29 May 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 18.0°C: Scattered lower cloud before medium-high overcast. Moderate westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:55 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50 – 06:05 // 07:10 – 09:40

(125th visit of the year)

"Bird of the day" was a Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus that had curled up while being closely examined by a Magpie on the grass just outside the Teece Drive gate c.04:55. I do not recall ever seeing one here previously and there are no records in my 14-years of tabulated logs.

Bird notes:
- a Common Peafowl (Peacock) was heard c.05:00 for only the second time this year.
- the seven Greylag Geese goslings present and correct. The pair of Canada Geese and three adult Greylag Geese and the seven goslings on the dam-top early. The pair of Canada Geese departed with a single and then a party of 13 arriving.
- a very new brood of eight Mallard ducklings seen: perhaps the same as yesterday's brood on nine? Also the two almost full-grown birds and a trio of almost independent ducklings.
- the trio (two drakes) of Tufted Duck apparently relocated to The Flash.
- just two juvenile Coots seen.
- now eight Great Crested Grebes
- a single fly-over Herring Gull was the only gull noted here.
- a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a species strangely scarce this year, was seen bounding away high to the East.
- both Common Whitethroats noted singing.
- the Garden Warbler was singing in the same general area as yesterday.
- a Mistle Thrush was singing from trees by the Teece Drive at c.07:20 and still at 09:30.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 51 Canada Geese: 35 flew East in five groups; 16 flew West together
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 5 Wood Pigeons again
- 11 Jackdaws

Counts from the lake area:
- 16 Canada Geese: see notes
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: the third adult throughout again
- 2 Mute Swans
- 24 (20♂) + 13 (3 broods) Mallard: see notes
- no Tufted Duck: see notes
- 1 Moorhen only
- 17 + 2 (one brood) Coots
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.10 Swifts over the eastern area
- 2 Barn Swallows: a pair feeding over the West end grass again
- 3 House Martins briefly over the football field c.05:50

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 12 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 9 (9) Reed Warblers
- 17 (16) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler again

Also noted:
With no sunshine, just a bright sky, numbers of insects were much reduced though a good variety.

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
- 3 Plain Pollen-moths Micropterix calthella [was Plain Gold]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma naja [Large Redeye]
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]
only four damselflies were seen and all identified

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus : at least 50: all males
- long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- unidentified Empis(?) dagger fly
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
- Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- Tachinid fly Tachina fera
- female Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea
- otherwise many unidentified fly species

Grasshoppers, crickets:
- Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- Soldier beetle Cantharis nigricans
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
- False Blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens
- Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis [False Oil Beetle or Thick-legged Flower Beetle]
- Common (or Red-headed) Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis

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

Mammals:
- Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus

New flowers for the year:
- Bittersweet Solanum dulcamara [Woody Nightshade]

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
Staying almost everything free!

Flies:
- 1 plumed midge

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- the same presumed spider exoskeleton as yesterday

The camera sees things I cannot – and indeed did not until I expanded the photo even further. There are 14 Canada Geese here: the middle group in fact comprises four birds.

Mum Mallard with eight tiny ducklings. Was this the brood of nine from yesterday?

Mum Mallard was close-by though this trio of well-grown ducklings seemed to managing well. From the bill colour it looks as if the left hand bird will become a drake.

Unusual to find a Common Buzzard stamping around the south-west grass.

As a party of Long-tailed Tits sped through the vegetation I managed to grab a photo of a juvenile with the black side to the face. By August it will look like an adult.

Two Plain Pollen-moths Micropterix calthella enjoy pollen from a buttercup. The yellow on their heads in not pollen but a tuft of hair.

This Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris has come to grief in a spider's web. I think this is unusual. I have often seen bumblebees fight their way out of webs.

A male Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax. Almost all the larger droneflies seen so far this year have been Tapered Droneflies E. pertinax

With a lack of sunshine I only saw four damselflies: this mating pair of Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum...

 ...here, with wings akimbo, my first Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma naja of the year...

...and this male Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans. Most females of this species do not have a blue and black thorax.

Everybody, including male Black Snipeflies Chrysopilus cristatus, likes a buttercup.

This is a long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar. Another group that is difficult (for me) to identify.

A female Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp. in all her glory.

Marvellous! A Tachinid fly Tachina fera

A female Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea . This is indeed the most common cranefly through much of the year. Identify by the brown leading-edge to the wing and the dark stripe down the abdomen. A female with the ovipositor.

Unidentified fly species #1. The pale scutellum ought to provide a clue. Ought!

Unidentified fly species #2. It is a dagger fly and probably an Empis species. The thorax pattern that might help seems to obscured by perhaps a fungal growth.

A Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera . I did not see very many grasshoppers, and crickets, probably because they emerge later in the day.

This is the common soldier beetle Cantharis nigricans

A male Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis on an Ox-eye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare flower.

Here is this morning's Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus. At 04:55 I had to use the camera flash.

The flowers of Bittersweet Solanum dulcamara also known as Woody Nightshade. All parts of this plant are poisonous though, I am told, you are unlikely to die unless you eat a lot. But don't eat any!

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 Common Swift Korscheltellus lupulina [was Hepialus lupulinus]: moth species #2 here this year for me (only 49 to go to beat last year's total!)

Flies:
- 30 midges of several species
- 2 unidentified craneflies

Beetles:
- 1 unidentified small black beetle (not a flea beetle)

This Common Swift moth Korscheltellus lupulina was on the ceiling of the tunnel. I have inverted the photo for a better(?) view. I see this species most years here.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 – 06:55

(122nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- no Canada Goose gosling seen again. In addition to the 45 adults here at least 21 more had flown over the Balancing Lake having apparently departed from here.
- two Greylag Geese inside the island
- a trio of Tufted Duck (two drakes), perhaps the birds seen at the Balancing Lake yesterday.
- nine juvenile Coots seen from four broods. More adults are appearing on the water as their breeding season draws to a close and fewer are sitting on hidden nests.
- back to a single Great Crested Grebes.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 45 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 7 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is on the hidden nest?
- 22 (20♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 32+ 9 (4 broods) Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.15 Swifts swirling high up
- 3 House Martins, briefly over the East side

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

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
- 1 Light Emerald Campaea margaritaria: moth species #14 here this year for me

Hoverflies:
- Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae [Migrant Hoverfly; Migrant Aphideater]

Flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: all males
- probable Fannia lustrator
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- unidentified mayfly too far up a street lamp pole to ID
- other unidentified flies

Beetles:
- unidentified soldier-beetle type also too far up the same street lamp pole to ID

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

One of the two drakes in the trio of Tufted Ducks. It is already losing the bright white flanks of a breeding condition bird.

I found this Light Emerald moth Campaea margaritaria on the overhang of a street light. Like almost all moths with a green pigment the colour fades quickly after emergence. This species is, as its name implies, never very green.

A Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae . With so many migrant Painted Lady butterflies around this may well be a genuine "migrant" though there is a resident population.

This fly is probably Fannia lustrator. The family does not seen to have a vernacular name. I cannot explain all the debris around its feet.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Sedge Warbler
5 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
2 Dunlin
1 Sanderling
(Andy Latham)

2009
Priorslee Lake
4 Tufted Ducks
Ed Wilson

2007
Priorslee Lake
Swifts
Kestrel
Great Black-backed Gull
(Martin Adlam)

28 May 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 18.0°C: Broken cloud after overnight thunder clearing away to the north-east despite the light / moderate south-easterly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:56 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:55 – 06:05 // 07:00 – 09:35

(124th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the seven Greylag Geese goslings present and correct. At one point the pair of Canada Geese and three adult and the seven goslings were joined on the south-west grass by the cob Mute Swan. They all warily kept their distance but the swan showed no aggression toward any of them.
- *both adult Mute Swans actively chased two visiting Mute Swans that arrived from the West at c.08:10 and soon departed to the East.
- *a very new brood of nine Mallard ducklings seen: also the two almost full-grown birds.
- the trio (two drakes) of Tufted Duck remain.
- three juvenile Coots seen. More adults today.
- no gulls visited.
- only the south-side Common Whitethroat noted.
- one Garden Warbler was singing in the same general area as yesterday. It is impossible to see this bird properly as the only access points means looking in to the light.
- *no Mistle Thrush heard although one was looking for food on the dam-top c.08:10.
- I heard House Sparrow from the hedge on the East side of Castle Farm Way. I guess this means they have moved in to the new estate. It is many, many years since I recorded sparrows in the hedge and they were last Tree Sparrows I ever saw in the area.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 Greylag Geese: a single flew East; and a single and a trio flew West.
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair departed
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: the third adult throughout
- *4 Mute Swans: see notes
- *18 (14♂) + 11 (2 broods) Mallard: see notes
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck again
- 2 Moorhens again
- 21 + 4 (two broods) Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Swifts at c.05:30 for c.10 minutes
- 2 Barn Swallows: a pair feeding over the West end grass
- 1+ House Martin(s): heard high overhead c.04:55 when insufficient contrast in the sky to see..

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 13 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers only and all song very sporadic
- 19 (19) Blackcaps
- 1 (2) Common Whitethroat: see notes
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler

Also noted:

Highlights among the insects were
- *an unprecedented number of Painted Lady butterflies
- *a new hoverfly species for me: a Smudge-winged Pithead
- *only my second-ever Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly here (my previous record in the area was one by the lower pool between the here and The Flash in July 2021)

Butterflies:
- 2 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- *>15 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica
- *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- *sawfly of the Tenthredo arcuata / brevicornis / notha / schaefferi complex

Hoverflies:
- Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus [Late Buttercup Cheilosia]
- *Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana
- *Figwort Blacklet Cheilosia variabilis
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *$ Smudge-winged Pithead Pipiza lugubris

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [Azure Bluet]
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula
- *Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo
other damselflies were not specifically identified

Other flies:
- *Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- otherwise nothing exceptional noted: many unidentified fly species

Bugs:
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Beetles:
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: just the one!
beetles were again strangely scarce this morning

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

Fungus:
- *1 fungus, perhaps of the genus Xerocomus, one of the Boletes family

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
staying almost everything free!

Flies:
- 1 unidentified red fly

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 unidentified spider(?)

One of the visiting Mute Swans decides to leave. No rings visible.

And the other doing a Roadrunner imitation. No rings either.

Ms. Mallard with nine small ducklings. The brood went this way and that always staying behind their mother. I took at least twenty photos and this is the only one to show there are nine ducklings.

Not something that happens every day. A Mistle Thrush walking toward me. It was not as if I were hiding. I was standing on the dam top.

It looks to be quizzing me here but I suspect it was the dog-walker that was approaching from behind me that stopped the thrush.

Ms. Reed Bunting on nest collecting duty. Meanwhile Mr. Reed Bunting was on singing duty. I'll say it for you: "typical".

I counted at least fifteen Painted Lady butterflies Vanessa cardui. An unprecedented number for me here. Many of them, like this one, flushed off the informal path along the South side where they were soaking up the sun's rays on the bare ground.

One of the few that seemed interested in feeding.

And from a different perspective!

A Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica tucks in to a bramble flower.

Not a typical Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum. Normally the typically scruffy "pile" on the thorax would be ginger or brown. In all variations the black and white banding on the abdomen is consistent.

This bumblebee with a ginger "pile" is a Tree Bumblebee B. hypnorum. It has a white tail and an otherwise black abdomen and is never "banded".

To complete today's trio of species here is an Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum with three areas of brown.

A sawfly of the Tenthredo arcuata / brevicornis / notha / schaefferi complex at ease in a buttercup.

On a buttercup but not a Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus. It is too slightly-built for that species and is a Parsley Blacklet C. pagana

Another of the confusing all-black Cheilosia hoverflies. It is the subtle difference in body shape that identifies this as a Figwort Blacklet C. variabilis. It seems Obsidentify finds it easier to recognise shape variation than I do.

A Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus tucking in to what might or might not be Common Hawkweed Hieracium lachenalii (formerly Hieracium vulgatum). I find these yellow flowers very confusing.

Not exactly beautiful but has to be my insect of the day. It is my first-ever Smudge-winged Pithead hoverfly Pipiza lugubris. All the Pipiza species do have some shading in their wings but none so strongly as this species. An "uncommon species" according to Steven Falk's account on his Flickr gallery. I double- treble-checked!

It is the marking on the first body segment that identifies this as a male Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella.

Female "blue" damselflies can be tricky to identify when they are not blue. Most become blue as they age but some do not. I identify this as a Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum by the "pen-nib" marking on the pre-penultimate body segment (does anyone know what a pen-nib looks like these days?)

Almost "insect of the day" is this Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo. Very smart and one of the few damselflies that can be identified from a moving car.

A fly that will be very common for many weeks. It is a male Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus with a slim tapering body and a cloud in the wing. The female is more robust and her abdomen is banded brown and fawn.

Obsidentify suggested this fungus is perhaps of the genus Xerocomus, one of the Boletes family.

A spider. Or is it? Google Lens suggested it was a discarded exoskeleton without offering any species. It may be correct though the front left leg seems to be attached to he strand of a web. The abdomen pattern looks to be very distinctive but I cannot find anything like it.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 36 midges of several species
- *1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 1 unidentified cranefly
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 (partial) running crab spider Philodromus sp.

A female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata. Although the banding on the abdomen that gives the species its name is not visible this species is the only mosquito with banded legs.

Another weird spider! It looks to be part of a running crab spider Philodromus sp. I have no idea what might have happened.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 – 06:55

(121st visit of the year)

New bird species:

At last. I can add Swift to my bird species list for here this year! Four birds seemed to race through while I was at the top end c.06:30. When I scanned around from the bottom end c.15 minutes later there were at least 12 birds flying around to the North. Bird species #69.

Other bird notes:
- still five visiting Mute Swans and the presumption of the resident pen on the nest.
- no Canada Goose gosling seen.
- still no Greylag Geese.
- ten juvenile Coots seen from four broods.
- three Great Crested Grebes seen. I heard a pair displaying and as I watched a third bird approached driving off one of the others and then displaying with the remaining bird. There is no obvious way to sex this species visually.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 49 Canada Geese
- 7 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is on the hidden nest?
- *20 (17♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 27+ 10 (4 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes: see notes

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 12 Swifts

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

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- *1 White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella. Moth species #13 for me here this year.

Bugs:
- *1 Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus

As the breeding season draws to a close drake Mallard begin to lose their finery.

A White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella. My first of the year.

A Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus too far up a street lamp pole for a decent photo.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Nedge Hill
2 Ravens mobbing Kestrel.
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Red Kite
(Ed Wilson)