Thursday, 17th - Wednesday, 30th

Highlights of the last week or so

- first returning waders with Common Sandpiper at the lake Wednesday 30th
- 2 more brief visits to the lake by a Common Tern
- a juvenile Yellow Wagtail at the lake on Tuesday 29th at one point with an adult Pied and juvenile Grey for comparison. Only ever seen Spring migrants here previously and then only >5 years ago
- was it really a very out-of-season Meadow Pipit I heard over The Flash on Tuesday 29th?
- Willow Tits calling daily at the lake
- Nuthatch calling by the Teece Drive gate

Otherwise notes from The Lake

- 3 pairs of Great Crested Grebes it seems, with one pair almost always in the middle and apparently not breeding, though it is not clear the others are either
- a couple of brief visits by Cormorants
- no Herons here (or elsewhere)
- Mallard bred better than recently here: young usually disappear quickly but parties of 2 & 5 appear to be large-enough to survive as the adults go in to eclipse
- Tufted Duck appear and disappear in very small numbers
- Moorhens have all but vanished as they breed, but they are here - somewhere
- Coots breeding slightly more successfully this year - 7 juveniles from 5 broods at the moment with at least 4 likely to survive - last year only 2 of over 100 juveniles made it to adult-hood
- Buzzard often around W / SW area but not convinced there is a nest in the area
- Kestrel seems scarce this year
- a few Black-headed Gulls around: so far all adults and none of the ginger juveniles
- a few large gulls flying over, mostly immature Lesser Black-backs and in moult
- a sudden upsurge in Wood Pigeon numbers - seems the crops in the fields to the E are attractive
- up to 12 Swifts feed over the lake at first light: fewer later
- first brood Swallows are feeding with their parents over the SW grass - I assume they nest in the village somewhere
- House Martins visit from the estate - low numbers here this year
- Reed Warblers singing less continually than usual, especially at the W end. Birds still seem to be moving around. Why? Is the oft-reported ski-boat wash affecting the W-end?
- confirmed successful breeding by Lesser and Common Whitethroats with juveniles to be seen. The latter species is still singing
- no Garden Warblers singing around the lake, but the bird at the sluice exit is still singing away. Did the others move away?
- roving mixed parties of Tits include up to 27 Long-tails, Coal and Willow Tits. Willow Tits heard with two different parties of tits

and
- a lone Bee Orchid spike was seen on just 1 day
- Spotted Orchids have done well in S / SW and W area but I could find only a single spike in the former stronghold in the N / NE area
- Willow herb and Ragwort just about out: Red Valerian now past its best
- moths have done better in the warmer weather and I have added 21 species to the year list in the last 10 days. But the number and variety is well down on some years, perhaps because of the clear nights and full moon; perhaps because of the replacement of the bulbs in the street lights with low-energy bulbs with a different spectrum
- day-flying at the moment are black and red burnet moths - here Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet
- also day-flying are the black and red Cinnabar moths whose yellow and black rugby-striped caterpillars will soon be demolishing the ragwort
- some new butterfly species flying with Ringlets particularly dominant at the moment
- a fine warm morning produced literally hundreds of Blue-tailed Damselflies, the vast majority males with just a small number of females all of which were paired

In the fields and Woodhouse Lane to the E / SE of the lake
- Common Whitethroat bred successfully
- otherwise just the usual specialities in low numbers - 2 Sky Larks singing, a few Linnets over; and 3 Yellowhammers singing
- Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays likely bred here - in Wards Rough?

and
- good crop of wildflowers along the lane amongst which you may well see ...
- day-flying Yellow Shell moth

(Ed Wilson)

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Wednesday, 16th

- 1 Willow tit in the trees alongside the M54 slip-road

(JW Reeves)

Morning

After another spell away did a full check around the lake and The Flash

Highlights
- a Gadwall flew in to the Flash: a drake I think - can be hard at this time of year. Unusual date
- flying visit, literally, by a Common Tern at the lake at 05:25. New for my 2010 site list
- 2 juvenile Grey Wagtails on the concrete ramp at the lake were my first in the area for several months: perhaps bred somewhere close-by?

Bird song noticeably dying away now but other notes:

- 3 Great Crested Grebes, but all singles and none giving any indication of where any nest might be
- 2 adult Swans: with the loss of their lone cygnet the cob seemed uninterested in chasing ...
- 8 Canada Geese
- no sign of any Mallard ducklings: just 7 adults (5 drakes)
- single juvenile Coot: 29 adults with 16 at the dam, apparently non/failed breeders (though some seemed to be in pairs)
- no gulls
- single Swifts over the lake at various times
- fewer Reed Warblers in song and the song started late - often sing all night. 2 of them were in areas where I have not heard song earlier this year but in reed patches that have been used in other years
- Lesser Whitethroat heard calling with what sounded like a begging juvenile
- 1 Common Whitethroat still singing
- brief burst of song from a Garden Warbler
- 9 Blackcaps also still in song
- one of the Long-tailed Tit parties contained at least 23 birds
- Willow Tits heard calling back by the Teece Drive gate after song and juveniles seen and heard earlier in SE (M54 slip area)
and
- 4 species of moths: the confusing grass moths are about and giving me the usual ID problems
- 3 Orchid spikes on S side but could find none on N side - there were 4 spikes 10 days ago

en route to the Flash
- no Mallard on the pools
- no Moorhens seen or heard on the pools either
- Rabbit on the grass by the Ricoh entry

(Ed Wilson)

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Tuesday, 15th

- Family party of 5+ Willow tits in the trees alongside the M54 slip-road

(JW Reeves)

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Wednesday, 2nd

After 3 days back, mostly with poor weather, time for a short update on the happenings in the Priorslee area

No highlights to report

- the Great Crested Grebes still show no regular pattern and 2 / 3 birds dotted around
- the Swans had a single cygnet which they have now lost
- 2 Greylag Geese flew over Monday - the first for several weeks
- the Canada Goose continues to inhabit the dam area; others visit for short spells and seem tolerated by the Swans
- Mallard ducklings appear and disappear. Tuesday there were groups of 7 and at least 5; but they seemed too new to be the parties I saw last weeks. These could not be located Wednesday
- Moorhens still elusive and single on the SW grass is the usual sighting
- 30+ Coots with at least 16 non-breeders gathering off the dam where the nesting birds leave them alone: no juveniles seen but possibly being brooded in the cool damp mornings
- raptors sitting tight in the poor weather
- Lapwings continue to appear more often than they did all winter! Singles only
- no gulls this week so far
- a few Swifts the only 'hirundines' this week and no House Martins over the estate either
- no sign of the Stock Doves so far this week
- Song Thrushes having another burst of song - 7 this morning
- in contrast the Mistle Thrushes have shut up again
- warblers generally nesting and song diminished and / or intermittent
--- up to 8 Reed Warblers: odd birds pop up in the scrub adjacent to the reeds suggesting territories not yet established. No sign of the smaller reed patches being used as they have been recently
--- the Lesser Whitethroats silent but seen carrying caterpillars
--- now 4 Common Whitethroats singing in the area, but these are rather mobile
--- Garden Warbler most reliable singing across Castle Farm Way
--- up to 9 Blackcaps singing: lots more calling suggests juveniles may be about
--- 5 Chiffchaffs still singing
--- Willow Warbler seems to have gone from the M54 island
- Willow Tits seem to have fledged and now to be heard from hedge on E side of Castle Farm Way (when traffic noise permits!)
- both Blue and Great Tits fledged juveniles
- apart from singing Chaffinches all finches rather scarce

and
- two different dead fish - both pike to my untutored eye. Hope nothing to do with the weed-killer applied at the end of March
- several more species of moth including a splendid White Ermine
- the first orchids now in flower; yellow flags on the dam; the May / hawthorn blossom fading fast after a heavy display

(Ed Wilson)