9 May 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

8.0°C > 14.0°C: Thin high cloud, increasing and lowering somewhat. Calm at dawn: light ESE later. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:24 BST

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:50 – 05:55 // 06:55 – 09:40

(107th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The Canada Geese have lost one of their goslings. Another adult visited briefly.
- A Jackdaw was seen on what remains of the academy playing field now that they have covered most of it with delightful mauve boxes. It is unusual to see this species on the ground in the area
- I had no visual confirmation but it sounded as if at least one of the four(?) breeding groups of Long-tailed Tits has fledged young.
- Garden Warbler not noted again.
- House Sparrows seem to be taking over with at least six birds seen along the S side and at the W end.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Canada Goose: undecided about where to go
- 1 Tufted Duck: sex not determined
- 1 Stock Dove again
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls: immatures
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: (near) adults
- 3 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Barn Swallows

Numbers remain dire. There are Swifts and House Martins over my Newport house but at present in lower numbers than usual.

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 15 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Sedge Warblers
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers again
- 25 (19) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Common Whitethroats

Counts from the lake area:
- 3 + 2 (1 brood) Canada Geese: a third adult briefly visited
- 2 Mute Swans: pen still on nest
- 5 (5♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck: all departed
- 4 Moorhens
- 20 + 5 (2 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Back-headed Gull: first year, very briefly

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- 1 Tetragnatha sp. stretch spider

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Moths
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
- *Drinker (Euthrix potatoria) hairy caterpillar
- *small green caterpillar

Bees
- *probable Grey-patched Mining Bee (Andrena nitida)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Hoverflies:
- *Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger)
- *Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [Pied Plumehorn]

Dragon- / damsel- flies:
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
- *emergent larvae

Bugs
- *a click beetle, perhaps Agriotes pallidulus.
- *Red-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis)
- *Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)

Other things:
- *Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria)
- *cranefly sp. Tipula vittata
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- St Mark's Fly or Hawthorn Fly (Bibio marci)
- *Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)
- *Downlooker Snipefly (Rhagio scolopaceus)
- plus many many other flies of many species
- my first flowers this year of
- *Winter-cress (Barbarea vulgaris)
*Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
*Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca)

There was little colour to the sunrise but a rather strange vertical shaft of pale light.

A small green caterpillar with very little to distinguish it as its legs search for something to attach to (and not part of my surprisingly clean finger). With just one proleg ahead of the anal claspers this is certainly not a saw-fly larva. A search of the photos on wildlifeinsight.com has failed to provide an identity.

This hairy caterpillar is of a moth known as The Drinker (Euthrix potatoria). So named because these caterpillars are thought to drink the dew on grasses.

I think this is a male Grey-patched Mining Bee (Andrena nitida). There are nearly 70 species of mining bee in the UK and males often look very different to females. Many species have a coastal distribution but there are more than enough in the Midlands to cause confusion.

This hoverfly is a Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger).

My first Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus) of the year. I used to call these 'The Footballer' but I am standardising hoverfly names as used by Steven Falk on his amazing Flickr photo gallery.

Here a damselfly is making its final moult from a larva to an adult. I quote from british-dragonflies.org: "Larvae climb up emergent vegetation [here the boxing ring on the dam], although some may walk several metres over dry land before finding somewhere suitable to emerge. After finding a secure support, they redistribute their body fluids, pushing the thorax, head, legs and wings out of the larval skin. There is then a pause of about 30 minutes to allow their legs to harden enough for the next stage, when the abdomen is withdrawn. The wings, and then the abdomen, are expanded and start to harden. This process leaves behind a cast skin, called an exuvia, and the whole process lasts between one hour (Damselflies) to three hours (Dragonflies)". I did see Blue-tailed Damselflies (Ischnura elegans) later (no photos as yet).

I suspect this fly is one of the Muscid species. There are so many to choose from. It is an impressive-looking beast.

An Alder Fly (Sialis lutaria).

The very distinct wing markings suggest this cranefly is Tipula vittata.

A close-up of a Scorpion Fly (Panorpa sp.)

A new species of fly for me though apparently common. It is a male Downlooker Snipefly (Rhagio scolopaceus). This one has not read the books and is not sitting with its head pointing downwards – hence the vernacular name.

This seems to be a click beetle, perhaps Agriotes pallidulus. There are the usual confusion species. The contrast between the brown body and a much darker head suggests this species.

Not what you would call camouflaged! A Red-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis).

The camouflage is better on this which is probably a Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus). There are at least nine species in the genus that require the usual microscopic examination. This is the most common and it is on a nettle.

I see this plant every year but I do not seem to have identified it. I may have assumed it was a oil-seed rape type that has escaped from the fields. Doing a bit more research I suspect it is Winter-cress (Barbarea vulgaris).

Not exactly 'red': this is a Red Clover flower (Trifolium pratense). This species flowers earlier and stays flowering longer than White Clover (Trifolium repens).

Vetches are a confusing group of flowers. I think this is Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca)

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:50

(104th visit of the year)

Another quiet morning

Bird notes:
- Still just the one Canada Goose goslings.
- Both broods of Greylag Geese apparently reduced in number (from eight to six; and four to two). It is just possible that another brood was hidden inside the island.
- A second brood of Coots noted: these were more advanced than the brood seen for the last few days and must have been hiding away.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Tufted Duck: sex not determined
- 2 Starlings again

Hirundines etc. noted:

Still none again

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 42 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- *4 + 8 (2 broods) Greylag Geese
- 3 Mute Swans
- 16 (12♂) Mallard only
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- *6 Moorhens
- 24 + 5 (2 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- 1 female midge

Noted elsewhere:
- *1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Well it looks like this pair of Greylag Geese have five goslings.

There are in fact six. I assume this is the pair who had eight goslings yesterday?

Not easy to see and something you do not see too often. This is a Moorhens' nest with a bird sitting in it. Nests are usually very well hidden.

On size this has to be a queen bumblebee sunning herself on a tree-trunk. It is a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) with extensive buff on the tail – usually the tip is white or at least pale. Not on this one.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- 2 Moorhens at the upper pool.
- 1 Chiffchaff initially singing at the upper pool and later between the two pools, assumed the same.
- 1 Blackcap calling near the upper pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- only plumed and other midges noted

(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

Shelduck

(Ed Wilson)

2012

Priorslee Lake

Grasshopper Warbler

(John Isherwood)

2009

Nedge Hill

Whinchat

Wheatear

(John Isherwood)

2008

Priorslee Lake

Arctic Tern

(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill

2 Wheatear

(Ed Wilson)

2006

Priorslee Lake

2 Ruddy Ducks

(Ed Wilson)