18 Jul 14

Priorslee Flash: 9:17am – 10:21am
Map

18.5°C > 22.0°C. mostly cloudy but some mainly hazy sun: humid. Moderate / fresh ESE wind. Moderate visibility.

Wind and rain at 4:00am so I let it go and did a short later visit just to The Flash and Trench

(66th visit of the year)

The later visit was an attempt to boost the insect log at this site, but that largely failed for 4 reasons
1. the whole area is rather too well manicured for many species
2. the sun does not reach the more interesting E side until later in the day
3. there was a lot of cloud anyway
and
4. the wind was rather fresh

Notes
A later visit meant some geese hidden in island.
For 2nd day a small black juvenile bird on the island has remained unidentified. It is not directly associated with any adult. As it is running around it cannot be a juvenile duckling (had hopes for the Tufted Ducks) but seems to lack the red head of juvenile Coot or the white under tail and greyer tones of juvenile Moorhen.
and
Insects logged (all new at this site this year)
Speckled Wood and Green-veined White butterflies
Common Blue Damselflies
The small ‘marmalade hoverfly’ Episyrphus balteatus and the equally common Volucella pellucens hoverfly
also
Micro moth, probably Anacampsis populella (Poplar Sober) found some 20’ up a lamp pole!

Counts
2 + 1 Great Crested Grebes
1 Grey Heron
2 Swans
60 Greylag Geese
152 Canada Geese
The all-white feral goose
18 (12) + 5 (1 brood) Mallard
18 (?) Tufted Ducks
0 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
11 + 11 (? broods) Coots
26 (6 juveniles) Black-headed Gulls
2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls over
and
6 Swifts
3 House Martins
1 (1) Chiffchaffs

This was some 20’ up a tall lamp-post and this is the best I could do with the camera. Probably the macro moth Anacampsis populella (sometimes Poplar Sober), a new species for me.

This seems to be a hoverfly of the genus Eristalis. I think it is the angle of the light that makes the thorax so pale.

The underside of the Meadow Brown well illustrated here.

The intricate wing-pattern of the ‘marmalade hoverfly’ Episyrphus balteatus is well shown against the trumpet of the white flower Convolvulus sp.

The business end of the hoverfly Myathropa florea – a new species for me, though it is apparently very common. The marks on the side of the thorax separate from Eristalis sps., though in the same scientific family.

A juvenile Moorhen, already showing some white on the under tail. Great ‘oil-painting’ effect in the water.

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 10:28am – 11:19am
Map

(30th visit of the year)

Notes
The Greylag x Canada Geese seen at Middle Pool on Wednesday has made the hop here.
At least 20 juvenile Coots noted.
and
Red Admiral & Ringlet were new butterflies here this year (indeed the Red Admiral was my first in Shropshire this year).
A dead fish floating in the water was identified for me by one of the fisherman as a Common Bream (Abramis brama) – can grow up to 20lb plus. apparently.
A hoverfly Myathropa florea was a new species for me.

The counts
3 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
2 Swans
1 Greylag x Canada Goose
40 + 7 (3 broods) Canada Geese
28 (?) Mallard
4 + 2 (2) Moorhens
76 (20+ juveniles) Coots
6 (2 juveniles) Black-headed Gulls
4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (3 over)
1 Herring Gull over
and
3 Swifts
4 House Martins
1 (0) Blackcap
1 (0) Chiffchaff

(Ed Wilson)