1 Sep 23

Priorslee Lake and The Flash

12.0°C > 15.0°C: Mist / fog lifted somewhat after c.08:30: even a sunny period. Light south-easterly breeze. Very poor visibility, eventually good.

Sunrise: 06:20 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:30 // 07:35 – 09:35

(177th visit of the year)

Bird notes:

Counts of birds noted flying through the mist:
- 13 Canada Geese: outbound in three groups
- 1 Stock Dove
- 17 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Warblers noted (the number singing in brackets):
- 11 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (0) Reed Warblers
- 2 (0) Blackcaps

Hirundines etc., noted:
- 2 House Martins

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans
- 9 (?♂) Mallard
- 3 Moorhens
- 61 Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes
- >55 Black-headed Gulls: circling over the football field at 06:20; just four at the lake later
- 2 Herring Gulls: one near adult and one juvenile / first winter
- 13 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: see notes
- 1 Kingfisher

On or around the street lamp poles at dawn:

Moths:
- 1 Common Marble (Celypha lacunana)
- 2 Common Grass-veneers (Agriphila tristella)
- 1 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)

Other things
- 1 sawfly sp.
- 1 sawfly larva
- 1 fly Dryomyza anilis
- 1 Common Candy-striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata)
- 2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders (Larinioides sclopetarius)
- 2 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum harvestman
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Around the sailing club HQ or in the sailing club shelter.

Nothing unusual

Noted later: very little in cloudy conditions

Butterflies:
- none

Moths:
- Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella)

Bees / wasps etc.:
- Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
- ichneumon sp., possibly Pimpla rufipes

Hoverflies:
- Stripe-faced Dronefly (Eristalis nemorum)
- Common Dronefly (Eristalis tenax)
- Syrphus sp. (S. ribesii / S. vitripennis), probably S. ribesii

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- none

Other flies:
- greenbottles
- Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- cranefly Tipula paludosa

Beetles:
- none

Bugs:
- nymph of an Anthocorid sp.
- Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus)
- Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina)

Also
- White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis)
- unidentified fungus (plus Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens))

This Kingfisher perched briefly on one of the boat-launching platform. I attempted to get closer but it departed as soon as I moved.

There are still a few Reed Warblers around. Here is one.

It looks a bit grumpy here.

 Another one does the splits...

 ...repositions...

 ...and here is calling.

 Here they are together.

This Common Marble moth (Celypha lacunana) was covered in dew when I photographed it earlier. It stayed around until it somewhat dried out. I think a new brood as I have not seen any of this species for many weeks.

This Straw Dot moth (Rivula sericealis) was also covered in dew when I photographed it earlier and stayed around until it somewhat dried out. This moth habitually rests head-down.

One way of protecting your food: go to sleep on it! A Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) on a bramble flower.

I am not sure whether this Common Carder Bee is asleep or feeding.

An ichneumon. The ovipositor at the tip of its abdomen means it is a female. The stem of a Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris) gives scale.

There are 2,500 species in the UK. There is a Natural History Museum Beginner's Guide to the most frequently encountered species available on the internet. My reading of it suggests it is likely to be a Pimpla rufipes.

I have not been able to identify this sawfly larva

I am sure the dew-covered moth is a Common Grass-veneer (Agriphila tristella). Below it with lengthy antennae is what I believe to be a sawfly sp.

Courtesy of my Obsidentify app I can now identify this red-eyed and red-bodied fly as a Dryomyza anilis. I see this fly frequently.

A cranefly (Tipula paludosa).

A Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus).

This is the nymph of an Anthocorid sp. I know that because I photographed one on Monday and I sent it to the Shropshire recorder. Identification to the species-level is not possible from photos.

One form of the Common Candy-striped Spider (Enoplognatha ovata) with grey rather than red stripes.

Neither my Mushroom identification app nor my Obsidentify app. could identify this fungus. The answer Obsidentify gave me was Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens) which refers to the leaves in the foreground!

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Flash: 06:35 – 07:30

(163rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Most of the geese I counted were flying off when seen.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

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

Hirundines etc., noted:

None

Noted on / around the water: I could not see any birds on / around the island in the mist
- 72 Canada Geese
- 61 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 4 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 22 (?♂) + 4 (1 brood) Mallard
- [no all-white feral duck]
- 46 (>?♂) Tufted Duck
- 7 Moorhens
- 39 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 2 Cormorants
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

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

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

Other things
- 1 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman
- 1 Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum harvestman

Elsewhere around The Flash:

Nothing of note

A brood of four Mallard ducklings. I saw these first on Tuesday. Could they be the remnant of one of the larger broods last seen over a week ago?

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

Also
- 1 Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus harvestman

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- 1 White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)

Other things
- 2 craneflies Tipula sp.
- 1 phantom cranefly Ptychoptera albimana
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- 24 White-legged Snake Millipedes (Tachypodoiulus niger)
- 4 Common Rough Woodlouse (Porcellio scaber)
- four unidentified spiders

Hide your clothes! A White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella).

I am still struggling to take crisp flash photos of small insects with my new camera. The best I could do with an owl midge Psychodidae sp. There are c.100 such species, none of which can be identified from photos.

The White-legged Snake Millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger) is easy. I thought the insect was a cranefly. It is – sort of. When I asked my Obsidentify app it gave me the answer Ptychoptera albimana. Checking with the NatureSpot web site this is one of the Phantom Craneflies.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On this day can be found via the yearly links in the right-hand column.

Sightings from previous years without links are below

2012
Nedge Hill
1 Hobby
1 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Tawny Owl
5 Swifts
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
2 Swifts
(Ed Wilson)