16 May 20

Priorslee Lake: 04:58 – 06:10 // 07:15 – 09:24
The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

8.0°C > 12.0°C: Initially overcast medium level. Lifting and clearing after 08:00 before cloud began bubbling up again. Light / moderate WSW wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 05:11 BST

The continued dry weather is beginning to show with trees shedding leaves from water-stress.

Priorslee Lake:

(83rd visit of the year)

To clarify: the Severn Trent site remains closed. Thursday’s activities were two Sailability people doing maintenance on one of their boats. The fishermen expect to gain access here on Wednesday.

Bird notes:
- The Mute Swans have just five cygnets. They have a good track record of getting their cygnets to fledge successfully.
- A duck flew off from the lake just as I was arriving. I suspect it was the drake Gadwall off to The Flash.
- A pair of Tufted Duck again ‘appeared’ later: not seen to arrive.
- An additional pair of Great Crested Grebes. Mainly seen asleep and well out of the way of the two resident pairs, all of whom put in an appearance.
- I am hearing and often seeing Great Spotted Woodpeckers in three locations at the moment – the Ricoh copse; the N side; and the SE area. It may be birds on feeding forays. It may suggest three nest sites. Strangely this species seems absent from around / near The Flash this year.
- A ‘new’ Reed Warbler was singing in the small patch of reeds near the sluice. All five were still singing along the N side. Again unable to confirm the four are still present at the W end. We may have 10 singing birds now.
- The House Sparrows that were everywhere a week or so ago all seem to have moved away again.
- A party of 11 Goldfinches over was rather strange. As a seed-eating species this a late nester and it was unlikely to have been family parties. On the other hand I would expect birds to be paired up and starting to nest.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 4 Canada Geese (pair outbound; pair inbound)
- 2 Cormorants (two together and a single)
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: ages not determined
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves
- 2 Wood Pigeons only
- 5 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks

Birds noted on the ‘football’ field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded]:
- 2 Pheasants: pair

Birds noted on the academy playing field [Wood Pigeons and Magpies excluded here too]:
- 23 Starlings
At least one of these looked like a juvenile. I never managed to relocate it.

Count of hirundines etc logged:
- c.25 Swifts
- >5 Sand Martins
- >6 Barn Swallows
- >10 House Martins
Apart from the Swifts these all moved away as the cloud cleared.

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 13 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 21 (20) Blackcaps
- 4 (3) Garden Warblers
- 3 (3) Common Whitethroats again
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler still
- 10 (10) Reed Warblers (see notes)

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans (see notes)
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall?: departed – see notes
- 5 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Ducks: arrived / emerged
- 1 Grey Heron, briefly
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens once more
- 16 + 0 (no broods seen) Coots
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one first year; 7 (near) adults, all briefly

On / around the street lights:
- plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus) caught in a web
- Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

Insects / other things etc noted:
Butterflies / moths:
- 1 Plum Tortrix moth (Hedya pruniana)
- 1 Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria)

Bees:
- White-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus lucorum)

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Eristalis interruptus
- The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus)
- Leucozona lucorum
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Heineken Fly or Common Snout-hoverfly (Rhingia campestris): new for the year

Crane flies:
- Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens)
- Tipula lateralis
- Tipula livida

Other flies:
- Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)
- Common Red-legged Robber fly (Dioctria rufipes)
- Another robber fly sp.
- A dagger fly sp.

Other things:
- 10 Spot Ladybird (Adalia decempunctata)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) of the variety succinea
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
- Brown-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis)
- Black spider sp.

Additional plant species recorded for the year at this site:
- Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus)
- Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius)

The parents with their five cygnets. A rather disappointing number. Historically this pair has been good at raising their off-spring.

Here following the pen Mute Swan.

The ‘new’ pair of Great Crested Grebes spent most of the time asleep. Perhaps exhausted after a long flight?

The presence of the additional pair seemed to encourage this pair to display and perhaps confirm that they weren’t interested in any other grebes.

The one on the left looks a bit surprised at the other one – as well it might!

A very fresh-looking Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria).

I’ve chopped the tip of the wing of this micro moth. Still identifiable as a Plum Tortrix (Hedya pruniana). I see this here most years, usually in very early June.

I think this is a White-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus lucorum). They are very hard to separate from Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) in the UK because workers of the latter species have white tails. The mystery here is that the collar is rather pale with white patches which neither species typically shows.

This drone-fly type hoverfly shows pale edges to the tergites (body segments) and is likely Eristalis interruptus.

This is the hoverfly known as The Footballer (Helophilus pendulus) that I have shown before ....

.... alongside, and cleaning its wings, was a very similarly-marked individual only about two-thirds the size. But it does seem to be the same species.

Here it is again. I cannot find reference to the orange at the top of each leg. Most odd.

Apologies for the rather blurred shot – a ‘safety shot’ after which it flew away. A not often recorded and very distinctive hoverfly known as the Heineken Fly or Common Snout-hoverfly (Rhingia campestris). I may not get a better shot this year.

Another crane fly with wings folded over its body markings. From the side it looks to be a Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens).

A close-up of the head. They are weird.

This crane fly is helpfully sitting with its wings open. I think a male Tipula livida.

If I owned a home that looked like this I’d be quite proud. It is a Brown-lipped Snail (Cepaea nemoralis).

The name – Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria) and its habits may not be appealing but its actions on recycling waste products are important. And, in truth, it is rather handsome.

The antennae are too short for any species of wasp so I had to find something else. It seems to be a Common Red-legged Robberfly (Dioctria rufipes).

Superficially like a scorpion fly that has lost its ‘sting’ I was intrigued by the different wing markings. Having dismissed dagger flies I have concluded it is another species of robber fly. I cannot match the wing pattern though.

Another view of what is most intriguing insect.

“Put your hand up if you want something to eat”! I am not entirely sure what is going on here but ....

... I think I can see a ‘beak’ from the upper insect from which I assume it is a dagger fly. Not identifiable beyond that and I am not sure what it has caught. My attention was drawn when an insect was suddenly flying no more. The dagger fly apparently grabbed it as it flew by.

Can a leopard change its spots? Can a ladybird lose their? Apparently. I believe this to be a 10 Spot Ladybird (Adalia decempunctata) based on what I can see of the facial pattern.

With two big white ‘eyes’ this is a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), here of the variety succinea. This one looks unusually bright.

This male plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus) is a meal for the spider who spun the web.

This midge was very difficult to photograph – the camera would not ‘see’ it to focus. I’m sure it is a species of phantom midge, but which ....? Nothing I can find on the web looks like this.

Death at the lake. The black spider is having a meal. Not sure what of. The banded body might suggest a plumed midge.

My first Yellow Flag flower (Iris pseudacorus) of the year.

In the middle of the view here with big leaves is Broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius).

And here, closer, are what passes for flower-heads

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash:

(70th visit of the year)

New species for my 2020 Flash list (in sighting order):
#69 Hobby
With some commotion going on I looked up and wondered why there were three Sparrowhawks chasing around before I realised that one was a Hobby! Only my second record at this site: 27th August 2018 was my other sighting. Autumn records tend to be more common as these birds hunt dragonflies.

Other bird notes:
- The drake Gadwall no doubt taking refuge from the lake.
- The Mallard ducklings were tucked right up against the tree roots on the island and difficult to count.
- The Tufted Duck – a high number for the date – were very active both feeding and also flying around. Some of them seemed to leave.
- A very new brood of Coots – just one noted out of the nest. This is the third brood I have noted this year. The single well-grown bird from the first brood has been missing for several days and has presumably perished.
- The Reed Warbler singing in the small reed patch for its third morning.
- The Lesser Black-backed Gull did a very quick ‘touch and go’. I doubt it even had time for a drink.

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- 2 Sparrowhawks
- 1 Hobby
- 3 Jackdaws again

Hirundines etc logged:
- 1 Swift
- 2 House Martins again

Count of warblers logged (singing birds in brackets):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcap only
- 1 (1) Reed Warbler still

Counts from the water:
- 3 + 9 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 15 Canada Geese: two of these departed
- 1 (1♂) Gadwall
- 19 (17♂) + 5? (1 brood) Mallard
- 29 (20♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Great Crested Grebes as ever
- 3 Moorhens again
- 16 + 3 (2 broods) Coots
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near) adult

Otherwise of note:
- 1 Swallow Prominent moth (Pheosia tremula): different position on same lamp as yesterday.
- 1 Grey Squirrel

More cygnet photos: two ....

.... four ....

... six. Sadly the other three would not come out in the open. The black bills almost look too big for them at this age.

He has lost some of his breeding finery but the drake Gadwall is still a smart duck.

At maximum zoom and enlarged as much as I dare it is still hard to see how many Mallard ducklings are lurking around the tree roots. Five I think.

Many of the Tufted Duck were very flighty this morning. Here a group, mainly drakes, go for a fly-around.

The other Great Crested Grebe is sitting on the nest. This one presumably fishing for them both.

This juvenile Blackbird was poking about while it was still very dull. Rufous-looking at this age with an all dark bill. Still a hint of yellow gape too. I cannot decide whether the black feathery area hanging down is nestling feathers or adult feathers beginning to grow. The former I suspect.

The Swallow Prominent moth (Pheosia tremula) was at a slightly different position on same lamp as yesterday. It enabled me to photograph it to show more clearly the ‘prominent’ – the ‘point’ where the wings join.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Noteworthy
- 1 adult Moorhen on the lower pool again
- 1 adult and 1 juvenile Moorhen seen on the upper pool
- 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker heard around the upper pool
- 1 Blackcap singing at the upper pool
- 1 Blackcap singing above the upper pool

(Ed Wilson)

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If you are on your daily exercise and keeping a safe distance from others, we would love to see any photos or sightings you have, from Priorslee Lake and The Flash, by emailing them to us at priorsleelake@hotmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.😊

(Martin Adlam and Ed Wilson)

Note:
Here are a few Garden Sightings from Ed Wilson Here on our Readers Corner from the past few days

And

A few of Martin Adlam's Sightings from the Isle of Portland Here.

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

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Nedge Hill
10 Northern Wheatears
(Richard Camp)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
Cuckoo
(Ed Wilson)