22 Aug 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 20.0°C: Scattered cloud early; clear for a while; increasing puffy clouds after c.08:30. Moderate / fresh south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:03 BST

+ = my first sighting of this species at this site this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.
* = a photo today

Note
Late records of Swift(s) at both the lake and The Flash.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 06:20 // 07:30 – 09:40

(168th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Several more parties of both outbound and inbound geese were heard only as they flew below the tree-line.

Counts of birds noted flying over here:
- 120 Canada Geese: 72 outbound in seven groups; 48 inbound in four groups
- 13 Greylag Geese: 10 outbound together; 3 inbound together
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 77 Wood Pigeons
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 1 Cormorant
- *1 Sparrowhawk
- *1 Common Buzzard
- 5 Jackdaws
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- *9 (0) Chiffchaffs
- *9 (1) Reed Warblers
- 3 (0) Blackcaps

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 1 Swift
- 2 Barn Swallows
- c.45 House Martins: high over the football field c.05:55

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 7 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 Moorhens
- 84 Coots
- 1 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 88 Black-headed Gulls on the football field area c.05:50: no juveniles. Eight (of these?) noted at the lake later.
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult very briefly
- 1 Grey Heron

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba): dead in spider web

Other things
- 1 Red-legged Shieldbugs (Pentatoma rufipes)

In the sailing club shelter around dawn:
- *1 Grouse Wing caddis fly (Mystacides longicornis) of the form with unmarked wings.
- *1 plumed midge probably Chironomus plumosus
- *spiders of at least two unidentified species.

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Green-veined White (Pieris napi)
- *Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
- *Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Moths:
- *Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
- Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- *Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- *Common Copperback (Ferdinandea cuprea) [aka Bronze Sap Hoverfly]
- Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea)
- Common Twist-tail (Sphaerophoria scripta)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum)
- *Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Other flies:
- greenbottle
- *possible Anthomyia procellaris

Beetles:
- none

Bugs:
- *Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

Early patchy cloud did not colour up. A clear sunrise.

Excuse the quality – it was before 06:00. Five Magpie give chase to see the Sparrowhawk off their territory.

One Magpie pressing home the attack. Birds of prey leave all the crow-family alone: I guess they taste nasty.

Reinforcements arrive! Eight Magpies now in the chase (with two more outside the photo). I remarked a few days ago that Magpies seemed to be in much reduced numbers. Sadly no more.

Fresh from victory over the Sparrowhawk the Magpies turned on a passing Common Buzzard. The 'spot' ahead of the lower Magpie is a very high House Martin keeping out of harms way.

"I am sure there is food up there somewhere". A Chiffchaff spies an opportunity....

..and homes in on its target. The rather scruffy appearance of its back suggests to me this is a juvenile moulting ahead of its departure to the Mediterranean basin for the Winter.

There was wildly waving vegetation between me and this Reed Warbler and clear views were difficult as the camera tried to focus on something, anything.

Mr. Puzzled. I noted four family parties around the lake this morning each with at least one calling juvenile.

Although partly obscured this view shows the long sloping forehead, characteristic of this otherwise plain-looking species.

I included another photo of a Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) only to note that they seemed especially abundant today ranging between the tree canopy (where I hoped they might be a species of hairstreak butterfly) and ground-level. I must have seen at least 25 individuals.

A male Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) looking rather worn and no longer very blue.

A slightly better view of the underwing. It would not sit entirely in the sun or entirely in the shade!

This Common Carpet moth (Epirrhoe alternata) flew in and flew off almost straight away. A 'grab' shot. Compare with the Garden Carpet moth seen at The Flash (below).

Two Common Wasps (Paravespula vulgaris) being friendly.

Only my second Common Copperback hoverfly (Ferdinandea cuprea) of the year. Unusual in having grey, rather than yellow, stripes on its thorax as well as a very brassy-looking abdomen.

An immature male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum).

Same individual. The abdomen of an adult male is all-red; females show no red.

A very well-marked, albeit small, fly. My Obsidentify app. tells me it is Anthomyia procellaris, though I read that there are similar species that cannot be separated from photos.

Dock Bugs (Coreus marginatus) are a very distinctive shape. This is the first I have seen for some weeks.

A caddis fly I found pre-dawn in the sailing club shelter. The long antennae suggest it is a Grouse Wing caddis fly (Mystacides longicornis). A few specimens show unmarked yellow wings: as far as I recall this is only the second such example I have seen.

Also in the sailing club shelter was this plumed midge. The banded abdomen suggest it is most likely the very common Chironomus plumosus.

Last of a trio of photos from inside the sailing club shelter are these two spiders (and their shadows). I would judge the spiders are different species from their differing body-shapes. It does seems unusual for two species to co-exist.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:25

(156th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- The third white Mute Swan was still out of the water.
- Apparently two broods of Mallard ducklings though I never saw both at the same time.
- A juvenile Common Buzzard was again begging from trees at the top end.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 1 (1) Willow Warbler
- 6 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Blackcap

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 Swifts
- 8 House Martins

Noted on / around the water
- 8 Canada Geese
- 3 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
-* 26 (?♂) + 13? (2? broods) Mallard
- [all-white feral duck not seen]
- 27 (>7♂) Tufted Duck
- 10 Moorhens
- 63 Coots
- *5 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 3 Cormorants: two of these arrived
- *1 Grey Heron

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

Moths:
- 2 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- +*1 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata)

Other things
- 2 larvae of Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Elsewhere around The Flash:

Nothing of note

There are six ducklings just about visible here along with mum Mallard. I counted seven before some hopped behind the log.

There are also six Mallard ducklings and their mother in this photo. I judge these ducklings are much smaller and hence a different and newer brood. The first group are probably the remnants of the nine I noted last Thursday: and the second group are likely the survivors of the brood of eight I first noted yesterday.

A lone moulting adult Black-headed Gull on one of the bridge parapets. By now I would have expected the parapet to be thronged with gulls until disturbed by passing dog-walkers. Not so far this Autumn.

"Is that me down there? Don't I look handsome?"

Apparently cross-eyed too!

On a street lamp pole I found this Garden Carpet moth (Xanthorhoe fluctuata). A very differently-marked carpet moth with only a partial dark bar across the wing and dark wing-bases.

(Ed Wilson)

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

Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata)

Other things:
- 1 larva of Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- none

Other things
- several unidentified midges
- 35 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger) at least!
- 4 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- several unidentified spiders

(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

2012
Priorslee Lake
Peregrine Falcon
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 Sandwich Terns
Common Tern
Kingfisher
Tree Pipit
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
Raven
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)