7 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 14.0°C: Early scattered mostly medium cloud. Later low cloud patches, still with some sunny intervals. Moderate SSE wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:38 BST

Priorslee Lake: 04:25 – 05:55 // 06:55 – 09:20

(168th visit of the year)

A delayed start due to rain

Bird notes:
- Another large count of Wood Pigeons overhead, almost all W-bound between 07:30 and 08:00 with a very loose party of c.110 at c.07:55..
- The surviving juvenile from the second pair of Great Crested Grebes was seen on the water for the first time this morning.

Overhead:
- 27 Canada Geese: 15 outbound in three groups; 12 inbound together
- 60 Greylag Geese: 30 outbound together; presumably the same 30 inbound together
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose: outbound alone
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 5 Stock Doves: single and two duos
- 252 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 4 Cormorants together
- no Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 1 Barn Swallow: flew through
- 10 House Martins

Warblers noted: not too much should be read in to the lower numbers of some species – soaking wet undergrowth limited my exploration.
- 12 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Sedge Warbler
- 1 Reed Warbler
- 3 Blackcaps
- 1 Common Whitethroat

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 11 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhen
- 49 Coots: adults and immatures
- 6 + 3 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 93 Black-headed Gulls: at least two juveniles – same as yesterday
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: (near) adult
- 1 Cormorant: arrived and departed
- 1 Grey Heron again

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 2 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 White Plume (Pterophorus pentadactyla)
- 1 Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata)
- 1 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)
- 1 Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens)
- 1 Small Fan-foot (Herminia grisealis): ** a new moth species for me in Shropshire

and
- 1 Plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus)
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
- 2 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.
- 2 Leiobunum rotundum harvestmen

Sailing club shelter

Not visited pre-dawn:

Things seen later:
The dull, cool and windy conditions meant a small haul.

Moths:
- Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)

Bees / Wasps etc.:
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Female ichneumon sp., perhaps Lissonota sp.

Hoverflies:
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Other flies:
- Unidentified picture-winged fly
- Owl midge (Psychodidae sp.)
- Unidentified gnat species

Bugs:
- Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina): instar
- Mirid bug, perhaps Plagiognathus arbustorum

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

Mammals:
- 4 Pipistrelle-type bats
- 1 Grey Squirrel

A portend of rain and increasing wind was this red sunrise.

Was reasonably bright for a while.

I saw the sole surviving juvenile Great Crested Grebe on the water for the first time this morning. Here it is with one of its parents.

Another slightly differently marked Small Phoenix moth (Ecliptopera silaceata). From the outer edge of the zig-zag at the base end of the forewing there is usually a white streak that reaches the wavy cross-line near the wing-edge.

I found this Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) lurking in the undergrowth pre-dawn.

New for the year is this Common Wainscot moth (Mythimna pallens). I see this species most years.

This is a Small Fan-foot moth (Herminia grisealis) [not to be confused with the very different-looking Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata)] Note the way the palps curl back over the head on this species. It is a new moth species for me in Shropshire. I am still investigating a few identities so not 100% about the sequence number: I think #85 moth species here this year. 

An ichneumon and with the long ovipositor clearly a female.

Another view. Note the twin spurs in a 'V' shape at the second leg-joint.

And side-on. As previously noted there are over 2000 species of ichneumon in the UK and very few are illustrated. From what I have been able to glean this is perhaps a Lissonota sp.

Another unidentified fly from a rather different angle. My best suggestion would be a Phaonia sp., based on its hairiness.

I found this small fly on the underside of a leaf. I am sure I have seen it before but cannot match the pattern any of the 'picture-winged' flies on the web.

I suspect this is a pair of flies mating but I cannot really make out what is going on. A very unusually-marked fly.

A tiny midge with a proportionately long body (or short wings) and striped antennae. No idea of species.

A different specimen of probably the same species.

A third (I think) instar of a Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina). Strangely the black dots seem to be randomly distributed rather in any definitive pattern.

The large palps and pedipalps on this Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.) identify as a male.

Well this is annoying. I remembered to photograph the flowers associated with the leaves that I recorded as Oxford Ragwort (Senecio squalidus) on Friday. However it is clear that the flower- bracts are not black-tipped so it must be a different species. I am now thinking Hoary Ragwort (S. erucifolius) but I now need to investigate the lower leaves more closely.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

On various lamp posts:
- 1 Small Grey (Eudonia mercurella)
- 1 Dun-bar moth (Cosmia trapezina)
- 1 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestman.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:50

(153rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A duck Mallard with three ducklings seen in the open so the number of ducklings will be correct.
- The Great Crested Grebe pair stayed too far away for me to see how many juveniles there are.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Warblers noted:
- 8 Chiffchaffs

On /around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 47 (?♂) + 3 (1 brood) Mallard
- 41 (?♂) + 4 (1 brood) Tufted Duck
- 2 + 2 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 9 juvenile Coots (5 broods)
- 2 + ? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Black-headed Gull no juveniles

On various lamp poles:
- 1 Swallow Prominent moth (Pheosia tremula)
- 2 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.

Also:
- 1 Grey Squirrel

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2020

Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2011

Priorslee Lake

2 Common Sandpipers

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

Hobby

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

Oystercatcher

(Martin Adlam)