9 Jul 19

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

Priorslee Lake:  04:10 – 05:40 // 06:35 – 09:10
The Flash:  05:45 – 06:30

14.0°C > 17.0°C:  Mostly overcast. Sunny spells c.08:30 for a while. Flat calm. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 04:55 BST

It was almost as if someone had turned the tap off at times this morning. It was occasionally deathly quiet after all the weeks of bird song.

Priorslee Lake:  04:10 – 05:40 // 06:35 – 09:10

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes from today
- A single Little Grebe in the NE area: everyone else perhaps staying in the reeds.
- Again only one of the older generation of juvenile Great Crested Grebes located. Only one of its presumed parents located.
- 12 adult Black-headed Gulls arrived from the W at 04:25, did their usual squabbling about who should stand on the buoys, flew about a bit and left by 04:35. Seven adults at 06:50 did not stay – some of the same? Later a juvenile present.
- Very few corvids seen passing. Perhaps just lack of contrast against the dark clouds?
- Swifts began arriving at 04:55, with 11 my largest count. Unlike most recent days none of them stayed.
- 6 House Martins high over the estate / football field at 05:35. None seen or heard later.
- My first confirmed sighting of a juvenile Blackcap – a rather pale brown cap and distinctly ‘fuzzy’ plumage.
- The only Sedge Warbler heard singing was along the S side. All previous records this year have been from the W end.
- Six Starlings flew over. They seem to have given up using the football field to feed – perhaps it has dried out too much? Does not seem to be affecting the Wood Pigeons who visit in large numbers before 05:45.
- A Mistle Thrush flew low toward the usual breeding area. This species has been very infrequent this year. After sporadic sightings during May this is only my second record. Very little song was heard earlier. No hint of juveniles.

A PS to the sighting of the 1st year Mute Swan wearing the Orange Darvic ring 30V on Sunday (7th). I learn that this male, indeed a 1st year, was ringed at Worcester on 21 April this year.

Bird totals:

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake:
- 4 Cormorants
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 33 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Jackdaws only
- 35 Rooks
- 6 Starlings

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 11 Swifts
- 6 House Martins

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 9 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (6) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler again
- 2 (1) (Common) Whitethroats
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 2 (1) Reed Warblers only

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 6 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 12 (10♂) Mallard
- 1 Grey Heron: flew off
- 1 + ? Little Grebes: other(s)? heard
- 5 + 2 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Moorhen
- 22 + 26 (? broods) Coots
- 13+ Black-headed Gulls (1 juvenile)

Nothing on the lamp poles pre-dawn. This was a disappointment as on my drive to the lake there were more moths in the headlights than I can recall for ages.

Seen later:
Again not sunny-enough to tempt too many insects to fly. The following logged
- Butterflies (in species order):
- >5 Ringlets (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- 1 Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Moths (in species order):
- >5 Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- 2 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 Inlaid Grass-veneer moth (Crambus pascuella)
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Cinnabar caterpillar (Tyria jacobaeae)
- Damselflies etc. (alphabetic order of vernacular name):
- Blue-tailed Damselfly
- Common Blue Damselfly
- Hoverflies (alphabetic order of scientific name):
- many Marmalade hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus)
- 1 Common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax)
- a few Chequered Hoverflies (Melanostoma scalare)
- many Syrphus sp. hoverflies
- 1 Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens)
And other things:
- 3 pupa of Harlequin Ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis)
- >5 Common Red Soldier Beetles / Hogweed Bonking-beetles (Rhagonycha fulva)
- 1 bright green / blue probable Altica sp. flea-beetle
- 3+ Wasp sp. chewing the Teece Drive fence again
- Great(er) Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) now in flower
- Scented Mayweed (Matricaria chamomilla) also newly open

The new brood of Great Crested Grebes is now down to a single juvenile – here it is with its parent.

Another sweetie. A juvenile Chiffchaff – a hint of yellow in the gape still. A very weak supercilium on this bird.

And its other face – slightly more supercilium apparent here. Note the very ill-defined eye-ring. 

It all depends on angle – here the bird is seeking inspiration and the eye-ring looks quite strong. 

I think this is a different bird – there were several flying about. I cannot see a hint of yellow at the gape. Note the black legs usually shown by this species.

More ‘yummy’ as this male Reed Bunting collects insects for its second brood – the first brood fledged about three weeks ago.

This is a Small White (Pieris rapae) butterfly – my 14th species of butterfly here in 2019. In a photo its size is not apparent. The shape of the inner edge of the black wing-tip mark is diagnostic – here on Small White it is almost straight. With spots in each of the wings this is a female – males show only two spots.

One of several Common Marble moths (Celypha lacunana) today. A common-enough species that usually flies off and hides.

Another specimen here showing the subtle brown areas as well as the black and white ‘marble’.

This is a particularly fresh and well-marked specimen of Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella) showing the two angled cross-lines towards the wing-tip.

Yet another of those confusing grass moths. The longitudinal streak tends to fan out here suggesting this is a Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella). My 42nd moth species here this year. Don’t worry – there are several more grass moth species to go yet!

A rugby-jersey caterpillar easily identifies as a Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae). Here on its favourite plant – Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). One of the few insects that can tolerate the chemical composition of ragwort. It is thought the ‘warning marking’ it to prevent birds from eating them. Folk-lore has it that eating ragwort kills horses but apparently they would have to eat a field-full to become unwell. Whether this caterpillar will survive seems in doubt. Council jobsworths were advancing on mowing machines.

A study in yellow. The hoverfly is one of the Syrphus sp. With rather broad and parallel black bands I was hoping for a better identification – but failed. The flower is Common (or Perforate) St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Another Syrphus sp. hoverfly here on an Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare).

Marmalade hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus) like Convolvulus, here the throat of what is probably Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)

This one has definitely been at the nectar and is coming away covered in pollen – the object of the exercise for the flower.

The smallest frequently occurring hoverfly is this Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare). Seeing the pattern is usually hard as the wings are closed over the back. We get a sneak in the side here.

Whilst just about the largest frequently occurring hoverfly is this Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens). On the face of it very distinctive. However there is a very similarly-marked but slightly smaller species with a brown thorax.

Oops: in order to keep my fingers out of the photo I rather over-enlarged this. A pair (I hope) of Hogweed Bonking-beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) doing what is says on the tin. As noted yesterday, in more genteel times was known as Common Red Soldier Beetle.

This is likely one of the Altica flea-beetles. They can only be specifically identified by dissection. My slight concern is that my memory tells me this was green whereas the camera has rendered it more blue-toned. It certainly is a different colour from the leaves. It is a colour my eyes have difficulty with and leads me into endless arguments about green or blue. Since females are almost never red-green colour-blind perhaps I need a woman!

A few days ago this Great(er) Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) was just beginning to open. Now in full bloom.

This flower is Scented Mayweed (Matricaria chamomilla). I deliberately crushed the leaves so I knew whether it was this species or Scentless Mayweed (Tripleurospermum inodorum). It had no smell so .... Checking with the literature only this species has the rays turn down like this – so Scented Mayweed it has to be, smell or not.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:  05:45 – 06:30

(164th visit of the year)

Yet another Common Sandpiper on Autumn passage. There may be two reasons behind the larger number I have seen this year. I am currently arriving ahead of most of the dog-walkers, the presence of whom might flush these birds. And the sheer number of geese may be suggesting that it is a ‘good place’ – generally ‘birds attract birds’ and perhaps why there are so many Tufted Duck here and almost none at the lake.

Other notes from here:
- So where was the pen Mute Swan and the four cygnets? Did not seem to be on the island. All I saw was the cob and last year’s remaining cygnet studiously ignoring each other.
- yesterday’s Pochard apparently gone
and
- a 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- 2 Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) pupae

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 1 Stock Dove
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted.
None

Warblers noted (singing birds):
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 2 (2) Blackcaps

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans (see notes)
- 66 Greylag Geese
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- 147 Canada Geese
- 28 (14♂) + 4 (2 broods) Mallard
- 21 (19♂) Tufted Ducks
- 1 Grey Heron: flew off
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Moorhen
- 13 + 8 (3 broods) Coots
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- 1 Kingfisher

Both juvenile Great Crested Grebes here. The one on the parent’s back had a hard time persuading it to let it aboard – not surprising as they are rather large for that now.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- 1 adult Moorhen on the grass below the lower pool. One bird calling at the upper pool
- 1 (1) Blackcap at the upper pool for a change

(Ed Wilson)

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

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler reeling
(Ed Wilson)