27 Jun 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 15.0°C: Medium overcast with very few early brighter spells. Intermittent light rain started c.08:00. Light southerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:48 BST

* = a species photographed today.

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:55 – 06:15 // 07:25 – 09:30

(139th visit of the year)

Omitted from the log for yesterday was, just as I arrived, a single short song given by a Sedge Warbler from the rather unlikely area beside the sailing club HQ. Nothing was seen or heard later.

Bird notes:
- Signs of change with a Common Sandpiper (briefly), returning Black-headed Gulls and warbler song diminishing. It will be interesting to see how many Black-headed Gulls return: there have been reports of many local breeding colonies being badly affected by Avian Flu deaths. We don't want Avian Flu brought here.
- There were three juvenile Pied Wagtails on the sailing club piers. It is some days since I last saw them here. Could they be from a second brood? If so why were no adults present?

Birds noted flying over here:
- 33 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 5 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook

That's all again folks!

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- *1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- no Willow Warbler
- 11 (11) Chiffchaffs
- *10 (8) Reed Warblers: includes family party being fed
- 10 (8) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers
- no Common Whitethroat

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 11 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 3 House Martins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 9 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- ? + 34 (13? broods) Coots: I forgot to count the adults!
- 12 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper: early only
- 2 Black-headed Gulls: adults, arrived separately
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: worn adult(?) briefly
- *1 Grey Heron: arrived and departed

Noted on and around the street lamp poles around dawn:
- *1 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- *1 male stretch spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later in overcast conditions with some rain:

Butterflies:
- none

Moths:
- *Marbled Bell (Eucosma campoliliana)
- Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- *Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *German Wasp (Vespula germanica)

Hoverflies:
- *Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- *Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger)
- *possible Melanostoma species of grass hoverfly
- *Common Twist-tail (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- none

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- *dagger fly Empis livida
- semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- *unidentified fly

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni): adult

Bugs:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata): pupa only

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- *another snail sp

A stately Grey Heron, present only for a short while.

A well-grown juvenile Moorhen. It is yet to acquire the red shield of the adult bird and as a result the bill looks very oddly-shaped.

Gotcha! After over 30 months at last I have a decent photo of the very noisy but very elusive Cetti's Warbler. Note the rufous back colour. I may have to wait another 30 months to get the rounded rufous tail in a photograph!

Not easy persuading the camera to focus on the feeding family of Reed Warblers through all the vegetation.

A head-on view with the usual 'angry bird' result.

And while the twig is more in focus than the warbler at least this shows the typical sloping forehead of the species.

Two of a family group of four Carrion Crows that I disturbed. The leading bird shows some white in the wing. This species not uncommonly has some white feathers (Rooks never do). However here I think we are seeing the exposed feather-bases of the secondaries as the secondary coverts are being moulted. All the secondaries look short as the bird goes through its post-breeding moult.

Definite find of the morning for me was this tiny Marbled Bell moth (Eucosma campoliliana). My only previous record of this species here was on 16 July 2014.

One of those grrrrr..ey moths. I believe a Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis).

The Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella) is the plainest of the grass moths with no white streaks and no cross-lines on the wing. Just a pale horizontal line splitting in to four or five fingers.

Perhaps easier to see this way up. I inverted a different photo of the same individual. Easier than inverting the camera.

A German Wasp (Vespula germanica), identified by the rather triangular yellow area on the side of the thorax (this area is parallel-sided on the Common Wasp). It did not seem to mind the rain as it munched the wood from the Teece Drive fence to help make its nest. Perhaps wet wood is easier to chew?

Another hovering Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus). This specimen with white bands below the black bands. Some have yellow bands; some orange. Feeding on Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris).

A female Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger).

A tiny hoverfly able to support itself on just one pair of legs. Not at all sure about the species as it flew off when I attempted to get round it to see the abdomen pattern. I suspect it is one of the Melanostoma species of grass hoverfly.

Also on Common Ragwort is a female Common Twist-tail hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta). Small and neat.

A strange fly. All eyes and thighs.

One I can identify. 'All eyes and no brain'? The three and different-strength lines on the thorax identify it as the dagger fly Empis livida.

A stretch spider Tetragnatha sp. standing on tippy-toes. A male because of the (very) long palps.

A different-looking small snail. No idea as to the species though.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash:

(128th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- It seemed the 'missing' near-adult Mute Swan (last noted by me on 7 June) may still be here. I noted a lone bird with a dull bill alongside Derwent Drive when I started my walk around. Later two adults and four cygnets could be seen inside the island. I could no longer see the putative third adult (possibly the other side of the island?)
- The late brood of Mallard ducklings was down to seven.
- Three Great Crested Grebes noted. None was anywhere near either of the earlier nests sites.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcap

Hirundines etc., noted:
- >14 Swifts
- 2 House Martins

Noted on / around the water
- 157 Canada Geese
- 76 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 4 Mute Swans: see notes
- 24 (?♂) + 7 (1 brood) Mallard
- 9 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 + 3 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 23 + 10 (4 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes

Noted on / around the street lamp poles around the water:
- *1 Inlaid Grass-veneer moth (Crambus pascuella)

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni): adults and larvae
- *flowers of Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum)

One of the juvenile Moorhens that seems to be surviving despite its nest being close to a Coot's nest. The Coots are none too happy about the proximity of the Moorhens to their own offspring.

A 'top of the street lamp pole special'. With one broad bright white longitudinal stripe and cross-lines near the outer edge of the wing in the shape of a sharp V we have an Inlaid Grass-veneer moth (Crambus pascuella).

Just coming in to flower along the East side is Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum).

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Between the lake and The Flash:

- one of the first brood juvenile Moorhens from the upper pool was seen flying strongly to get back to safety.

Moths on street lamp poles:
- *Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)
- *Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)
- *Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata)

Also
- *1 possible Tinea species of moth on the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel
- 2 owl midges Psychodidae sp
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata): pupa only

On the roof of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel was this moth. I think it is one of the Tinea species that include the clothes moths. I am not sure which. I'll see whether I can find out.

On one of the street lamp poles I found what I believe to be another Common Grey moth (Scoparia ambigualis).

In the most shaded part of the path I found this Small Fan-footed Wave moth (Idaea biselata) on a different street lamp pole.

Another moth on another street lamp pole was this Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata). Why are there so many on the poles here and very few at the lake?

(Ed Wilson)

NOTE:

Gronant Little Terns Here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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)

2009
Priorslee Lake
2 Redshank
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)