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Botanical Report

Species Records

28 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 15.0°C: Fine and clear. Light 'N' wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:13 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:45 – 06:20 // 07:25 – 09:30

(188th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The adult and three cygnet Mute Swans only noted.
- Most of the large number of Wood Pigeons were passing W almost continually after 07:45. There were no significant groups as if they had been flushed from feeding locations. They all seemed to be on local movements as none was much above a hundred feet

Overhead:
- 84 Canada Geese: all outbound in seven groups: many others heard taking a line below tree-level for me
- 8 Greylag Geese: all outbound as two singles and one group
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves: together again
- 139 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 25 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 House Martins at least heard high over at 06:00

Warblers noted:
- 9 Chiffchaffs: one noted in song
- 2 Reed Warblers
- 5 Blackcaps
- 1 Lesser Whitethroat

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 (7♂) Mallard
- 8 Moorhens: adults and immatures
- 73 Coots: adults and immatures
- 8 + 5 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes still
- 207 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull: adult, briefly
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all stopped only briefly
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths
- *1 Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella)
- *1 Blood-vein (Timandra comae)
- 1 Flame Carpet (Xanthorhoe designata)
- 1 Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina)

And
- *1 cranefly Tipula lateralis
- 1 Plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus)
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

In the sailing club shelter pre-dawn:

Spiders etc.:
- Large House Spider-type: Eritigena group either E. duellica, E. atrica or E. saeva
- Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *another to be identified

Things seen later:

Butterflies:
- Small White (Pieris rapae)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Bees / Wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum)
- *Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- *Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Stripe-faced Dronefly (Eristalis nemorum)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax): many 100s of these Tapered / Common Droneflies
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Marsh Tiger (Helophilus hybridus)
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) [Batman Hoverfly]

Damsel-/Dragon-flies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

Bugs:
- *Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus): nymph

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

Spiders:
- *Misumena vatia (all-white crab spider)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snails (Cepaea hortensis) as ever

Mammals:
- 2 Grey Squirrels
- [Pipistrelle-type bats not looked for]

'Flowers' noted for the first time this year
- *Lords & Ladies / Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum): fruits only

Some while since I have seen this – yep! The Moon.

I am sure this is an interesting micro-moth but covered in dew the markings are too indistinct to attempt an identification.

I believe this to be a Pale-streak Grass-veneer (Agriphila selasella). Unlike the Common Grass-veneer this pale streak splits in only in to two and it lacks any parallel dark marking above the streak. In real life the streak is whitish rather than the creamy colour of Common Grass-veneer but that is hard to illustrate in a flash photo.

You wait for ages and then they come along in droves. Another Blood-vein (Timandra comae) out in the open.

Share and share alike. In front a Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) sharing the Knapweed flower with a Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

I was not expecting to see one of these at this date. It is a recently-emerged male Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum).

A distinctive cranefly with strong wing markings and a pale stripe down he abdomen. It is Tipula lateralis (no vernacular name).

This is nymph of a Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus).

A Misumena vatia crab spider with a bit of an identity crisis. They can change colour from white to green to match their background as they lie in wait for prey. Doesn't work too well on Knapweed flowers!

A spider to be identified.

The fruiting spike of Lords & Ladies or Cuckoo Pint (Arum maculatum). All parts of this plant are poisonous.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Noted on a lamp pole:
- *1 Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)
- 2 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman

A pug moth that is not too hard to identify. It is a Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata).

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 presumed Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 2 Leiobunum rotundum harvestmen

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:20

(172nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- No idea why the Greylag Geese were still happily on the water rather than out in the fields.
- Low Mallard count: many were tucked up under overhanging vegetation and there were probably even more hiding.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 5 Feral Pigeons: together
- 4 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc., noted:
- House Martins heard only again

Warblers noted:
- 10 Chiffchaffs: one heard in song
- 3 Blackcaps

On /around the water:
- 4 Canada Geese
- 82 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 40 (?♂) Mallard
- 45 Tufted Duck
- 4 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 40 adult and juvenile Coots
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

On various lamp poles:
- 1 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer moth (Agriphila geniculea)
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

(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 Teal
(Ed Wilson)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Turtle Dove
(Ed Wilson)
2007
Priorslee Lake
Pair Ruddy Duck
(Malcolm Thompson)