2 Aug 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

18.0°C > 21.0°C: Early rain, then just cloudy. Moderate / fresh SW warm and humid breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:30 BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Lake: 05:25 – 06:10 // 07:05 – 09:15

(163rd visit of the year)

Surprise of the morning was a calling Cetti's Warbler at the West end where the very vocal bird was until mid-June. Whether the earlier bird found a mate and has been too busy on nest duties to sing or whether this a new arrival would be interesting to know.

Other bird notes:
- There were 55 Black-headed Gulls on the football field at 06:05: many more than seen at the lake earlier.
- My late arrival (due to sudden heavy burst of rain at 04:45) probably accounts for the lower totals of passing Jackdaws and Rooks. They had probably gone before I was in position.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: duo outbound; duo inbound
- 58 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Barn Swallow: flew high East c.08:00
- 5 House Martins: over football field / estate c.09:10

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- 1 (0) Cetti's Warbler
- 7 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Reed Warblers only
- 5 (0) Blackcaps again

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 19 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 adult / juvenile Moorhens only
- 76 adult / juvenile Coots
- 7 + 3 (two broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 22 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: juvenile briefly
- 1 Cormorant, briefly

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

Moths:

None

and:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

Noted later:

New for this year:

Moths:
- *Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella)
- *Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)

Flies:
- *A Muscidae or House Fly perhaps Helina evecta

Flowers / Plants:
- *Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris)
- *Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
- *many seedlings of Silver Poplar [also Silverleaf Poplar or White Poplar] (Populus alba)

Repeat sightings:

Butterflies:
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)

Moths:
- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)

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

Hoverflies:
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- *Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)

Dragon/Damselflies
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)

Other 'flies':
- small red fly

Beetles:
- *pollen beetle sp.

Bugs:
- *probable Common Flower Bug (Anthocoris nemorum)

Spiders etc.:
- *Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

I think this is a rather worn Satin Grass-veneer moth (Crambus perlella). It occurs in two forms, this almost all-white form being the most common though this species is less abundant than some grass moths.

Another species of grass moth here and probably the most abundant at the moment. It is a Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella). It is perhaps the least distinctive of the grass moths: it lacks the white flash of Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella); it is more reminiscent of Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella) though it lacks the diagonal cross-line near the wing tip of that species.

One of the smallest hoverflies is the Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare). With eyes that do not meet this is a female. The yellow marks on the abdomen of the female are triangular. The male has a longer and narrower body with more rounded yellow marks. For scale the flowers on which it is feeding are Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium)

This well-marked fly is one of the Muscidae or House Flies. It is likely the very common species Helina evecta, though specific identification from photographs is not reliable.

This flower of Common [or Black; or Lesser] Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) is hosting a variety of tiny insects. I tapped the flower on to my hand to try and get a better view.....

Only this pollen beetle obliged. It is tiny – the background is a small part of the palm of my hand. No idea what species.

A bug here resting on a Bramble leaf. It is most likely a Common Flower Bug (Anthocoris nemorum) although the many species within this genus are very difficult to identify with certainty.

I found this male Leiobunum rotundum harvestman peering at me from under the peak of my baseball cap. Now how did it get there? Only the male is 'rotund', the female having a more elongated shape with a dark marking on her saddle.

The third of the abundant umbellifers to emerge around the lake is this Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris). Compared with the concurrently flowering Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) it shows tight, more rounded and well-separated umbels. The stem is usually purple. The remnant sheath which enclosed the developing flowers is just visible here.

This looks like another umbellifer but isn't. It is Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). Identify by the very feathery leaves.

I noted many plants like this, especially beside the path along the North side. They are seedlings of Silver Poplar [also Silverleaf Poplar or White Poplar] (Populus alba).

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:00

(159th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A late brood of ten small Mallard ducklings was a surprise.
- The brood of four juvenile Great Crested Grebes was accompanied by both adults today.
- A group of c.75 Starlings were circling just to the North of the area: an unusually large number for this date I would have thought. There did not seem to be any bird of prey that would have caused them to flock in such a way.

Birds noted flying over here:
- c.75 Starlings

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 31 Canada Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 6 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- *17 (?♂) + 10 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 25 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 8 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 27 adult / juvenile Coots
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Black-headed Gulls again
- 1 Kingfisher: dashed through

Noted on / around the street lamp poles
- *1 Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

Noted elsewhere:
- *Purple Loosestrife flowers (Lythrum salicaria)

Camera 1; brain/eyes/fingers 0. I thought nine ducklings but this photo clearly(?) shows ten.

Right at the top of a lamp pole I noted this shield bug. It is a Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes). The red legs do not show too well at this range and in the (flash-assisted) poor light but the shape of the 'shoulders' and the pattern around the edge of the shield eliminate all other possibilities.

I'll do this flower again when there is better light. I had to use flash on this, just a small part of one stem of Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) which is abundant in places around the water's edge.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Moorhen(s) heard at the lower pool only.

(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

2012

Priorslee Lake

Common Sandpiper

(Ed Wilson)

2005

Priorslee Lake

4 Common Tern

Yellow Wagtail

(Ed Wilson)