9 May 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 12.0°C: An early light shower. Clear for a while then a short period of mist / very low cloud before a few sunny intervals.. Light mainly northerly breeze. Mostly very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:23 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:35 // 07:30 – 09:50

(111th visit of the year)

New bird species:
A good morning with a new bird species and a new moth species for the year:
- *an Oystercatcher was heard at 06:10 and the spent time on the south-west grass. Presumably the same bird was seen (and heard) flying East over Teece Drive c.09:35.
My bird species total for 2026 moves on to #84.

Bird notes:
- all seven Greylag Geese goslings present and correct.
- a drake Gadwall was hiding in plain sight among a group of drake Mallard.
- the same three Mallard ducklings as seen yesterday were seen again.
- an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was the only visiting gull.
- no Grey Heron seen: possibly spooked by the presence of four police cars and two ambulances all blue-lighting in the Castle Farm Way lay-by
- more changes in the warblers:
no Sedge Warblers seen or heard
nine and perhaps ten singing Reed Warblers. Two of them are singing from well-away from any footpaths and are difficult to pinpoint where they are to avoid double-counting.
only one Garden Warbler singing and today from a dense bush adjacent to the South side of the lake. As usual unseen.
*again just one Common Whitethroat singing.
- unusual was a Skylark singing high overhead, apparently somewhere over the Ricoh grounds and audible from the Priorslee tunnel area. It could be that this is a regular songster here and it was the lack of traffic early on a Saturday morning that allowed it to be heard.
- *a group of at least four Starlings flushed off the football field: from the call-notes there was one or more fledged juvenile among them.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: a pair and a single flew East.
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant yet again
- 1 Stock Dove
- 5 Wood Pigeons

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: a trio arrived
- 2 Mute Swans
- *1 (1♂) Gadwall
- *8 (6♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- 11 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 17 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes again
- *1 Oystercatcher
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- no Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
A few birds appeared when the mist and low cloud descended
- 6 Swifts
- 2 Sand Martins
- 4 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 15 (14) Chiffchaffs
- no Sedge Warblers
- 9? (9?) Reed Warblers: see notes
- 15 (13) Blackcaps
- *1 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler

On the West end street lamp poles post-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Ruby Tiger Phragmatobia fuliginosa: moth species #18 for me here this year

Noted around the area later:
The sun was still lurking behind clouds

Butterflies:
- none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- none

Hoverflies:
- *Buttercup Blacklet-type: either Cheilosia albitarsus or C. ranunculi.
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus [Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or White-footed Hoverfly]

Dragon- / damsel-flies:
- none

Alder and other four-winged flies:
- *Alder Fly Sialis lutaria

Other true flies:
- dagger fly Empis tessellata
- *Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *Tachinid fly Tachina fera
- *other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- *Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Beetles:
- *7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- *Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. spectabilis
- also var. succinea

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *wolf spider Pardosa sp., probably Common Wolf Spider P. pullata

New flowers for the year:
- *Goat's-beard or Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon Tragopogon pratensis minor

Other things:
- *Oak gall

Sort of dawn. Just one police car and the two ambulances remain in the lay-by as the Classic Catering van arrives.

Drake Mallard on the left and drake Gadwall on the right. A smaller, neater bird. The black stern is the most obvious feature. He seems to have lost much of his breeding finery.

The Oystercatcher has been sticking its bill in the mud!

Three shots of a fine-looking male Common Whitethroat. This is the new arrival along the South side.

The breeze ruffling his throat feathers here.

I could not decide whether he was taking the food in to a nest. I have not seen a female in the area.

The only Starling that did not flush away from the football field. The blue at the base of the bill indicates this is a male – blue for a boy and pink for a girl in this species!

This splendid-looking moth is a Ruby Tiger Phragmatobia fuliginosa. I have only logged them in July in previous years. I do not know anything about its companion.

This hoverfly is a Buttercup Blacklet-type: either Cheilosia albitarsus or C. ranunculi.

A female Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare.

A Grey-spotted Boxer hoverfly Platycheirus albimanus, also known as a Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or a White-footed Hoverfly, posing for me. And no: it is not responsible for the chunk missing from the leaf on which it is about to settle.

An Alder Fly Sialis lutaria. So far these have been nowhere near as common as in most year.

How could I resist? A female Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria

Another splendidly ugly fly. It is the Tachinid fly Tachina fera

I am short of time (as ever) so many of the flies I photographed today will remain unidentified. Here is one

 Another. Certainly from this angle it appears big-eyed.

Likely a Muscid fly.

A similar-looking in different lighting conditions but the thorax pattern is different.

Expect more Dock Bugs Coreus marginatus next year.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata. This species tends to be a deeper shade of red than any Harlequin Ladybird.

This Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis is of the less frequently encountered form spectabilis. It may have two or four spots.

When I tried to get closer(!) this wolf spider Pardosa sp. ran away. It is probably a Common Wolf Spider P. pullata though a microscopic examination is needed to confirm.

This is Goat's-beard Tragopogon pratensis minor. Its other common name, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, refers to its behaviour in only flowering in the morning with the petals retreating and the long sepals closing to a point.

An Oak gall. Oak trees have very many different galls, each produced by a distinct gall wasp. You need to be an expert to identify most of them.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata

Flies:
- 5 midges of at least two species
- *1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- 1 unidentified cranefly

Another(?) Common Pug moth Eupithecia vulgata: yesterday one was on the wall; is this the same one on the ceiling?

The combination of well-marked wings and banded legs is sufficient to identify this as the cranefly Limonia nubeculosa.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:40 – 07:25

(108th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the five visiting Mute Swans remain.
- no Tufted Duck seen.
- the same(?) pair of Coots seen now with only three well-grown juveniles.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Herring Gulls: all immatures
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near?) adult

Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese: one of these arrived in the company of a Greylag Goose
- 6 Greylag Geese: of these a trio and the bird accompanying a Canada Goose arrived
- 7 Mute Swans: (assuming the resident pen hidden on the nest): see notes
- 14 (11♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 17 + 3 (1 brood) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: the bird on the nesting platform looking alert today: have the eggs hatched?

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps only

Notes around the area:

Fish:
- *1 Pike Esox lucius

A Blue Tit emerges from the nest box with a faecal sac. There has been no avian equivalent of Thomas Crapper and the adults have to keep the nest clean themselves.

A picture of concentration as the Song Thrush looks for food.

"Who? Me?". I suspect this is a female that had drawn a short straw. A male was singing a few feet away.

A lurking Pike Esox lucius. It was difficult to stop the camera focussing on the water surface with reflections of the trees to further confuse.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Shelduck
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood)

2009
Nedge Hill
Whinchat
Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Arctic Tern
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)

8 May 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 13.0°C: Mostly cloudy. A few breaks. A very light shower, mostly passing to the West. Light south-easterly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:25 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:30 // 07:35 – 09:55

(110th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Greylag Geese goslings still doing OK.
- *three Mallard ducklings seen: these seemed to be about a week old.
- still a big sexual disparity in the Tufted Duck: there was none of the chasing and communal diving see the previous two days.
- an adult Black-headed Gull was flying up and down the water c.05:45: an unusual date for any to be here.
- *a third year Herring Gull visited briefly at c.07:50.
- an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull visited very briefly at c.05:40
- more changes in the warblers:
a Sedge Warbler was singing from the lower pool as I walked to the Flash but not when I walked back. Probably a passage bird and my first at this location.
now eight singing Reed Warblers
two Garden Warbler singing again. The one hitherto near its traditional nesting area in the tallest bushes alongside the M54 had moved slightly toward the lake. A second was singing near the Teece Drive gate on my first circuit and was presumably the bird singing from the bottom end of the Ricoh hedge c.09:30. As usual neither was seen.
*the only Common Whitethroats noted was the recent arrival along the South side that was singing over a considerable area.
- for the third day I neither heard nor saw any Reed Buntings.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: a pair flew East; another pair flew East with one of them circling to splash down briefly.
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Cormorant again
- 3 Stock Doves: loosely together
- 3 Wood Pigeons

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose: briefly
- 2 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- *10 (7♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- 14 (12♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 1 Moorhen only
- 15 Coots only
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull: adult
- *1 Herring Gull: third year
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
no low cloud so birds feeding elsewhere
- 4 Swifts
- 6 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
Song is beginning to fade away as birds get on with nesting duties:
- 16 (14) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warblers
- 8 (8) Reed Warblers
- 12 (11) Blackcaps
- *1 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers: see notes
Whatever happened to the Cetti's Warbler!?

On the West end street lamp poles post-dawn:
Nothing!

Noted around the area later:
The sun was just about to appear after a very light shower

Butterflies:
- none

Caterpillar:
- *unidentified caterpillar – butterfly? moth? sawfly?

Bees, wasps etc.:
- none

Hoverflies:
- *Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger [Lunuled Aphideater]
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Spotted Meliscaeva Meliscaeva auricollis [Spotted Thintail]

Dragon- / damsel-flies:
- none

Other flies:
- *Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina
- *Fever-fly Dilophus febrilis
- *dagger fly Empis tessellata
- *Fannia lustrator
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Muscid fly Phaonia subventa
- *Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *cranefly Tipula varipennis
- *other unidentified flies

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. spectabilis
- *also var. succinea
- *Pollen Beetle Meligethes sp.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

New flowers for the year:
- *Red Clover Trifolium pratense

A few breaks early before more extensive cloud arrived giving a very light shower, and then the sun tried to get out again.

Always at the other end of the water! A duck Mallard with her three growing ducklings.

A third year Herring Gull. Features to note at this age are the extensive adult-looking inner primaries and the indistinct tail-band. The bill (hard to see) is mostly yellow with a small black area.

The recently arrived Common Whitethroat shouting from an unusually high perch.

An unidentified caterpillar descending from the canopy prior to pupating on, or in, the ground.

A Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger. Of all the hoverflies in this genus most individuals of this species are easily recognised by the obvious separation between each pair of yellow lunule-shaped marks.

Not easy to see the spots on this Spotted Meliscaeva hoverfly Meliscaeva auricollis. At least the Obsidentify name of Spotted Thintail points to the abdomen shape as well as the spotting (hidden by the folded wings). Note at the top of the view one of the very common but unidentified midges / flies.

The most boring of today's flies: a Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina.

A Fever-fly Dilophus febrilis. It looks superficially like a beetle.

A good plan-view of the dagger fly Empis tessellata. I do need to try for a side-elevation shot to show the dagger-like mouth-parts clearly.

This fly is most likely Fannia lustrator (no common name). The tapered abdomen, orange base to the wings and rufous on the mid- and hind- legs are the features that point to this species.

A different individual.

There were many around today: here is another.

And another showing the leg colour clearly.

With an orange abdomen and barely striped thorax this is the Muscid fly Phaonia subventa.

A female Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria

 And a male. At this range I could not get all the body in focus.

Close up and personal with a cranefly Tipula varipennis.

"My what big eyes you have!" One of the unidentified flies from today. I don't think the body is green: I think it is some type of light interference pattern introduced by the camera.

Very frustrating. This fly has a very distinctive pattern on the thorax and would seem to be easy to ID. "Seem" being the operative word. I am not even sure to which family it belongs.

A typical Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the most common form succinea.

This one has lost / never had most of its spots: a frequent occurrence. I also noted one of the less-common form spectabilis but it dropped off a leaf in to the undergrowth before I could photograph it.

Soon to be abundant feeding in buttercups is this Pollen Beetle. One of many species in from the large Meligethes genus, most not further identifiable from photos.

I am feeling a bit guilty. I flushed a small midge and it flew in to the web of and was pounced on by a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. Count the 14 legs!

Red Clover Trifolium pratense. This species always starts flowering before White Clover T. repens and also continues after the latter species dies away in Autumn.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths!!! My first of the year here!
- *1 Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata

Flies:
- 12 midges of at least two species
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 running crab spider Philodromus sp.
- *1 unidentified spider

A Common Pug moth Eupithecia vulgata. My first moth of the year here! Only 49 species to go to equal last year's total!

A running crab spider Philodromus sp. There are two broad categories of crab spider. Those that hide and wait for prey to blunder in to them: and this group that chases after prey.

I have not got an identity for this small spider that was running along a thread of its web.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:35 – 07:30

(107th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the five visiting Mute Swans still here with the resident cob keeping them corralled at the top end. One of the fishermen told me that a trio – two adults and a sub-adult - had briefly flown away only to return. The five do seem to be acting as a pair and a trio. No rings seen.
- a pair of Tufted Duck were separately chased from cover when they strayed too close to a Coot nest.
- a pair of Coots seen with four well-grown juveniles. Most other juveniles are still being brooded on the nest at the time I visit.
- a Common Buzzard attempted to land in trees alongside squirrel alley. The local Magpies had other ideas.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 1 Cormorant again

Noted on / around the water:
- 24 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 7 Mute Swans: (assuming the resident pen hidden on the nest): see notes
- 17 (15♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens again
- 18 + 4 (1 brood) Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe: only the bird on the nesting platform seen

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Blackcaps

Notes around the area:

Flies:
- *1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 2 unidentified midges

I had an extra strong coffee to improve my reaction time and managed to capture a Blue Tit leaving the nest box....

...and heading away for more insects for the brood.

A moth fly Psychodidae sp. with, as normal, matching patterns on each wing.

(Ed Wilson)

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2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Wheatear
1 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
6 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Spotted Flycatcher
5 Black Terns
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatears
3 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)