are noted but they do have inconspicuous flowers as we see here. Species identification requires looking at the leaves – which I forgot to photograph – Doh!
Another plant that we do not think of as having flowers is Common or Stinging Nettle (
Urtica dioica). A few beginning to open here. Note the several small beetles that seem impervious to the hairs that produce the irritation.
(Ed Wilson)
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Notes from Woodhouse Lane (07:50 – 08:40)
(17th visit of the year)
Notes from here:
I met two people carrying out an Environmental Survey of the pool in the copse between Castle Farm Way and Woodhouse Lane. They said they had not found any newts there. I told them that the last survey had found many newts. Their reasoning was that newts move around a lot. They confirmed that outline planning permission for the new housing estate has been granted and their survey was ‘the next phase’ – whatever that means: they did not seem too clear having been told to ‘do the survey’.
And
- Only a single Common Whitethroat heard. I hope the others are too busy raising families.
- One of the Linnets was a splendid breeding plumage male.
- A single pair of Yellowhammers only. One carrying food indicates nesting here.
- A singing Reed Bunting in these fields is nit too unusual, though this bird was in the rape field some way from the lake.
Also:
- Common Comfrey (
Symphytum officinale) found in flower.
Totals of ‘interesting’ species (singing birds)
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 3 (2) Sky Larks
- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs again
- 3 (3) Blackcaps again
- 1 (1) (Common) Whitethroat
- 2 (2) Song Thrushes
- 4 (3) Chaffinches
- 4 Goldfinches again
- 4 Linnets
- 2 (1) Yellowhammers
- 1 (1) Reed Bunting
This was the rock in the field where I saw a Wheatear on migration. This is not another but the distinctive slightly crested distant silhouette of a Skylark. From the amount of ‘splash’ a frequently used perch.
The flowers of Common Comfrey (
Symphytum officinale). Abundant along the verge. Let us hope they do not ‘mow’ the verges anytime soon.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:45
(129th visit of the year)
Notes from here:
- The Mute Swans have lost another of their cygnets. The cob is still intermittently chasing last year’s remaining cygnet, especially if it gets close to the new cygnets.
- The quintet of Mallard ducklings apparently reduced to a quartet. They were rather hidden so not 100% sure.
- One pair of Tufted Ducks flew in and then shortly after two pairs left.
- Three Great Crested Grebes when I arrived with one chased away.
- I failed to find any more juvenile Coots than the original trio. More adults on the water at the moment.
- Mostly six Swifts overhead. Suddenly another five(?) (they are hard to keep track of) appeared along with a single House Martin, these all powering through.
also
- a Flame Carpet (
Xanthorhoe designata) moth on a lamp pole in squirrel alley.
Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 2 Jackdaws
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 11 Swifts
- 1 House Martin
Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 5 (5) Blackcaps
- [no Garden Warbler]
The counts from the water:
- 3 + 4 Mute Swans
- 20 Canada Geese
- 20 (16♂) + 4 (1 brood) Mallard
- 13 (7♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen
- 32 + 3 (1 brood) Coots
One bird that looks rather unexpected when seen in flight is Great Crested Grebe. Its elongated shape is set off by white patches in the wings which are covered when the bird is on the water.
A rather scruffy Wren in full cry. I guess raising a brood is taking a toll on the feathers.
This moth found high up one of the lamp poles in squirrel alley is a Flame Carpet (
Xanthorhoe designata).
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the lake and The Flash:
At or around the lower pool (singing birds):
- Juvenile Moorhens heard begging
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
At or around the upper pool (singing birds):
- Juvenile Moorhen calling
(Ed Wilson)
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On this day..........
2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here
2007
Priorslee Lake
Cuckoo
(Ed Wilson)
