2 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 17.0°C: Broken cloud with some sun. Calm / light and variable wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:30 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:20 – 06:00 // 06:55 – 09:50

(163rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Only four Mute Swan cygnets seen. One of these – not the smaller one that seems to have gone missing - was frequently declaring independence and paddling away from the others.
- A Tufted Duck flew W at 07:00; a duck Tufted Duck flew E at 08:00.
- As often happens, at 05:10 I flushed a Grey Heron from the base of the dam. In turn this flushed a Lapwing from the dam face. The Lapwing returned briefly but soon departed. It is many years since I noted any Lapwings roosting on the dam face. In the late 1980s there were often more than 50 many mornings during winter.
- Not sure when the four Cormorants arrived – while I was at The Flash probably. They were fishing as a group with rather poor synchronisation on their diving. Three of them were immatures. They departed together with three heading SW and one heading NE.
- A Hobby flew fast E to the N at 05:15. Four of my five sightings this year have been birds passing before sunrise.

Overhead:
- >112 Canada Geese: 83 outbound in seven groups; 29 inbound in three groups; more heard
- >38 Greylag Geese: 19 outbound in three groups; single inbound; 19 together inbound, circled and went outbound again; more heard
- 2 Tufted Duck: singles W and later E
- 7 Feral Pigeons together
- 113 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Hobby
- 2 Jackdaws
- 7 Rooks

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 3 House Martins: briefly over N side trees

Warblers noted: with song having essentially stopped I will only mention exceptions in future.
- 12 Chiffchaffs
- 3 Sedge Warblers: one seen carrying food
- 9 Reed Warblers
- 2 Blackcaps
- 1 Common Whitethroat

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 11 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhen
- 46 Coots: adults and immatures
- 7 + 3 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lapwing: departed
- *71 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles
- *4 Cormorants: arrived; departed together
- 1 Grey Heron

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli): dead in spider's jaws
- 3 possible Hemp-agrimony Plumes (Adaina microdactyla)
- *1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata)

and
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 4 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus agg. harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman
- *1 White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:

Spiders:
- >3 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *1 sheet web spider
Other spiders not identified

Other things seen later:

Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- *Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
- *Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Moths:
- *Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)
- many other unidentified grass moths
- Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)
- Mother of Pearl (Pleuroptya ruralis)
- Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata)

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

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Stripe-faced Dronefly (Eristalis nemorum)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)
- Short Melanostoma (Melanostoma mellinum)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) [Batman Hoverfly]
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis)
- Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis)
- *Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [Pied Plumehorn]

Damselflies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum): one only!

Beetles:
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis): succinea form adults
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina): third instar?
- Spotted Longhorn beetle (Rutpela maculata)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Mammals:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

The adult Black-headed Gulls are quickly losing their breeding 'hood'. The white of the winter plumage is extending quickly backwards and many show a black ring only. When the moult is complete most will just have a black patch near the ears though some will also have a faint dark line over the head making it look like they are wearing ear-muffs (or headphones if you prefer). This one has the outer four primaries still to drop and renew but needs to regrow some of the inner primaries first.

One of the adult Buzzards from the Ricoh copse was on top of a lamp pole as I emerged from the tunnel. Rather against the light but note the barring on the upper breast. Another was calling from the copse...

 ... this one. It is a juvenile with the upper breast streaked.

I told you it was calling. I was surprised that the cere (the bare skin at the base of the upper mandible) was yellow even at this age. I think I see a hint of a gape line.

One of the four Cormorants heads off. This an immature with pale below. Probably too much yellow bare skin on the chin for it to be a juvenile (born this year).

This very boldly marked Green-veined White butterfly (Pieris napi) caused momentary panic - in flight it gave the appearance of a Marbled White - a species that occurs only to the South and East of us. But with global warming ... Anyway it is 'just' a boldly marked female - female 'whites' have black spots in both the upper and under-wings: only on the upper-wing in males.

A Common Blue butterfly and my first of the year here. From samples of one and if I have interpreted the photos on the UK Butterfly web site correctly this is a female because there are brown markings on the underside of the forewing as well as the hindwing. The web site photo of the underside of a male shows brown only on the hindwing. I must say it looked rather blue for a female when it flew off the moment after I taken its photo.

Naughty spider: this is the fourth female Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli) of the form humuli this year to succumb to the jaws of a Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius). I haven't seen a live one this year.

This seems to be a Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella). I did try and turn it in to a Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella) but on that species the pale streak only splits in to two and not three as here.

A rather startling close-up view of a Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella). The pale streak does not extend far-enough along the wing for me to get excited that this one of the many species of grass moth that I have yet to find. Note the banding on the antennae, clearest on the left one. What is the evolutionary advantage of banded antennae?

A Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [or Pied Plumehorn] from different angles: a front view...

 ..a plan view and..

...a disappearing view.

Not at the best of angles: a Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea).

An instar of a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina), probably a third instar.

This looks very much like a Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.); species that have been strangely absent for a few weeks. However the palps look very large and the pedipalps look longer than usual (I don't think it is entirely the shadow of my torch that has caused this). I will check.

I have been after this spider for a number of days – in a manner of speaking. It has been sitting on its sheet web in the sailing club shelter most mornings but has always run off before I could take its photo. I managed this before it did so this morning and I hope it is clear enough for Nigel to identify it.

A White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger).

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- 2 Chiffchaffs calling: rather mobile around the upper pool.
- One or more juvenile Bullfinches near the upper pool again

And on the lamps
- 1 'grey' moth: at an impossible angle to attempt an identification
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus agg. harvestmen

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

- *1 Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata)
- *1 Common Carpet moth (Epirrhoe alternata)
- 2 craneflies: I am ready to give up craneflies. Neil tells me that there is a new book on British craneflies and it lists 300 species. Gulp.

Spiders
Not recorded

This would be my best-ever photo of a Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata) were it not for an annoying colour-cast from my LED torch. I have tried correcting it with my photo editor but I am not entirely happy with the result. It is certainly the best marked example I have photographed this year.

This is a Common Carpet moth (Epirrhoe alternata). Despite its epithet it is not a species I record every year.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:05 – 06:50

(148th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The rather late single Mallard duckling was a surprise. One or two days old at the most I would judge.
- Meanwhile the four juvenile Tufted Duck doing well.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Feral Pigeon again
- 5 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 1 Swift
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 1 Willow Warbler: sang briefly; presumed same heard calling
- 3 Chiffchaffs

On /around the water:
- 27 Canada Geese
- 7 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- *47 + 1 (1 brood) (?♂) Mallard
- 33 (?♂) + 4 (1 brood) Tufted Duck
- 4 + 7 (3 broods) Moorhens
- 9 juvenile Coots (6 broods)
- 1 Great Crested Grebe again
- 8 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles

On various lamp poles:
- *1 Owl Midge sp.
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus agg. harvestmen

And
- 1 Grey Squirrel

Record shot only: the late arriving Mallard duckling – just the one.

An Owl Midge sp. These are tiny – less than half the size of my little finger nail (and I don't go to nail bars for extensions). Nice and fuzzy.

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day
2020
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
4 Common Tern
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)