10 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 18.0°C: Early broken medium-level cloud cleared somewhat with a few sunny spells. Light showers after 08:15. Calm start: light SW wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:43 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:25 – 06:05 // 07:05 – 09:40

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A third pair of Great Crested Grebe have young. I saw at least one before the parent with the juveniles on its back retreated to the reeds.
- After yesterday's increase in the number and proportion of juvenile Black-headed Gulls I could find none today amongst a similar overall total.

Overhead:
- >150 Canada Geese: 139 outbound in 14 groups; 11 inbound in two groups; others heard
- >>16 Greylag Geese: 4 outbound as two duos; 12 inbound as two singles and one group; large party heard both outbound and inbound while my view was obscured by trees
- 3 Feral Pigeons: together
- 38 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- no Jackdaws or Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 4 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 14 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Sedge Warbler again
- 8 Reed Warbler
- 3 Blackcaps

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 13 (?♂) Mallard
- 5 (?) Tufted Ducks: two of these arrived and soon departed again
- 3 + 2 (2 broods) Moorhen
- 57 Coots: adults and immatures
- 7 + >3 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 123 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull: all juveniles/immatures
- 1 Cormorants: arrived and departed
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 *Orange Crest (Helcystogramma rufescens)
- 2 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)
- 2 Single-dotted Waves (Idaea dimidiata)
- 1 *Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata)

and
- 1 Green-veined White (Pieris napi) at roost!
- 1 *mayfly sp. again
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 2 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:
- 1 male Tipula paludosa cranefly
and the usual array of spiders, mainly Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)

Before today's insects some feedback:
- Thanks to Martin Adlam for research in to the 'picture-winged fly' from Saturday and identifying it as a Three-spotted Flutter Fly (Palloptera trimaculata)
- Thanks to Neil for confirming yesterday's black larvae as those of the Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Onward with things seen later:

Another struggle to find too much as the vegetation was wet after overnight showers and the sun was mostly not shining.

Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- *Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus): amazingly the first butterfly I saw before the sun came out

Moths:
- *Birch Marble (Apoptosis betulana)
- Common Roller (Ancylis badiana)
- Mother of Pearl (Pleuroptya ruralis)

Bees / Wasps etc.:
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *unidentified ichneumon sp.

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- *Bronze Sap Hoverfly (Ferdinandea cuprea) [Common Copper-back Hoverfly]
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Common Twist-tail (Sphaerophoria scripta) [was Long Hoverfly]
- *Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis) [Wasp Plumehorn]

Other flies:
- *Black Snipefly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- *Long-horned Black Legionnaire (Beris geniculata)
- Green-eyed fly, probably Dolichopus plumipes
- *unidentified fly

Other insects:
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis): empty pupae only
- *possible scale insect

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snails (Cepaea hortensis)

Mammals:
- 12 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 2 Grey Squirrels

The brief sunrise caught me out again – after I had left the lake-side so no reflection to enhance the effect.

This was the first butterfly (of about six) that I saw this morning, on the wing before the sun came out. The sparse markings on the underwing identify it as a Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). It is a second brood insect and will feed on Ivy unlike the correctly-named first brood that feeds on Holly flowers in the Spring. It was a male as there was almost no black in the wing when it flew. Photos on the web suggest that sexes are not separable from the underwing pattern.

After two days of failure I have finally managed a decent photo of this micro-moth. A very plain moth which holds it palps curved upwards over its face. It is another Orange Crest (Helcystogramma rufescens).

Many years since I have seen this moth around the lake. It is a Birch Marble (Apotomis betulana).

Found on vegetation alongside a street light was my first Garden Carpet moth (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) here this year. An unusual species in that it seems to favour urban locations.

With 2000 UK species to choose from I am not going to get far with identifying this ichneumon.

A quite splendid and different-looking hoverfly. It is Bronze Sap Hoverfly (Ferdinandea cuprea) or as Stephen Falk calls it Common Copper-back Hoverfly.

A handsome fly anyway. My first of the year and usually see very few in any one year.

A spectacular hoverfly - a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis). The alternative name given by Stephen Falk is Wasp Plumehorn which seems more apposite as this species lacks any orange on the abdomen and thus more closely resembles a wasp than a hornet.

Always worth another view.

Another mayfly with 'big eyes'. This was some distance from where I photographed one yesterday. Neil has suggested that some parasite or fungal growth may be responsible as no illustrations of this family of insects shows this feature.

Since discovering there are 300 species of cranefly in the UK I have become rather hesitant to name any. I think this is a male Tipula paludosa based on its large size; the wing stigma and venation; plus the thin dark line down the abdomen.

This is a male Turnip Sawfly (Athaliah rose) - females have a pointed abdomen. Note the wholly orange abdomen...

..and in this view the dark 'shoulder pads' and black leading-edge to he wings. The head is pointing down and is seen more clearly...

...here. Feeding on Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris). I guess not too many turnips around the lake.

Not seen this species for a couple of weeks: prior to that it was an abundant daily occurrence. It is a Black Snipefly (Chrysopilus cristatus).

I think a Long-horned Black Legionnaire (Beris geniculata) - the yellow knees of this species are just about visible.

A really small reddish fly – well hepatic really. Judge the size by the grass seed it is sitting on. Close examination shows slight dark edging to the wings and I think this may be one of the fruit flies, though most have rather stronger wing markings.

With green eyes and metallic-looking thorax this is likely the fly Dolichopus plumipes. There are not too many green-eyed flies apart from the Horse Flies (which this isn't).

Not sure handsome applies here. This tiny fly was running around waving its wings - hence my inability to 'freeze' the action. It ought to be a 'wing-waving fly' but those shown on the web all have heavily patterned wings. It may be a fly from the Sepsidae family, usually associated with dung.

And another complete mystery. This 'thing' ran along and under a leaf. When I turned the leaf over this is what I saw. Seems to be a leg protruding! I can only think it might be some member of the scale-insect family.

(Ed Wilson

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- 1 Blackcap calling by the lower pool

On a lamp post:
- 1 Pale Straw Pearl moth (Udea lutealis)

(Ed Wilson

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- *1 Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella)
- 2 Single-dotted Wave moths (Idaea dimidiata)
- 1 Caddis fly sp.
- 2 Green lacewings, perhaps Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea)
- 9 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)

Small moths on the roof of the tunnel are not easy. Too close for a zoom photo and the reflection of the (off-) white ceiling causes the camera to underexpose the moths. With a bit of editing to reveal at least some of the detail I am happy that this is a Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella)!

(Ed Wilson

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The Flash: 06:10 – 07:00

(156th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Just one Mallard with ducklings noted – three ducklings: I assume yesterday's brood of four with one missing.
- Still unable to quantify the number of Great Crested Grebe juveniles.
- The singing Willow Warbler was in a different location, though not too far distant.
- A Grey Wagtail heard from the island. My first here since April 12th, more or less the time the ringed male left for the balancing lake and raised a family.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 14 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 9 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 2 Willow Warblers: one singing intermittently
- 9 Chiffchaffs: one goaded in to song by adjacent Willow Warbler

On /around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese again
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 53 (?♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- 34 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 + 3 (3 broods) Moorhens
- 10 juvenile Coots (5 broods)
- 2 + ? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes still
- 1 Black-headed Gull: not a juvenile

On various lamp posts:
- 1 Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- *1 July Highflyer (Hydriomena furcata)
- 3 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

Also:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

A moth I do not see every year and have never previously recorded at The Flash. It is a July Highflyer (Hydriomena furcata).

(Ed Wilson

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On this day

2020

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

2012

Priorslee Lake

6 Little Egrets

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

Kingfisher

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

1 Little Egret

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

Location

Redstart

(John Isherwood)

2005

Priorslee Lake

5 Arctic Terns

(Ed Wilson)