13 Aug 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

16.0°C > 21.0°C: Clear skies again. Almost calm. Very good visibility – still a bit hazy.

Sunrise: 05:48 BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Lake: 04:30 – 06:10 // 07:10 – 09:15

(174th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A Feral Pigeon circled around for a while and then briefly settled on the water (to drink?) and then flew off.
- All 11 adult Great Crested Grebes were noted. The pair towards the East part of the North side seemed to have but a single extant juvenile – there were two yesterday and three a week ago. The most westerly pair are still not allowing their juveniles on the water and I am unsure whether they have more than two.
- A group of 43 large gulls arrived after 08:15, all bar three Herring Gulls were Lesser Black-backed Gulls. All the Herrings and a good proportion of the Lessers were juveniles.
- A Common Whitethroat gave a scolding call from the area behind the sailing club shelter where it at least attempted to nest earlier this year. I have not seen or heard one here from some weeks so I presume it was a passing bird finding the habitat to its liking. I did not seen or hear it again.
- A Reed Bunting was heard calling: my first here since 14 July

Birds noted flying over here:
- 9 Canada Geese: trio outbound; three duos inbound
- 7 Greylag Geese: all inbound (with two of the Canada Geese)
- 47 Wood Pigeons
- 8 Herring Gulls
- 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 7 Jackdaws
- 25 Rooks
- 1 Raven

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Sand Martins: dropped in for a drink and flew on
- 1 Barn Swallow
- House Martin(s) heard only

Warblers noted (no singing birds):
- 1 Cetti's Warbler
- 6 Chiffchaffs
- 5 Reed Warblers
- 7 Blackcaps
- 1 Common Whitethroat

Counts from the lake area:
- 30 Canada Geese: arrived as groups of eight and 22; the 22 soon departed again
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 10 (?♂) Mallard only
- 7 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 75 adult / juvenile Coots
- 11 + >5? (four broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 17 Black-headed Gulls
- *3 Herring Gulls
- *48 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher again

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

Moths:
- *2 Dingy Dowd (Blastobasis adustella)
- *2 Ermine sp. (Yponomeuta padella/malinellus/cagnagella): not reliably separable even with dissection
- *2 Notch-wing Buttons (Acleris emargana)
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)

and:
- *2 different species of plumed midge
- *1 caddis fly sp.
- *1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- *2 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- 3 Clubiona sp. spiders
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman: probably the same male still too high up for me to check which species
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

It is amazing how 'busy' with all manner of other tiny unidentified flies and gnats these poles are pre-dawn. Later there are only a few flies of different species to be found.

Noted later:

New for the year:
- *Possibly the Sand Wasp, Ridge-backed Fly Fox (Ectemnius cephalotes)

- *Meadow Field Syrph hoverfly (Eupeodes latifasciatus)
- *Common Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna juncea).: male

Repeat sightings:

Butterflies:
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Moths:
- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)
- *Small Purple & Gold (Pyrausta aurata)

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Hoverflies:
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) [Batman Hoverfly]
- Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis) [Wasp Plumehorn]
- Pellucid Fly (Volucella pellucens) [Pied Plumehorn]
- *Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) [Hornet Plumehorn]

Damsel/Dragonflies
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

Mammals
- Grey Squirrel

What I read is the Sturgeon Full Moon. It was full just over 24 hours before I took this photo.

I am sure it won't be long before I am back to complaining about the clouds and the rain. Meanwhile another sunrise ahead of another hot day.

Just a few of the large gulls that dropped in. My first post-breeding aggregation of any size. All these are Lesser Black-backed Gulls with a healthy number of juveniles.

This one joining the group is a juvenile / first winter Herring Gull, recognisable by the pale inner primaries.

This small moth has the unfortunate name of Dingy Dowd (Blastobasis adustella). The pale collar and 'V' mark across the wings identify it. My first this year.

One of two Ermine sp. moths. There are three species Yponomeuta padella, Y. malinellus and Y. cagnagella that can only be separated by shape of the larval web and not as adults.

The other Ermine moth.

This splendid moth is a Small Purple & Gold (Pyrausta aurata). I saw a few of the earlier brood here back in early June.

Just to prove that Notch-wing Button moths (Acleris emargana) are supposed to look like this.

A plumed midge with a very slender green abdomen. No idea of the species involved.

Another plumed midge mystery. The antennae are even more feathery and the pale, slender abdomen seems to have a forked end.

A caddis fly is about all I can say here. Typically the forward-pointing antennae droop somewhat. The multiplicity of spurs on the legs will identify it for anyone with the identification key.

The owl midge Psychodidae sp. here was very furry.

This insect has me beaten despite its clear markings. On this view I was expecting a hoverfly though it did not look quite right.

With long antennae and a wasp-waist it cannot be a hoverfly. But what is it? A mason wasp would show more yellow on the sides of the thorax. It may be a nomad bee though I cannot match the markings and most nomad bee species show at least some orange in the markings.

Another view of it diving in to an umbellifer flower. A mystery, but could it be a Sand Wasp, possibly a Ridge-backed Fly Fox (Ectemnius cephalotes)

I had to check this one out. It is a Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) but I have never noticed one with such a strongly striped thorax before.

This quite small hoverfly is a new species for me despite being common. It is a Meadow Field Syrph (Eupeodes latifasciatus).

A Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis) [Wasp Plumehorn]. It needs to go on a diet!

A Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea) with a sample of the small friends that inhabit the street lamp poles pre-dawn. I have no idea what most of these small critters are.

This took some patience and lots of empty frames. I believe this to be a male Common Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna juncea).

If you were a small fly this might be the last thing you will see.

I was well-pleased with these shots.

So I took another!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:05

(170th visit of the year)

Another duck highlight. I was peering across the width of the lake at what seemed to be a drake Gadwall again when it and two duck Gadwall sprang in to the air, circled and then flew away.

Bird notes:
- I could only see two of the four juvenile Great Crested Grebes. Rather strange as they seemed too well-grown to be predated.
- The Cormorant appeared and circled as if it was coming in. It seemed to notice the fishermen and flew on.
- A Stock Dove was calling from the copse by the surgery.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Jackdaw

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs yet again
- 1 (0) Blackcap again

Noted on / around the water:
- 10 Canada Geese only
- 6 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *3 (1♂) Gadwall: flew off
- 17 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 40 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 14 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 48 adult / juvenile Coots
- 2 + 2 only (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Black-headed Gulls again: no juveniles
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull; briefly
- 2 Grey Herons

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- *1 Ermine sp. moth (Yponomeuta padella/malinellus/cagnagella)
- *1 Oak Bush-cricket (Meconema thalassinum)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman

A duck Gadwall flying ahead of a drake. She has the orange bill and his is all-black. When the trio departed I took over twenty photos of them in flight. Would you believe it: not one of them showed the very distinctive white speculum on the upper wing!

There must have been a big emergence recently – there was one of those pesky Ermine moths here too.

I do not have much experience with this group but I think this is an Oak Bush-cricket (Meconema thalassinum). It is sitting at the top of a street lamp pole. It seems to be missing most of one antenna. Crickets have long antennae; grasshoppers short antennae.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

Noted:
- 1 Chiffchaff calling beside the upper pool for a change
and
- 1 Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- 5 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)

(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

2 Common Sandpipers

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

Ruddy Duck

1 Common Sandpiper

>50 Linnets

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Little Egret

(Ed Wilson)