1 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 18.0°C: Early medium-level cloud to East and North moved away to give clear skies until a few puffy clouds developed after 09:00. Light westerly breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 05:27 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 06:10 // 07:15 – 09:30

(172nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- more Great Crested Grebe confusion. There now seems to be four pairs of adults feeding juveniles and two well-grown independent juveniles. Apart from the pair in the north-west corner they do not stay on an obvious territory and it is difficult to be certain there are four pairs and not three. *The fourth active pair briefly had four small juveniles in the water. There may be as many as 12 juveniles of various ages present.
- four Swifts were seen over the South side c.08:45.
- nine Starlings flew East over the football field c.05:50 with two of these flying back West a few minutes later and the other seven noted sitting on one of the floodlights(?) in the academy's grounds.
- a Common Whitethroat was giving its contact call from deep within the Ricoh hedge c.09:15.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 13 Canada Geese: flew East in three groups.
- 10 Greylag Geese: a single flew East; nine flew West together.
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 13 Feral Pigeons flew West as a group.
- 1 Stock Dove flew West
- 49 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Grey Heron
- 161 Jackdaws
- 70 Rooks
- 9 Starlings: see notes

Counts from the lake area:
- 77+ Canada Geese: five departed together; later 77 arrived in seven groups
- no Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 52 (?♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 65 Coots
- 8 + >12? (6? broods) *Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 19 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 *probable Yellow-legged Gull
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts: see notes
- 3 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted:
- 7 Chiffchaffs: one in brief song
- 4 Reed Warblers: one in brief song
- 1 Blackcap only

Also noted:

Butterflies:
- 2 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 2 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 2 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 5 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 1 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Moths:
- 2 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
At least eight other grass moths most too faded to confirm their identity

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris : just one; also one unidentified fly-by of a bumblebee
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]
- Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria [Hornet Plumehorn]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- none

True flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
very few unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *White Crab Spider Misumena vatia [Flower Spider]

Mammals:
- ! *Bank Vole Myodes glareolus

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
Zilch!

A day later and the waning Buck Moon is now quite obviously "out of shape". "Buck" apparently as it is the time of year that buck deer (males) grow their antlers.

Horrible lighting! This is a new family of Great Crested Grebes, one parent with a fish almost as large as the juvenile anxious to be fed.

From the "other side" the lighting is better but they are now further away. How many young are there?

Answer: at least four. And could there be more under the parent's raised feathers?

Conundrum: is this just two survivors from a brood of three seen earlier in the week (that I failed to locate today)? Or, as I suspected yesterday, a hitherto overlooked brood of two?

What I believe to be a juvenile / first-winter Yellow-legged Gull. In comparison with a Herring Gull at this age it shows restricted pale inner primaries, a stronger, neater tail-band, a whiter head with a shawl and more pale fringes on the back giving it a slightly mottled appearance. A Lesser Black-backed Gull at this age would show much darker secondary coverts and almost no contrast in the inner primaries. That said lighting conditions can be deceptive and I am prepared to be proved wrong.

At this angle it is possible to see how Dead-head Hoverflies Myathropa florea also acquired the vernacular name of Common Batman Fly.

The White Crab Spider Misumena vatia still in the same Knapweed flower as yesterday.

Not something I see very often – a live native wild mammal. This Bank Vole Myodes glareolus was competing with me to eat the blackberries alongside Teece Drive.

It tried to scamper away but it could not surmount the overhang on the bevelled kerbing and could not decide which way to run.

What a sweetie!

Yes, you.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Another mixture of things:

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 *unidentified ichneumon sp.

Flies:
- 1 *midge
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum: is this dead?
- 1 female mosquito Culex pipiens
- 3 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 1 *Brown Centipede Lithobius forficatus [Common Garden Centipede]
- 1 *Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 2 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 *harvestman Opilio canestrinii

Much of the interest was things found in the tunnel this morning. At the time I thought this was a bee. Obsidentify suggested an unidentified ichneumon and I can now see why. It is just possible to see the tip of an ovipositor.

A midge! A female with "simple" antennae. There is not much information on the internet to help identify this group of insects.

New for the year list was this Brown Centipede Lithobius forficatus, also known as the Common Garden Centipede. Centipedes no more have 100 legs than millipedes have 1000 but you get the idea of the difference. This species of centipede can be confirmed by its 15 pairs of legs, one pair to each body segment.

A Common Rough Woodlouse Porcellio scaber

The harvestman Opilio canestrinii identified by a pale central line running most of the length on the body.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

(170th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 17 Mute Swans today
- a Great Crested Grebe was seen at the top end only.
- no Little Egret seen.
- the Grey Heron again.
- a Willow Warbler was seen at the top end

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 17 Canada Geese: of these three departed
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 17 Mute Swans
- 31 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 43 Coot
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 19 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins again

Warblers noted (no song):
- 1 Willow Warbler
- 2 Chiffchaffs

Of note around the area:

Moths:
- 1 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris : just one; also one unidentified fly-by of a bumblebee
- 1 *Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris : trapped in spider's web

Bugs:
- 1 *Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli

This is a Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella. On this species the pale streak is well defined, bulges in the middle and then splits in to two or three "fingers". This specimen is unusual in having a pale area in the centre of the wing. This caused Obsidentify to try and convince me it is a caddis fly. Caddis flies always have antennae that point forward. [AI: what could possibly go wrong?]

A Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris trapped in spider's web: you can just make out the strings (takes me back to Muffin the Mule – ask your grandparents!). Wasps are usually strong-enough to break out of webs.

You may have to take my word for it that this is a Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes. Another spider web casualty a long way up one of the street lamp poles.

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Tern
(John Isherwood)

31 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 18.0°C: Clear to the East and South early. An area of cloud soon arrived from the West before clearing again after 07:30 to wall-to-wall blue. A few puffy clouds after 09:15. Initially flat calm with a light westerly breeze developing. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:25 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:45– 06:10 // 07:15 – 09:30

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no third Mute Swan today.
- at 05:15 I noted 14 Mallard flying off East; 20 adults and the four juveniles on the water. How these relate to the 51 I counted on the south-west grass and the water at 07:45 is hard to say!
- the Great Crested Grebes were typically problematic, moving around and diving. There seemed to be a fourth pair with two young, some days old, in the more difficult to view south-west area. Also the two now independent juveniles from different broods were spending time together (or close-by).
- a single Swift was briefly over the East end at 05:30. A trio was over the South side for a while c.07:45.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 12 Canada Geese: ten flew East together; two flew West together.
- 49 Greylag Geese: 29 flew East in two groups; 20 flew West in two groups.
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 32 Feral Pigeons flew West as an all-white single and groups of eight and 23
- 4 Stock Doves flew West as two singles and a duo
- 84 Wood Pigeons
- 159 Jackdaws
- 53 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: arrived together
- 12 Greylag Geese: 10 departed together followed by two singles
- 5 Mute Swans: see notes
- 51 (?♂) Mallard: see notes
- 1 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 67 Coots
- 6 + 10? (5 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 23 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts: see notes
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted (no song):
- 5 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Reed Warbler only
- 4 Blackcaps

Also noted:
cooler than of late: very dry

Butterflies:
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 1 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 4 *Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Moths:
- 5 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- *Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris : just one; also one unidentified fly-by of a bumblebee
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]
- *Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]
- Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn; Great Pied Hoverfly]
- *Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria [Hornet Plumehorn]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum
- *Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
also another species of dragonfly seen in flight only

True flies:
- long-legged fly Dolichopus sp.
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
only a few unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *White Crab Spider Misumena vatia [Flower Spider]

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 !*Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]

It seems a long while since I managed to photograph an almost full moon. This is the just waning Buck Moon, the eighth full moon of 2026. It was full at 15:36 on Wednesday.

The number of butterflies is declining fast. Those that are still flying are looking care-worn as epitomised by this Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus.

A new moth for the year on a street lamp pole pre-sunrise. It is a Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella.

"Brothers in Arms?" Two Red-tailed Bumblebees Bombus lapidarius share one of the few extant Knapweed flowers.

Not many hoverflies again today: mostly singletons once more. This Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax has more orange-brown on the abdomen than many. A variable feature on many Eristalis species.

It is some weeks since I saw my previous Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea.

This is a Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis, a species where all three bands across the abdomen are yellow...

...more clearly seen here.

A Hornet Hoverfly V. zonaria with the upper band on the abdomen orange rather than yellow.

Close up and personal with a different Hornet Hoverfly.

One of three species of dragonfly I noted today. Only two photographed and therefore only two identified. This is a Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum.

And this is a male Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum. Much redder than the individual I photographed a few days ago. The body (but not the thorax) will become bright red as it ages – provided it survives that long.

Another insect I have not recorded for several weeks: a Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp. This is a female because the tail-tip does not curl around to appear shaped like a scorpion's sting.

Probably the same White Crab Spider Misumena vatia I photographed a few days ago.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 $ *White-speckled Fungus Moth Nemapogon koenigi
- 1 *Red Underwing Catocala nupta

Flies:
- no midges!
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum

Arthropods:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 3 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

I found two species of moth in the tunnel. I believe this to be a White-speckled Fungus Moth Nemapogon koenigi. It is a new species for me and is noted as uncommon in the West Midlands.

Another view of this micro-moth from the side. I am sending these photos to the Shropshire recorder for confirmation though checking Obsidentify's positive suggestion against the West Midlands moths web site and the Field Guide leaves me in little doubt.

Very much not a micro-moth was this, my second Red Underwing Catocala nupta of the year, unhelpfully silhouetted against one of the strip lights that, vaguely, illuminate the tunnel.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

(169th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 18 Mute Swans when I arrived. One flew off West.
- no Mallard duckling seen.
- a Great Crested Grebe was seen at the top end. Ten minutes later it, or another, was back at the bottom end where I usually see one.
- the Little Egret still here. Also the Grey Heron again.
- a fly-over Pied Wagtail heard only. This species is much less common than it was a few years ago.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 18 Mute Swans: one departed: see notes
- 29 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 *Moorhens again
- 49 Coot
- 1? Great Crested Grebe: see notes
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron again
- 1 Little Egret again

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (no song):
- 2 Chiffchaffs

Nothing of note around the area:

I do believe this Moorhen has taken over a Coot nest and looks to be brooding eggs or young.

(Ed Wilson)

30 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 17.0°C: Clear to the East early with cloud quickly arriving from the West. Some light drizzle in the air occasionally after 08:00. Light / moderate, north-westerly breeze. Mostly very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:24 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

It continues to be a poor year for moths. While every year is different then this year has seen consistently lower numbers of both species and individuals: here are the species counts to date:

Balancing Lake 2026: 57 species 2025: 77 species
Priorslee tunnel 2026: 28 species 2025: 37 species
The Flash and area 2026: 36 species 2025: 61 species

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 06:10 // 07:15 – 09:25

(170th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a third Mute Swan arrived c.08:00 and, as last time, was intermittently chased by both the residents.
- in the cooler, cloudy conditions the latest family of juvenile Great Crested Grebes stayed on a parent's back and I was only able to confirm the presence of one juvenile.
- two Swifts were first noted at 08:30, seemingly staying around. [I note the local Swifts have gone from Newport since Tuesday]
- a Kingfisher flew along the front of the dam c.05:15.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: flew East together
- 46 Greylag Geese: 32 flew East as a single and one group of 31; 14 put up from nearby fields by the Air Ambulance circled overhead and returned to the fields.
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 17 Racing Pigeons flew West c.05:45
- 1 Feral Pigeons flew West
- 3 Stock Doves flew West together
- 65 Wood Pigeons
- 152 Jackdaws
- 94 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 57? Canada Geese: a single departed; much later 57 arrived in four groups
- 8? Greylag Geese: 8 departed together; later just two arrived
- 3 Mute Swans: see notes
- 40 (?♂) Mallard
- 7 Moorhens
- 59 Coots
- 6 + >6? (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 8 Black-headed Gulls only
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron throughout
- 1 Kingfisher

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts: see notes
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (no song):
- 7 Chiffchaffs
- 4 Reed Warblers
- 2 Blackcaps again

Also noted:
cloud and drizzle kept things very quiet

Butterflies:
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi

Moths:
- 6 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
- 1 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris : just one; also one unidentified fly-by of a bumblebee
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
none

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
none

True flies:
only a few unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

The early clear sky rapidly moving away to the East soon after sunrise.

This Common Buzzard was just a silhouette against a leaden sky. The camera nevertheless managed to capture an amazing amount of detail and some work with a photo-editor produced a very acceptable result.

Again!

A "fuzzy" Robin. Not sure why. Are these new feathers still growing?

 It does look to be in moult.

No need to look downcast!

That's better.

A Straw Dot moth Rivula sericealis. Not easy to pick out from all the grass moths. Although classified as a macro moth species it is about the same size as those confusing grass moths which are classified as micro moths. I saw a Straw Dot back on 02 June. My Field Guide says the flight period of this species is June-July, noting that in southern Britain there may be a second generation in August-September. Is global warming moving these dates forward perhaps?

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 *Mint Moth Pyrausta aurata [was Small Purple & Gold]

Flies:
- 3 midges
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum: is this dead?
- 1 *caddis fly possibly ! Stenophylax permistus
- 1 *cranefly Tipula lateralis
- 1 *cranefly Tipula sp.

Arthropods:
- 2 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 7 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 *unidentified spider
- 1 *female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

A good year for this species of moth: it is another Mint Moth Pyrausta aurata, the first I have recorded in the tunnel. Not much mint Mentha sp. here!

I noted this caddis fly on the ceiling. This group of insects is not easy to identify. It is one of the larger species and therefore probably Stenophylax permistus which I have recorded here previously.

Most odd: this cranefly Tipula lateralis has somehow managed to rotate its wings "backwards": the pale area in the wings is along the leading edge of the wings.

I have not been able to specifically identify this Tipula cranefly. It seems unusual in that no antennae are visible.

Nor have I been able to identify this spider. The shadow from the camera flash has likely confused the apps I use to help with identification.

They seem to be everywhere at the moment: female harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum. Where are the males? Looking at them it always seems to me that they could plug-and-play with their legs.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

(168th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- at least 15 Mute Swans on the water. Just perhaps 16 – birds kept disappearing around the back of the island wherever I was. Another bird was seen in flight overhead as I arrived and may well have been on the water a few minutes earlier.
- yesterday's new brood of Mallard now just a single duckling and there was no obvious adult anywhere nearby. Meanwhile 31 of the 37 adults I noted were all clustered just off the lay-by in Derwent Drive.
- a Great Crested Grebe was seen a usual location. Where has it been the last two days?
- an immature Cormorant flew in to land, precipitously, in a tree on the island.
- the Little Egret still here. Also a Grey Heron today.
- four House Martins were over the bottom end; also two over the top end, one of which was a begging juvenile.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Mute Swan: see notes
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: singles

Noted on / around the water:
- 12 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- 15 Mute Swans: see notes
- 37 (?♂) + 1 (1 brood) Mallard
- 5 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 44 Coot
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 9 *Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: immature, arrived
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Little Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 House Martins

Warblers noted (no song):
- 1 Chiffchaff

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 1 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
I eventually managed to disturb one from the grass: it took a while!

Nothing else.

I was about to take a photo of this recently-fledged Black-headed Gull well-posed on the water when it took off. This view does show the strong markings on the upper-wing of the species at this age.

(Ed Wilson)

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2006
Priorslee Lake
13 Swifts
(Ed Wilson)