14 Jul 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 17.0°C: Early areas of cloud faded away; then clear for a while before more cloud developed. Light NW wind, increasing moderate. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 05:03 BST

* = a photo from today

Just a note: I need a break, having spent the last 27 months here most days (except during lockdowns). Back soon!

Priorslee Lake: 04:40 – 05:45 // 06:50 – 09:15

(161st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The number of Moorhens seen has been very low recently. Today I noted the first juveniles here this year and strangely they were two well-grown birds together. They have obviously been hiding somewhere.
- I cannot explain the continuing low count of Coots: surely the adults have not started to move away already? But if not where are they?
- One or more Little Grebes were calling at the West end throughout. They were keeping well hidden. I last heard them here a month ago.
- *A pair of Great Crested Grebes have at least two young.
- *Five Common Sandpipers were on one of the boat launching piers at 08:55. I had not seen or heard them earlier so suspect they had just flown in.
- Just one Blackcap heard singing. So why were there four singing at The Flash?

Birds noted flying over here:
- 7 Feral Pigeons: one group
- 5 Stock Doves: a single and two pairs
- 69 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 107 Jackdaws
- 9 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted, most unusually:
- 1 Swift, briefly
- 3 Barn Swallows flew through

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 7 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Sedge Warbler
- 8 (5) Reed Warblers
- 3 (1) Blackcap only

Counts from the lake area:
- 3 Canada Geese: from two days ago
- 1 Greylag Goose: from two days ago
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 16 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 41 adult and juvenile Coots
- Little Grebe(s) heard
- *8 + 2? (a possible brood) Great Crested Grebes
- *5 Common Sandpipers: arrived?
- 19 Black-headed Gulls: one juvenile
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull: both adults
- 1 Kingfisher again

Noted on / around the street lamp poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)
- *1 Clouded Border (Lomaspilis marginata)

and:
- *1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- *1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 female Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

And thanks as always to Tom Lowe for pointing out that what I noted as a Common Emerald moth (Hemithea aestivaria) last Saturday (9th) was in fact a Large Emerald (Geometra papilionaria). Apart from the size difference Common Emerald has an obvious chequered border to its wings.

Noted later:
It remained cloudy throughout while I was looking for insects.

New for this year:

Butterflies:
- *Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola): first confirmed record this year.
- *Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus): same date as my first 2021 record and two days later than my first in 2020.

Repeat sightings:

Butterflies:
- *Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)

Moths:
- Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)
- Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata)
- *Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)

Hoverflies:
- *Bumblebee Cheilosia (Cheilosia illustrata)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- *Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) [Batman Hoverfly]

Dragon/Damselflies
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Other flies:
- dagger fly Empis livida
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.

Beetles:
- unidentified pollen beetles

Bugs:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

Snails / Slugs etc.
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Not exactly a stunning sunrise but a most unusual cloud formation.

As close as I could get to the pair of Great Crested Grebe with young. Two juveniles are evident in this view. There could well be more with four being the most common brood size, though they rarely all survive to fledge.

Record shot. The five Common Sandpipers that appeared on this platform by 08:55 (and were flushed off soon after)

'Our' Common Buzzard was keeping a watchful eye on me from a roof in Teece Drive this morning.

I looked closely at every Small Skipper butterfly (Thymelicus sylvestris). Here is one.

And another. It is also a female without the scent mark in the forewing. I was looking for one with all-black antenna tips which would make it an Essex Skipper (T. lineola).

Here a male with the scent gland. In Essex Skipper the mark tends to be shorter and more parallel with the wing-edge. It has the same black-tipped antennae as the female.

No luck here either.

With a short straight scent mark this IS a male Essex Skipper.

My first Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus) of the year. They are smaller and more colourful than Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) with the two white dots in the black circle on the forewing being diagnostic – only one white spot for Meadow Brown. This is a male with a dark central area to, especially, the forewing.

The underwing is also more strongly patterned than that of Meadow Brown and the two white spots are again evident.

A Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata) on a street lamp pre-dawn. With a slightly battered left wing.

A Clouded Border moth (Lomaspilis marginata) also on a street lamp pre-dawn; and also with a slightly battered left wing.

An uncommon sight was this daytime Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) here on Common Field Thistle (Cirsium arvense).

With its surprisingly large and spade-like tongue in one of the flowers of Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) this is a Bumblebee Cheilosia hoverfly (Cheilosia illustrata).

It is just possible to make out the short horizontal bars on the thorax of this hoverfly which identifies it as a Dead-head (or Batman) Hoverfly (Myathropa florea).

I haven't seen one of these for a while. It is a Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea). Indeed I suspect my previous record was back in Spring when they were still in brown 'winter plumage'.

Loadsa legs!. The body on the left is of a stretch spider Tetragnatha sp., but what it is battling with I cannot be sure about. Trying to count the legs suggests it is another spider. Mating perhaps?

'Aircraft of the day'. A Boeing 777 200 series of United Airlines en route from George Bush Intercontinental Airport at Houston, Texas to Frankfurt International Airport in Germany. Although United Airlines has recently updated its livery it has eschewed the fashion for painting the airline name in billboard letters under the fuselage or for extending the tail-fin colour (blue) under the rear fuselage.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:45

(157th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The geese were flying around but seem to be still testing their wings and reluctant to leave the confines of the water.
- I am not sure what happened yesterday: all five adult Mute Swans were present and were very obvious today.
- The number of juvenile Great Crested Grebes is still to be determined: only one seen again.
- It is very strange that eleven House Martins suddenly turned up and then quickly disappeared. Surely not a migrant group at this date? I have seen no more than six around the estate recently.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts briefly
- 11 House Martins, equally briefly

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 4 (4) Blackcaps

Noted on / around the water:
- 197 Canada Geese
- no Canada x Greylag Goose located
- 62 Greylag Geese
- 5 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 19 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 24 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 + 6 juvenile Moorhens
- ? + >12 juvenile Coots
- 2 + ? (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult again
- 1 Grey Heron

Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- *2 Small Fan-footed Wave moths (Idaea biselata)
- *1 Clouded Border moth (Lomaspilis marginata)
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

Another Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata) on a street lamp here.

And yet another example, rather more strongly marked, with a rather browner tone. I found this on a moss-covered street lamp in squirrel alley.

There was also a Clouded Border moth (Lomaspilis marginata) on a street lamp here as well as at the balancing lake.. My moth species total for around The Flash this year moves to 21.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Moorhen(s) heard at the upper pool.
- Two juvenile Moorhens seen at the lower pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- *1 probable Red Twin-spot Carpet moth (Xanthorhoe spadicearia)
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.

I found this moth on the roof of the tunnel. I am fairly sure it is a Red Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe spadicearia). Separation from Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (X. ferrugata) is not easy, the best indication here being the narrow white edging on the outer part of the dark central area which the latter species lacks. Genitalia examination is the only 100% reliable guide. Whatever it is the fifteenth species of moth I have found in the tunnel this year.

(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
Common Tern
Possible Otter
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
A female Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
A drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Common/Arctic Tern
(Martin Adlam)