21 Jul 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  04:10 – 05:50 // 06:45 – 08:50
The Flash:  05:55 – 06:40

14.0°C > 18.0°C:  Clear start; soon clouded from W; then cleared to high cloud after 07:00 before puffy clouds developed after 08:30. Moderate SW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:11 BST

Priorslee Lake:  04:10 – 05:50 // 06:45 – 08:50

(180th visit of the year)

Birds song has now almost dried up. When I arrived this morning nothing was singing or calling. A Song Thrush started at c.04:20 and a Robin then started ticking. Nothing else until c.04:30.

Bird notes from today
- The four Goosanders were a surprise at 07:20. My first ‘summer’ record of this species away from its River Severn breeding areas.
- An extra pair of adult Great Crested Grebes.
- An adult Common Buzzard was again on a lamp in Teece Drive before flying in to Ricoh copse where a juvenile was heard calling.
- The first Swifts arrived at 05:00 with numbers soon increasing to >25. By 05:15 only eight remained and these soon left. None seen later.
- A single Pied Wagtail on the ‘football’ field during both my visits. Eight birds flew E over during my first visit. A lone bird flew over the dam later..

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 5 Greylag Geese (2 pairs + single outbound)
- 6 Canada Geese (2 groups outbound)
- 4 (?♂) Goosanders
- 6 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 45 Wood Pigeons
- 46 Jackdaws
- 80 Rooks
- 9 Pied Wagtails

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >25 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 10 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 5 (0) Blackcaps
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat again
- 7 (2) Reed Warblers again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 2 Greylag Geese (1 of these arrived)
- 12 Canada Geese (5 of these arrived)
- 14 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 Cormorants (arrived separately)
- 2 Grey Herons
- 8 + 3 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 + 2 (1 brood)  Moorhens
- 28 adult and juvenile Coots only
- 16 Black-headed Gulls

On the lamp poles pre-dawn, the following:
- 3 Garden Grass-veneer  moths (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata)
- 1 Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata)
- 1 very worn and unidentifiable pug sp.
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 1 unidentified beetle
- 1 unidentified wasp (Vespa sp.)
- 1 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
There were many small moths (probably grass moths) flying around the still-lit lamps, not willing to settle.

Seen later:
- 1 Grey Squirrel
The following insects logged.
- Butterflies (in species order):
- 4 Small Skippers (Thymelicus sylvestris)
- 4 unidentified skipper sp.
- 2 Green-veined Whites (Pieris napi)
- 2 Speckled Woods (Pararge aegeria)
- 3 Ringlets (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- 3 Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina)
- 5 Gatekeepers (Pyronia tithonus)
- Moths (in species order):
- at least 2 Garden Grass-veneers (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- Damselflies etc. (alphabetic order of vernacular name):
- a few Blue-tailed Damselflies
- rather more Common Blue Damselflies
- The usual hoverfly suspects plus
- >1 Tapered Drone-fly (Eristalis pertinax) – first for a while (as well as Common Drone-flies (Eristalis tenax))
Other things:
- a few Hogweed Bonking-beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
- 6 Harlequin Ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis): all of the form succinea
- 3 Harlequin Ladybird pupae
- one 7 Spot Ladybirds (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- 1 Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes)
- >5 unidentified wasps (Vespa sp.).
- 1 black and yellow ichneumon wasp sp,. likely Amblyteles armatorius
And of the very many and different flies of some interest: possible IDs of
- 1 Nemorilla floralis (Tachinid fly)
- 1 Pollenia rudis (cluster fly)

The clear start did not last long, the incoming cloud picking up some good colour for a short while.

About time we had another Long-tailed Tit photo. A big mixed party of tits was working the W end hedge and Long-tailed Tits occasionally popped in to view.

With shadows across it not easy to age this Chiffchaff. The feathering on the head suggests it is in moult, so likely an adult (juveniles would have their first plumage as they leave the nest, albeit rather fuzzy). Note the dark legs and slightly brown feet.

You want moult? This Dunnock wins this morning’s ‘through a hedge backwards’ award. Does not look too happy either.

A Reed Warbler arrives with more food for the brood. From this angle the sloping forehead blending in to the long all-dark bill is readily apparent. Is that a Tiger Crane-fly in its bill? Could be.

A Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) – we can see the orange-tip to the antenna which together with the thin and well-defined dark trailing edge to the wing eliminate any other species. A contrast with the blue of the Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca)

Here we see the same individual about to unfurl its long tongue.

This is a Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella). On this specimen the pale wing tip and two faint sub-terminal lines on the wing are apparent. Normally the wings would be well-streaked. I suspect these marks have been lost in a slightly over-exposed photo.

This caused me some confusion when I looked at the photo of what I assumed was a fresh specimen of Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina). Why has it got two white spots inside the dark circle on the forewing – a feature I have regarded as diagnostic of Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)? Well: good question. Since it was flying with a very obviously smaller Gatekeeper was there perhaps a sexual size difference I had not appreciated? Answer: no. It seems that when fresh some Meadow Browns can show two white dots, one always much larger.

And to prove it another specimen. Note this species does not have a black dot with a white spot on the hind wing. Note too its short antennae – not much use as a field mark.

This seems to be a Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes) – just look at those legs! This is a male – the females are almost all black and lack the obvious hairs. This is my very first sighting of this insect (though I may have misidentified / overlooked it previously). Also feeding on Tufted Vetch.

When I noted a black shape sitting on a sheet-web I assumed it would be the spider keeping guard. Not so – a fly! Looks to be Nemorilla floralis. This species of Tachinid fly is very common.

Not too many flies show yellow on the thorax. This is likely one of the Pollenia cluster-flies, probably Pollenia rudis which is the most common. Separation of members of this family needs a microscope.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash:  05:55 – 06:40

(173rd visit of the year)

Notes from here:
- The Mute Swan cygnets were more or less with their parents for much of the time. Last year’s remaining cygnet seems to be accepted as part of the family at the moment.
and
- 1 Grey Squirrel
- 1 Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella) on a lamp pole
- 1 Light Emerald moth (Campaea margaritaria) sitting on vegetation

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 4 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts in the far distance

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 3 Mute Swans
- 52 Greylag Geese
- 90 Canada Geese
- 27 (>11♂?) Mallard
- 28 (24♂?) Tufted Ducks
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 16 + 7 (2? broods) Coots
- 23 Black-headed Gulls

A less-fresh specimen of Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella). This shot shows the well-streaked wings; the pale wing-tip is starting to wear; and only one sub-terminal band is discernible.

This Light Emerald moth (Campaea margaritaria) was sitting on top of vegetation and just asking to be eaten (I didn’t). A rather more accessible specimen than the one I photographed at the lake on 05 July.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Between the lake and The Flash:

- Moorhen(s) heard from the upper pool again
Nothing else of note

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here

2015
Local Area
Today's Report Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Tern
1 Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Best was at least 14 Common Sandpipers, perhaps a few more tucked up hidden by all the vegetation on the dam. This number is unprecedented on return passage and has been rarely exceeded on Spring passage. No doubt due to the thundery weather.
(Ed Wilson/Mike Cooper)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern