Tuesday, 11th

The usual around the lake and The Flash and then an extended visit to the lanes to the E failed to produce any real stars

Best
- 3 Yellowhammers still in song in the lanes: one of the last species to stop singing (though 3 Song Thrushes again around the lake)

Otherwise
- party of 4 immature Cormorants flew W
- 185 outbound geese this morning! 25 Greylags were in a straggling group with 2 of the 60 Canada Geese, all before 05:40. None inbound
- 6 Tufted Ducks today: 3 drakes seem to be permanently glued together in the NE area, but another drake and 2 ducks more mobile
- Moorhens doing well here with at least 8 juveniles seen
- 17 Black-headed Gulls on the football field: just 7 on the lake presumed some of these
- 46 large gulls, probably all Lesser Black-backs. 38 flew E / NE before 06:00; a scatter N / NW later
- juvenile Buzzard calling from the Ricoh woods
- 31 Pied Wagtails noted flying N over the Ricoh factory and away between 06:00 and 06:30
- waited in vain for the corvid passage: 8 early Rooks at 05:25 but then nothing until 18 at 06:05 and that was it: no Jackdaws at all
- at least 8 Bullfinches seen today but all in flight and unable to age / sex them all

and
- first Painted Lady at 06:10 and at least a dozen later: are they heading back S?
- 2 different hawker-type dragonflies, neither allowing close-enough approach for an ID
- a few 'blue' damselflies that all disappeared when I tried to photo one to ID later - they cane be hard

in the lanes
- juvenile Buzzard calling from the Wards Rough / copse to the E
- 2 Feral Pigeons in with the Wood Pigeons in the stubbles
- Willow Tits by the sluice
- a Sylvia warbler calling from the lane: seemed not to be a Blackcap or a Whitethroat but would not show itself
- a few Chiffchaffs around the sluice area
- a Linnet in full and extended song, but failed to see any others and
- stopped in a wet and weedy area to look at the insects: a Speckled Wood was chasing everything away and that included at least 1 Common Blue
- almost a blizzard of 'whites' when the sun came out - mostly Green-veined and Large, but at least 2 Small Whites noted
- rather fewer Blackberries than in previous years and had to run the gauntlet of the wasps and the nettles to get them
- with the rather splendid damsons I made my 'five a day' before 09:00!

(Ed Wilson)

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Monday, 10th

Much quieter at wet lake, Flash and Trench Lock this morning

No highlights, but the usual observations at the lake
- the juvenile Swans were seen trying their wings for the first time this morning - just a few full-stretch flaps
- 75 geese this morning: 31 Greylags in two uncharacteristically quiet outbound flocks: 23 Canadas outbound in 5 small flocks; 1 on the lake throughout; 3 (with 2 unidentified smaller geese) flew S then W; and 15 flew N
- 4 Tufted Ducks: the usual 3 drakes and a mobile duck that may have flown here from The Flash
- sudden upsurge of Coots - 54 with all but 2 (near) adults: perhaps they were earlier leaving the new roost area in the N-side reeds
- c.35 Black-headed Gulls: just 7 visited the lake at 05:25 but soon left; the 35 flushed from the football field at 06:25 probably included these; and the adult and juvenile seen at the lake later
- 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls only: none on the football field and the 9 flying E were all high up; 4 on the lake at various times one of these a very dark juvenile with almost a hooded-effect
- [1 Feral Pigeon seemed to roost in the SW bushes: most odd - I forgot to mention this yesterday]
- another small roost-dispersal of Pied Wagtails with 13 flying N
- the Kingfisher seemed to wake up and call from SW bushes before the usual flight to the SW are
- party of c.40 House Martins flew high S ahead of the rain: whether these were all the estate birds moving away or migrants is hard to say, but none was over the estate / Flash later
- 1 Reed Warbler; 3 Blackcaps; 6 Chiffchaffs (2 singing); and 1 unidentified Sylvia warbler calling was the warbler count here
- small corvid passage again: just 16 Jackdaws but a better count of 63 Rooks

and
- first bat for a while seen pre-dawn: seemed small-enough for a Pipistrelle, but was flying rather high and in the open for this species
- Riband Wave moth on the lamps: today with a 'band' so a different specimen again
- a honey-bee, apis sp., on one of the street lights was unusual
also
- the hoverfly on the lamp yesterday has been identified for me as the scarce and partially migratory species Scaeva selenitica (that said, some web postings suggest that vast numbers of hoverflies are moving at the moment along with all the butterflies)

(Ed Wilson)

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Sunday, 9th

Highlights
- 4 Little Egrets flew W together 06:40

Other things to note
- 164 out-bound geese: 42 Greylags and 122 Canadas. Later 13 Canadasinbound with 11 of these stopping on the lake
- 5 Tufted Ducks again: 3 drakes, 2 immatures / ducks
- high count of 14 Moorhens of which 9 were juveniles
- another confusing Coot count: 33 of which 8 juveniles
- 27 Black-headed Gulls: just 7 arrived on the lake after 05:15; c.20 flushed off the football field at 06:10
- c.185 large gulls: sporadic early passage E / NE - 73 birds between 05:05 and 05:50; c.100 flushed from the football field 06:10; 13 others W-bound
- 15 Pied Wagtails seen / heard
- no hirundines today
- now just 1 Song Thrush singing
- 3 Reed Warblers seen today [later 1 at Wall Farm was still in full song]
- 4 Blackcaps - 1 male seen; no other Sylvia warblers
- 4 calling Chiffchaffs with one of these singing occasionally
- poor corvid passage: just 10 Jackdaws and 15 Rooks. Three of the latter flying E to the S rather than the usual line

also
- Riband Wave (different), Phoenix (same?) and Canary-shouldered Thorn moths on the lamps
- unusually a hoverfly on one of the lamps

(Ed Wilson)

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Saturday, 8th

Highlights
- Ravens flew S over W end at 07:35 - my 2nd record here this year

Other things to note
- 73 outbound geese: 41 Greylags in single party; 32 Canada Geese in 5 groups with 5 birds on the lake for a while
- just the 3 drake Tufted Duck seen
- still low numbers of Black-headed Gulls: 15 arrived at the lake after 05:05 but did not stay
- c.300 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (may have been a few Herrings amongst them) seemed to have roosted on fields in the Ricoh grounds and flew off NE / E between 05:00 and 06:00. This behaviour was observed about this time last year
- 150 Wood Pigeons logged with 79 of these outbound early
- 16 Pied Wagtails heard and mostly seen flying off N / NE probably from the Ricoh area: after weeks with none / few a sudden upsurge. Perhaps partly due to where I happened to be at the right time, but certainly a roost is forming somewhere to the SW. Some call from the top of the Ricoh building
- party of House Martins heard moving S, though one at least seemed to return a while later
- now only 2 Song Thrushes left singing
- 2 juvenile Reed Warblers seen feeding in umbellifers amongst the sedges at the W end
- Common Whitethroat at the W end again
- 7 Chiffchaffs seen / heard calling: sporadic song from several of these
- very few corvids outbound: 33 Jackdaws and just 6 Rooks
- I think it was a Jay making a noise rather like a Tawny Owl at 05:58: at least 4 Jays seen soon thereafter
- 28 Greenfinches was a good count: but these were flying from at least 4 roost spots and no concentration in the SW as in previous years

and
- single Riband Wave and Phoenix moths on one of the lamps
- more fresh Painted Lady butterflies seen: will be interesting to see whether these show signs of migrating back S after the huge invasion earlier
- a dragonfly seen disturbed from the grass at the very early time of 06:10
- a Squirrel eating hawthorns near the Teece Drive gate was my first here for months

(Ed Wilson)

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Friday, 7th

Best today
Hobby flew S over the W end of the lake at 05:30, adult Common Whitethroat in the Ricoh hedge where the Lesser Whitethroat bred: seemed rather a large bird and tried to string Icterine-type but the brown in the wings ruled that out!

Otherwise
- 2 Herons today flew steadily W over together
- 35 outbound Greylag Geese: no Canadas seen or heard
- now 5 Tufted Duck with 2 ducks joining the 3 drakes
- 2 single Swallows seen
- House Martins only heard
- Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs seen and heard (as well as the Common Whitethroat): Reed Warbler again sub-singing briefly, but seems to be just 1 bird remaining

and
- a Peacock butterfly was an addition to the species list for the month here
- a common Riband Wave moth on one of the lamps
- my first Hornet of the year flew by: last year they seemed to be everywhere

(Ed Wilson)

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Thursday, 6th

Highlight was only my 3rd ever record of Dunlin: heard calling 05:55 and then seen flying off E at 07:15. Not seen well-enough to age

Otherwise
- another Cormorant over
- 3 different Herons seen in flight
- 110 geese logged: 42 Greylags went outbound in single party at 05:29; 46 Canadas outbound (3 on the lake for a while), 12 inbound and 10 flew from the E and apparently landed on the open ground of the old Celestica site
- 3 drake Tufted Duck again
- just 23 Coot and 13 of these seemed to be juveniles: not sure what is going on here as there are not 13 extant juveniles from the broods here and there should be many more adults
- poor number of Black-headed Gulls with just 14 arriving from the W but leaving almost immediately. 3 only later
- 87 large gulls with 65 of these moving SW between 05:30 and 05:45. 2 on the lake for a while
- small outbound movement of Wood Pigeons with 76 of the 133 recorded noted as flying E; with 31 in trees around the lake
- Kingfisher sped across the lake at 05:40: made a rather different flight-call from usual - a deeper note, not at all like a referee's whistle that had be confused
- loose party of 12 Swallows flew high SW at 06:05 and seemed to be migrants; 2 more at 07:25
- 4 House Martins S at 07:20 also seemed to be moving through rather than local birds
- Reed Warbler sub-singing again
- 4 Blackcaps heard 'tac'-ing
- 6 Chiffchaffs with 2 seen and another 4 heard calling, one of which briefly sang
- very scattered corvid passage at high level with 74 Jackdaws and 71 Rooks logged
- c.55 Starlings flew to the wires to NE and then dropped to fields to feed: high number for here
- as usual at this time the Reed Buntings have gone quiet and / or left

and
- despite the rather cool conditions a fresh-looking Painted Lady was flushed from the dam-top at the early time of 06:55
- 3 other species of butterfly before 07:30
- the only moth was a dead Common Wainscot in a web on one of the street lamps
- also neatly wrapped in a web on a different lamp was a wasp: 2 other wasps on the lamp cover. That spider living dangerously!

(Ed Wilson)

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Wednesday, 5th

Nothing special this morning but some usual random observations

Oddest was the Blackbirds scolding from the small copse at the W end behind the Ricoh car park before 05:00. When they were still at it 90 minutes later (and had been joined by a Wren) I went to investigate. As I was picking my way through the tangled and very dark under storey, a medium/large pale bird got up from (near?) the ground and disappeared it the dense tree-growth. That was not the end of the story as 90 minutes later 2 Blackbirds were again scolding in the same area and I again investigated. Their angst was directed at a very dense patch of ivy clinging to several large trees but I failed to find the cause.
Rather confused about what it might have been: I doubt an Owl would be so low down; I doubt a Sparrowhawk would stay in one area for so long; and it seemed too small to be a Buzzard

Otherwise in somewhat better weather
- more hirundine activity: single Swallow high S over the lake early and then 2 over the SW grass later; 2 to the N of The Flash and perhaps the same high over. House Martins everywhere with a party of at least 30 over the Priorslee estate including calling juveniles
- more warbler activity: a Reed Warbler was sub-singing along the N side of the lake; a Lesser Whitethroat called along the W end path at the lake - the breeding site; and several Blackcaps were heard calling as well as a few Chiffchaffs

- a Cormorant flew S over: unusual in summer
- 137 outbound geese: 40 Greylags and 97 Canada Geese of which 40 spent some while on the lake. None of these seemed to originate from The Flash
- 35 Coots included 2 small juveniles from a brood about 10 days old
- significant early E-bound movement by Wood Pigeons early - 59 counted; later 55 logged flying W - returning birds? Also 28 around the lake itself
- 2 different Great Spotted Woodpeckers heard and seen in flight
- noisy Jays in the NW / W areas with one joining the blackbirds scolding whatever it was
- sudden area of very low cloud and light drizzle seemed to hide at least some of the Rook passage: I logged 98 Jackdaws and 52 Rooks
- party of c.15 finches on the wires to the E: must investigate

and
- only 2 moths on the lamps after very many in the car headlights en route, but one was a splendid Ruby Tiger
- stayed dull but 5 species of butterfly were tempted to fly including a very fresh specimen of Painted Lady - presumably an off-spring of the earlier large invasion

(Ed Wilson)

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Tuesday, 4th

Best were
- while counting ducks on the dam a white-rumped passerine flew past but I could not re-find it amongst the vegetation on the dam-face this year. Jizz reminded me of Wheatear, but could not rule out Bullfinch on fleeting glimpse
- what sounded like a House Sparrow by the Teece Drive gate, but sound faded away without the source being seen and a single sparrow would be unusual

Otherwise in general
- all the cygnets still present and correct
- only hirundines were 3 House Martins rushing through the lake
- most song stopped: but 3 Song Thrushes in full voice at the lake
- very few warblers evident with 2 Chiffchaffs calling. No Reed Warblers evident, but the drizzly and breezy weather may have contributed

While
- 16 geese outbound: 6 Greylags and 10 Canadas, 3 of which landed on the lake and despite making a lot of noise failed to raise any interest from the Swan
- just 4 Tufted Duck - 3 drakes
- very few gulls on the lake - just 12 Black-headed Gulls arrived from the W, and then almost immediately left. 71 large gulls logged overhead, 66 of these flying E in 8 groups. Mainly Lesser Black-backs, but all scruffy and moulting
- moderate corvid passage with 113 Jackdaws and 99 Rooks logged: rather late with largest number c.05:55

(Ed Wilson)