5 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 18.0°C: Broken cloud at multiple levels early with bright intervals. After 08:00 lower-level cloud moved in. Light westerly breeze becoming moderate later. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:53 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 // 07:20 – 09:30

(153rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the seven Greylag Geese goslings and three of the adults flew strongly off the dam in to the water on my first circuit. I did not see them again. Perhaps they flew off? The fourth adult was at the West end throughout..
- six Mallard ducklings were with one of the many adults. The ducklings did not look "brand new" and were likely from the brood of seven first seen last Tuesday.
- the Great Crested Grebes, as always, try and confuse. The third pair to hatch young were seen with their three young. Just two juveniles from the second pair to hatch their young were seen and heard calling with no adults nearby though I could see three adults a distance away. An adult was seen in flight at 05:05 circling higher and higher and apparently leaving to the West. At c.05:30 it, or another, was seen flying over heading East though it may have circled back to splash down: my view was blocked by trees.
- an adult Black-headed Gull was with a begging juvenile on a boating platform again. The juvenile was only seen slumped on the platform and the adult seemed to be ignoring it.
- the warbler update:
no Cetti's Warbler seen or heard.
a family party of Reed Warblers was along the North side.
fewer Blackcaps were singing.
at the West End a Common Whitethroat was heard singing, briefly. What I thought was a different bird was giving its alarm call in the same area: the first suggestion I have had that there might be a pair in that area. Another bird was alarm calling along the South side.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 49 Wood Pigeons
- 11 Jackdaws
That's all folks

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: see notes
- 2 Mute Swans
- 35 (?♂) + 6 (1 brood) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 43 Coots: of these at least four were obvious juveniles from three broods.
- 6 + 5 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- no Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 12 Swifts: only six early more later

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- no Cetti's Warbler
- 8 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 9 (6) Reed Warblers
- 9 (8) Blackcaps
- 3 (1) Common Whitethroats

Also noted:
It clouded up before many insects were on the wing.

Butterflies:
- 2 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 1 unidentified "white"
- 3 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 3 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Moths:
- *1 Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella
- 15 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]: at least as many "grass moths" got away unidentified.
- 1 Shaded Broad-bar Scotopteryx chenopodiata

Bees, wasps etc.:
Despite only seeing c.10 bees all the usual species noted.
- *Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Variable Duskyface Melanostoma mellinum [Short Melanostoma]
- *Spotted Meliscaeva Meliscaeva auricollis [Spotted Thintail]
- *Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]
- *Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn; Great Pied Hoverfly]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]

True flies:
A few including...
- *Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- *Marsh Snipefly Rhagio tringarius
other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- *! Bronze Shieldbug Troilus luridus

Beetles:
- Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Mammals:
- * ! dead Water Shrew Neomys fodiens

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
Yet another blank morning

Sitting on a leaf at waist-level beside the path was this Bird-cherry Ermine moth Yponomeuta evonymella.

A Honey Bee Apis mellifera hard at work on Knapweed Centaurea nigra.

A well-posed Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

This hoverfly is named Spotted Meliscaeva Meliscaeva auricollis in Steven Falk's Flickr gallery. Obsidentify uses the name Spotted Thintail.

I eventually decided this hoverfly was "just" an unusually-marked male Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta. I explored many of the other species in this genus as I have never seen a specimen where the markings on the lower part of the abdomen are brown rather than black. This is the only species in the genus where the abdomen of the male extends beyond the folded wings and it is clear that it would do so here.

A Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens. This species has alternative names of Pied Plumehorn or Great Pied Hoverfly.

Not a brilliant photo but is shows how female (at the top) and male Black Snipeflies Chrysopilus cristatus differ. This is called sexual dimorphism.

On the left a male semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus has his wings open as he flashes the white tips to the female on the right. They were standing in (on?) very shallow water, hence the reflections.

I do not record Marsh Snipefly Rhagio tringarius every year.

New for the year was this Bronze Shieldbug Troilus luridus . The yellow area in the antennae immediately separates this species from other dark-looking shieldbugs.

Apart from Grey Squirrels most wild animals I see around the lake are usually dead. I found this Water Shrew Neomys fodiens today, the corpse already attracting a fly.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella [was Inlaid Grass-veneer]
- *1 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata
- *1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata.

Flies:
- 11 midges of several species
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 3 cranefly Tipula sp.
Only very distinctive craneflies can be specifically ID-ed from flash photos taken here.

Arthropods:
- 5 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

I found a trio of moths in the tunnel: here is a White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella on the ceiling.

Also on the ceiling was this Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata.

And this Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata was, unusually for a pug moth, on the wall.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:55

(150th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the geese were running on and off the East side grass and difficult to keep track of. There was no suggestion that any of the geese here are motivated to even try their new wings as yet.
- at least 10 Mute Swans noted. Perhaps another.
- fewer Coots found. A Grey Heron was on the edge of the island and may have dissuaded some of the Coots from settling there.
- the first Black-headed Gull of, er, Autumn was back here briefly [23 June last year].
- a Great Crested Grebe seen at the top end lurking in the reeds.
- did I or did I not hear a Kingfisher? It would be unusually early for any post-breeding birds to turn up. Nothing was seen. Annoyingly it would be a new bird for me this year here – I did not records any last winter after the turn of the year.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 143 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 108 Greylag Geese
- 10? Mute Swans: see notes
- 21 (?♂) Mallard
- 5 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 42 Coots: see notes
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

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

Noted around the area:

Moths:
No fewer than eight moths (of seven species) were noted around the street lights beside the footpath that runs alongside the Wesley Brook between the pools and the academy. Often a good hunting ground for moths but this exceeds all previous totals
- *1 Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella
- *1 Diamond-backed Moth Plutella xylostella
- *1 ! Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana
- *2 Tawny Grey Eudonia lacustrata [was Little Grey]
- *1 unidentified "grey" Eudonia / Scoparia sp.
- *1 as yet unidentified micro-moth
- *1 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata
- *1 Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata
- *1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata of the form remutata
- *1 ! Clouded Border Lomaspilis marginata

Bees, wasps etc.:
none

Hoverflies:
- *1 Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger [Lunuled Aphideater]

Beetles:
- 1 pupa of a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis
- 5 Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli

A plethora of moths here today. High up on a street lamp pole among the debris from spider webs was this Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella.

My first-ever record of Diamond-backed Moth Plutella xylostella here. I noted one at the Balancing Lake a few weeks ago. A very common migrant – if you live on the South Coast.

My first Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana of the year. A micro-moth I see most, but not all, years.

A Tawny Grey Eudonia lacustrata.

And another more clearly-marked individual of the same species a long way up a street lamp pole so not as sharp as I would have liked.

"Greys" are a difficult group and some less well-marked individuals will have to stay as 'unidentified "grey" Eudonia / Scoparia sp.' These would need to be captured and the genitalia examined to complete the identification

An as yet unidentified micro-moth. It may be a very, very worn "grey".

A pale-looking Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata.

My first Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata of the year. I have no idea why it is so-named.

This Riband Wave Idaea aversata of the form remutata was in the same place as it was yesterday.

Another first for the year and the final species I notched up here today was this Clouded Border Lomaspilis marginata. Phew: eleven moths of at least eight species. A good haul.

Asleep on one of the street lamp poles was this Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger. The yellow markings do not wrap-around the side of the abdomen so it is not, as Obsidentify suggested, a Migrant Field Syrph E. corollae.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
Grasshopper Warbler singing
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Green Sandpipers seen flying from the lake towards Priorslee Flash: these were my first here for c.10 years
1 Common Sandpiper
House Sparrow unusual here
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Possible Crossbills close-by
(Ed Wilson)

4 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 21.0°C: Good sunny intervals early with increasing amounts of cloud later. A calm start with a moderate / fresh westerly breeze developing. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:52 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– 05:55 // 07:00 – 09:40

(152nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- still the seven Greylag Geese goslings with the four moulting adults.
- one and sometimes both Mute Swans spent time in the reeds around the nest site.
- no Mallard ducklings seen.
- one pair of Great Crested Grebes seen with their three young. Two other adults noted. Perhaps the others were staying in the reeds away from the windy conditions and sometimes choppy water.
- an adult Black-headed Gull was with a begging juvenile on a boating platform.
- the warbler update: even less song today.
a Cetti's Warbler alarm-called once along the South side. Nothing else was seen or heard.
the first five Chiffchaff territories I pass as I walk around had singing birds. No others were noted singing: just one calling
conversely there were plenty of Blackcaps singing.
no Common Whitethroats heard or seen.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 111 Wood Pigeons
- 23 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 28 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens again
- 37 Coots: of these at least four were obvious juveniles from two broods.
- 4 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 10 Herring Gulls: of these nine, of various ages, dropped in together
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: early only

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.25 Swifts early: later no more than six

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 1 (0) Cetti's Warbler
- 6 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (8) Reed Warblers
- 16 (15) Blackcaps
- no Common Whitethroat

Also noted:
Yet another day with a good number of butterflies but little else in the strong breeze and, latterly, little sun.

Butterflies:
- 5 Small Skipper-type Thymelicus sylvestris
- *1 Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus
- 7 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 2 unidentified "whites"
- 3 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 2 Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
- 17+ Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 5 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 4 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
- 1 Peacock Aglais io

Moths:
very poor
- 2 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
- *1 Silver Y Autographa gamma

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- *Dark-winged Wrinklehead Chrysogaster solstitialis
- *! Two-banded Spearhorn Chrysotoxum bicinctum
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- Variable Duskyface Melanostoma mellinum [Short Melanostoma]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [Azure Bluet]
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]
- Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum

True flies:
very few including...
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- *Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
other unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
- False Blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens
- *$ probable Black Clock Beetle Pterostichus madidus
- Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
Another blank morning if you discount the three unidentified whatever's trussed up in webs.

At sunrise the sky was almost clear and there was little movement of the water in the light breeze.

A Large Skipper butterfly Ochlodes sylvanus. I do not recall seeing this and Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris flying concurrently in previous years.

A Silver Y moth Autographa gamma as always skulking in the grass, The "silver Y" is clear-enough but not much else.

And this is no better.

One day I will get a photo that shows the detail on the head of a Dark-winged Wrinklehead hoverfly Chrysogaster solstitialis. Not today.

A good-looking hoverfly. It is a Two-banded Spearhorn Chrysotoxum bicinctum. This genus of hoverfly has, for hoverflies, unusually long antennae. Not long-enough for and too thick to suggest a bee or wasp.

I paused over this male Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax. It sure is "tapered" but the obvious white band of hairs between two of the body segments (or tergites) seemed unusual. Seems it is just "unusual".

For a change I managed to find an Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella among the plethora of "blue" damselflies. Identify by either the wide blue stripes on the thorax (known as anti-humeral stripes) or the marking on the first obvious body segment. Here a "U" shape. On a Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum the marking can be compared to the thistle or a club (as in the Ace of Clubs card).

A female Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp. She lacks the "sting" - the external sex organ of the male.

Anyone for chequers (draughts)? A Flesh fly from the Sarcophaga genus.

This beetle was scuttling across a path around the football field. It seems to be a Black Clock Beetle Pterostichus madidus ."Why 'clock'?" I heard you ask. Mr. Google tells us "According to the book Bugs Britannica, by Marren and Mabey 'clock' was a word in widespread use to mean any big buzzing insect".

Trussed up #1. All these three were hanging off the street lamps around dawn. On this example one of the antennae is about all that is obvious in what was certainly a moth. It suggests it is (was) a male. But what species?

Trussed up #2. This looks to be a composite from the larder of a spider collected over a period of time. Nothing identifiable here.

Trussed up #3. Not identifiable either.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Tawny Grey Eudonia lacustrata [was Little Grey]

Flies:
- 7 midges of several species
- *1 $ caddis fly, possibly Agrypnia varia [Speckled Peter]
- *1 Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
- 1 cranefly Tipula sp.

Arthropods:
- 4 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

The only moth in the tunnel today was this Tawny Grey Eudonia lacustrata on the ceiling.

Also on the ceiling of the tunnel was this caddis fly. It is possibly Agrypnia varia which Obsidentify calls Speckled Peter for reasons I cannot determine. The antennae look unusually straight for a caddis fly (they are usually arched) and it is difficult to tell whether the legs are banded, as they should be. I cannot offer any other suggestion.

Out of context it took Obsidentify to tell me this was a Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus that was apparently asleep on the ceiling.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:55

(149th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- again only eight Mute Swans for certain. Probably a ninth.
- no Great Crested Grebe seen.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 7 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 174 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 116 Greylag Geese
- 8? Mute Swans: see notes
- 27 (?♂) Mallard
- 7 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 60 Coots: of these seven dependent juveniles from three broods
- no Great Crested Grebes

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

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

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 3 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
- *1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata of the form remutata

Bees, wasps etc.:
none

Hoverflies:
none

Bugs:
- *1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Beetles:
- 5 Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

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

I am sure this is a Riband Wave moth Idaea aversata of the form remutata. It is unusual in the extent of the speckling and in the faintness of the cross lines. Obsidentify was sure it is a Common Wave Cabera exanthemata but the wing leading edge on that species is more bowed near the body and the cross lines are wider.

A Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes a long way up a street lamp pole in squirrel alley.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
A female Ruddy Duck. First site record since January 2009 - formerly semi resident in the district, with several breeding records from both the Lake and Flash.
(John Isherwood / Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
Kingfisher
2 drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

3 Jul 26

No sightings in today.

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2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler reeling
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Sandpipers
2 drake Ruddy ducks
(Ed Wilson)

2 Jul 26

No sightings in today.

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

1 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 14.0°C: Early cloud to the north-east soon cleared to good sunny periods. More cloud later. Light / moderate mainly north-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:51 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 // 07:05 – 09:50

(151st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- all seven Greylag Geese goslings were trying their wings this morning, managing lift-off for a few yards.
- another new brood of six Mallard ducklings seen early only. No other ducklings seen.
- *to my surprise a single juvenile Great Crested Grebe from the first pair to hatch their young appeared out of the reeds. Where has that been hiding? The other two pairs each with a trio of juveniles were also present and correct.
- a Common Sandpiper seen [a fishermen who arrived yesterday noted one then: the same?]
- an adult Black-headed Gull was present at dawn. By 07:15 a different(?) adult was feeding *two begging juveniles on the boating platforms.
- the warbler update: noticeably less song today.
I visited the Garden Warbler area on two occasions without hearing anything.
a brief burst of a Common Whitethroat song appeared to come from the original south-west location. Nothing seen.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Cormorants: together
- 71 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Jackdaws only
- no Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- *34 (?♂) + 6 (1 brood) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens
- 48 Coots: of these at least seven were obvious juveniles from five broods.
- *6 + 7 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- *2 + 2 (1 brood) Black-headed Gulls: see notes
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: very scruffy birds dropped in together, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron: later only

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Swifts

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (6) Reed Warblers
- 8 (8) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat

Also noted:
Another high number of butterflies but little else.

Butterflies:
- *2 Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola
- 8 Small Skipper-type Thymelicus sylvestris
- 1 Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus
- *8 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 6 unidentified "whites"
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 22+ Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
- *14+ Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- *9 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 2 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
- *1 Peacock Aglais io
- 1 ! Common Blue Polyommatus icarus (sadly no photo yet!)

Moths:
very poor
- 3 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
- 1 Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae caterpillar

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- *Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- ichneumon wasp Amblyteles armatorius
- * $ male ichneumon wasp Ischnus inquisitorius

Hoverflies:
- *Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae [Migrant Hoverfly; Migrant Aphideater]
- Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
- Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis / S. torvus
- *Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
as usual most damselflies not checked.
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]
- Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum

True flies:
a few including...
- *root-maggot fly Anthomyia procellaris
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- *dagger fly Empis livida
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- * $ Large Marsh Horsefly Tabanus autumnalis
other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni : adult and * ! larva
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- *Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva
- *Spotted Longhorn Beetle Rutpela maculata

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]

Cloud to the North and East at sunrise. Clearer for a while thereafter.

The latest brood of Mallard: six ducklings.

Juvenile Black-headed Gulls do not look much like adults with extensive brown, almost ginger, feathering.

It is a long way across the width of the lake. A juvenile "humbug" Great Crested Grebe is making a splash as it tries to keep up with one of its parents. I thought this pair, the first to hatch young, had lost all their three juveniles as I had not seen any for over a week.

 The tips of the antennae are all black so this is an Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola

This is a female Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi. She has two black spots on each forewing. Males only have one spot on each forewing. Here on Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria.

I mentioned that you can separate Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina from Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus by (among other things) by the number of white dots in the black mark on the forewing. Not when it sits like this you can't! Note here the pattern where the dark and light occur on the underwing of Meadow Brown....

 ...and compare with the stronger marking of Gatekeeper (with two white dots).

Just to prove Meadow Brown only has one dot here is a better posed example.

 Splendid: a Peacock butterfly Aglais io.

A Cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae caterpillar. These specialise in feeding on the leaves of Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris that contain toxins poisonous to most caterpillars and larvae. As a result Cinnabar caterpillars are distasteful to most predators. Although there are many ragwort plants around the lake I only ever seem to find the caterpillars on rather scrawny plants growing on the poor soil along the dam top.

A Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius shares the flower of Knapweed Centaurea nigra with two Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva.

Apologies for the poor quality of this photo of a new species for me. It is a male ichneumon wasp Ischnus inquisitorius that was running and flying around at speed. There is enough detail to make an identification with the banded three-tone abdomen, yellow around the eyes and dark and pale areas on the legs.

Like one of the three wise monkeys: "I see no evil". A Bumblebee Blacklet hoverfly Cheilosia illustrata probably cleaning its eyes.

Perfectly harmless. Nectar-feeding Hornet Hoverflies Volucella zonaria just look fierce.

With very neat and distinctive markings on the thorax this should be easy to identify as the root-maggot fly Anthomyia procellaris. It almost certainly is though there are, as usual, similar species.

It is many days since I last saw the dagger fly Empis livida.

A new record for me here. This is a Large Marsh Horsefly Tabanus autumnalis. Only the second species of horsefly I have found here (though I did squash one that was biting me a few days ago). This, with eyes touching, is a male: males do not bite. The females need a blood meal for their eggs.

On a fisherman's bivvy I found this larva of an Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni.

A Spotted Longhorn Beetle Rutpela maculata on Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium.

And here on a Butterfly-bush Buddleja davidii (where there were no butterflies).

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

The council workers' efforts were not entirely successful. Some of the scribblings needed at least another coat to obliterate them. And their handy-work has already been defaced.

Moths:
- *2 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata
- *1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata of the form remutata

Flies:
- 10 midges of several species
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Arthropods:
- 3 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman Phalangium opilio

The ceiling moths today: there were two of these Small Fan-footed Wave moths Idaea biselata...

...and one Riband Wave Idaea aversata of the form remutata.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:05 – 07:00

(148th visit of the year)

The path across the bridges will be shut for the foreseeable future.

Bird notes:
- some of the Canada Geese have taken to visiting the front gardens in Derwent Drive and are good at hiding behind walls and bushes.
- only eight Mute Swans for certain. The best vantage point for seeing as much of the water as possible is not available.
- I did not see any Mallard ducklings again.
- a Great Crested Grebe seen at each end of the water.
- no Grey Heron.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 6 Jackdaws again

Noted on / around the water:
- 164 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- *108 Greylag Geese
- *8? Mute Swans: see notes
- 14 (?♂) Mallard only
- 13 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens again
- *52 adult and immature Coots: five of these obvious juveniles from four broods
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

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

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi

Moths:
- 5 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata
- 1 Treble Brown Spot Idaea trigeminata

Bees, wasps etc.:
none

Hoverflies:
- 3 Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *2 possible Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
- 1 Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- 2 Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]

Other flies:
none identified

Beetles:
none

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

If you (can) zoom in I think you will find one Greylag Goose; one Mute Swan; one moulting Mallard; and 31 Coots, some of which have paler chests and are therefore immatures.

My first Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi of the year here. I have usually departed before butterflies are on the wing.

I am not certain of the identity of this one of two hoverflies of the same species apparently asleep a long way up one of the wooden telephone poles near the surgery. My best suggestion is Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus. A strange place to find them.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)