25 Aug 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

9.0°C > 14.0°C: Variable amounts of patchy medium / high cloud. No spells of strong sunshine. Light and variable breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 06:08 BST

+ = my first sighting of this species at this site this year.
++ = new species for me at this site.
* = a species photographed today: pushed for time so fewer and with abbreviated comments.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:15 – 06:25 // 07:40 – 09:50

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Where were all the geese today? I did hear a few small groups passing behind trees from my vantage position. None seen or heard returning.
- No Great Crested Grebes seen or heard. There were more at The Flash bit no immatures (apart from the two unfledged juveniles)

Counts of birds noted flying over here:
- 16 Canada Geese: outbound in three groups
- 5 Greylag Geese: outbound in two groups
- 3 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 Stock Doves: singles
- 163 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: all adults
- 4 Cormorants: together
- 1 Jackdaw

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 13 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (0) Reed Warblers
- 5 (1) Blackcaps: singing quietly

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 3 House Martins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens
- 89 Coots
- [no Great Crested Grebes]
- *79 Black-headed Gulls on the football field area c.06:15: at least two first winters. Seven (of these?) noted at the lake later.
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: three adults; three juveniles / first winters
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

Moths:
- 4 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)

Other things
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 small ichneumon
- several unidentified small flies
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum harvestmen

Around the sailing club HQ pre-dawn:

Nothing noted

In the sailing club shelter around dawn:
- only Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius) noted

Noted later:

With little strength in the sun and wet vegetation from last night's dew there was not much about.

Butterflies:
- Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Moths:
- none

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

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis)

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- none

Other flies:
- greenbottles
- *male plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus) dead in jaws of a spider sp.
- *at least one unidentified fly

Beetles:
- larva of Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni)

Bugs:
- *Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina): *adult and *instar
- *Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

Also
- *Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)
- *another spider sp. with the plumed midge
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)

A promising start...

 ...coloured up well.

"Aaah: my wings are falling apart!" An adult Black-headed Gull complains about something, anything while it is going though its annual wing moult. Note the rather thick neck...

...more apparent in this view.

This Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) had just survived and encounter with...

.....this spider's web. I think it is a Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) though I cannot find a photo of the underside on the internet to check.

The upper-side of a different spider which I think is also a Garden Spider.

The only bumblebee I saw was this Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum). It will soon be time to start looking to see whether Ivy Bees (Colletes hederae) have yet reached the area. The thorax looks like a Common Carder, the abdomen is banded like a Honey Bee only more so.

It is a rule that I have to photograph at least one fly I cannot identify. This species has very few hairs on its legs.

An adult Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina). It appears to missing its right front leg which seems to be lying in front of its left leg.

And here is an instar of a Common Green Shieldbug which I rescued when it fell on the ground. Hence that is my fingers it is resting on.

A daylight view of a Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes).

My initial thought was of a male plumed midge (Chironomus plumosus). But why does it have silver wings? Only then did I realise that it was probably dead in jaws of a spider.

The gruesome view. Six of the spider's eight eyes are clearly seen.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:35

(159th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- No Mallard ducklings seen.
- The all-white feral duck reappeared.
- Now six adult Great Crested Grebes: two with the fast-growing two juveniles.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Collared Dove: too high to be one of the local birds?

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 7 (0) Chiffchaffs

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 6 House Martins

Noted on / around the water
- 4 Canada Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 24 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) all-white feral duck
- 34 (>10♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 Moorhens
- 62 Coots
- 6 + 2 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- *11 Black-headed Gulls: *two juvenile / first winters
- 2 Cormorants
- 2 Grey Herons

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

Moths:
- 1 Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)
- *2 Small Grey (Eudonia mercurella)

Other things
- 1 Common Wasp (Paravespula vulgaris)
- 1 unidentified hoverfly, likely Chequered Hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare)
- 1 Common Green Lacewing (Chrysoperia carnea)

Elsewhere around The Flash:

Nothing of note

I needed more light to get a crisper photo. This Black-headed Gull showing retained juvenile brown colouration on the nape as it moults in to first winter plumage.

What a sweetie Long-tailed Tit.

 "Who me?"

A rather pale a brown-looking moth which I think is just a faded Small Grey (Eudonia mercurella). I will get it checked.

(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 Little Grey (Eudonia lacustrata)
- *1 Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)
nothing else

A Common Carpet moth (Epirrhoe alternata). This species has a complete wavy-edged dark band across the forewings.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata)

Other things
- 36 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- three unidentified spiders

20-3946 On the ceiling a Small Phoenix moth (Ecliptopera silaceata)




(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

2011
Nedge Hill
4 Yellow Wagtails
(John Isherwood)