1 Jun 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 18.0°C: Fine and clear. Calm start with light E breeze later. Somewhat hazy but good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:52 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:10 – 05:40 // 06:25 – 09:30

(109th visit of the year)

Best sighting today was a Badger well after dawn. As there are people who like to mistreat these wonderful animals I will provide no clue as to where I saw it.

Bird notes:
- A drake Tufted Duck flew off W at 04:35.
- Two of the juvenile Coots were the well-grown birds from brood #1. Just one from what I think is brood #7. I'm confused: I should have drawn a map!
- Six Great Crested Grebes seen on the water at 08:00. At 04:30 two birds were seen flying around and appeared to be leaving though my view was blocked to be certain. Several lengthy circuits of the water were made by other bird(s), singly.
- No Lesser Black-backed Gulls heard or seen early. Just one brief visitor and one fly-over later.
- House Sparrows are still popping up in all manner of unusual places. Today a male was in the Ricoh hedge. Whether any of these are nesting is hard to say..

Overhead:
- 4 Canada Geese: quartet inbound
- 3 Greylag Geese: single and duo inbound
- 14 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near) adult
- 19 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 House Martins: from the estate?

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 16 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 10 (7) Reed Warblers
- 13 (12) Blackcaps
- 4 (4) Garden Warblers
- 3 (2) Common Whitethroats

Count from the lake area
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck: departed
- 1 Moorhen
- 23 + 3 (2 broods) Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

- *1 unidentified red fly.

- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides cornutus) again

Noted later:
Before I start a correction from Sunday. What I showed as a Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) is really a Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum). Thanks to Neil for spotting my mistake and telling me about it.

Moths:
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)

Bees / Wasps.
- *probable Lathbury's Nomad Bee (Nomada lathburiana)
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- *Ichneumon wasp, a female possibly Pimpla rufipes

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- *Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris)
- Syrphus sp.

Damselflies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
- *Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)

Other Flies
- Tipula crane-fly
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- *Black Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- *The snipe fly Rhagio scolopaceus
- plumed midge sp.

Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)

Beetles:
- *Soldier beetle Cantharis nigricans
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- *The weevil Liophloeus tessulatus
- *Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)

Snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Spiders:
- *Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)
- stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
- *unidentified spider sp.

Mammals:
- 1 Badger
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Not quite a clear view, but .. a female Reed Bunting.

This seems to be a nomad bee. There are not too many of 30-odd UK species that have five yellow bands and that leads to think it is most likely Lathbury's Nomad Bee (Nomada lathburiana).

This is a species of ichneumon wasp. It is a female with a short, straight ovipositor and most closely resembles Pimpla rufipes.

A Narcissus Bulb Fly (Merodon equestris). I showed this on Sunday last but forgot to comment on its name. As you may guess the larvae eat bulbs – perhaps the daffodils that the council plant. More generally the larvae feed on Bluebell bulbs.

I like species that are easy. This is a Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula). I have only started seeing (noticing?) this species in the last few years.

A side-on view of a different specimen.

Relatively easy now it has turned blue is this male Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum). Can be tricky to separate from Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella), the shape of the mark on the first (top) abdominal segment being the easiest way.

With a dark mark in the wing this Black Snipe Fly (Chrysopilus cristatus) is quite easy to ID and will soon be very common. Here on a flower of Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis). The black mark toward the base of the wings are the halteres - the vestigial second pair of wings that flies have. They act like gyroscopes and help them balance.

A different species of Snipe Fly. Here side on (it ought to be a stilt fly with legs like this).

Easier to ID from above – goes by the name of Rhagio scolopaceus.

The same (unknown) species of plumed midge that I photographed yesterday. Against the buttercup the plumed antennae show rather better.

A soldier beetle. I think Cantharis nigricans.

I found this weevil on a dock leaf when I was looking for Dock Bugs. This is a large weevil and I was nearly misled until I noted the different shape. I think the species is Liophloeus tessulatus.

Seems that female weevils are generally larger than males as illustrated by these two Nettle Weevils (Phyllobius pomaceus).

A spider I am pretty confident to ID as a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis). Apologies for the shadow across it – had I tried to move the grass the spider would have gone. It is very typical of this spider that it holds its front two pairs of legs together.

Another spider for the Shropshire Recorder to help me with.

 I am completely foxed by this red 'fly' with amazingly long antennae. On a street lamp pre-dawn.

Another one that has me foxed. A head-on view and the apparent 'snout' suggests a dagger fly. However none of these has long antennae which is more typical of wasps and ichneumons. I have drawn a blank so far.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- One drake Mallards on the lower pool
- Single adult Moorhens seen at both pools.

Also noted:
- 1 unidentified moth on a street lamp
- 1 Grey Squirrel

I have spent the best part of an hour failing to ID this quite large moth on one of the street lamps.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:45 – 06:20

(94th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Having noted yesterday "I think that Swifts are not breeding in St Georges this year. I have diligently searched the skies for the last few visits without seeing any" they set out to prove me wrong and there were five overhead, briefly. A new species for my year-list here - #69

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Cormorant

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 5 Swifts

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

On /around the water:
- 38 Canada Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 23 (18♂) Mallard again
- 10 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 2 juvenile Coots again
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

If you look closely at the base of the bill there is a trace of yellow indicating this is a juvenile House Sparrow. It was being bed by its mother but she flew off before I could get a shot.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2020

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2017

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2007

Priorslee Lake

Common Tern

(Martin Adlam)

2006

Priorslee Lake

2 Ruddy Ducks

Peregrine

(Ed Wilson)