10 Jul 19

Priorslee Lake [with Woodhouse Lane] and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  04:05 – 05:40 // 06:35 – 09:15
[Woodhouse Lane:  07:10 – 08:00]
The Flash:  05:45 – 06:30

14.0°C > 18.0°C:  Broken cloud at various levels and often rather dull. Light SSW wind, increasing somewhat. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 04:57 BST

Priorslee Lake:  04:05 – 05:40 // 06:35 – 09:15

(172nd visit of the year)

Bird notes from today
- A Cormorant for a while c.08:50. My first on the water since 20 April
- All six adult and all three juvenile Great Crested Grebes accounted for. The two older juveniles spent all the time in close-company so where the missing bird has been the last two mornings is a mystery. Too young to have flown away.
- Three Common Terns flew in at 06:55. Two still present at 08:00 with one remaining after 08:30.
- The juvenile Black-headed Gull did not look too happy. Was walking about on the grass and later on the water but did seem to know quite what to do. Was wearing a red plastic ring’21L5’ which looks like a ring put on at Belvide.
- Up to 22 Swifts by 05:00. Later just four remained.
- Two Linnets flew over together. I remain convinced that these are breeding very locally but still cannot get a line of where they might be coming from or going to.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 4 adult Black-headed Gulls
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 1 Stock Dove
- 29 Wood Pigeons
- 39 Jackdaws
- also 39 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.22 Swifts
- 5 Barn Swallows
- 7 House Martins

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 7 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 10 (9) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler again
- 1 (1) (Common) Whitethroat
- no Sedge Warbler
- 7 (5) Reed Warblers

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans as ever
- 16 (14♂) Mallard
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron
- no Little Grebe seen or heard
- 6 + 3 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 + 3 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 35 + 32 (? broods) Coots
- 3 Common Terns
- 7 Black-headed Gulls: 1 juvenile

On the lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 3 Common Grey moths (Scoparia ambigualis)
- 1 Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) : moth species #43 here in 2019

Seen later:
The following insects logged
- Butterflies (in species order):
- 2 Small Skippers (Thymelicus sylvestris)
- 1 Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)
- >30 Ringlets (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- Moths (in species order):
- 2 Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella) [plus many unidentified grass moths]
- 2 Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata)
- 2 Cinnabar caterpillars (Tyria jacobaeae)
- The usual trio of damselflies etc. (alphabetic order of vernacular name):
- Azure Damselflies; Blue-tailed Damselflies; Common Blue Damselflies
- The usual hoverfly suspects were not investigated: no unusual species noted
And other things:
- two 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- 3 pupae of Harlequin Ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) after the excesses of yesterday
- >10 Hogweed Bonking-beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
- 1 Wasp sp.

Not exactly a ‘sunrise’. The early morning view.

A rather disconsolate-looking juvenile Black-headed Gull. The ring number – 21L5 – is I am fairly certain an indication that this was ringed as a nestling at Belvide Reservoir in Staffordshire, some 12 miles to the east as the gull flies.

The neat black edge to the wing of this skipper butterfly suggests Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris). We do need to check that it is not the very similar Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) which has spread this far north and west. The Essex Skipper has diagnostic black underside to the rounded antennae tips – hard to see in the field. An easier indication on this male is the extent and shape of the ‘scent mark’ in the forewing. Here long and slightly curved means we can be confident it is a Small Skipper.

Just to check – the undersides of the antenna tips are not black (they are also black in Large Skipper but these are pointed and the wing-markings are different)

See: not black!

A different, lurking Small Skipper handily showing its antennae.

No longer looking pristine this Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) seems to have been in a few battles.

These two moths are clearly the same species. But which of the ‘greys’ are they. Certain features seem to match Little Grey (Dipleurina lacustrata): others Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis). The latter seems more likely and I will log them provisionally as this species.

No identification problems with this moth – a Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria). My previous record from here was on 9th July 2014 – a consistent date. Moth species #44 here in 2019.

A spider with its egg-sac between its back-legs. Many species of spider do this. She ran off before I could get a better shot.

(Ed Wilson)

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Notes from Woodhouse Lane (07:10 – 08:00)

(22nd visit of the year)

Notes from here: rather quiet, as elsewhere
- 2 Linnets flying over about the best
also
- many unidentified grass moths
- 1 Yellow Shell moth (Camptogramma bilineata)
plus
- many hoverflies, mainly
- Marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Chequered hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- 1 Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens)
- many Hogweed Bonking-beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)

Totals of ‘interesting’ species (singing birds)
- 2 Stock Doves
- 2 (2) Skylarks
- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap only
- 4 (2) (Common) Whitethroats
- no Song Thrushes
- 1 (0) Chaffinch: no song now
- 3 (2) Greenfinch
- 4 Goldfinches
- 7 (3) Yellowhammers
- 2 Linnets

This attractive moth is a Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata). My first Shropshire record of this species was many years ago along the same stretch of road. I have looked for it every year since without success.

It seems that Marmalade hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus) like Common Poppies (Papaver rhoeas).

A Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens)

A thistle clearly. But which? I think Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense), mainly from the rather ‘weak-looking’ leaves and the flowers grouped here in a three.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  05:45 – 06:30

(165th visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- The Mute Swans were all present this morning – the pen was with the cygnets on the grass along the E side challenging the dog-walkers
- Perhaps I overlooked them yesterday: the two Pochard seen again.
- One of the Chiffchaffs, in a different location from usual, was calling loudly interspersed with stuttering song. A juvenile practicing?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 3 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Swifts in distance

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 4 Mute Swans
- 71 Greylag Geese
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- 127 Canada Geese
- 26 (9♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Pochard
- 23 (22♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 14 + 9 (3? broods) Coots
- 1 adult Black-headed Gull

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Moorhens heard from the upper pool
and
- an as yet unidentified Noctuid moth on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

This Noctuid moth was on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel. It looks to me like a ‘rustic’ species in shape. With so few markings showing – some rufous tones. It is impossible to be more specific especially since what used to be known as Common Rustic has now been separated in to several different species requiring genitalia examination to specifically identify.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........

2018
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2009
Priorslee Lake
12 Swifts
1 Lesser Whitethroat
(Ed Wilson)

The Flash
3 Great Crested Grebes
201 Canada Geese
4 Tufted Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
After 29 days the 5 remaining Mute Swan Cygnets are still going strong. Last year, as you may recall, we had 9 but ended up with just 1, after a Mink devastated the family. This year it has been Mink clear and even though we lost 2 within the first two days, these guys I think will do really well.
(Martin Adlam)