13 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 17.0°C: Medium-high overcast later cleared to E after 06:45 and then mostly sunny until clouds began to build after 09:00. Moderate SSW wind, increasing at times. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:49 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:30 – 06:00 // 07:10 – 09:40

(174th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A very strange patchy grey and white Ducks was with the Mallard at 05:35. I did not see it later.
- Much commotion from large gulls at 05:30 resulted in my seeing a Peregrine powering over. 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls took refuge on the water for a few minutes before heading off. The Black-headed Gulls made their way, as usual, to feed on the football field until dogs put them up.

Overhead:
- 186 Canada Geese: 112 outbound in ten groups; two singles and party of 72 inbound.
- 54 Greylag Geese: all outbound in five groups
- 3 Feral Pigeons: together
- 3 Stock Doves: single and duo
- 81 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Collared Doves: together
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- *11 Cormorants: together
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 1 Peregrine
- no Jackdaws again
- 2 Rooks again

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 5 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 1 Willow Warbler again
- 11 Chiffchaffs
- 4 Reed Warblers
- 1 Blackcap only
- *3 possible Lesser Whitethroats

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 12 (?♂) Mallard: also one obvious 'feral' bird early only
- 1 (♂) Tufted Duck again
- 3 + 2 (2 broods) Moorhen
- 54 Coots: adults and immatures
- 7 + 5 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 142 Black-headed Gulls: two juveniles
- *1 Yellow-legged Gull: juvenile
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: mix of ages
- 1 Cormorants: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata)
- *1 probable Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe ferrugata)
- *1 Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina)

and
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *1 cranefly, probably Tipula lateralis
- *1 possible Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus rugulipennis)
- 3 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 3 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:
Just the usual array of spiders

Things seen later:

Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
- *Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)

Moths:
- Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella)
- Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)
- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *Mother of Pearl (Pleuroptya ruralis): deceased!

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)

Hoverflies:
- Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis)
- Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis) [Wasp Plumehorn]
- Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [Pied Plumehorn]
*** so where have the hundreds of Marmalade Hoverflies gone? Suddenly none.

Dragonfly:
- *Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni): larvae

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Mammals:
- 5 Pipistrelle-type bats

Despite being apparently overcast there was a brief rather spectacular sunrise. This was not taken from the ideal position to get the best reflection. Two minutes later when I was better positioned all the colour had faded away.

A juvenile large gull dropped in briefly. As it started to leave it struck me that the underwing was not so heavily marked as a typical Lesser Black-backed Gull yet the light from above was not making the inner primaries appear as pale as would suggest Herring Gull.

I managed some sort of photo of the upper-wing as it flew away and this shows that the inner primaries are not as contrasting as they would be on a Herring Gull. The rather pale head with a smudge around the eye supports the identification of this bird as a Yellow-legged Gull.

Well here's a thing! This seems to be a Lesser Whitethroat. It was the only chance I got to see one of a probably family party of three warblers. They were giving Blackcap-like 'tac' calls but much quieter. At the time I assumed they were Common Whitethroats making unusual calls, probably juveniles. But looking at this photo somehow it does not look right for a Common Whitethroat. The head looks too contrastingly and neatly grey and the bill looks too short. The legs look too dark – a Common Whitethroats legs are orange-tinted. Also it lacks an eye-ring, just a half-moon under the eye. In Spring the ear-coverts of Lesser Whitethroat look contrastingly black but that seems not to be true of Autumn birds or juveniles. Had I been able to get the folded wings in the photo there would be no debate. Sadly I didn't! As far as I know Lesser Whitethroat did not breed here: one did sing briefly in April: they are very secretive and quiet once paired so it is always possible.

The fishermen, had there been any, would have been pleased to see these Cormorants pass overhead. There are 11 – honest. The bottom right is a 'twin'. A typical 'loose' formation of this species.

Holly Blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) is feeding on Knapweed here. Its favourite Autumn tipple is Ivy flowers but these are some weeks away from being open.

This is a dead Mother of Pearl moth (Pleuroptya ruralis). I angled it in my hand to try and show the flush that gives this species its name. As it is dead the colour has faded somewhat but you get the idea.

This is probably a Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet moth (Xanthorhoe ferrugata). Reliable separation from Red Twin-spot Carpet (X. spadicearia) is always difficult and this is a worn specimen – the 'twin spots' toward the wing-tip are barely discernible. The reddish wash toward the base of the wing is not helpful as the Red Twin-spot is named after the usual reddish tone to the main cross band.

It is proving a good year for Small Phoenix moths (Ecliptopera silaceata).

This Dun-bar moth (Cosmia trapezina) shows a reasonably strongly marked 'dun coloured bar', unlike some specimens.

The best I could do with this large cranefly that was just too high for me to illuminate the thorax and see the wing markings clearly. From what I can see it looks like Tipula lateralis.

Perched on the yellow no-waiting lines along Teece Drive was this male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum). Only males are red, females being yellowish or light brown.

Mr. Angry at having been disturbed.

A side-elevation view of the same individual.

And here the working part of a female.

A strange sighting several feet up a lamp pole pre-dawn. A Mirid bug but which? It most closely resembles one of examples of Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus rugulipennis) on the web. There is a caveat that the genus is one of the most difficult from which to specifically identify individuals and there are others shown of the same species that do not look much like my specimen.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- 1 Grey Heron flushed from the lower pool: sat on three different roofs alongside the path before getting fed up and flying away
- 1 Chiffchaff calling by the lower pool again

On various lamp posts
- 1 Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata)
- 1 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 Red Underwing moth (Catocala nupta)
- 1 Green lacewing sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:05 – 07:05

(159th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- No Mallard ducklings seen.
- Tufted Duck particularly difficult to count as they were being harassed by the Black-headed Gulls and continually diving.
- Two juvenile Great Crested Grebes noted on a parent's back.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Feral Pigeons: together
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 11 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Warblers noted:
- 3 Willow Warblers: no song
- 11 Chiffchaffs: one gave brief snatch of song
- 1 Blackcap

On /around the water:
- 3 Canada Geese only
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 55 (?♂) Mallard
- 38 (?♂) + 4 (1 brood) Tufted Duck
- 4 + 5 (4 broods) Moorhens
- 10 juvenile Coots (5 broods)
- *2 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 15 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles

On various lamp poles:
- 2 Common Grass-veneer moths (Agriphila tristella)
- 2 Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 3 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.
- *1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

Also:
- Grouse Wing caddis flies (Mystacides longicornis) dancing over the waterside vegetation

The Great Crested Grebes here have two juveniles.

A close-up of a male Leiobunum rotundum harvestman. To separate males of this species from L. blackwalli the rim around the eyes needs to be examined. Black, as here, for L. rotundum; pale for L. blackwalli.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.

Sightings from previous years without links are below

2013

Priorslee Lake

2 Common Sandpipers

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

Ruddy Duck

1 Common Sandpiper

>50 Linnets

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Little Egret

(Ed Wilson)