Priorslee Lake and The Flash
15.0°C > 16.0°C: Mostly cloudy at low / medium level. Lifted somewhat and threatened to break: but didn't. Moderate / fresh north-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 04:50 BST
* = a species with a photo today
+ = my first sighting of this species at this site this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:00 – 06:25 // 07:30 – 09:45
(143rd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- My second Common Sandpiper on return passage here.
- The Cetti's Warbler had more or less returned to full voice today.
Birds noted flying over here:
- 45 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Jackdaw
Bad to worse
Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 10 (10) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (6) Reed Warblers
- 8 (6) Blackcaps
- 2 (2) Garden Warblers
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
Hirundines etc., noted:
- 5 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 12 House Martins
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- *12 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 27 + 35 (12? broods) Coots
- 8 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- *1 Common Sandpiper
- 2 Black-headed Gulls: adult and first year arrived separately again
Noted on and around the street lamp poles around dawn:
Moths:
- 1 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)
- 1*Clouded Border (Lomaspilis marginata): on a different pole to the one seen yesterday
- 1 Round-winged Muslin (Thumatha senex)
- 1 *unidentified moth dead in web
otherwise:
- 1 Common Spotted Field Syrph hoverfly (Eupeodes luniger)
- 1 *Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius)
Noted later: very little in the rain
Butterflies:
- Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)
- *Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
Moths:
- Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
Bees / wasps etc.:
- *Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- *Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- German Wasp (Vespula germanica)
Hoverflies:
- Bumblebee Blacklet (Cheilosia illustrata)
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- *Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum)
- *Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Migrant Field Syrph or Migrant Hoverfly (Eupeodes corollae)
- Common Spotted Field Syrph (Eupeodes luniger)
- Common Twist-tail (Sphaerophoria scripta)
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis)
Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
Other flies:
- Black Snipefly (Chrysopilus cristatus)
- *Grouse Wing caddis fly (Mystacides longicornis)
- *'punk' fly
Beetles:
- +*Rough-haired Lagria Beetle (Lagria hirta)
- Nettle Weevil (Phyllobius pomaceus)
Bugs:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata): adult and pupa
- *plant bug to be identified
Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- ++*flowers of Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
- ++*flowers probably of Corn Chamomile (Anthemis arvensis)
A Common Sandpiper stands on one leg and contemplates a sleeping Mallard. I think a duck Mallard.
Another Clouded Border moth (Lomaspilis marginata). Good to see this attractive moth again.
A male Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax).
It doesn't have a very obvious stripe on the face so it must be a Plain-faced Dronefly (Eristalis arbustorum).
Pity the front of the 'punk' fly is not quite sharp. How spiky can you get?
A Rough-haired Lagria Beetle (Lagria hirta).
I'll have to further investigate this plant bug.
A Bridge Orb-web Spider (Larinioides sclopetarius) wrapping up an unidentified moth.
Plane(?) of the day. The registration (G-GTFC) is kinda hard to read under the wing. That identifies it as a P & M Aviation built Pegasus Quik, a make of weight-shift flex-wing. The pilot in the pod moves around and uses what appear to be handlebars to control the angle of wing and hence where the aircraft goes. The intrepid owner lives in Leeds and was flying out of the small airstrip near Shifnal.
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:25
(132nd visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- No Mallard ducklings seen and many of the juvenile Moorhens and Coots seemed to be sheltering from the breeze.
- The first Black-headed Gull of, er, Autumn here.
Birds noted flying over here:
None
Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps
Hirundines etc., noted:
- 6 Swifts
- 6 House Martins
Noted on / around the water
- 142 Canada Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 54 Greylag Geese
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 21 (?♂) Mallard: no ducklings seen
- no all-white feral duck.
- 12 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 21 + 4 (2 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Grey Heron
Noted on / around the street lamp poles around the water:
- *1 Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare): I suppose they have to sleep somewhere
Noted elsewhere around The Flash:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni): adults and larvae
- *a dead Common Carp floating in the water.
Disappointed not to get a chance to sing for the blog yesterday the Wren had a go today.
A male Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare) asleep on one of the street lamp poles.
A dead Common Carp
(Ed Wilson)
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Between the lake and The Flash:
- newly fledged Starlings (second / replacement brood) in trees.
Moths on street lamp poles:
- 1 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)
- ++*1 Small Blood-vein (Scopula imitaria)
- *1 Riband Waves (Idaea aversata)
also
- +Rough-haired Lagria Beetle (Lagria hirta)
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata): pupae
This is a Riband Wave moth (Idaea aversata) of the form remutata where the centre band is not filled-in.
I thought this was a Riband Wave with the centre band. But hold on. The band is only partially filled in; there is a prominent dark spot in the centre of the wing; and the wings are a subtly different shape. It is a new moth species for me: a Small Blood-vein (Scopula imitaria).
(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
2013
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)
2006
Priorslee Lake
Drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)