27 Jul 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 16.0°C: Mostly cloudy with slight rain early and late. Light and variable winds. Rather hazy again with moderate visibility.

Sunrise: 05:20 BST

* = a photo today

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

(159th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I still cannot make up my mind whether the second pair of Great Crested Grebes have juveniles or are just acting as if they might have.
- It seems ages since I saw or indeed heard any Long-tailed Tits. As they prepared to nest I suspected that five sites were being prospected. I only saw one post-breeding group with juveniles and that was many weeks ago. Recently I have heard, mainly, a group about once a week. So where are they all?
- One Blackbird briefly sang this morning.
- *First juvenile Goldfinches seen

Overhead:
- >16 Canada Geese: 16 outbound; more heard
- >24 Greylag Geese; groups of four, sixteen and then four more outbound; more heard
- 5 Feral Pigeons: single and quartet
- 54 Wood Pigeons
- 27 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Jackdaw yet again
- 2 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 7 House Martins

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

Count from the lake area
- *2 + 5 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 9 (9♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens again
- 37 + 8 (5 broods) Coots
- 7 + >2? (2? broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 35 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Ermine Yponomeuta sp. just perhaps Orchard Ermine (Yponomeuta padella)
- *1 possible Cinereous Neb (Bryotropha terrella)
- 4 White Plumes (Pterophorus pentadactyla) again
- 1 Small Fan-footed Waves (Idaea biselata)
- *1 Clouded Border (Lomaspilis marginata)

and
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Rough-haired Lagria Beetle (Lagria hirta)
- 1 Clubonia sp. spider
- *1 unidentified spider sp.
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:

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

Other things seen later in dull conditions:

Butterflies:
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)

Moths:
- Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- *Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)

Bees / Wasps:
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Other flies:
- Grouse Wing (Mystacides longicornis) [caddis fly]

Beetles:
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis): pupa only

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Mammals:
- Grey Squirrel

I have rather ignored the Mute Swan family for a while other than to record that there were still five cygnets. Today I noted that one cygnet seemed rather small. Here it is the first in line behind the cob (he has the larger swelling at the base of the bill). It does indeed look rather smaller.

My first sighting of a juvenile Goldfinch this year. It sports the yellow in the wings but no red on the face which it will not acquire until October-time.

All the accompanying adults had flown off. The juvenile was braving it out and clearly knows exactly where to get food. It is busy ripping a thistle-head apart.

Delicious!

Chomp, chomp!

Another one of those difficult ermine moths. The arrangement of the spots is a close match for Orchard Ermine (Yponomeuta padella) as shown in my Micro Moths Field Guide. However the text and the rubric on the Norfolk Moths web site say that specific identification among this group often needs genitalia examination and for some examples even this is not definitive. It is probably best formally recorded as Yponomeuta sp.

Not a moth that I can recall ever having seen before and one without any distinctive features. A rather tentative ID of a possible Cinereous Neb (Bryotropha terrella).

 I am getting closer to providing a good photo of a Pale Straw Pearl moth (Udea lutealis). Closer...

.. and closer. Note how this species rests with its antennae held over its back and also that it shows prominent spurs on its legs.

Not new for the year but an attractive moth anyway. It is a Clouded Border (Lomaspilis marginata).

I'll have to await the Shropshire recorder to return to help me with this spider. It was around the street lights at the W end.

Another spider for later: this in the sailing club shelter.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Nothing of note

(Ed Wilson)

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On the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

- *1 Many-plume Moth (Alucita hexadactyla)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata)
- 1 Nephrotoma flavipalpis cranefly
- 1 Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
- *3 spiders to be identified
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

A rubbish photo as when I took it I thought it was another wave moth. Only when I reviewed the photo at home did I realise this was a Many-plume Moth (Alucita hexadactyla). This plume moth sits with the segmented wings held spread rather than tightly together as with most species in the group. Surprisingly this is my first record of this common species in the Priorslee area.

I am doing well with unidentified spiders. Watch the blog for, I hope, an eventual identification.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:50

(144th visit of the year)

Lowlight this morning was an out-of-control dog killing one of the Greylag Geese that was unable to fly from the grass to escape. Don't blame the dog.

Bird notes:
- No Tufted Ducklings seen

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Hirundines etc., noted:
None

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

On /around the water:
- 65 Canada Geese
- 32 Greylag Geese: see above
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 36 (?♂) Mallard
- 28 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 8 juvenile Coots (5 broods)
- no Great Crested Grebe
- 10 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles

On various lamp poles:
- *1 Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata)
- 1 Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata)
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *1 unidentified insect
- 3 Dicranopalpus ramosus agg. [harvestmen]
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman

 A Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata) checking out that 'Paul is Ace'.

Another one that is open for discussion. This was on a ledge high up on a street lamp amongst all the spider debris. It was not possible to get any other view. Any thoughts?

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day
2020
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2006
Priorslee Lake
Redshank
(Ed Wilson)