18 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

18.0°C > 20.0°C: Broken medium-level cloud below a high, thin overcast. Feeling humid again. Moderate westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:56 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:55– 06:25 // 07:25 – 09:35

(184th visit of the year)

Another very quiet morning.

Bird notes:
- just two Tufted Duck remain.
- I can no longer identify some of the immature Great Crested Grebes so will only report the total count in future.
- a Common Sandpiper flushed off the dam-face c.08:20.
- at least 40 Black-headed Gulls were present by 05:15. Then at 05:55 there were at least 300 on the water. Today they dispersed quickly as usual and there only c.30 were present at 07:40. Two visited the football field.
- a very small early arrival of just 18 Lesser Black-backed Gulls by c.05:40 with a few having passed over prior to that. A lone immature Herring Gulls was with them.
- probably three Grey Herons this morning though I was never in a position to see them all concurrently. Another flew over.
- a Little Egret flushed from a presume roost along the North side at c.05:35. Almost certainly the bird that has been inhabiting The Flash recently as it flew off in that direction.
- at least 40 House Martin were seen high overhead Teece Drive c.06:10 and while I was watching them a group of six Barn Swallows flew through unusually as high up as the martins.
- a Kingfisher flew along the North side of the water c.06:00.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2+ Canada Geese: a duo flew East; others heard
- 24 Greylag Geese flew West together
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 41 Wood Pigeons
- 12 Jackdaws
- 22 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 43 (?♂) *Mallard
- 2 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 50 Coot
- 14 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- >300 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gulls
- 24 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3? Grey Herons: see notes
- 1 Little Egret: departed
- 1 Kingfisher

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Barn Swallows
- c.40 House Martins: see notes

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

Also noted:
very few insects again:

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 bumblebee Bombus sp. seen in flight only
- 1 wasp Vespula sp. seen in flight only

Hoverflies:
none

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta

True flies:
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
almost no other unidentified flies seen.

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- $ Lily Beetle Lilioceris lilii

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

Amphibians:
- Common Toad Bufo bufo

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 micromoth to be identified
- 2 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Flies:
- 2 flies of different species not identified

Bugs:
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes caught in web

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.

Mallard are now moulting in to their breeding plumage. These are all drakes with the left-hand bird with the greener-toned bill likely a first year bird (ducks have orange-edged dark bills).

And a drake in flight.

Here a duck in flight with aberrant plumage – the white in the forewing. I have noted her here the past two winters.

A motley collection of a thirteen Mallard. There are seven drakes and four ducks with the bill of two birds obscured though from the plumage the probability is they are two more ducks.

One of the well-developed Great Crested Grebe juveniles. Not easy to separate from adults at a distance.

Record shot: a Common Sandpiper flushes off the dam-face.

I hear Great Spotted Woodpecker calling most days and frequently see them in flight. It is a while since one perched up for a (distant) photo. On my screen it is just possible to make out a patch of red on the nape indicating this is a male,

This micromoth is still to be identified. It looks superficially easy with the palps curved upwards but most micromoths with these feature have narrow wings.

I managed to get better light on this Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta.

I don't understand how they keep their wings separated.

The most distinctive of the three flies I found on the street lamp poles pre-dawn. Obsidentify and Google Lens disagreed about the family this fly belongs to and I do not think either of them is correct.

In might be a Willow leaf (Salix sp.) but this confused Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni did not seem worried.

Definite find of the day was this, my first Lily Beetle Lilioceris lilii. Both the adults and larvae specialise in eating the leaves of lilies.

"Come in #5". A very small Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp. alongside one character of the street lamp pole ID stencil. I suppose all spiders start out small when they emerge from the egg. Most lamp poles have two series of numbers, one a stencil and one a sticker. Neither is used any more. When I reported a failed lamp to the council recently I had to pin-point it on a map.

A Common Toad Bufo bufo. This was crawling at speed along the gutter of Teece Drive with the lip of the kerbing preventing it making its escape toward the Wesley Brook. It did not want to be picked-up either!

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata
- 1 Light Emerald Campaea margaritaria : same position as yesterday

Flies:
- 5 midges
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 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 different-looking Double-striped Pug moth Gymnoscelis rufifasciata with its head resting(?) on some debris on the ceiling of the tunnel.

What is almost certainly the same Light Emerald moth Campaea margaritaria as yesterday on the ceiling.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:20

(181st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 12 Mute Swans again.
- I noted a Little Grebe diving at the top end tight up against the reeds. I was unable to judge the age of the bird.
- an adult Great Crested Grebe was in the water by the island and a sub-adult was at the top end. There was nobody sitting on the nest and a photo suggested that the adult might well have juveniles on its back.
- an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull visited briefly.
- one Cormorant was perched in trees on the island with another on the beach.
- certainly two Grey Herons noted together on the island. A bird was noted flying in from the West at which time I could only see one on the island. Was it a third bird?.
- the Little Egret here.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese
- 12 Mute Swans still
- 26 (?♂) Mallard
- 5 Moorhens
- 37 Coot
- 1 Little Grebe
- 2 + ? (1 brood?) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 11 Black-headed Gulls again
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly
- 2 Cormorants
- 3? Grey Herons: see notes
- 1 Little Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (no song):
- 3 Chiffchaffs again

Noted around the area:

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

Bugs:
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes: fifth day, trapped in a web

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 3 harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli

If you look carefully – all 12 Mute Swans in the same view, Billy-no-mates to the right.

I suspect this adult Great Crested Grebe is harbouring juvenile(s) under the raised back-feathers.

Another one of my entries in the "worst photos" competition. A trio of harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli peeking out from leaves trapped in webs at the top of a street lamp pole. I hope they know how to untangle those 24 legs.

(Ed Wilson)

17 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 18.0°C: Early drizzle with cloud lifting after 06:30 and some bright interludes. Feeling humid. Very light breeze. Very good visibility; only good during drizzle.

Sunrise: 05:54 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– 06:25 // 07:15 – 09:35

(183rd visit of the year)

Another very quiet morning.

Bird notes:
- a noisy Canada Goose was present early only.
- a group of five Tufted Duck early matched my memory of those at The Flash yesterday (not present today). Later there were two more.
- many of the immature Great Crested Grebes are more or less fending for themselves and it is difficult to work out who is from which brood.
- the Black-headed Gulls confuse me. As soon as it was light-enough to see them there were c.75 scattered around the water which suggests they had not roosted by flown in under cover of darkness. By 05:55 there were at least 250 on the water though I had not seen the usual tight groups arriving. Unusually these did not disperse so quickly as usual and there were still c.150 present at 07:30.
- a small early arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls with c.60 arriving together c.05:35 though I had heard calls from unseen gulls after c.05:15. Two Herring Gulls with them.
- no Swifts seen.
- just two Barn Swallows flew high South.
- as yesterday House Martin(s) were heard high overhead or distantly but not seen.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- no Canada Geese
- 22 Greylag Geese flew West together
- 1 Herring Gull
- 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 37 Wood Pigeons
- 10 Jackdaws
- 11 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 1 Canada Goose: departed
- 2 Mute Swans
- 37 (?♂) *Mallard
- 7 (2?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 47 *Coot
- 6 + 9 juvenile Great Crested Grebes
- >250 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 65 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons: mostly at peace

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

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

Also noted:
very few insects again:

Butterflies:
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
just singles of each species

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
none

True flies:
- greenbottle Lucilia sp. many
- *possible Muscid fly Musca autumnalis aka Face Fly
a few other unidentified flies, mainly all-black flies.

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- White Crab Spider Misumena vatia [Flower Spider]: same place for the third day

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 3 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
probably other had gone to cover as the drizzle started

Flies:
- 1 *possible Fannia lustrator

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.
- 1 *female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

A Coot investigates a banana skin. It did not do so for long! Note the small red mark at the top of the visible part of the leg. Not something you notice unless you look hard.

A well-posed Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella showing the clean pale streak in the folded wing splitting in to two (some split in to three) ahead of wing-tip which is edged in gold-colour (though it very quickly wears away and is barely visible here).

Not many insects out and about later. Always a few marauding Common Wasps Vespula vulgaris.

This fly, that I found braving the drizzle on a street lamp pole pre-dawn, is just possibly Fannia lustrator. I needed to see the abdomen tone under normal light to be certain.

It made a change from all the black-looking flies of several sizes that were everywhere today. This may be the Muscid fly Musca autumnalis aka Face Fly.

A Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp. All members of this genus have a velvety-look to their distinctively-shaped abdomen. Identification to species-level is not possible from photos.

A female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum. Identify by the parallel-sided dark area down part of the abdomen. On females of the closely allied species L. blackwalli the black area widens toward the rear of the abdomen.

In close-up note the two eyes (on top at the front of the body) look all-black. They do so on both sexes of this species. On males, where L. rotundum and L. blackwalli are identically shaped and marked, the two species can best be separated because L. blackwalli has a white ring around the eye.

Plane of the day??? A brave soul up in a para-motor. A quick search of the internet suggests you could pay over £3500 for the wing and the same or more for the engine, fan and harness. Gulp! I think even British Airways is a better way to travel.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

A good haul of moths no doubt hiding from the drizzle

Moths:
- 1 ! Orange Swift Triodia sylvina
- 1 *Chevron Grass-moth Agriphila geniculea [was Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer]
- 1 ! *Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata
- 1 *Light Emerald Campaea margaritaria
- 2 *Red Underwing Catocala nupta

Flies:
- 2 midges
- 2 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 8 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Bugs:
- 1 *Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

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

A bumper number of moths in the tunnel, perhaps hiding from the drizzle. This is an Orange Swift Triodia sylvina. Not a species I see every year and not a good photo. It was sitting at an acute angle on the ceiling.

Did I mention "not a good photo?". The best I could do with this Chevron Grass-moth Agriphila geniculea, half on and half off one of the strip-light covers. The old name of Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer refers to the angled cross line toward the tip of the wing.

A species I see every year is Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata

This is a Light Emerald Campaea margaritaria. As with most "green" moths the colour quickly fades. Note the small red tip to the fore-wings. My first seen in the tunnel any year and it takes this year's moth species count from the tunnel to #33.

One of two Red Underwing moths Catocala nupta. Both were resting on the surround of the ceiling lights.

The other one. Some day I will find one with its wings held partially open showing that it does indeed have a red underwing.

It was not quite all moths in the tunnel. Here is a Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes displaying its red legs to good effect.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:10

(180th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 12 Mute Swans again.
- no Tufted Duck. Perhaps flown back to the Balancing Lake.
- I flushed a Little Grebe from beside the sluice. Perhaps the birds seen three days ago are lurking here. As so often after it dived for cover it never reappeared in view.
- just an adult Great Crested Grebe in the water by the island with another still sitting.
- an adult Herring Gull was leaving as I arrived.
- seven Cormorants were perched in trees on the island.
- only one Grey Heron seen. Enough noise while I was walking along the wood-path to suggest a dispute with another might be taking place.
- the Little Egret still here.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 6 Canada Geese
- 12 Mute Swans
- 28 (?♂) Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 8 Moorhens
- 36 Coot
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 11 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: adult, departed
- 7 Cormorants
- 1? Grey Heron: see notes
- 1 Little Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (no song):
- 3 Chiffchaffs

Noted around the area:

Bugs:
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes: fourth day, trapped in a web

(Ed Wilson)

16 Aug 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 15.0°C: Mostly cloudy at several levels clearing from the north-west after 08:45 with sun after 09:00. Light north-westerly breeze fell away for a while. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:51 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:45– 06:30 // 07:35 – 09:25

(182nd visit of the year)

A very quiet morning with, in particular, many fewer large gulls.

Bird notes:
- no Tufted Duck: perhaps gone to The Flash?
- at least 160 Black-headed Gulls arrived with all of them settling on the water before any of them moved off East.
- a very slow early arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls included a trio of Herring Gulls.
- two juvenile Common Buzzards were making begging calls from the Ricoh copse c.06:15.
- two Swifts were briefly over the North wood at 05:50. A lone bird was there briefly c.06:05: a different individual?
- a party of four Barn Swallows flew through c.08:10, likely departing birds.
- House Martin(s) were heard high overhead or distantly (or both) at 06:00. Nothing seen.
- another bumper count of calling Chiffchaffs. No Reed Warblers heard today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 14 Canada Geese: 11 flew East as two duos and a septet; a trio flew West later
- no Greylag Geese
- 28 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 35 Wood Pigeons
- 16 Jackdaws
- 29 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 36 (?♂) *Mallard
- no Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 45 Coots
- ? Great Crested Grebes: I forgot to log them!
- c.160 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 34 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Warblers noted (no song):
- 16 Chiffchaffs
- no Reed Warblers
- 5 Blackcaps

Also noted:
Very few insects had woken up with the late appearance of the sun:

Butterflies:
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi

Moths:
none

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

Hoverflies:
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
just singles of each species

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
none

True flies:
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- $ *Tachinid fly Voria ruralis
a few other unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- ! *Furrow Orbweaver Larinioides cornutus [Furrow Spider]
- White Crab Spider Misumena vatia [Flower Spider]: same place as yesterday

Plants:
- $ probable *Trifid Bur-marigold Bidens tripartita

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 11 *Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]
a welcome sight: some variety would be nice but then a photo revealed...
- 1 !*Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa (moth species #64 for me here this year)

Flies:
- 1 !*Tephritid or Fruit fly Anomoia purmunda
- 1 *Root-maggot fly

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]
- 2 *harvestmen from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus
- 1 *harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis

Pre-sunrise there was a delicate shade of salmon-pink to the sky.

Later there were shafts of sunlight during the actual sunrise. The white dots between the street lamps in the centre are all Black-headed Gulls.

Not good: rather the (immature?) Mallard than me swimming in the algae-infested water. I warned one of the dog-owners. Too late he said – his dog-walker had let his spaniel in the water last week and he had the large vet's bill to prove it.

It's off to Spec Savers for me (other opticians...). I photographed the Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella on the right. Only when I was editing the photo did I notice part of another moth in the view. Luckily there is enough to identify it as my first Square-spot Rustic moth Xestia xanthographa of the year. A very common species I see most years.

The only bee I saw today was this Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum climbing out of a convolvulus flower.

A well-posed Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus giving an idea of scale perched on a grass stem.

The sun eventually came out and so too did this male Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.

Another splendidly ugly and hairy fly. It is the Tachinid fly Voria ruralis. A species I have not identified previously.

Not a good photo with the camera flash reflecting off the shiny street lamp pole well before sunrise. The shape indicates a Tephritid or Fruit fly and the distinctive marking on the wing identifies it as Anomoia purmunda. I have only one previous record of this species in the area.

A better photo but no positive ID. One of many similar-looking Root-maggot flies.

I think this spider is a Furrow Orbweaver Larinioides cornutus. It has just caught a small fly and that was probably my fault for flushing the fly.

Another winner for the camera. I was photographing the spider – a Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius – and I now see another Common Grass-moth lurking.

A harvestman from the very distinctive but inseparable species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus. They are characterised by very long legs usually held bunched at right angles to the body and with very long and forked pedipalps.

My first harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis of the, er, second-winter period. Identify by the noticeable thickening of the legs in the half nearer the body.

I have not noted this plant previously. Obsidentify is 100% sure it is Trifid Bur-marigold Bidens tripartita. NatureSpot cautions that there are other Bidens species (garden escapes?) that are very difficult to separate. I suspect the low water-level has either allowed this plant to flourish in the mud or provided me with easier access to its site.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 *Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata
- 1 *Yellow Shell Camptogramma bilineata

Flies:
- 1 midge
- 1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 2 cranefly Tipula sp.
- 13 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]
- 1 harvestman Opilio canestrinii

The fifth Double-striped Pug moth Gymnoscelis rufifasciata I have found here over an eight-week period.

Another Yellow Shell moth Camptogramma bilineata on the ceiling in he tunnel.

Today's puzzle. Animal? vegetable? mineral?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:35 – 07:30

(179th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- now 12 Mute Swans.
- five Tufted Duck were new arrivals. Perhaps from the Balancing Lake though there were only four there yesterday morning.
- photos confirmed three Great Crested Grebes: one still sitting; another full adult with the bird near the top end not fully adult.
- only one Cormorant perched in trees on the island; enough "beach" beside the island for three others to dry their wings.
- two Grey Herons with one chased away.
- the Little Egret still here.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 12 *Mute Swans
- 27 (?♂) Mallard again
- 5 (1♂?) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 34 Coot
- 3 *Great Crested Grebes
- 29 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 *Cormorants
- 1 *Grey Heron
- 1 *Little Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins: should there not be family parties overhead by now?

Warblers noted (no song):
- 2 Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 4 Common Grass-moth Agriphila tristella [was Common Grass-veneer]

Bugs:
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes: third day, trapped in a web

Billy-no-mates was at the other end of the water. Meanwhile the eleven other Mute Swans were having a get-together.

Identification photos: the Great Crested Grebe at the top end has no black-face stripes of a juvenile but is clearly different from...

...this adult near the island where a third bird is sitting on a nest.

Three Cormorants, all immatures, on the beach now the tide has gone out. They have not brought their bucket and spade to make sand-castles.

No wonder the bridge is collapsing with the Grey Heron perching on the hand-rail.

The Little Egret looking mean after I accidentally flushed it from a favourite fishing spot.

(Ed Wilson)