25 Sep 21

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 17.0°C: Cloudy and humid. Calm. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 07:00 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 05:30 – 08:45

(211th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- c.20 Canada Geese flew outbound at 05:40 lit only by the reflection of the Teece Drive street lights.
- Just one juvenile Great Crested Grebe found. Still eight adults.
- A very desultory arrival of large gulls with only 55 logged, with exactly 40 of these stopping for a wash and brush up.
- Later a significant arrival of 74 Lesser Black-backed Gulls with just three Herring Gulls. A few other individuals dropped in later.
- When I arrived a Tawny Owl was hooting alongside Teece Drive. A few minutes later when I was checking the insects in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel what was presumably a different bird was giving repeated 'kvick' calls from around the lower pool and then soon after had flown across the road to continue its calls from the Ricoh copse.

Overhead:
- c.20 Canada Geese: outbound, together
- 99(!) Wood Pigeons
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 15 large gulls
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 19 Jackdaws
- 134 Rooks
- 4 Pied Wagtails

Warblers noted:
- 5 Chiffchaffs: no song again
- 2 Blackcaps: again

Count from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 14 (9♂) Mallard
- 7 Moorhens
- 70 Coots
- 8 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- c.200 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Herring Gulls
- 81 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 40 'large gulls': see notes
- 1 Grey Heron: departed again

At / around the street lamps pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Brindled Flat-body (Agonopterix arenella)
- *1 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa)
- *1 Snout (Hypena proboscidalis)

Other things:
- 1 Plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus)
- 1 Owl Midge Psychodidae sp.
- 1 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
- *5 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Noble False Widow (Steatoda nobilis)
- 4 Stretch spiders (Tetragnatha sp.)
No harvestmen

Otherwise noted:

Yet more dull conditions:

- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)
- *Common Green Capsid (bug) (Lygocoris pabulinus)
- *Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
- Stretch spider (Tetragnatha sp.)
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- 1 Grey Squirrel

None of the moths I logged this morning was resting helpfully on any of the lamp poles. I found this Brindled Flat-body (Agonopterix arenella) resting on a leaf in vegetation lit by one of the lamps.

This moth was flying around and looking for a place to hide. This was a long-range shot just as it disappeared. There is enough detail here to identify it as an Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa). This common species is double-brooded with individuals flying in Spring and then again in Autumn. It might be common but I have not logged it here for at least eight years.

A very faded Snout moth (Hypena proboscidalis). It was also flying around and then, literally, went to ground amongst the leaf-litter. I was lucky to spot it.

I have shown these before but this leaf seemed especially affected. They are the result of the Spangle Gall Wasp (Neuroterus quercusbaccarum). This wasp lays its eggs in June in the lower epidermis of oak leaves. The galls then develop in Autumn and Winter with a new generation of adult wasps emerging in April. The tiny adult wasps are rarely seen – there seem to be no photos of them on the internet.

An unusual time of year to find a plant bug. Taken at long range as I knew if I crashed through the vegetation to get closer it would fly. It is most likely a Common Green Capsid (Lygocoris pabulinus) though as so often there are other very similar species. It is resting on the edge of a Larger Bindweed flower (Calystegia sepium).

A very typical view of a Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus) sitting in the middle of its web. Its feet are holding strands of the web in order to detect anything flying in to it that might be food. The diagnostic white cross at the top of the abdomen is very obvious.

These are all Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius). An obvious adult at top right with two spiderlings bottom left. The distinctive abdomen marking is clearly visible on the left-most one.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel pre-dawn:

Moths:

None

with:
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- 8 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- 1 Garden Spider (Arameus diadematus)
- 2 Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman
- plus various midges and the usual other unidentified spiders as usual

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 08:50 – 09:40

(191st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Bumper number of Mallard.
- More have the Tufted Duck seemed to have baled out

Birds noted flying over here:
- 13 Wood Pigeons

Warblers noted:
- 2 Chiffchaffs: no song

On /around the water:
- 7 Canada Geese: two of these arrived
- 3 Greylag Geese: arrived
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 47 (31♂) Mallard
- 13 (?♂) Tufted Duck only
- 10 Moorhens
- 24 Coots
- *2 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Herons

On a lamp pole:
- *1 Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)

Elsewhere:
- 2 Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)
- the same Peppery Milkcap (Lactarius piperatus) fungus as yesterday: it will probably be present for several weeks
- 1 Grey Squirrel

I am not entirely sure what this juvenile Great Crested Grebe has caught. Whatever it was then it was wisely soon discarded.

A Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) changing to the brown colour it wears throughout winter.

(Ed Wilson)