18 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 15.0°C again: Broken cloud to start and somewhat brighter with the breaks mostly disappearing by 07:30. Light / moderate W wind. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 05:56 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:35 – 06:20 // 07:20 – 10:00

(179th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The fourth Mute Swan cygnet staying well away from the rest of the family..
- An eighth adult Great Crested Grebe noted: it looked as if the lone bird along the N side had been joined by another - perhaps the nest failed? Meanwhile I could not see how many juveniles from the third brood there were - they were hiding in the reeds again..

Overhead:
- 131 Canada Geese: 127 outbound as 17 singles/duos/groups' 5 inbound together
- 54 Greylag Geese: all outbound in six groups
- 13 Feral Pigeons: in three groups - probably not Racing Pigeons
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 58 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Jackdaw
- 9 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 House Martins high overhead 06:00
- >1 Barn Swallow: single flew E 07:55 but then possibly the same seen over the lake four more times

Warblers noted:
- 11 Chiffchaffs: tow of these noted in song
- 2 Sedge Warblers
- 2 Reed Warblers
- 3 Blackcaps
- 1 Lesser Whitethroat
- no Common Whitethroats

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 13 (8♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 52 Coots: adults and immatures
- 8 + >3? (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 154 Black-headed Gulls: at least six juveniles
- 3 Cormorant: arrived and departed separately
- 1 Grey Heron

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Orange Crest (Helcystogramma rufescens)
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 tortrix

and
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris) trapped in web
- 1 Common or European Earwig (Forficula dentata)
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *2 other species of spider
- 4 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:

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

Things seen later in dull conditions again:

Moths:
- *Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella)
- Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella)
- Cinnabar caterpillars (Tyria jacobaeae)
- *Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)

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

Hoverflies:
- *Stripe-backed Dasysyrphus (Dasysyrphus albostriatus)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- White-footed Hoverfly (Platycheirus albimanus)
- *Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis), probably S. ribesii

Other flies:
- Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)

Bugs:
- Common Green Capsid (Lygocoris pabulinus)
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina): various instars
- *Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Mammals:
- 1 Pipistrelle-type bat: did not check all areas
- 1 Grey Squirrel

One day I will get a really sharp photo of a Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella). This moth was several hundred yards from the nearest Horse Chestnut tree which might seem improbable for such a delicate species. However since it was first recorded in the south in 2002 and has spread as far as Scotland it clearly can fly (or be carried on the wind?) long distances.

A moth that cannot be specifically identified from photos. It is a 'Dark-triangle Button sp.' (Acleris laterana/comariana). On date it is more likely to be A. laterana.

By far the freshest-looing example of a Straw Dot moth (Rivula sericealis) I have seen this year. This species is easily disturbed by day from long grass.

A very pale-looking Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum). I cannot recall seeing such a pale specimen previously. Ticking in to Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis).

A more normal-toned individual buried in Knapweed.

Another "what is it" special. I cannot quite see for certain but it appears to have a 'wasp-waist' making this an ichneumon wasp or just perhaps an ichneumon fly. Unusually it is a blue-grey colour rather than this more normal yellows and reds.

Not entirely sure why this Stripe-backed Dasysyrphus hoverfly (Dasysyrphus albostriatus) was 15 feet up a lamp pole nor whether the unidentifiable money spider was friendly.

This is a male hoverfly that I usually record as Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis) as most references suggest that males are not separable. However Stephen Falk's Flickr gallery suggests that males with more than half the hind femur yellow is probably S. ribesii which he calls Humming Syrphus from the typical noise made by dozens of these insects hovering along woodland rides. This is yet another hoverfly emerging from a Larger Bindweed [or Bellvine] flower (Calystegia Sepium).

I rather assumed that this tiny flying thing was a mayfly. In this photo the rear is in focus and shows a prominent leading edge to the wings and a banded single 'tail', neither feature is shown in any mayfly photo-gallery I can find on the internet.

In this photo it is the front that is in focus showing what appear to be banded eyes.

An early instar of a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina).

And a later instar of the same species. This one on the compact flower cluster of Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).

A Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius). For clarity this is head-down to 7 O'clock. This species comes in a myriad of colour forms with variable markings.

An 'exciting' spider found on one of the lamp poles.

And another with some foxy-looking colour on the abdomen. A five-legged spider: poor thing.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Single Chiffchaffs calling beside both pools again
- A Blackcap calling at the lower pool

And on different lamp posts
- *1 Ermine moth (Yponomeuta sp.)
- 1 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman.

Yet another moth that cannot be specifically identified from photos. It is one of the Ermine moths (Yponomeuta sp.). The pure white wing extending to the tip (no grey) points to Spindle Ermine (Y. cagnagella), though genitalia dissection (of the moth, that is) would be needed to confirm this identity.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

The usual array of spiders included at least one Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:15

(164th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- For some while the Tufted Ducks have mostly been in two groups. For some reason today they were scattered all over the water and also being harried by the Black-headed Gulls. Count is probably an under-recording. I could not find the duck or her ducklings.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 1 Willow Warbler: in quiet song
- 5 Chiffchaffs: one in brief song
- 1 Blackcap

On /around the water:
- 23 Canada Geese: 14 of these departed
- 41 Greylag Geese: all arrived together
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 50 (?♂) Mallard
- 31 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 + 5 (4 broods) Moorhens
- 7 juvenile Coots (3 broods)
- *2 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 52 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: juvenile, briefly

On various lamp poles:
- 1 Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella)
- 3 Common Grass-veneer moths (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 Small Phoenix moth (Ecliptopera silaceata): male
- 1 Scalloped Hook-tip moth (Falcaria lacertinaria): same place as yesterday, possibly dead in spider's web?
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

Not much of an improvement over yesterday's record shot of the three juvenile Great Crested Grebes. Can we have some sun please?

This is another male Small Phoenix moth (Ecliptopera silaceata). Only my second of this species here in the last eight years (the other was in 2018).

(Ed Wilson)

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