17 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 15.0°C: Another fine summer's morning: not. Mostly low cloud with a few spots of drizzle. Brief brighter spell c.08:30. Light / moderate W wind. Very good visibility except on drizzle.

Sunrise: 05:54 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:35 – 06:25 // 07:25 – 09:40

(178th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Not sure how many Mute Swan cygnets I saw. Only ever three together but one of these was prone to wander. When I later saw one on its own the adults and the three cygnets that had been close together a few minutes previously were out of my line of sight. One of the locals reported seeing the cob chasing a fourth cygnet in to the reeds yesterday. It is rather confusing that all these four cygnets are more or less the same size whereas the day before the fourth went missing I took a photo that showed one was obviously smaller than the others.
- Many of the 162 Wood Pigeons logged flying overhead were put up from the fields to the E by a passing local Common Buzzard.
- All the usual seven adult and five juvenile Great Crested Grebes seen.
- There seems to be a good number and high proportion of juvenile Blackbirds. No doubt the

Overhead:
- 138 Canada Geese: all outbound in 18 groups
- 73 Greylag Geese: all outbound in four groups
- 4 Feral Pigeons: together
- 4 Stock Dove: two duos
- 162 Wood Pigeons
- 6 Herring Gulls
- 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- no Jackdaws or Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Warblers noted:
- 13 Chiffchaffs
- 5 Reed Warblers again
- 2 Blackcaps
- 1 Lesser Whitethroat
- *2 Common Whitethroats

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4? (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 8 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (?♂) Tufted Duck: flew off 05:55
- 2 + 4 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 50 Coots: adults and immatures
- 7 + 5 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 142 Black-headed Gulls: at least seven juveniles
- 1 Cormorant: arrived much later than usual
- 1 Grey Heron once more

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 5 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 Flame Carpet (Xanthorhoe designata)
- 1 Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)
- *1 Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina)
- 2 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)

and
- *1 Springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris) trapped in web
- 1 Large House Spider-type: Eritigena group from E. duellica, E. atrica and E. saeva
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 2 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.
- 2 Leiobunum rotundum harvestmen

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:

Spiders:
- only Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)

Things seen later in dull conditions:

Firstly some feedback. Following a suggestion from Neil the 'Martian mayflies' would appear to be male Pond Olive (Cloeon dipterum) mayflies. Only the male has what the Naturespot web site notes "the males' eyes have additional dorsal "turban-shaped" parts that function as superposition eyes. These extra eyes are thought to enable the males to locate isolated females in the mating swarm"

Moths:
- *Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella)
- *Latticed Heath (Chiasmia clathrata)
- *Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina)
- Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)

Bees / Wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

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

Several Common Whitethroats are still around. Here is one. A juvenile I would think by the all dark eye, lack of eye-ring and lacking in obvious browner wings. It also looks rather 'fuzzy'. Old-enough to show no gape-line.

A difficult subject. This grass moth is very worn and it was very flighty. I had to shoot from over six feet away through a tiny gap in the vegetation. Despite the wear it has to be a Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella): none of the other grass moths is ever this shiny white.

A moth species I only recorded here for the first time in 2020. This Orange Crest (Helcystogramma rufescens) is my example this year. The 'crest' are actually the palps that are held curved over the face at rest.

A very unexpected sighting was this Latticed Heath moth (Chiasmia clathrata). This is a second brood example: I have only previously recorded the earlier brood which flies from late-May in to June.

A slightly better photo of a Flame Carpet moth (Xanthorhoe designata), still a long way up a lamp pole. I seem to have sorted out the flash compensation and the colour has been rendered more accurately.

And perhaps an even better daylight photo of what I assume is the same Flame Carpet having shuffled around a bit.

Another rather worn Dun-bar moth (Cosmia trapezina). Many specimens have a darker middle to the dun-coloured bar between the converging cross lines. On this example that darker area is the most obvious feature.

This is perhaps the same Dun-bar moth now in natural light: if so them re-found much later. After taking this shot I tried to rotate the stick it was on to get a plan view. Sadly the stick was dead and broke as I twisted it, the moth falling in to the vegetation.

The only bumblebee I saw at rest this morning was this Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).

I have inverted this for easier viewing though I still cannot identify this caddis fly that was in the sailing club shelter.

Probably not "a one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people-eater" [a hit in May 1958 and often on Children's Favourites]. But what is it? I think the springtail Pogonognathellus longicornis, the only springtail with the antennae longer than the body. This one has broken one of its longicornis antennae.


(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Between the lake and The Flash:

- Single Chiffchaffs calling beside both pools

and on a lamp post
- 1 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

The usual array of spiders

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash: 06:30 – 07:20

(163rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Yesterday's Racing Pigeon not located.
- The juvenile Great Crested Grebes were in the water this morning: there are three, not two as previously thought.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 10 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Cormorants: together
- 1 Jackdaw

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 1 Willow Warbler
- 9 Chiffchaffs: one in brief song

On /around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 43 (?♂) Mallard
- 39 (?♂) + 4 (1 brood) Tufted Duck
- 1 Moorhen only
- 7 juvenile Coots (5 broods)
- *2 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 26 Black-headed Gulls: one juvenile again

On various lamp poles:
- *1 Scalloped Hook-tip moth (Falcaria lacertinaria)
- 1 Swallow Prominent moth (Pheosia tremula)
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris): dead in spider's web
- 1 Grouse Wing (Mystacides longicornis) [caddis fly]
- 3 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

Also
- 1 Green-veined White butterfly (Pieris napi) unexpectedly flushed at 07:00
- 1 Grey Squirrel

One of my long-range, dull-weather, record-shot specials showing all three juvenile Great Crested Grebes with one of the adults. The first time I have seen them in the water to get an accurate count.

A challenge here with a moth tucked in the very top of about the tallest lamp-pole around here. The wavy wing-edge and the faint cross-line on the wing that curves markedly toward the wing-edge identifies this as a Scalloped Hook-tip moth (Falcaria lacertinaria). A new moth for me in Shropshire. Pity it was not better positioned.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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