12 Aug 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 19.0°C: A few sunny spells but mainly cloudy. Moderate southerly breeze, occasionally gusting fresh. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:47 BST

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

* = a photo today

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 06:15 // 07:25 – 10:05

(162nd visit of the year)

A 'raptor' day today:
- *A Peregrine flew over and stooped towards the lake at 06:00: I could not see where it went as my view was blocked by trees. It scattered all the Black-headed Gulls and there was none on the football field at 06:10.
- A Kestrel flew through fast West at 08:25: only my second record of this species here this year.
- One of the local Common Buzzards drifted over the Ricoh copse.

Other bird notes:
- Two different Song Thrushes has brief attempts to sing.

Counts of birds noted flying over here:
- 79 Canada Geese: 49 outbound in seven groups; 30 inbound in three groups.
- 37 Greylag Geese: 36 outbound in three groups; single inbound
- 2 Feral Pigeons: together
- 102 Wood Pigeons
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: seven adults; the rest immatures
- 10 unidentified large gulls: flew South to far East c.05:20
- 1 Common Buzzard
- 1 Common Kestrel
- *1 Peregrine
- 9 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 13 (0) Chiffchaffs
- *4 (0) Reed Warblers
- 3 (0) Blackcaps
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat

Hirundines etc., noted:
- >20 House Martins high over football field c.06:10

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 Canada Geese: stopped off while inbound
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 11 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhen
- 63 Coots
- 2 + 3 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 35 Black-headed Gulls: one juveniles noted.
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: five adults; two juveniles

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:
- *1 spider sp., probably a Common Candy-striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata)

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- *Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
- Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)
- Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Moths:
- Common Roller (Ancylis badiana)
- Satin Grass-veneer (Crambus perlella): many
- Pale Straw Pearl (Udea lutealis)
**I did not check most of the grass moths flying today.

Bees / wasps etc.:
- *Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
= *Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)
- Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- *Tenthredo sawfly sp.
- *another sawfly sp.

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Stripe-winged Dronefly (Eristalis horticola)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Tiger Hoverfly (Helophilus pendulus)
- Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) [aka Batman Hoverfly]
- Common Twist-tail (Sphaerophoria scripta) [was Long Hoverfly]
- *Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis)
- *Orange-belted Leafwalker (Xylota segnis)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)
- *Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans)

Other flies:
- *several unidentified flies

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)

Bugs:
- Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius)

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

 Areas of cloud made the sunrise a bit 'hit and miss'. 'Miss', I think.

A 'grab shot' of a stooping Peregrine at 06:00 was never going to win prizes.

Alongside the dam this Reed Warbler popped out briefly. There was a youngster begging in the same area so I expect a few birds will be around for at least another week. Although partially obscured note the sloping forehead and relatively long bill of this species.

Almost pre-historic-looking. Clues to its identity are the long tail and the yellow wash in the vent. It is a moulting juvenile Grey Wagtail.

Yesterday's photo gallery did not include a Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina). Because I did not see one. This one looks quite fresh though it is coming toward the end of this species' flight season. Just a single white dot in the black circle on the forewing of this species.

A Honey Bee (Apis mellifera). One of Simon's perhaps at it was just across the road from his hives.

I think this is a Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). According to Steven Falk's Bees Field Guide the very similar White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) does not occur in this area. This specimen shows the typical thin buff area between the dark abdomen and the white tail. Puzzling is the almost complete absence of the midriff band of orange hairs, the paleness of the collar and the white hairs around the head. Perhaps a worn individual?

This is a Tenthredo sawfly. There are four species that cannot be separated from photos.

I think this is also a sawfly – an ichneumon would normally have longer antennae and be more active: this was sitting still. I have no idea what species it might be. At least 500 species occur in the UK.

The abdomen is shaped like that of a Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax) but the pale bands between the tergites (abdomen segments) is a clue that it is something different. The cloud in the wing identifies it as a Stripe-winged Dronefly (Eristalis horticola).

From head-on note the dark stripe down the face on this species.

One of the larger hoverflies is this Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella inanis). Like all hoverflies it is a nectar feeder and it is quite harmless.

The pale legs caught my attention on this hoverfly. It is just about possible to see the abdomen colour and confirm this is an Orange-belted Leafwalker (Xylota segnis).

Another view. All members of this genus show swollen hind tarsi to some degree.

Yesterday I photographed a male Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum). Here is a female.

There has to be at least one unidentified fly per visit.

On a street lamp pole pre-dawn was this spider, probably a Common Candy-striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata) though there is a less-common species that cannot be separated from photos.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:20

(150th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Where were all the Mallard today?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Common Buzzard

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 8 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 House Martins

Noted on / around the water
- 8 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 9 (?♂) Mallard
- [all-white feral duck not noted]
- 28 (>6♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 44 Coots
- 4 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Grey Herons

On / beside the street lamp poles around the water etc.

Nothing noted

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:
- fungus, perhaps Peppery Milkcap (Lactarius piperatus)

(Ed Wilson)

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

Moths:
- *1 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata)
- 1 Riband Wave (Idaea aversata)

also
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)
- *1 Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

The most accessible of the many Single-dotted Wave moths (Idaea dimidiata) I have seen this year. Another moth whose vernacular name is hard to comprehend.

At an unhelpful angle is a Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes).

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- 1 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata)
- several midges
- *1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- 1 spider sp.

A Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber). My first of Autumn here.

(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
2 Common Sandpipers
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Ruddy Duck
1 Common Sandpiper
>50 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
Little Egret
(Ed Wilson)