17 Jun 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 17.0°C: Clouding up with mainly medium-high cloud. Spots of rain c.06:30 and again after 09:30. Calm start with light, mainly easterly breeze later. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST yet again

* = a photo of this species today

An early scamper around ahead of rain scheduled for 08:00. A loiter later until the rain eventually arrived.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 05:55 // 06:50 – 09:50

(129th visit of the year)

Best bird today was my third Hobby of the year seen to the South c.07:50

Other bird notes:
- Some of the juvenile Coots are well-enough developed to be wandering away from their nest sites and it is becoming difficult to ascribe them to particular broods.
- One of the brood of four juvenile Great Crested Grebes seems smaller than the others and is getting less attention. Perhaps because its chosen parent is spending time making sure that the other thirteen (count them) adults do not come too close.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: outbound together
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Black-headed Gulls
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 3 Cormorants: duo and single
- *1 Hobby
- 8 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 10 (10) Chiffchaffs
- no Sedge Warbler
- 10 (9) Reed Warblers
- 10 (10) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warblers
- 3 (1) Common Whitethroats

Hirundines etc., noted:
- >6 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martins

Counts from the lake area: it remains very quiet
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 6 (4♂) Mallard
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 32 + 33 (11? broods) Coots
- 15 + 4 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: immature, briefly

+ = my first sighting of this species here this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.

On and around the street lamp poles around dawn:

Nothing noted

Noted later:
The cloudy weather reduced the number of insects seen:

Butterflies:
- none

Moths:
- Timothy Tortrix (Zelotherses paleana)
- *Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- +*Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- *Blood-vein (Timandra comae)
- Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoe montanata)

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- *Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- *Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- *Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella)
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Hoverflies:
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- *Grouse Wing caddis fly (Mystacides longicornis)
- *Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens)
- *a different cranefly sp.
- *a greenbottle
- *various flies

Beetles:
- ++*the soldier beetle Cantharis livida
- ++*a possible flea beetle Derocrepis rufipe
- *3 other species of unidentified beetle

Bugs:
- *+possible 2 Spot Ladybird (Adalia bipunctata) larva
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.
- +*first flowers of Meadowsweet [or Mead Wort] (Filipendula ulmaria)
- +*first flowers of Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre)

A very different-looking sunrise today.

A drake Mallard showing some loss of wing feathers as well as rather dishevelled plumage as it starts it annual moult.

A distant fast-moving Hobby. The camera discloses it is carrying prey.

A Common Marble moth (Celypha lacunana).

A pristine example of a Garden Grass-veneer moth (Chrysoteuchia culmella). The gold tip soon wears off and the other markings fade. A very typical pose head-down on a grass-stem. To my mind they always look surprised with their staring blue eyes. Just 11mm long (under half an inch).

Another rather faded-looking specimen. The angled mark toward the tip of the wing is diagnostic. Another typical pose, upside down: here amongst the 'flowers' of Common or Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica).

It is good to see at least one species of insect is having a good year. Another Blood-vein moth (Timandra comae).

In the overcast conditions I only noted Marmalade Hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus). Here is one.

A Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) tucks in.

While this Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) has dived in. Note the rather long antennae of this species.

Another emergent Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) on the 'boxing ring'.

A longer-view of the same damselfly shows that it is still getting its wings and body in to shape.

There have been relatively few of these Grouse Wing caddis flies (Mystacides longicornis) to date.

A rather splendid Tiger Cranefly (Nephrotoma flavescens).

And another cranefly. I can't identify this one. Which reminds me a few days ago some kind person wrote to me identifying an unknown cranefly as a Reed Cranefly. I apologise: I seem to have lost the information and I cannot find a scientific name for it.

A greenbottle. I can go no further.

Some flies have green eyes.

While a very similar-looking species has red eyes. Why?

And some have big very red eyes!

This seems to be the soldier beetle Cantharis livida. I have identified this by the very red legs. I have recorded several species of Cantharis beetles but not this one apparently. A common species though.

A possible identity for this flea beetle is Derocrepis rufipe. Also possibly a new species for me though I have seen many beetles I have not identified.

A slightly better view of the small beetles feeding on Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium).

More small beetles feeding in buttercup (Ranunculus sp.).

This maybe an Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni) but here it is on the 'boxing ring'.

This is possibly a 2 Spot Ladybird (Adalia bipunctata) larva. It does not quite match photos on the internet but is a much better match than the larvae of all the other ladybird species I have seen here.

First flowers of Meadowsweet [or Mead Wort] (Filipendula ulmaria). At the moment they are confined to the fringes of the lake. I'll take another photo when I can get closer.

First flowers of Marsh Thistle (Cirsium palustre)

 I have no idea about this pellet that was on the hand-rail of the 'boxing ring'. The rails are most-frequented by Magpies. Do they regurgitate pellets?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:45

(119th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The Mallard ducklings in today's brood of two seemed smaller than those in the brood of four noted yesterday.
- Where have the Tufted Duck gone?

Birds noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets): as yesterday:
- 6 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water
- 126 Canada Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 27 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 Mute Swans
- *28 (24♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white duck (Peking(?) Duck)
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck: only
- 6 + 1 (1 old brood) Moorhens
- 22+ 3 (1 brood) Coots
- *2 Great Crested Grebes

Noted on / around the street lamp poles around the water:
- *1 Figure of Eighty moth (Tethea ocularis): same place on same lamp pole

Noted elsewhere:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)

Just two Mallard ducklings with this adult pair. The ducklings looked smaller than the four I saw, at long distance, yesterday.

A rather soggy-looking Great Crested Grebe.

The same Figure of Eighty moth (Tethea ocularis) on the same street lamp-post.

I think this is Imperforate St John's-wort (Hypericum maculatum). My PlantNet app. suggested it was Tutsan (H. androsaemum) but the leaves look wrong to me.

(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

2006
Priorslee Lake
Just a single cygnet left
(Martin Adlam)