18 Jul 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 14.0°C: A few early sunny moments but increasing and lowering cloud. A calm start with a light south-easterly breeze developing. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:08 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:55 – 05:45 // 06:55 – 09:35

(155th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- All three juveniles from the original Great Crested Grebe brood were present and correct: as was the single juvenile from the second brood. The possible third brood at the West end has still not provided a confirmed sighting of any juveniles.
- A Common Buzzard was causing mayhem amongst the Wood Pigeons and Black-headed Gulls as it moved around the football field area c.05:30. I have seen it in the area several times very recently so perhaps it is nesting in the Ricoh copse again despite the general lack of calls and earlier sightings.
- A Sedge Warbler was briefly in song along the North side: the first I have heard at this part of the lake this year.
- A Chaffinch heard in song, also briefly. My first song for two weeks. Now between broods?

Count of birds noted flying over here:
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 1 Stock Dove
- 145 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Collared Dove
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 2 Jackdaws

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 11 (6) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler: see notes
- 7 (4) Reed Warblers
- 6 (2) Blackcaps

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 6 Swifts: they will be on their way to Africa within two weeks.
- 6 Barn Swallows: together. Local family party?
- 3 House Martins: including begging juvenile(s)

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 16 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhen
- 67 Coots: yesterday's new brood not noted
- 6 + >3 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 29 Black-headed Gulls: all adults on the football field c.05:30. Only four (of these?) seen later at the lake.

Noted on and around the street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- 1 *+Large Emerald (Geometra papilionaria)
- 1 *+Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria)

and:
- 1 plumed midge
- +1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman

Noted later:
Dull conditions restricted things flying

Butterflies:
- none

Moths:
- *Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella): very many
- Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- *Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
- *Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella)
- +*Straw Grass-veneer (Agriphila straminella)
- *Mother of Pearl (Patania ruralis)
- *Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillar

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- *Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *two species of ichneumon

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- ++*possible Slender Boxer (Platycheirus angustatus)
- Common Twist-tail (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- none

Other flies:
- Semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- *unidentified mayfly
- *several interesting-looking unidentified flies

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni): larvae
- *Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis): larva
- Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
- rather fewer of unidentified small beetles first noted Sunday (16th)

Bugs:
- none

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- [fairy ring at East end mown down]

About as good as it got this morning. This just after nominal sunrise.

What is probably the third pair of Great Crested Grebes with young though I have yet to see the evidence. I am sure there are juveniles under the raised feathers on the adult.

This male Greenfinch seemed to be shepherding juveniles.

There must have been at least 25 of these tiny Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner moths (Cameraria ohridella) flying around together. When they did perch it was usually very briefly and often on the underside of leaves. Eventually I managed to photograph one at rest.

Two moths getting friendly. The curved cross-line toward the tip of the otherwise poorly-marked wing on the stationary moth indicate it is Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella). I suppose the other one is.

A rather worn example but with the curved cross-line still obvious. At this date still the most abundant grass-moth.

As yesterday the white form of a Satin Grass-veneer moth (Crambus perlella)

To complete a trio of the confusing grass moths here is a Straw Grass-veneer moth (Agriphila straminella). At this date it is the second-most abundant species of grass moth, distinguished by the broad white area along the length of the folded wing combined with the absence of any cross-lines.

Often, as here, the white area fans out somewhat toward the wing tip which on freshly-emerged specimens shows a line of faint black dots.

Difficult to get at this flighty Mother of Pearl moth (Patania ruralis). When the light is at the right angle the wings do indeed look as if they are suffused in mother of pearl.

On vegetation beside a street lamp I found this Large Emerald moth (Geometra papilionaria).

The 'simple' antennae (not feathered) indicate this is a female. Not too many moth species are green: most prefer to go undetected by merging with tree trunks and branches when at rest.

Rather worn and faded but I think a Willow Beauty moth (Peribatodes rhomboidaria).

The Rugby-shirt markings of a Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillar. This moth species specialises in feeding on Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) and the colouration warns predators that it will taste nasty at best, and possibly kill them.

The parallel sides to the yellow band at the side of the thorax distinguish this Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris) from a German Wasp (Vespula germanica) which has a slightly triangular yellow area. The markings on the abdomen cannot be used to reliably separate these species, being variable on both.

I was about to take a photo of a Common Marble moth (Celypha lacunana) when this ichneumon jumped in and scared it away. Note the small white area more or less in the middle of the antennae, the white near the tip of the hind leg and the pale green(?) scutellum. I cannot match these feature on the internet sites I use.

And this different species of ichneumon will also have to remain unidentified.

The 'waisted' appearance of this male hoverfly suggests that it is not the common-enough Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare) even though the pattern of the yellow markings is similar. I suspect it is a Slender Boxer (Platycheirus angustatus), a species I have not seen before. This genus of hoverflies all have the front legs with small swellings or hair tufts. It is not possible to see that on my photo.

I can tell you this is a mayfly. I can also tell you it is a male with so-called turbinate eyes (all the better to see females in a mating swarm, I read). Beyond that I am stumped. The abdomen is a different colour from any that I have seen previously: it also has longer 'tails'.

It looked as if it had long antennae but this view shows what appeared to be antennae were in fact the front legs.

 I have no idea about the identity of this fly. Smart though.

Another smart-looking fly. Hairy too.

The larva of a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis).

A different-looking plumed midge on one of the street lamp poles. This one has speckling in the wings (one helpfully held open) and pale 

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:50

(142nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Some of the juvenile Coots are now almost indistinguishable from adults, especially as these are congregating together along the East side of the island where they can be a challenge to see and count except in sunny conditions: i.e. not this morning!
- Kingfisher heard yet again.

Birds noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws again

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

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water
- *159 Canada Geese
- *55 Greylag Geese again
- *1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 19 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck.
- 13 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- ? + 5 (3 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher: heard only

Noted on / around the street lamp poles around the water etc.:

Moths:
- 2 Little Grey (Eudonia lacustrata)

other things:
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni): larvae
- Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

An unusual sight of four Collared Doves together on the roof of a house in Derwent Drive. One bird has been calling from this roof for many weeks. I suspect this is a family party with the youngsters now fledged.

Poor thing. The annual moult has not helped the Canada Goose with angel-wing deformity. Now in its fourth year so it cannot be all bad.

I thought I was at Slimbridge! All Canada Geese except for one Greylag Goose centre right and the Canada x Greylag Goose at the bottom centre.

Like father like son(?). One of the Mute Swan cygnets gets to grips with one of the Canada Geese.

(Ed Wilson)

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Between the lake and The Flash on / around street lamp poles:

- *2 juvenile Moorhens on grass beside the upper pool.

Moths:
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata)
I was not going to specifically mention the fairy ring again. I don't need to: it was obliterated when the grass was mown yesterday.

Sibling Moorhens from the upper pool seem accustomed to me and were happy-enough to continue feeding. These I think from the first brood. A later brood has yet to fledge.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

Moths:
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)

(Ed Wilson)