18 May 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 11.0°C: An early light shower cleared away and then sunny. Some clouds bubbled up later. Light SW breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:09 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:15 – 05:55 // 06:50 – 09:00

(95th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A Stock Dove calling and then seen displaying near the Teece Drive gate. This species used to nest in a hole in a large Ash tree here but that collapsed several years ago.
- The two very new juvenile Coots seen seemed to be from a fifth brood though located near the location of the first brood. The adults who had and lost all the second brood were seen mating, no doubt as a precursor to a replacement brood.
- As in most recent years the Great Crested Grebes confound me. Six this morning.
- One Barn Swallow flew over NW at the very early time of 05:20. Later a bird probably came from and then left toward one of the farms to the E. A pair seen later.
- The Sedge Warbler now on its seventh day.
- A family party of juvenile Goldcrests seen.

Overhead:
- 1 Canada Goose: inbound
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: (near) adults
- 1 Cormorant
- 55 Jackdaws
- 4 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 4 Barn Swallows

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs only
- *1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 12 (11) Reed Warblers
- 14 (13) Blackcaps
- 3 (3) Garden Warblers
- 6 (4) Common Whitethroats

Count from the lake area
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 2 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 (1♂) Mallard only
- 2 Moorhens again
- 21 + 2 (1 brood) Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron noted

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides cornutus)

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Moths:
- *Small Purple & Gold (Pyrausta aurata): moth species #12 for the year
- *Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana): moth species #13 for the year

Bees / Wasps etc.:
- *A Nomad bee sp.

Hoverflies:
- *Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger)
- Blotch-winged Hoverfly (Leucozona lucorum)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- *Syrphus sp.

Other flies:
- *possible Eriothrix rufomaculata

Bugs:
- *A Mirid (plant bug), probably Liocoris tripustulatus

Beetles:
- *small probably unidentifiable (by me) beetle
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

Molluscs
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Spiders
- *Stretch spider sp (Tetragnatha sp.)
- *One to be identified

Flowers new for the year
- Smooth Sow-thistle or Milk Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) in flower

- Yesterday's unidentified possible Platycheirus sp. hoverfly will have to stay unidentified. Too little of the markings are visible for a positive ID.

Have I mentioned ... peering out between twigs and vegetation is 'our' Sedge Warbler.

Just as obscured though at least this shows the pale fringes on the wing feathers and the back streaking, both of which a Reed Warbler lacks.

It does not look very 'purple' or, indeed, 'gold' but this moth is a Small Purple & Gold (Pyrausta aurata). I previously recorded this species in 2015 and 2019. There is also a Common Purple & Gold moth (P. purpuralis) that I have also recorded, most recently last year. This latter species has a larger area of pale on the forewing.

Not one of my best photos: looking up at a small moth rather further away than I would have liked. It is a Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana). I should see more and improve on this.

I thought at the time that this smart-looking insect was an ichneumon-type wasp. Some research suggests it is one of the Nomad Bees that are almost impossible to specifically identify from photos.

One of the Syrphus hoverflies. Only the females can be identified and then only if you can see the hind tibia (leg)

On this similar hoverfly the yellow is arranged not in bands but as moustaches. It is a Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger): another hoverfly that I have only just discovered has a vernacular name. This species is similar to the Migrant Hoverfly (E. corollae), but on this latter species the yellow marks continue to the edge of the abdomen.

An exciting looking fly. I may have to do a bit more research but I think it most likely a Tachinid fly (this family of flies are typically very hairy). It probably goes by the name of Eriothrix rufomaculata.

There are many bugs in the Mirid family, also known as plant bugs. This appears to be Liocoris tripustulatus (it has no vernacular name)

 Not much to go on here with this small black beetle. There are an awful lot of them that look like this.

 I gave it a lifeline (all palmists groan at this point) but it didn't help me ID it.

A good illustration of why these are called Stretch spiders (Tetragnatha sp.)

One for the Shropshire Spider Recorder: I will report back.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash

- A pair of Mallard on the upper pool.
- Two juvenile Moorhens were peering out from under an adult at the upper pool with a third in the water with the other adult.
- The only Moorhen seen at the lower pool was again sitting on the nest. I am beginning to wonder whether they have lost the brood I last saw on 11 May. After a week would they still need to be brooded?.
- 1 Chiffchaff still singing by the lower pool.
- 1 Blackcap singing just above the upper pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:45

(82nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Four pairs of Tufted Duck all flew in separately. The fifth drake was the bird with the pair of Mallard.
- Apparently no juvenile Coots remain from the nest along the W side. None was seen peering out under the brooding adult in the nest by the bridge.
- A Sparrowhawk was briefly overhead and displaying, circling with its under-tail coverts fluffed up.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Sparrowhawk

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (2) Blackcaps

On /around the water:
- 31 Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 26 (19♂) Mallard
- 9 (5♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens only
- ?? + 0 (no broods) Coots
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: adults, together briefly.

Nothing else of note.

Blink and you will miss it. A short clip show how Nuthatches (nut hackers) got their name.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2020

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2013

Priorslee Lake

Spotted Flycatcher

Wheatear

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Whimbrel

2 drake Ruddy Ducks

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

2 Ruddy Ducks

(Ed Wilson)