7 Aug 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 15.0°C: Again mainly thin high cloud patches. Calm start and mist over the lake. Light SW wind later. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 05:38 BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Lake: 04:50 – 06:05 // 07:15 – 08:50

(168th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A Tufted Duck (sex not determines) was present until 05:45 but not seen thereafter.
- Back to a full complement of ten adult Great Crested Grebes. Another third pair was looking as there might be juveniles on one of the parent's back.
- The Common Sandpiper was seen in flight at 05:15 only.
- Now their breeding has finished I noted my first sizeable groups of Jackdaws passing on roost dispersal: one group I counted as 84 birds.
- House Martin(s) heard over at 05:20 when there was too little light to locate it / them. Later a single was seen overhead on two occasions.
- A Cetti's Warbler called only very briefly c.05:20 and unlike previous days was not heard again.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 33 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 144 Jackdaws
- 15 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 House Martin: see notes

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

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: arrived as a duo and a quartet
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 22 (?♂) Mallard again
- 1 (?♂) Tufted Duck: departed?
- 5 adult / juvenile Moorhens again
- 76 adult / juvenile Coots
- 10 + 3 (two broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper: departed?
- 38 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all briefly
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher again

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

Moths:
- *2 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *2 Small Goldenrod Plume (Hellinsia osteadactylus)
- *1 Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata)

and:
- 5 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman: a male and I did not check which species

Noted later:

I left earlier than normal with very few insects around even though it had warmed up in the full sun.

New for this year

- *a possible Tenthredo sawfly

Repeat sightings:

Butterflies:
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)

Moths:
- Common Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana): my first for several weeks: a new emergence?
- Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella)
- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)

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

Hoverflies:
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)

A hint of cloud to the North pre-dawn.

The long view with Black-headed Gulls sitting on the boating platform and two aircraft inbound from the US leaving their vapour trails in the sky. A hint of mist over the lake.

The cloud gave a small amount of colour as the sun rose. Yet another vapour trail.

This is one of two Collared Doves that were feeding together on the ground on the Teece Drive footpath. Another bird was calling from roof-tops in the estate which suggested that these might be juveniles. However juveniles do not get their black 'collar' until later in the year so they were adults.

With very little traffic early on a Sunday the local Common Buzzard decided to sit on a street light and watch what was (not) going on in Priorslee Avenue. Typically it is using just one foot to balance. I can't do that on the ground much less twenty feet in the air.

A fresh-looking specimen of a Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella) showing the cleanly-bordered pale streak along the folded wing.

There were two of these small plume moths on street lamp poles at the West end this morning. I had an email exchange with the Shropshire micro-moth recorder about this species last year. I had provisionally identified individuals as Small Goldenrod Plume moths (Hellinsia osteadactylus). There was a possibility that they could be Hemp-agrimony Plume moths (Adaina microdactyla). The email discussion did not reach any positive conclusion. I am still of the opinion that this is a Small Goldenrod Plume.

A different specimen of the same species.

A Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata) also found on a street lamp pole. No doubt a second brood as it is about ten weeks since I last recorded one.

I have been unable to positively identify this splendid creature. I think it is a Tenthredo sawfly. It most closely resembles a Large Yellow-girdled Tenthredo (Tenthredo maculata) on Stephen Falk's web-site though the antennae are rather longer and there is more extensive black at the end of the abdomen.

Back in the middle of June I showed a photograph of the emerging leaves of Water Mint (Mentha aquatica). This species is now in flower.

A close-up of one flower-head.

Aircraft of the day #1. There are not too many four-engined aircraft still flying passengers. Modern high-performance, highly reliable jet engines allow the job to be done with just two engines burning less fuel. An exception is this British Airways Airbus A380 SuperJumbo configured to carry about 475 passengers and needing four engines to do so. This aircraft is inbound on the short six hour pond-hop from Logan International Airport at Boston in Massachusetts to Heathrow – no time for a good night's sleep!

Aircraft of the day #2. With weather conditions conducive to seeing vapour trails and no clouds in the way I was spoilt for choice. This is an ITA Airways Airbus A350 900 series en route from Los Angeles International Airport to Rome's Fiumicino Airport. ITA Airways is the successor to the defunct Alitalia which succumbed after successive Italian Government rescue plans of doubtful legality under EU rules failed to solve its cash-flow problems. The new airline has five of these smart new, but leased, Airbus aircraft for it long-haul routes. The livery is rather unusual with the entire fuselage painted in a bright colour that might be green or might be blue depending on your colour vision. The publicity blurb says it is "a beautiful and striking metallic blue".

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 – 07:10

(164th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Many of the Mallard have done their disappearing trick again. I wonder whether they are now off feeding in the local stubble fields many mornings.
- Another bumper count of Coots with some very new broods still evident. After what seemed to be a poor start to their breeding season with many broods being lost later broods seem to have survived much better.
- As I had begun to suspect there is still a third adult Great Crested Grebe. Two adults were displaying near the juveniles with another adult at the far end of the water.
- My first Grey Wagtail here for some weeks was only glimpsed before it flew off. I could not see whether it was the ringed bird from 2020.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: together
- 3 Jackdaws: single and duo

Hirundines etc. noted:
None

I am ceasing this heading as a daily entry and any seen from now on will be specifically noted

Warblers noted.
None

Noted on / around the water:
- 26 Canada Geese
- 6 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 15 (?♂) Mallard only
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 33 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 11 adult / juvenile Moorhens again
- 61? adult / juvenile Coots
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: departed

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- 1 Straw Grass-veneer moth (Agriphila straminella)
- 1 Black Arches moth (Lymantria monacha)

A street lamp pole here provided this Straw Grass-veneer moth (Agriphila straminella). It has a longitudinal strip but that is nowhere near so clear and well-delineated as the Straw Grass-veneer (A. straminella) at the lake.

Moth of the day was this Black Arches (Lymantria monacha) at the top of a street lamp pole in squirrel alley. What splendid markings but why? It is hardly camouflaged.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Moorhen(s) heard at both pools today.
and
- A Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman still on one of the street lamp poles again

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 2 owl midges Psychodidae sp. again.
- 6 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

2011
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Sandpipers
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Hobby
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Oystercatcher
(Martin Adlam)