21 Jul 21

Priorslee Lake, Woodhouse Lane and The Flash

17.0°C > 19.0°C: Clear but hazy start with some local mist and fog. Low cloud (lifted mist) after 09:00, staying bright. Light breeze. Moderate visibility.

Sunrise: 05:12 BST

* = a photo today

A notable sighting today was a Brown Hare. I have no intention of being any more specific as to where: the whole local area attracts illegal hare coursing.

Priorslee Lake: 04:15 – 05:40 // 06:45 – 09:35

(153rd visit of the year)

I am rather used to many dog walkers being unable to read the Severn Trent signs requesting that their dogs are kept on leads around the lake. Today a new extreme: a lady was shampooing three dogs in the lake not far from where the Great Crested Grebes and their young are.

Bird notes:
- One or more Canada Geese heard, apparently on the lake, while I was checking the W end lamp poles for moths. None seen after I had completed the moth hunt and could see the lake.
- I last recorded a Little Grebe here on 24th May though one of the fishermen, who spend even more time here than I do, have reported occasional calls and sightings. Today a summer-plumaged adult shot out the reeds, looked about and shot back in again!
- A significant number of House Martins were heard calling high overhead at 05:25: I could not see them against the hazy sky. It sounded as if there might have been more than the eight I counted over the football field at 09:20.
- I have no idea why some days sees no Jackdaws and Rooks pass over and other days there are several groups of either or both.
- The 'new' Sedge Warbler was still singing away. No others seen or heard.
- A single Starling apparently left the reeds quite early as if it might have roosted there!
- Just one Blackbird was part of the dawn chorus – more of a dawn solo now.

Overhead:
- 28 Wood Pigeons
- no Jackdaws or Rooks
- 2 Starlings: see also noted

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 1 Swift
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 8+ House Martins: see notes

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 10 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warblers
- 7 (2) Reed Warblers
- 6 (3) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat

Count from the lake area
- ? Canada Geese
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 11 (11♂) Mallard: the duck with (or without) ducklings not seen
- 4 Moorhens
- 46 + 15 (9 broods) Coots
- 1 Little Grebe: adult, briefly out of the reeds
- 6 + ? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes: parent's back was fluffed up obscuring the juveniles
- 1 Common Sandpiper: early only
- >15 Black-headed Gulls: ? juveniles
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull; adult briefly
- 2 Grey Herons: one chased off

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 Bramble Shoot (Notocelia uddmanniana)
- 2 Round-winged Muslins (Thumatha senex)
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)
- 1 Snout (Hypena proboscidalis)

and
- *1 Nephrotoma quadrifaria cranefly
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus agg. [harvestman]

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:

Spiders:
- 1 Walnut Orb Web (Nuctenea umbratica)
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)

Other things seen later:

Note: This list includes everything noted in Woodhouse Lane as there was considerable overlap

Butterflies:
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- *Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Moths:
- Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
-* Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)

Bees / Wasps:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *A digger/hunting wasp: the Broad-banded Hopper Wolf (Gorytes laticinctus)

Hoverflies:
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis)
- Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [Pied Plumehorn]

Dragon/Damsel-flies
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
- *Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo)

Other flies:
- *dagger fly Empis livida

Bugs:
- *Closterotomus norwegicus: a green bug
- *Red Bug (Deraeocoris ruber)
- Common Green Capsid (Lygocoris pabulinus)
- *Orthops campestris: another green bug

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata): adult
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis): larvae
- Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Mammal
- Brown Hare

Today's hazy sunrise.

Probably best view yet of a Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella) dusted in dew. The angled mark toward the wing tip distinguishes this from other grass moths

This rather pale and plain grass moth is a Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella). The gold tips to the wings indicate this is a fresh specimen which rules out it being a faded Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella).

A new moth for me at the lake is this Bramble Shoot moth (Notocelia uddmanniana), bringing the species total this year to 65.

The best find of the day. This is new for me and seems to be one of the Crabronidae group of digger and hunting wasps. It is a very good match for what Steven Falk names as Broad-banded Hopper Wolf (Gorytes laticinctus)

This cranefly with the dark stigma and mark is Nephrotoma quadrifaria. Not sure who / what its friend is.

I photographed the Red Bug (Deraeocoris ruber) and only when I edited the photo did I notice there was a green bug alongside it. It is Orthops campestris – no vernacular name.

(Ed Wilson)

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Woodhouse Lane: 07:45 – 08:45

Birds in Woodhouse Lane:
Primarily a hunt for different insects and plants which are recorded in the main list. Birds have mainly stopped singing so the numbers were low:

- no Skylarks singing or otherwise
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 1 (1) Blackcap)
- 1 (0) Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Goldcrest
- 2 Grey Wagtails
- 1 Pied Wagtail over.
- 1 Linnet
- 4 (2) Yellowhammers

Newly noted flowers for the year (all along Woodhouse Lane)
- *Field Woundwort (Stachys arvensis)
- *Nipplewort (Lapsana communis)
- as yet unidentified umbellifer

I have seen lots of Ringlet butterflies (Aphantopus hyperantus) flitting about. I think this is the first that has posed showing its rings, more prevalent on the underwing.

Amongst the hundreds of Marmalade Hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus) there were some noticeably small individuals: this is unusual in insects that are usually a 'standard size'. I also noted several with slightly different markings. Here is one such.

And another

Second-best find of the morning was this Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo). I took this one distant safety-shot and as I tried to approach it flew away. This is only the second I have ever seen in the area – some years ago I saw one by the lower pool between the lake and The Flash. This species likes slow-moving water so is unlikely to appear around the lake.

This is the first dagger fly I have seen this year. I think Empis livida. Just to the right of the two right legs visible is the long sharp mouthpiece used to suck the life out of prey, though here it seems to be feeding on Knapweed nectar.

With the two spots on the thorax this plant bug is Closterotomus norwegicus. Many specimens have variable amounts of brown shading in the elytra.

New plant species #1. Not managed an ID yet – it looks like a small compact version of Cow Parsley, this latter species has long-since finished flowering. I need a better photo of the leaves and stem.

New plant species #2. Looks rather like a White Dead-Nettle (Lamium album) with markings and clearly of that family. Not a species I have recorded before I think it is Field Woundwort (Stachys arvensis).

A close-up of the flower.

New plant species #3 One of those many confusing 'yellow things'. I think Nipplewort (Lapsana communis).

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- 1 silent Chiffchaff in trees beside the upper pool
- 1 Blackcap calling from bushes beside the upper pool

(Ed Wilson)

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On the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata)
- *1 Tipula maxima cranefly
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman

This is a Tipula maxima cranefly. It is our largest cranefly and is easily recognised by the bold wing pattern.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:45 – 06:40

(138th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Where did all the Mallard appear from? None has been sitting on any of the roofs for over a week now.
- Not entirely sure about the Tufted Ducklings: I saw three small bundles of fluff whizzing about and repeatedly diving hard up against the island. No adult bird was in attendance. I cannot think that the young of any other species of duck, Moorhen or Coot, would be diving so readily at such small size, They were too far away to get any other details.

Birds noted flying over here:
None

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 10 Swifts
- 4 House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets is singing birds):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps

On /around the water:
- 108 Canada Geese
- 41 Greylag Geese again
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 25 (?♂) Mallard
- 29 (?♂) + 3? (1 brood) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 4 + 5 (3 broods) Moorhens
- 7 juvenile Coots (4 broods)
- 2 Black-headed Gulls again
- 1 Great Crested Grebe

On various lamp poles
- 1 Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- *1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Common Grey moth (Scoparia ambigualis)
- *1 Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata)
- 1 caddis fly
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

Plus elsewhere
- 1 Grey Squirrel

With a pale longitudinal streak splitting in to several 'fingers' this is a Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella).

This Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata) is the first of the nominate form with a solid band of colour between the two cross lines. All the others I have seen this year have been of the plain remutata form that dominates in the north.

(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 Report Here

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Report Here