25 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 21.0°C: Broken cloud at medium-high and high level with sunny spells developing. Moderate westerly breeze gusting fresh at times. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:18 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– 06:00 // 07:10 – 09:30

(165th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- many geese on the water at first light mostly leaving to the East. These(?) and more returned. A few also flying over.
- *a third Mute swan appeared and was, for a while, apparently ignored by the residents. Eventually they chased it on to the south-west grass where it sought protection with all the geese.
- a moulting drake and *two duck / immature Tufted Duck seen early only.
- all five juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen: five adults again.
- four Swifts over for a short period.
- a loose group of over 75 Wood Pigeons appeared flying West shortly followed by a *circling female Peregrine. No doubt the source of their panic.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 8 Canada Geese: a duo flew East; three duos flew West
- 18 Greylag Geese: 10 flew East; eight flew West
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- *1 Peregrine
- 1 Stock Dove
- 147 Wood Pigeons
- 168 Jackdaws
- 40 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- >66 Canada Geese: 34 noted departing in four groups leaving 32 to depart later; much later 55 arrived in ten groups
- >42 Greylag Geese: 10 departed together; later 42 arrived in four groups
- *3 Mute Swans: the third arrived: see notes
- 43 (?♂) Mallard
- *3 (1?♂) Tufted Duck: departed?
- 6 Moorhens
- 45 Coots: of these three were juveniles in a dependent brood
- 5 + 5 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 29 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 3 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Reed Warblers
- 4 (0) Blackcaps
- no Common Whitethroats

Also noted:
Not much in the dry conditions.

Butterflies:
a variety but low numbers:
- *2 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 2 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 3 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 8 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 5 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
- *1 Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae: only my second this year

Moths:
- 7 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
many other unidentified grass moths flying away to hide.
- *2 Mint Moth Pyrausta aurata [was Small Purple & Gold]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- *$ unidentified Yellow-faced Bee Hylaeus sp.

Hoverflies:
just a singleton of each species
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]
- *Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria [Hornet Plumehorn]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
three unidentified dragonflies seen in flight only

True flies:
very few today just...
- *greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- marsh fly Tetanocera ferruginea
and a few unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus

"They are coming to get you!" The resident Mute Swans gang up on the visitor.

Well it was 05:30! Two duck or immature (I favour the latter) Tufted Duck. I did not see them later.

The light is always in the wrong place. However with some judicious photo-editing the photo of this female (on bulk) Peregrine is very acceptable.

A Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi. Very "veined" but unusually these are not edged with darker areas.

A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly Aglais urticae: only my second this year and here tucking in to Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris.

Another view of what seems to be a freshly emerged individual.

A very pretty-looking moth: a Mint Moth Pyrausta aurata. This was on the North side, the first time I have seen this species in this location. There is plenty of Water Mint Mentha aquatica in the area, the food plant of the larvae.

This Honey Bee Apis mellifera seems to be doing a good job spreading the pollen around!

Find of the day even if it is unidentified. It is my first-ever Yellow-faced Bee Hylaeus sp., a group that requires a clear head-on photo of the face to begin identification to the species level.

Just three hoverflies seen this morning. This male Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax...

...this male Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta or Long Hoverfly if you prefer. The lower part of the abdomen is atypically brown but the length of the body precludes it being any other of the species in the genus.

 Lastly another Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria.

Not much else to photograph so here is a greenbottle from the Lucilia genus.

A harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus that seems to be eating something round.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Silver Y Autographa gamma

Flies:
- 5 midges
- *1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 3 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

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

For once not buried in the grass: a Silver Y moth Autographa gamma illustrating its name.

Today a female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata with the proboscis (to draw blood through) but with "simple" antennae.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash: 06:05 – 07:05

(163rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Not sure about the number of Mute Swans again. One was seen to take off and possibly leave (the extra bird at the Balancing Lake later?) but could equally possibly have returned while I was in the wooded area on the footpath diversion. Whatever: there were 17 present as I departed.
- even fewer Tufted Duck than on my previous visit.
- a loose group of five Barn Swallows flew East at c.06:50. Surely not migrants?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw again

Noted on / around the water:
- 49 Canada Geese: some of these departed
- 8 Greylag Geese
- 17 (18?) Mute Swans: see notes
- 20 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck only
- 7 Moorhens
- 34 Coots: of these two juveniles just about independent
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 7 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult briefly

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 5 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted

None

Noted around the area:

Fly:
- *1 fly possibly from the Minettia fasciata aggregate.

Bugs:
- *1 instar of a Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina

Fungus:
- *Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus

This very small fly with eyes on the side of its head, a grey thorax and orange abdomen with dark banding is possibly from the Minettia fasciata aggregate. Not further identifiable from photos.

An instar of a Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina.

I found this fungus alongside the alternative footpath through the wooded area avoiding the bridges. I believe it to be Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus. According to Mr. Google's AI "it is said to get its name from the texture of its flesh, which resembles cooked chicken." I won't be visiting that restaurant.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2007
Priorslee Lake
Oystercatcher
300+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls
3 Herring Gulls
1 Yellow-legged Gull
1 Reed Warbler
3 Blackcaps
4 Chiffchaffs
4 Sand Martins
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Great Crested Grebes
3 Herons
3 Greylag Geese
17 Tufted Ducks
1 Kestrel
6 Stock Doves
303 Wood Pigeons
12 Swifts
1 Kingfisher
4 Sand Martins
7 Swallows
6 House Martins
2 Grey Wagtails
8 Reed Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroats
1 Common Whitethroat
1 Garden Warbler
9 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
2 Willow Warblers
3 Willow Tits
1 Jay
248 Jackdaws
485 Rooks
205 Greenfinches
3 Bullfinches
8 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

24 Jul 26

No sightings in today.

23 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 18.0°C: Clear for about 10 minutes and then cloud which threatened to break after 08:30 but never did. Moderate north-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:14 BST

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

Back from a trip South to the trade event at the Farnborough Air Show and then visiting elderly relatives.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:45– 06:05 // 07:15 – 09:45

(164th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two Tufted Duck flew in: the first of Autumn
- all five juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen: only five adults located.
- at least 25 House Martins were calling while swirling high over Teece Drive c.06:00. Had it been six weeks later I would have suggested it was a group gathering ahead of setting off on their migration. I could not detect any begging juvenile calls. Later four were over the lake, briefly.
- two Common Whitethroats were heard making contact calls at the West end with one of these seen working the scrubby vegetation.
- a group of seven Starlings was noted low over the football field heading toward the estate was perhaps unusual at this date.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: flew East together
- 1 Greylag Goose: flew West
- 1 Herring Gull
- 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 82 Wood Pigeons
- 115 Jackdaws
- 12 Rooks
- 7 Starlings

Counts from the lake area:
- 32 Canada Geese: of these 31 arrived in three groups
- 11 Greylag Geese: one present early departed; ten arrived together
- 2 Mute Swans
- 52 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (?♂) Tufted Duck: arrived
- 4 Moorhens
- 49 Coots
- 5 + *5 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- *11 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 *Grey Herons: departed separately

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >12 Swifts
- >25 House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 5 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (1) Reed Warblers
- 3 (0) Blackcaps
- 2 (0) Common Whitethroats

Also noted:
Not much in the cloudy conditions.

Butterflies:
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 5 *Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Moths:
- >10 ! *Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella
- >10 *Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
many other unidentified grass moths flying away to hide.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria [Hornet Plumehorn]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
none

True flies:
even fewer today including...
- *possible $ Dung Fly Cordilura albipes
- *long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- *long-legged fly Dolichopus wahlbergi or similar with swollen mid-tarsi
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Awkward Clusterfly Pollenia rudis
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- marsh fly Tetanocera ferruginea
a few unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

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

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
- *1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla

Beetles:
- *1 Clover Weevil Sitona hispidulus

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]

From bill-colour both these birds are drake Mallard. They are undergoing post-breeding moult.

The oldest and single-survivor from the first pair of Great Crested Grebes to hatch young. Still very stripey-headed but with a hint of adult brown feathers appearing.

An adult Black-headed Gull pouncing on a morsel probably dropped when the Magpies raided one of the litter bins. Note this bird is in post-breeding moult with only eight of the normal ten primary feathers showing, the inner two having been dropped prior to regrowing.

One cruises by. Note the head still looks to be in breeding plumage whereas....

...on this dancing couple the left-hand bird is rapidly losing the dark feathers as it moults in to Winter plumage.

"I'm coming to get you"!

The second of the two Grey Herons present earlier now leaving.

A Swift and from the shape of the head one with cheek-pouches full of insects. This species will not be with us much longer. Swifts are the last migrant to arrive and the first to leave. Most will have gone by the end of the month though a few birds may linger to mid-August. Any later sightings will almost certainly be of migrants from Scandinavia passing through.

This tiny moth is a Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella. It is the larvae that make the blotches on the leaves of Horse-chestnut tree Aesculus hippocastanum. The scientific name of the species "ohrid" refers to Lake Ohrid straddling the North Macedonia–Albania border and near where the first specimens were identified c.1985. Subsequent investigations have found affected leaves in herbaria specimens dating back to the 1880s. It is unknown why it has gone through such rapid range-expansion to arrive in the UK in 2002 and to now be present over most of the UK where its food-plant is found.

A Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella at a typical head-down attitude but on a street lamp pole around dawn and not on a grass stem.

That's slightly better. On vegetation if not a grass-stem.

A Common Plume moth Emmelina monodactyla. This species in more or less continuously brooded and can be seen flying in almost any month of the year.

Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus was the only species of butterfly I noted until a Green-veined White Pieris napi appeared at the very last minute.

A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum battling to find a way to the Knapweed nectar.

A Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria tucking in to another of the few Knapweed flowers. I have seen more of this species this year than I can recall from previous years.

An unusual-looking fly. It is possibly the Dung Fly Cordilura albipes: a species I have not previously recorded.

A long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar. Compare with....

 ...this long-legged fly Dolichopus wahlbergi or similar with swollen mid-tarsi.

This critter is a Clover Weevil Sitona hispidulus.

What I suspect is an unusual sighting. These are both females from the Leiobunum genus of harvestmen but are of different species. The upper individual is L. blackwalli identified by the dark on her body widening posteriorly and then ending abruptly. The lower individual is L. rotundum with the dark on her body parallel-sided. Males of these species have an unmarked and more circular body and are difficult to separate.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Brindled Poplar Tortrix Epinotia nisella [was Grey Poplar Bell]

Flies:
- 6 midges
- *1 male Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- *1 female mayfly, possibly Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum
- *1 fly possibly Heteromyza rotundicornis from the Heleomyzidae family
- 2 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
none

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

A Brindled Poplar Tortrix Epinotia nisella one day later than last year's sighting here.

This is a male Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata. It has the a long proboscis like the female but he also has very feathered antennae. It is only the female that needs the blood-meal to develop the eggs for the next generation.

Still here some ten days after I first noted two of these possible Pond Olive mayflies Cloeon dipterum.

On the ceiling of the tunnel was this fly with the striped thorax and banded orange abdomen. The best I can suggest is Heteromyza rotundicornis from the Heleomyzidae family.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash: 06:10 – 07:10

(162nd visit of the year)

New bird species:
Another addition to my 2026 bird list at this site: two Little Egrets were seen together on the East side, briefly. Later one was seen flying off West with the other by the island. Species #72 for me here this year.

Bird notes:
- I could find only 17 Mute Swans.
- many fewer Tufted Duck than on my previous visit.
- none of the 26 Coots were on the edge of the island. The new brood of three juveniles was seen again. I read that there are currently over 800 Coots "just down the road" at Belvide Reservoir which may be where our birds have gone. Why: they did not depart last year? How did they know where to gather?
- a Cormorant was noted flying to the island. I am not sure whether it had been fishing in the water and made a short hop or whether it was flying from elsewhere.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 31 Canada Geese: some of these departed and / or repositioned
- *16 Greylag Geese
- 17 Mute Swans
- 17 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 (?♂) Tufted Duck only
- 5 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- *12 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adults, arrived as a duo and single: did not stay
- 1 Cormorant
- *2 Little Egrets: see notes

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins

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

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 2 caterpillars of Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae
nothing else!

These two Little Egrets seemed to be having a dispute when I first saw them, here along the East side. Later I saw one (of these, I assume) flying away with...

...this one settling among the Black-headed Gulls with two Greylag Geese looking on. Note the absence of Coots on the edge of the island. Two weeks ago I counted over 40 there.

(Ed Wilson)

22 Jul 26

No sightings in today

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2011
Priorslee Lake
1 Kingfisher
Female Ruddy Duck
(John Isherwood)

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
A drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

21 Jul 26

No sightings in today

20 Jul 26

No sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2009
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Wheatear
(Ed Wilson)

19 Jul 26

No sightings in today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2011
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Sandpiper
Female Ruddy Duck
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
A male Cockatiel
1 drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)