30 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

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

Sunrise: 05:24 BST

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

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

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

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

(170th visit of the year)

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

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

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

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

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

Also noted:
cloud and drizzle kept things very quiet

Butterflies:
- 1 Green-veined White Pieris napi

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

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

Hoverflies:
none

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
none

True flies:
only a few unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

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

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

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

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

Again!

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

 It does look to be in moult.

No need to look downcast!

That's better.

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

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

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

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

Arthropods:
- 2 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

(168th visit of the year)

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

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

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

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 House Martins

Warblers noted (no song):
- 1 Chiffchaff

Noted around the area:

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

Nothing else.

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

(Ed Wilson)

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2006
Priorslee Lake
13 Swifts
(Ed Wilson)

29 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 21.0°C: Clear early. An area of broken medium-high cloud for a while. Clear again before lower cloud started to build. Light, increasing moderate, westerly breeze again. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:23 BST again

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

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

(169th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the early departure and subsequent arrival of the geese was impacted by an overnight fisherman on the south-west grass. They mostly went elsewhere on the water.
- not sure about the recent third Mute Swan: I noted a bird in flight low over the water just as I arrived. It would be unusual for one of the residents to fly without reason. I only noted two birds thereafter.
- *at least three well-grown Mallard ducklings found.
- no Tufted Duck
- a single Swift was seen briefly at c.05:30. There were four equally briefly c.08:00 and then a single c.09:00. All different birds?
- a Common Whitethroat was giving its contact call from the Ricoh hedge.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 Canada Geese: flew East as a single and two duos
- 45 Greylag Geese: ten flew East in two groups; 35 flew West in five groups
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 10 Feral Pigeons flew East in two groups
- 83 Wood Pigeons
- 228 Jackdaws
- 48 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 53? Canada Geese: 47 departed; much later 53 arrived
- 13? Greylag Geese: 11 departed; later 13 arrived
- 2 Mute Swans: see notes
- 39 (?♂) *Mallard: see notes
- no Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 64 Coots: including a new brood of three juveniles
- 5 + 8? (4 broods) *Great Crested Grebes
- 23 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull
- 19 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- no Grey Heron

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

Warblers noted:
- 6 Chiffchaffs: one of these in spluttering song
- 6 Reed Warblers
- 2 Blackcaps
- 1 Common Whitethroat

Also noted:
Seems to be too hot for us all!.

Butterflies:
- 5 *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 4 *Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 4 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 5 *Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
- 1 Comma Polygonia c-album

Moths:
- 1 ! *Nut Bud Moth Epinotia tenerana
- 7 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]

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

Hoverflies:
singletons again
- *Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [was Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]
- *Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn; Great Pied Hoverfly]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]: three males
- *Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum

True flies:
very very few today just...
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
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 female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

It seems to me that three almost fully-grown Mallard ducklings are leading a duck Mallard.

Not too easy to see but the Great Crested Grebe on the right has brought a fish which is larger than the juvenile!

Close-up and personal with a Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi.

Not a species of butterfly I expected to see nectaring on the Butterfly-bush Buddleja davidii: a Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina.

Unusual bed-fellows? The Meadow Brown is joined by a Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta.

This is a Nut Bud Moth Epinotia tenerana. A species of micromoth I see most years.

I saw but two hoverflies today: Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis and...

...and this Pellucid Fly V. pellucens.

I saw only three Common Blue Damselflies Enallagma cyathigerum, all like this males.

An immature male Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum sitting on the Teece Drive fence. Adult males are a bright red while females are brown with no hint of red tones.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 *Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
- 1 *Tawny Grey Eudonia lacustrata [was Little Grey]

Flies:
- 6 midges
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum: is this dead?
- 1 *cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
- 1 *cranefly Tipula sp.

Arthropods:
- none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 *lace-weaver spider Amaurobius sp.
- 3 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
- 1 *harvestman Opilio canestrinii

I almost dismissed this Common Nettle-tap moth Anthophila fabriciana as a moth fly Psychodidae sp. Similar shape, the true moth being slightly larger. A common species that has been unusually scarce this year so far.

Another one of those pesky "grey" moth. I think this is a Tawny Grey Eudonia lacustrata.

This cranefly with well-patterned wings is Limonia nubeculosa. It is very common for craneflies to lose legs, probably escaping from spiders.

 I cannot go further than Tipula sp. for this cranefly.

This spider is one of the lace-weaver spiders Amaurobius sp. but which I cannot say.

A harvestman Opilio canestrinii.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

(167th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 18 Mute Swans today and all together at the bottom end when I arrived.
- a very new brood of two Mallard ducklings seen.
- no gulls noted here: only flying over.
- a Little Egret present again
- I noted a Coal Tit singing from three different locations. It is possible that it was flying faster than I was walking but it seemed to me these were probably different birds. I also noted song from two very different locations around the Balancing Lake.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 21 Canada Geese
- 3 Greylag Geese
- *18 Mute Swans
- 29 (?♂) + *2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 4 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 45 Coot
- no Black-headed Gulls
- no Grey Heron
- 1 Little Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted:

None

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 4 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
- 1 *Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula : on a different street lamp pole to that seen yesterday

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

What a lot of Mute Swans. 13 of today's total of 18 in this view.

A big wake from a tiny duckling pedalling frantically to try to get close to its mother.

Today's Swallow Prominent moth Pheosia tremula on a different street lamp pole to that seen yesterday.

A harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus characterised by the prominent pedipalps and the very long legs, especially the second pair.

(Ed Wilson)

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2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Tern
(Ed Wilson)

28 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

17.0°C > 22.0°C: Bright but often cloudy at several levels after a clearer start. Light, increasing moderate, westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:23 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– 06:05 // 07:10 – 09:50

(168th visit of the year)

New bird species:
I made a very belated addition to my 2026 bird list for here when a Kingfisher dashed past me along the North side. Unusually I had failed to record this species here – or at The Flash - since the turn of the year. This year's species count staggers to an unimpressive 91.

Bird notes:
- 38 Canada Geese and two Greylag Geese departed before 05:30. 43 Canada Geese and 24 Greylag Geese flew in. More geese, especially Greylags, flew over.
- the third Mute Swan still present and only sporadically chased..
- no Mallard ducklings found.
- two Tufted Duck
- *the second brood of Great Crested Grebes juveniles comprises at three.
- a single Swift was seen briefly.
- at least 15 House Martins were high over the Ricoh estate c.07:20. No juvenile calls were heard.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 6 Canada Geese: flew East as two trios
- 49 Greylag Geese: 22 flew East together; 25 flew West in three groups; a duo flew South
- 12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 19 Racing Pigeons flew West
- 53 Wood Pigeons
- 196 Jackdaws
- 24 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 43? Canada Geese: 38 departed; much later 43 arrived
- 24? Greylag Geese: a pair departed; later 24 arrived
- 3 Mute Swans: the third throughout
- 48 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 65 Coots
- *6 + 8? (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 21 Black-headed Gulls
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift: see notes
- c.15 House Martins: see notes

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

Also noted:
mostly cloudy conditions.

Butterflies:
- 1 *Small White Pieris rapae
- 7 Green-veined White Pieris napi
- 3 *Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- 4 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 6 Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 7 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
now the Butterfly-bush Buddleja davidii is almost over the Red Admirals and some bees have found it!

Moths:
- 1 *Pale-streak Grass-moth Agriphila selasella [was Pale-streak Grass-veneer]
- 10 *Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
I sort of gave up looking at grass moths!
I tried to find more Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella around their favourite trees. I drew a blank/

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

Hoverflies:
mostly singletons again
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *Plain-faced Dronefly Eristalis arbustorum [Eurasian Drone Fly]
- *Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [was Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]: two males and two females

True flies:
very few again today just...
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
and a few unidentified flies

Bugs:
- *Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
- ! *Hairy Shieldbug Dolycoris baccarum [Sloe Bug]

Beetles:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

Plant:
- *Lords & Ladies Arum maculatum [Cuckoo Pint]

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Pale-streak Grass-moth Agriphila selasella [was Pale-streak Grass-veneer]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 5 female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum: on a very different street lamp pole from that seen

The first decent sunrise for a while as seen from the South side.

At maximum colour. It soon clouded over.

Not in front of the children! A frisky pair of Great Crested Grebes (tails held up) despite one have a trio of recently hatched juvenile "humbugs" on its back.

This Small White butterfly Pieris rapae was the exception to the many Green-veined Whites P. napi I noted.

One of three Speckled Wood butterflies Pararge aegeria I saw today.

Just about identifiable on one of the street lamp poles is a Pale-streak Grass-moth Agriphila selasella.

Only slightly better is this one stretched out on a leaf. The folded right wing is wrapped around the body which does not help show the markings. Note the long banded antennae held along at least half of the wing.

Possibly my best-ever photo of a Straw Grass-moth A. straminella. On this species the pale along the wing splits in to four "fingers".

Some look very pale as the scales wear off the wings. I turned the contrast down when editing the photo and the split in to fingers was evident. But everything else was too dark so I reverted to the normal contrast.

This was immediately noticeably "different" from the bumblebees I have seen recently. It is an Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum. The name is correct in that they do emerge early in Spring. There is a second brood later and individuals fly well in to September. Note the collar is white rather than the orange of some other species and the midriff band is absent or at best very faint.

A Plain-faced Dronefly Eristalis arbustorum which Obsidentify calls Eurasian Drone Fly. I saw one of these in Woodhouse Lane last month. This is my first around the lake this year.

I noted my first Wasp Plumehorn hoverfly Volucella inanis of the year yesterday. I found two today. This one and...

...this one.

Damselflies are in short supply at the moment though I usually record them in to September. This is a female Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum: one of just two males and two females I noted.

This Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp. ought to be called "humbug fly".

I was peering through a mass of vegetation and unable to get square-on to this Dock Bug Coreus marginatus and show its unique shape to full advantage.

Not an insect I find every year. It is a Hairy Shieldbug Dolycoris baccarum also known as the Sloe Bug. There are many Sloes in the area. Note the short fat hairy legs [© Eric Morecambe]

A hen party! A trio of female harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum in close company. I hope they can untangle all those legs. These were on one of the street lamp poles around dawn. There were singles of the same sex and species on two of the other poles (and also one at The Flash).

Slightly less appealing than the shiny red Lords & Ladies fruits Arum maculatum I photographed at The Flash yesterday. Still DO NOT EAT.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata

Flies:
- 2 midges only
- 1 female presumed Pond Olive mayfly Cloeon dipterum: is this dead?

Arthropods:
- none

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

At last: a pug moth with an identity from Obsidentify with which I am entirely happy. It is a Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata.

A typical view around the light fittings in the tunnel. I often think there ought to be something interesting lurking but there is so much debris left by the untidy eating habits of the resident spiders it is hard to see what is what. The orange-bodied creature in the two o'clock position may just be a Large Rose Sawfly Arge pagana. Then again....?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 – 07:05

(166th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- after many recounts I settled on 16 Mute Swans again.
- an increase in the number of Mallard. There was no decrease in the number at the Balancing Lake so where had they come from?
- *a Little Egret present again

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 2 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 30 Canada Geese
- 6 Greylag Geese
- 16 Mute Swans
- 30 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- *46 Coot
- no Great Crested Grebe
- *8 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- *1 Little Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (no song):
- 1 Blackcap

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 1 *Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum: on a very different street lamp pole from that seen yesterday

Fungus:
- *Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus

A study in black and white. A very white Little Egret with three Black-headed Gull and three Coots.

Another Swallow Prominent moth Pheosia tremula on a different street lamp pole at the top end from the individual I photographed ten days ago. The "bump" where the tips of the folded wings meet is the "prominent". "Swallow" is a corruption of "sallow" (more usually "willow" these days) on which the larvae feed.

How is the Chicken of the Woods Laetiporus sulphureus coming along? I read this fungus is edible if cooked thoroughly. I'll pass thank you. And blame Google's AI if you try it and become unwell.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
17 Mistle Thrush including several juveniles
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Terns
(Ed Wilson)