6 Jun 15

Priorslee Lake:
Map

Morning Update

Also today a pair of Whitethroat were feeding young.

(Martin Grant)

Morning Report:  4:18am - 9:28am

Telford sunrise: 4:47am

6.0°C > 13.0°C. Mainly clear, some clouds at times. Moderate W wind, freshening somewhat and feeling cool; very good visibility.

(76th visit of the year)

Notes
- I give up with adult Great Crested Grebes: I counted 9 this morning. Are they really fluctuating or do they hide? And if so where?
- single juvenile Coots from brood #3: 2 juveniles from each of broods #4 and #6.

And
- now usual array of strange bugs and things.

Counts of birds flying over the lake (in addition to those on / around lake)
- 13 Greylag Geese (2 parties)
- 9 Canada Geese (3 singles; 2 groups)
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Collared Dove
- 130 Jackdaws
- 125 Rooks
- 1 Starling

Count of hirundines etc
- 9 Swifts
- 3 Swallows
- 4 House Martins

Count of singing warblers
- 7 Chiffchaffs once again
- 1 Willow Warbler
- 13 Blackcaps
- 1 Common Whitethroat again
- 7 Reed Warblers

The counts from the lake area
- 2 Mute Swans
- 7 (5♂) Mallard again
- 9 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Moorhens
- 34 + 5 (3 broods) Coots


Oh look! A hairy caterpillar, favourite of Cuckoos who seem unaffected by the irritation that the hairs cause most potential predators. The means that it is probably the caterpillar of a butterfly of the Vanessid group – Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell etc. But which? Good question.

Another mystery bug! Well not a complete mystery in that it is clearly a lacewing sp. and probably of the genus Chrysopa. It looks like Chrysopa perla apart from not being “heavily marked with black”!

We had only seen Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus) on the top surface of nettles previously and I had wondered if that was how they avoided the irritating hairs – though the question arises of how they get there. Here we see how – and they must be impervious to the hairs.

This I thought was a White-legged Damselfly. I was puzzled by the mostly dark top to all the body segments and particularly the lack of a ‘blue tail’. However not so: it is an immature – always tricky – Azure Damselfly based on the position of the stripes on the thorax. So not a new species for but my first of the year. Thanks to Jim Almond and others for the feedback - always welcome.

And this is not a female White-legged Damselfly as I initially thought, the different arrangements of the stripes on the thorax pointing to an immature Common Blue Damselfly.

Another mystery: I was thinking hoverfly sp. but hoverflies normally rest with wings held partly open. Re-examination of my books suggests it is a Soldier Fly and most likely Chloromyia formosa.

An alarming view of a Scorpion Fly (Panorpa communis) with prey.

Another teasing – “what on earth?”. There should be sufficient clues to be able to identify the rear view of a preening and still scruffy (juvenile) Long-tailed Tit.

That’s better?

This is a Mirid Bug and probably Amblytylus nasutus.

Aah! nice warm sun. Mrs. Blackbird will worry about sorting the feathers out later!

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day in 2009, 2012 and 2014
2014
Priorslee Lake Map
Report Here
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Holmer Lake Map
Black Swan
(Martin Ryder)

2009
Priorslee Lake Map
Common Terns
(Ed Wilson)