9 Jul 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 15.0°C: Sunny intervals. Light south-easterly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:57 BST

Yet another canter around both locations before heading off for the day.

Photos

From the last three days included.

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50 – 05:30 // 06:25 – 07:35

(151st visit of the year)

The soaking vegetation was hanging over the paths limiting my access and also limiting the number of insects prepared to fly.

Bird notes:
- The second pair of Great Crested Grebes with juveniles have (at least) three youngsters. Not in the water as yet. Only a single juvenile from the original brood noted.
- No Sedge Warblers seen or heard

Non-exhaustive count of birds noted flying over here:
- 18 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Common Buzzard

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
** numbers affected by my single speedy circuit and the soaking vegetation.
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 10 (9) Chiffchaffs
- no Sedge Warblers
- 6 (5) Reed Warblers
- 7 (7) Blackcaps
- *1 (0) Common Whitethroat

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 6 Swifts: early only

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 9 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂?) Tufted Duck: briefly
- 3 + 3 (2 broods) Moorhen
- 26 Coots: presumably most still hiding in the reeds
- 6 + 4 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Black-headed Gulls: four adults; three first year yet again

Noted on and around the street lamp poles around dawn:

Moths:
- +2 Orange Crest (Helcystogramma rufescens)
- 2 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)
and:
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris): dead in web
- *1 presumed Pond Olive mayfly (Cloeon dipterum)
- 1 Leiobunum rotundum harvestman

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)

Moths:
- Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella) [most grass moths not specifically identified]
- Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata)

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris) [not all wasps specifically identified]

Hoverflies:
- none

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- none

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni) larvae only
- *Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)

Bugs:
- none

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- +*flowers of presumed Scentless Mayweed (Matricaria perforata)

Saturday dawn. The storms were later but there were early signs.

An instructive Lesser Black-backed Gull. It seems to be a second summer bird (from the remnant dark at the sides only of what was the tail band) moulting in to third winter plumage with most of the back feathers and three (at least) inner primaries replaced.

On Friday one of the first brood Great Crested Grebes is seen here being passed a fish.

The second brood Great Crested Grebes seen on Friday with two juveniles on the parent's back. Mind what you are doing with that bill!

On Saturday it was possible to make out a third juvenile.

Two singing Sedge Warblers on Friday. Here is #1.

 #2 was initially rather shy behind vegetation.

Eventually it came and had a look at me.

Looking around.

Having a sing.

And posing well.

This morning I found this Common Whitethroat gleaning insects from the dead head of Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris)

White throat did you say?

A juvenile Blue Tit, still rather yellow-looking, also gleaning insects from an umbellifer: in this instance still-flowering Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium).

The Cetti's Warbler flew in to this bush so I grabbed a few shots. Sadly not of the Cetti's that, typically hid from view. This Dunnock was trying to dry out.

"Perhaps if I rearrange my feathers..."

Better?

Saturday's moth highlight here was this Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) resting on vegetation. I see one most years.

A bumblebee I omitted from Friday's blog was this sleeping Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris).

This morning's haul included this mayfly. Most likely a Pond Olive (Cloeon dipterum).

Not much seen this morning: these two Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) were living up to their recently acquired epithet of Hogweed Bonking Beetles.

On Saturday I noted my first Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) of the year. This form is called succinea.

These are flowers of presumed Scentless Mayweed (Matricaria perforata). It was certainly scentless.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:35 – 06:20

(140th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

Birds noted flying over here:

None

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

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water
- 172 Canada Geese
- 87 Greylag Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 21 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck.
- 15 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- ? + 11 (3 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron

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

Moths:
- ++*1 Yarrow Plume (Gillmeria pallidactyla)
- Little Grey (Eudonia lacustrata)

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:
- Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni): larvae only

One of two Grey Heron on Saturday. I wonder if it is the same bird that sat on the bridge hand-rails much of last winter?

You don't mess with that bill!

The other heron seemed not to have noticed the bird on the bridge until the last minute. Here it flies in...

 ...and veers off...

...and away.

I got this grass moth wrong in Friday's blog. Looking at the photo there is a wide longitudinal streak in the wing and thus it must be an Inlaid Grass-veneer (Crambus pascuella).

A new moth for me (ever) is this Yarrow Plume (Gillmeria pallidactyla). I know the photo is a bit dark but if I lighten it the important markings disappear.

On Saturday I noted these two Buff-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris). Are they mating? If not what are they doing? I suppose the queens have to be mated at some stage: I thought they were a lot bigger than other members of the hive.

(Ed Wilson)

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

Moths:
- 1 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata)
- 1 Riband Wave (Idaea aversata): as yesterday, dead in spider's web
and:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata): pupa

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Avenue tunnel

Nothing noted today

On Friday I found a pug moth I can identify (hopefully correctly!). I believe it to be a Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata).

A new moth for me in Shropshire on Saturday was this Yellow-spot Tortrix (Pseudargyrotoza conwagana). [who makes up these scientific names?!]

Also on Saturday I noted this very distinctive cranefly. It does not have a vernacular name: it is Nephrotoma quadrifaria.

(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

2007
Priorslee Lake
A pair of Siskins close to the lake
(Martin Adlam)