20 May 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 12.0°C: Scattered low cloud under thickening high cloud. Light rain starting as I departed. Light, mainly S, breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:06 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:40 – 05:50 // 06:50 – 09:35

(116th visit of the year)

Highlight today was the Oystercatcher first seen at 05:05 with presumably the same bird seen flying off at 07:05 as I returned from The Flash.

Other bird notes:
- I did not see any group of seven juvenile Coots. Just three noted in the same area. Another newish brood of five elsewhere.

Birds noted flying over here: not much in poor conditions.
- 8 Canada Geese: as four pairs, outbound
- 2 Feral Pigeons: together
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 13 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Herring Gulls: two (near) adults and one immature
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all (near) adults
- 5 Cormorants: together
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 12 Jackdaws again
- no Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.25 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 8 House Martins

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 15 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (2) Sedge Warblers
- 7 (6) Reed Warblers
- 16 (14) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat

Counts from the lake area:
- *4 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese: an additional pair for a while
- 2 + 8 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck, briefly
- 2 Moorhens
- 17 + 12 (4 broods) Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes
- *1 Oystercatcher: departed
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: (near) adult, briefly

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula dentata)
- 1 black ant sp.
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

Noted later, hard work in the cloudy conditions:

Moths:
- *>5 Plain Gold (Micropterix calthella)
- *Cocksfoot Moth (Glyphipterix simpliciella)

Bees, wasps, etc.
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Rhogogaster-type sawfly sp.

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Other flies:
- Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- Yellow Dung Fly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata)
- *Nettle Aphid (Microlophium carnosum)
- *Plant bug, possibly Anthocoris nemorum

Beetles etc.:
- *Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis including var. spectabilis)
- *soldier beetle sp
- *four different unidentified species of beetle!
- Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)

Slugs / snails:
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Spiders:
- Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

The two Canada Geese goslings and their parents stayed on the SW grass while I was around. Here an adult shelters them.

The goslings are growing fast.

As I noted a few days ago the drake Mallards are rapidly losing their breeding finery. This is an extreme example at the moment. Drakes retain the greeny-yellow bill throughout their moult.

Not much light at 05:05 so just a record shot of the Oystercatcher.

And not much more light at 07:05 when it flew off.

There were four juvenile Pied Wagtails on the SW grass with one adult loosely in charge. Here is one juvenile showing the yellow/buff tinge to the face and shoulders.

Apologies for the quality but here are four Plain Gold moths (Micropterix calthella) on their favourite food – the nectar of buttercups.

A slightly better photo since it is at least in focus. A single Plain Gold moth. Note the yellow tuft on the head of an otherwise concolorous insect that shines gold in the sun.

There are hundreds of buttercups around the lake but I only ever seem to find the Plain Gold moths in just a few of them near to the Wesley Brook. While searching alongside the W end footpath I noted this pretty little moth in a buttercup. It is my first-ever Cocksfoot Moth (Glyphipterix simpliciella). I am sure I have overlooked it in the past as it reported to be a very common.

I found this wandering across the 'concrete ramp' at the W end (it is actually mostly blacktop I now realise!). It is a side-elevation view of yet another Drinker moth (Euthrix potatoria) caterpillar.

And here is the plan view. I persuaded it on to a dock leaf and moved it to more suitable location for it to pupate.

 A tiny creature. It is a Nettle Aphid (Microlophium carnosum).

I am not sure what is going on here. At first sight it looks as if a bug is attacking a blackfly. The bug looks to be one of the Plant bugs, possibly Anthocoris nemorum. If so it is most unlikely it would attack any other insect.

This is a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) of the less common spectabilis form.

I have failed at the first hurdle. I thought of all the beetles I recorded today I would be able to identify this soldier beetle. Not so. I cannot match the combination of reddish elytra, red thorax with a small black mark and a black head with illustrations on the internet.

 I have too little experience of beetles to even attempt an identification of this small example...

... or this slightly larger one. It is on a Common or Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). Many insects seem impervious to the irritation caused by the abundant hairs on the leaves and stems.

 ... or this one.

.. or indeed yet another one, this with a buff yellow body visible under the bluish elytra. So that leaves about 3995 species in the UK I still have to find....

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:55 – 06:45

(113rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I noted two Mute Swans together when I arrived but did not note which of the usual three these were. I never saw the third and when I tried to check the originals I suspect they were hiding the other side of the island. Perhaps all three were.
- One gosling from the newer brood of Canada Geese was missing this morning.
- I could only find three of the usual brood of four Coots though they are becoming adventurous and it may have wandered off. Today's fourth juvenile Coot was a lone small bird from a brood I have not recorded previously. Several earlier broods seem to have perished.
- Not surprisingly I could not locate a Common Sandpiper for its third day.
- From my position at the time I could not decide whether the Grey Heron was leaving; was thinking of arriving; or just flying by. As I did not see it on any other occasions I have assumed it was a fly-by.
- Highest number of Swifts of the year and larger than any count I made here last year – good news. A lone House Martin was with them.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult again
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 15 Swifts
- 1 House Martin

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 6 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps only again

Noted on / around the water:
- 38 + 7 (2 broods) Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans only
- 21 (19♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 4 (3♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens only
- 20 + 4 (2 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes

Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- *1 Figure of Eighty moth (Tethea ocularis)
- *1 Chocolate-tip moth (Clostera curtula)
- 1 female plumed midge sp.
- 1 owl midge sp.
- *1 Grouse Wing caddis fly (Mystacides longicornis)
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

Elsewhere:
Nothing noted

A Figure of Eighty moth (Tethea ocularis). Seems an appropriate name.

In a slightly better position for a photo than the previous Chocolate-tip moth (Clostera curtula). This is one of a number of species with hairy front legs held forward at rest.

There will be many more of these Grouse Wing caddis flies (Mystacides longicornis) over the next few months as they dance in swarms over the waterside vegetation. One of the few caddis flies I can identify, purely from the long antennae (this individual's right antenna is almost invisible against the lamp pole). Most have more patterned wings than this example.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- A pair of Mallard were sitting on the grass near the upper pool during both my transits. They seemed relatively unconcerned about the dogs being walked (on leads).
- Moorhen(s) heard calling at both pools.
- 1 Chiffchaff singing: now reverted to the upper pool again.
- 1 Blackcap singing by the lower pool

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- just a few midges

(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

2012
Priorslee Lake
Black Tern
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)