17 Jun 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 22.0°C: An area of medium cloud to N & E present when I arrived. It soon moved away then just some thin high cloud. Light / moderate southerly breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:45 BST still

* = a photo today

Priorslee Lake: 04:45 – 05:45 // 07:00 – 09:30

(140th visit of the year)

Highlight today was a Redshank present from 08:50 at least until it flew off high E at 09:00. The first returning wader though at this date likely a failed breeder. Bird species #91 here this year for me.

Other bird notes:
- Two adult Black-headed Gulls were on buoys at 05:00 but flew off shortly afterwards. Also likely first returning post-breeding birds.
- The Cetti's Warbler was its usual noisy self at 05:00 but thereafter uncharacteristically quiet.
- The long-term singing Garden Warblers that I did not hear yesterday may still be around. I thought I heard it on two separate occasions, always briefly and distantly and I remain uncertain.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 13 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks again

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 11 (10) Chiffchaffs again
- no Sedge Warblers
- 11 (11) Reed Warblers
- 16 (12) Blackcaps
- 1? (1?) Garden Warbler: see notes
- *2 (1) Common Whitethroats again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 (6♂) Mallard
- 1 Moorhen only
- 34 + 25 juvenile Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- *1 Redshank: departed
- 2 Black-headed Gulls: departed

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:
- *1 probable Brindled Beauty moth (Lycia hirtaria)
- *2 caddis fly sp.

Noted later:
Somewhat too warm for many of the insects (and me). When they flushed they usually went too far for me to see where they went.

New sightings for the year:

Butterflies:
- Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

Moths:
- Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata)

Bees wasps etc.
- *unidentified bee sp.
- *unidentified sawfly sp.

Hoverflies:
- *Banded Meliscaeva (Meliscaeva cinctella)
- *Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans)

Flowers:
- Common [or Perforate] St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum)
- *Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
- *Water Forget-me-not (Myositis palustris)
- *Downy [or Woolly] Buttercup (Ranunculus lanuginosus)
- *Slender Sow-thistle (Sonchus tenerrimus)

Repeat sightings:

Butterflies:
- Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Moths:
- *Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)
- Timothy Tortrix (Zelotherses paleana)
- Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- Small Purple & Gold (Pyrausta aurata)
- Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)

Bees, wasps, etc.
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Damselflies:
- Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger)
- Superb Ant-hill Hoverfly (Xanthogramma pedissequum)

Other flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus

Beetles etc.:
- Swollen-thighed (Flower) Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
- Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)

Bugs:
- Hairy Shieldbug [aka Sloe Bug] (Dolycoris baccarum): instar

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

Spiders:
- unidentified spider with egg sac

Mammals:
- Grey Squirrel

Also thanks again to Martin Adlam for pointing me at the NatureSpot section on Chloropidae or Grass flies for the one small fly I photographed from dozens on a lamp pole yesterday. The most likely identity is a Yellow Swarming Fly (Thaumatomyia notata) though "there are similar species"....

Rather threatening clouds to the North and East at sunrise. They soon moved away.

I caught the (Common) Redshank just before it took off and disappeared high to the East. This species only has spotting on the neck and flanks when it is in breeding plumage. The 'other' redshank species is Spotted Redshank that is black with small white spots in breeding plumage. It can be separated at all other times by a longer and very slightly upturned bill.

About two weeks ago I was unsure whether the only breeding Common Whitethroat was still here. The male is now singing lustily and doing its dancing display flight. I did see young being recently so I expect he is now re-establishing his territory for another brood.

This butterfly was hiding in the grass which I suppose as a Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) it is entitled to do. Usually I record this species some days after I record my first Ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus). Today a Ringlet flew past me about 10 minutes after I took this photo.

A public service notice. Most moths do no real harm. This Case-bearing Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella) is different. It eats wool so if you have woollen carpets keep an eye out for the moths, or more likely, the larval cases from which the moths emerge. I do have (had?) woollen carpets.

There seems to have been another large emergence of Common Nettle-tap moth (Anthophila fabriciana) as I noted at least 15 today after several days when I recorded very few. Here one enjoys a buttercup. Only when I looked at the photo did I realise there were tiny pollen beetles in the flower.

Despite its rather bizarre appearance I am going to have to pend this as a probable Brindled Beauty moth (Lycia hirtaria). It really should not be flying at this date. The markings are none to clear – perhaps that is a good point as it may be a well-worn end-of-season individual.

You would have thought with antennae like this it would be easy to ID. So would I.

Another one to pend is this bee found resting 15 feet up a lamp pole. It looks too tubby to be a Honey Bee and too large for any of the mining bee species. It is not a hoverfly as it has long antennae. I don't think the wings are marked – what is visible is the top of the legs showing through the wing.

A sawfly sitting with the wings obscuring any abdomen markings. The orange legs are not sufficient to attempt an identification.

This is a new hoverfly species for me. Steven Falk calls it Banded Meliscaeva (Meliscaeva cinctella). It looks rather like a small Syrphus with obvious yellow bands across the abdomen. There is a similar species with the top most yellow marks shaped sharply triangular.

My first Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly (Volucella bombylans) of the year. This species comes in two form, here with a white tail (plumata) or with an orange tail (bombylans).

One of the two caddis flies on the lamp poles. No markings to help with identification – like most caddis fly species.

I assume this is the same species of spider I saw carrying an egg sac a few days ago. Then the egg sac looked white – well a sort of off-white. It looks grey now. Could this be due to the developing spiderlings inside?

Just beginning to open are the first flowers of Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). A sadly misunderstood plant with an undeserved reputation for killing horses that eat it. They would have to eat a field-full at one sitting to become seriously unwell. Meanwhile it is an important plant on which a myriad of our declining insects enjoy feasting.

An annual sighting along the margins of the water is this Water Forget-me-not (Myositis palustris).

I get very confused about which species of buttercup I am seeing. Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris), Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) and Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens) are all in my log from various years when I have attempted to get to grips with their identification. I checked this one using the PlantNet app. and its conclusion was most probably Downy [or Woolly] Buttercup (Ranunculus lanuginosus). Help!

 I had also given up trying to identify the many different yellow flowered plants. Now I have the app. I can start – at no more the five a day. But 'five a day is good for you'! This is Slender Sow-thistle (Sonchus tenerrimus).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:55

(136th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I heard the Peacock calling from somewhere in the estate on the SW side of Priorslee Avenue. It has become a local celebrity.
- I assume the Canada Geese with the goslings had wandered off somewhere in to the estate. I could not see them.
- Probably the same two quite small ducklings were with an adult duck Mallard. Initially they were by one of the footbridges and then later by the island.
- The Grey Heron was present again.

Birds noted flying over here:

None

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift: doomed in for a drink and left.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 207 Canada Geese: see notes
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose still
- 33 Greylag Geese
- 7 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *21 (16♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 12 (8♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 4 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 18 + 10 (5 broods) Coots again
- 3 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Grey Heron again

Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- *1 possible Common Yellow Conch moth (Agapeta hamana)
- *1 Figure of Eighty moth (Tethea ocularis)

Elsewhere:

Nothing of note

These two Mallard ducklings are somewhat closer than they were yesterday, here with mum.

Another moth I am not sure about. The background colour and the position of the markings that are present suggests Common Yellow Conch (Agapeta hamana) though that species normally shows more extensive markings, especially at the tips of the wings.

I found another Figure of Eighty moth (Tethea ocularis) on a lamp pole near the academy.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- An adult Moorhen and at least one juvenile still heard only at the upper pool
- An adult and two juvenile Moorhens were seen again at the lower pool.
- 1 Chiffchaff singing from its favourite dead tree alongside the lower pool during both of my transits.
- 1 Blackcap singing briefly alongside the lower pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- nothing of note

(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

2006

Priorslee Lake

Just a single cygnet left

(Martin Adlam)