9 Aug 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 15.0°C: Mainly cloudy. Light showers after 08:15. Calm start: light SW breeze later. Very good visibility, but poor in showers.

Sunrise: 05:41 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:25 – 06:00 // 07:00 – 09:10

(170th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- One Tufted Duck flew off E. Later it, or another, flew in from the E.
- Four adult Great Crested Grebes are part of two family groups. Both the other adults are likely keeping guard on females siting on nests hidden in the reeds.
- Although there was no significant change in Black-headed Gull numbers there were many more juveniles in the early group on the football field.

Overhead:
- 49 Canada Geese: all outbound in four groups
- 41 Greylag Geese: 11 outbound in two groups; 30 inbound together
- 3 Stock Doves: together
- 78 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Grey Heron
- no Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 6 House Martins

Warblers noted:
- 13 Chiffchaffs
- 1 Sedge Warbler
- 7 Reed Warbler
- 4 Blackcaps

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 or 4 (?) Tufted Ducks
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhen
- 49 Coots: adults and immatures
- 6 + 3 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes still
- 132 Black-headed Gulls: at least nine juveniles
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: juvenile
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately; one departed
- 1 Grey Heron

On / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- 3 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)
- *1 Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa): dead in web

and
- *1 mayfly sp.
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Cucumber Green Orb Spider (Araniella cucurbitina-type)
- 4 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.

Things seen later:
The showers put paid to finding insects!

Moths:
- *Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)

Bees / Wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Other flies:
- *Unidentified fly

Other insects:
- *Unidentified possible Thrip
- *Unidentified larvae: possibly either from a plant bug or Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snails (Cepaea hortensis)

Mammals:
- 7 Pipistrelle-type bats

Plant confirmed:
- *Hoary Ragwort (Senecio erucifolius)

Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched? A Common Grass-veneer moth (Agriphila tristella) probably where it likes to be – on the seed head of grass.

"My life is hanging by a thread", Actually this is naughty spider time again and this Ruby Tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) is dead.

They are a very attractive moth. At the very top of a lamp post does not make for great photos. It is the red body that has black dots along the side.

"My what big eyes you have Grandma!" Reference to my literature and the web shows none of the 51 species of mayfly found in the UK showing such a feature so I am bemused.

A rather different-looking fly taking a drink of rainwater. It has a typically hairy thorax but the abdomen is better described as 'furry'. Q: Why do flies paint the soles of their feet white? A: So they can hide upside down in tubs of ice-cream.

Two more larvae feeding on what I confirmed was the leaf of Hazel (Corylus avellana). Neil has suggested that the feeding habit, stripping the top surface of the leaves, is typical of larvae of plant bugs. There is a photo of an all black larva identified as an Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni). The larvae of this beetle are known to also feed on Hazel.

I have no real idea what this tiny creature is. They are hard to see but it has antennae and six legs. Based on its shape it seems likely to be a species of Thrip. There are over 150 in the UK and very few are illustrated and none looks like this. Help appreciated.

Success! This is confirmed as Hoary Ragwort (Senecio erucifolius) from the slim and well-separated lobes on the leaves. Note that both Senecio and Jacobaea are used as the genus name for ragworts, the former seemingly preferred these days.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

On various lamp poles:
- *1 Little Grey moth (Eudonia lacustrata)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata)

These grey moths are always a challenge. If I have this right the extensive unmarked area in the centre of the forewings means this is a Little Grey (Eudonia lacustrata).

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- *1 Notch-wing Button moth (Acleris emargana)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata)
- 1 Caddis fly sp.

I was going to say "the unique shape of the Notch-wing Button moth (Acleris emargana) needs no further comment". I now read that there is a species A. effractana, newly resurrected after being considered a form of A. emargana. This is unlikely to be that resurrected species as it occurs mainly in Scotland and it has a shallower emargination to the forewing. I struggled to get any markings on this small moth against the off-white roof of the tunnel.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:05 – 06:55

(155th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Two Mallard with ducklings: broods of two (some days old) and four (looked very new).
- The Great Crested Grebe pair still too far away to determine the number of juveniles.
- One of the two intermittently singing Willow Warblers was in the same tree as it was yesterday and probably the same or adjacent tree when noted on 2nd August.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 12 Wood Pigeons

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Warblers noted:
- 2 Willow Warblers: both singing intermittently
- 8 Chiffchaffs

On /around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- *52 (?♂) + 6 (2 broods) Mallard
- *39 (?♂) + 4 (1 brood) Tufted Duck
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 7 juvenile Coots (4 broods)
- 2 + ? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Black-headed Gull no juveniles

On various lamp poles:
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave moth (Idaea dimidiata)
- 6 Dicranopalpus sp. harvestmen.

These four Mallard ducklings look very new to me.

The Tufted Ducklings are real characters and are no acquiring some adult features. The one on the right is preening its pointed tail-feathers.

Rather like puppies the feet look disproportionately large.

And here is a video of them with their mother. I could have gone on (and on) but the camera battery went flat. By the time I had changed it they had moved out of range. I had hoped to capture at least one of the ducklings flapping its wings – just the stubby bone structure at the moment with the flight feathers still to grow.

(Ed Wilson)

NOTE:

For Ed Wilson's visit to Venus Pool on 7 Aug 21 click HERE.

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On this day

2020

Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2019

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2012

Priorslee Lake

Green Sandpiper

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

2 Lapwings

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

4 Little Egrets

(Ed Wilson)

2008

Priorslee Lake

Peregrine Falcon

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Redshank

(Ed Wilson)