9 Aug 22

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 18.0°C: Again just thin high cloud patches. Mainly westerly wind, mostly light. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:41BST

* = a photo from today

Priorslee Lake: 04:35 – 06:10 // 07:15 – 09:20

(170th visit of the year)

Highlight today was that as I parked up in the Teece Drive lay-by slightly earlier than usual [04:35] a Tawny Owl was calling from trees to the North of the football field. My first here this year (one was reported by an overnight fisherman on 02/03 June).

Other bird notes:
- A small number of Jackdaws and an even smaller number of Coots was seen overhead somewhat earlier than usual. That was it for the morning passage. Perhaps the dry conditions have caused them to move their feeding area?

Birds noted flying over here:
- 47 Canada Geese: 37 outbound in four groups; 10 inbound in three groups
- 4 Greylag Geese: duo outbound and duo inbound
- 57 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 11 Jackdaws only
- 2 Rooks only
- 1 Linnet

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (figures in brackets relate to singing birds):
- no Cetti's Warbler
- 8 (0) Chiffchaffs
- *5 (0) Reed Warblers
- 3 (0) Blackcaps again

Counts from the lake area:
- 11 Canada Geese: arrived as a trio and an octet
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 21 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 adult / juvenile Moorhens again
- 76 adult / juvenile Coots
- 12 + >4 (three broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 32 Black-headed Gulls
- *5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all briefly
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher yet again

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

Moths:
- *1 Dark-triangle Button sp. (Acleris laterana/comariana)
- *1 Blood-vein (Timandra comae)
and:
- *1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- *3 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *1 spider_1: all dark
- *1 spider_2: colourful pattern
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum/blackwalli harvestman: a male and I did not check which species
- *1 probable Opilio saxatilis harvestman

Noted later:

New for this year

Nothing on another very quiet morning

Repeat sightings:

Butterflies:
- Large White (Pieris brassicae)
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- *Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
- Peacock (Aglais io)

Moths:
- very many unchecked grass moths

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

Hoverflies:
- *Stripe-faced Dronefly (Eristalis nemorum)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)

Damsel/Dragonflies
- *Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)
- Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum)

Mammals
- Pipistrelle-type bat

The pre-dawn wash to the sky. The street lights are still on in Castle Farm Way.

A bit more colour later.

Too much high cloud to the East to get any deeper colouring.

The Great Crested Grebe was not going to reveal how many juveniles this morning. I can see one.

An illustration of moult on adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Only the outer three old primaries remain with new primaries one to five with six and seven (all numbered from the inside) still growing. In the centre of the wing the secondary coverts have been dropped leaving the white secondary bases exposed until the coverts regrow. Along the leading edge of the outer wing the moulted lesser primary coverts are allowing the white bases of the greater primary coverts to be seen.

 Peering out of reeds and willow-herb is a Reed Warbler. A hint of a gape line identifies this a juvenile.

Still rather hidden but it shows the long sloping forehead of this species.

A typically alert and perky Wren. This is also a juvenile with a hint of a gape line.

Almost in focus as it crouched and shot off with its tail cocked.

How battered can you get? A male Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus).

This moth is one of the species pair Acleris laterana / A. comariana, colloquially Dark-triangle Button. They can only be separated by the usual genitalia examination.

A classic Blood-vein moth (Timandra comae) slightly spattered with dew.

A lucky catch with this photo. I had assumed the yellow on the legs of this hoverfly meant ii was a Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax) but viewed head-on there is an obvious line down the centre of the face so it must be a Stripe-faced Dronefly (E. nemorum). In fact the position of the yellow on the legs is not quite right for Tapered Dronefly but that is not easy to detect.

I seem to see Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea) most months of the year. Only in Summer are they green-bodied.

After many days of only seeing Common Blue Damselflies (Enallagma cyathigerum) both yesterday and today the only damselflies I noted were Blue-tailed Damselflies (Ischnura elegans). Here is a male.

I thought this White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis) was posing for me but when I looked at the photo you cannot see the lip of the shell which is the only reliable way to separate this variable species from the equally variable Brown-lipped Snail (C. nemoralis). You will have to take my word for it! I also cut the very tip of its tail off.

Not one for arachnophobes. Here is a Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius). This species is by far the most common spider at the top of the street lamp poles. This one seems to be feeding with two of its legs apparently holding something to its jaws.

Another of the same.

Lower down the lamp poles there are sometimes different spiders. Here is a very small all-dark species...

.. and a pretty coloured one. I am still awaiting a reply from Nigel from my photo of perhaps the same individual I took about a week ago.

Also on one of the street lamp poles was what I think is an Opilio saxatilis harvestman. I base this identification on the long (but not very long) legs; the pale line down the abdomen (though that could merely be from my camera flash); and the pale mark toward the end of the abdomen.

Aircraft of the day #1. A 20 year-old Boeing 747 400 series freighter of Singapore Airlines en route from Los Angeles International Airport to Brussels Airport. The blue and gold cheat line (along the length of the fuselage) are wrapped around the under-tail.

Aircraft of the day #2. After the blurb stating that ITA Airways aircraft are "a beautiful and striking metallic blue". Here is one that isn't. This one of their quintet of Airbus A350s is in "born to be sustainable" livery – whatever that means. Sounds like green-wash to me. Whatever, as before, it is en route from Los Angeles to Rome.

Aircraft of the day #3: And now for something completely different. G-CIMM is a 1982-build Cessna T182R Turbo Skylane II privately owned by a Nuneaton resident. He was on a day-trip around the Welsh Coast.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

(166th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Some of the Canada Geese flew off: not sure how many as a few only circled and came back.
- A more sensible count of Coots though I have no idea why the difference.
- House Martin(s) were heard calling, high over the south end as I arrived but I could not locate it / them and I did not hear them again.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 4 Jackdaws: singles

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 31 Canada Geese
- 6 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 17 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 all-white duck (Aylesbury Duck)
- 37 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 adult / juvenile Moorhens
- 44 adult / juvenile Coots
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes yet again
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: one juvenile
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on / around the street lamp poles:
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman

I am still persevering to get a decent photo of Purple Loosestrife flowers (Lythrum salicaria). Here is most of one plant with a Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) intruding.

The close-up of the flower spike is still not right. Now I have found one in the sun there is too much contrast. I'll try again later.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash:

- Moorhen(s) heard at both pools again today. Both adult and juvenile calls heard
- A Chiffchaff was calling beside the lower pool.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- *1 Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp. yet again.
- 7 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)

This Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax) seemed to be asleep on the wall of the tunnel. It seemed impervious to the camera flash. But that raises the question of how flies, and insects generally, sleep: they have no way of closing their eyes.

(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

Green Sandpiper

(Ed Wilson)

2011

Priorslee Lake

2 Lapwings

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

4 Little Egrets

(Ed Wilson)

2008

Priorslee Lake

Peregrine Falcon

(Ed Wilson)

2007

Priorslee Lake

Redshank

(Ed Wilson)