Friends of Priorslee Lake Wildlife Site: May 2024

31 May 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 16.0°C: Good sunny intervals. Keen northerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:53 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a new species for me here this year
!! = a new species for me in Shropshire

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:10 – 06:00 // 07:05 – 09:30

(115th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
Highlight today was my first Hobby of the year that sped over the lake at 05:15, typically never to be glimpsed again. Bird species #92 here for me this year,

Bird notes:
- the resident Canada Geese have lost another gosling: now four.
- the Mute Swans seem to have lost one of their hitherto surviving cygnets. I only noted one though they were always a long way away from me. Meanwhile the cob had to chase off two visiting Mute Swans.
- there were seven adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the football field at 05:10. They flew off South. Another adult stopped off later.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 8 Greylag Geese: a quintet outbound; a trio inbound
- 2 Stock Doves together
- 15 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Hobby
- 1 Jackdaw

Hirundines etc. noted: see notes
- c.30 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 4 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 13 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (8) Reed Warblers
- 14 (14) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 2 (2) Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- *2 + 4 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- *2 + 1 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Mute Swans: two (near?) adults visited briefly: see notes
- 2 (2♂) Mallard
- 2 Moorhens
- 28 + 5 (3 broods) Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes

On the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Nothing seen

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- *Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

Moths:
- *!!White-line Pollen-moth Micropterix aruncella [White-barred Gold]: my moth species #26 here this year

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *unidentified mining bee Andrena sp.
- *Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- *Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis
- *Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus [Late Buttercup Cheilosia]
- *!Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae [Migrant Hoverfly]
- Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
- *Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum [Blotch-winged Whitebelt]
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans
- *!Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn]
- Orange-belted Leafwalker Xylota segnis

Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
- *Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans

Other flies:
- *long-legged fly Argyra sp.
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: males
- *!!Common Red-legged Robberfly Dioctria rufipes
- *dagger fly Hilara sp.
- Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- Downlooker Snipefly Rhagio scolopaceus
- *Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
many other unidentified species

Bugs etc.:
- *Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris
- Red-and-Black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata
- Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina
- *!Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes: instar

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- *!!longhorn beetle Grammoptera ruficornis
- *Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
- False blister Beetle Oedemera lurida/virescens
- Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis
- *14 Spot Ladybird Propylea quattuordecimpunctata

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
- Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella

Spiders:
- Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *unidentified spiderlings

New flower species noted:
- *Blue Flag Iris Iris versicolor
- *Hedge Woundwort Stachys sylvatica

Dawn!

The resident Canada Geese with their four remaining goslings.

And the Greylag Geese with their sole gosling.

Two Stock Doves, an adult in the front with the glossy neck patch. The juvenile behind lacks the neck patch and also lack the black on the folded wing.

As the adult turns its head the neck patch ceases to gloss.

Comparison_1: in the foreground a sharp Wood Pigeon with a rather fuzzy adult Stock Dove.

Comparison_2: in the foreground a (reasonably) sharp Stock Dove in front of a blurred Wood Pigeon. The white on the wing is the most obvious distinction of Wood Pigeons at all age. It was still rather early to for there to be enough light for sharp photos.

The upper-side of a male Common Blue Polyommatus icarus.

A new species of moth for me. It is a White-line Pollen-moth Micropterix aruncella.

I have not be able to identify this Andrena mining bee.

Can you bathe in a buttercup? This Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum seems to think so.

A Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis.

This Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris looked larger than usual. Seems a bit late for a queen to still be around looking for a nest site.

Would you believe a Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma najas?

My first Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata of the year. This is the only species in this genus that is not all-black and therefore about the only one I confidently identify.

A Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae.

"Reach for the sky". A Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum.

Another Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans

This species comes in two forms. This is the other, known bombylans form. The previous example is of the form plumata.

A closely-related species: this is a Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens also known as Pied Plumehorn

I think this is a long-legged fly from Argyra species group.

My logs suggest this is my first-ever Common Red-legged Robberfly Dioctria rufipes.

One of the dagger flies Hilara sp.

Not too easy to see I am afraid. Another Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria that seems to have killed its prey.

Yet another buttercup-lover. The Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris.

An instar of a Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes.

Just about the smallest longhorn beetle it is Grammoptera ruficornis.

This is a larva of a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis.

This species does not always show 14 'spots' but it is a 14 Spot Ladybird Propylea quattuordecimpunctata.

Spiderlings breaking out of their nest egg. I cannot identify the species,

A Blue Flag Iris Iris versicolor. This plant is not native to the UK and although it is found widely around lakes and ponds these all originate from garden escapes.

Just starting to flower is Hedge Woundwort Stachys sylvatica.

(Ed Wilson)

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

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 1 cranefly Epiphragma ocellare
and the usual midges of several species

(Ed Wilson)

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

The Flash: 06:05 – 07:00

(117th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I could not find any Canada Goose goslings.
- now 12 (near) adult Mute Swans! Perhaps only two cygnets. I should have looked harder.
- there were four Great Crested Grebes loafing in close proximity at the top end. Some 15 minutes later I noted one at the bottom end when the top end was too far away to find those lurking among the geese and swans. A fifth? or a fast swimmer?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts
- 1 House Martin

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 4 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (2) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 2 (2) Goldcrests

Noted on / around the water:
- 62 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese
- 12 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 16 (12♂) Mallard
- *2 (2♂) feral(?) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 + 2 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 19+ 5 (4 broods) Coots
- 4 or 5 Great Crested Grebes: see notes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Bees:
- *Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

One of two very similar-looking ducks I noted. It looks like a Mallard but is unusually pale. The all-dark bill suggests it is a drake. Drake Mallards do not look like this when they are going through their post-breeding moult. So where did they come from? [which reminds me: it is ages since I noted the long-staying all white feral Mallard...]

An Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum warming up in the early sun.

(Ed Wilson)

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

Sightings from previous years

2007
Wrekin
3 Tree Pipit
2 Wood Warbler
1 Pied Flycatcher
2 Spotted Flycatcher
(Martin Adlam)

30 May 24

No sightings in today.

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

Sightings from previous years

2013
Long Lane, Wellington
13 Ringed Plover
2 Dunlin
(JW Reeves)

29 May 24

No sightings in today

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

Sightings from previous years

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Sedge Warbler
5 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
2 Dunlin
1 Sanderling
(Andy Latham)

2009
Priorslee Lake
4 Tufted Ducks
Ed Wilson

2007
Priorslee Lake
Swifts
Kestrel
Great Black-backed Gull
(Martin Adlam)

28 May 24

No sightings in today

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

Sightings from previous years

2012
Nedge Hill
2 Ravens mobbing Kestrel.
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Red Kite
(Ed Wilson)

27 May 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 13.0°C: Broken cloud with some sun and also a very light shower. The skies cleared after 09:00. Light south-easterly breeze veering south-westerly and increasing moderate. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:57 BST

* = a species photographed today
! = a new species for me here this year
!! = a new species for me in Shropshire

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 06:20 // 07:20 – 09:50

(114th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- with seven Great Crested Grebes (at least) there was some territorial disputes.
- *a Great Spotted Woodpecker seen feeding a juvenile
- a Lesser Whitethroat was singing again in the south-west wooded area at c.09:00.
- House Sparrows were seen collecting nesting material off of the dam-face. Seems a long way to come from the estate.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair flew North
- 1 Greylag Goose: single outbound
- 1 Stock Dove
- 32 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Herring Gull
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 13 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted: see notes
- c.25 Swifts
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 6 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 13 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 9 (9) Reed Warblers
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 10 (10) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 4 (4) Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 5 (1 brood) Canada Geese: an additional pair throughout
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 4 (4♂) Mallard
- 2 Moorhens
- 20 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
- 7 Great Crested Grebes

Seen on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Nothing

Noted later:

Moths:
- *Plain Gold Micropterix calthella
- *!Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella
- *!Common Marble Celypha lacunana

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica
- Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- *ichneumon, possibly in the family Cryptinae.
- ??where are all the wasps? I noted a few in early April and since then none.

Hoverflies:
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
- Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum [Blotch-winged Whitebelt]
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) [Batman Hoverfly]
- *Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans

Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- *Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: male and female
- *!!long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- *Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *cranefly Tipula lunata: deceased
many other unidentified species

Bugs etc.:
- *Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris
- Red-and-Black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- *!!click beetle Denticollis linearis
- *Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. spectabilis
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
- *False blister Beetle Oedemera lurida/virescens
- Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis
- *Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus

Arthropods:
- *(Common) Striped Woodlouse Philoscia muscorum

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis
- *Garden Snail Cornu aspersum
- Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella
- *Kentish Snail Monacha cantiana
- *Hairy Snail Trochulus hispidus

Spiders:
- *Cucumber Green Orb Spider Araniella sp. possibly A. cucurbitina
- *wolf spider Pardosa sp.
- *Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

New flower species noted:
- *!Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed Centaurea nigra
- !Prickly Sow-thistle Sonchus asper
- *!White Clover Trifolium repens

About as good as it got.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker arrives near its nest with food. Just visible is the red on the nape indicating it is a male.

Approaching the nest hole.

The red on the nape easily seen here.

A rather bug-eyed juvenile with beak wide-open.

Making an enthusiastic reach for the food. Perhaps the adult is introducing it to the great outdoors.

Food gone.

How does it feel to have a punk as an off-spring?

More, more... The red on the juvenile's crown gradually fades from the front as they age.

With the yellow scales on its head this is the first Plain Gold moth Micropterix calthella I have seen for a while.

The start of the dreaded grass moth season. This is a Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella and a rather pale example. My earliest-ever date for this species.

My first Common Marble moth Celypha lacunana this year. I am sure I will get a better photo – this moth disappeared among the grass stems and I had to use full electronic zoom to isolate it. Electronic zoom, despite what the camera's booklet says, does not give equally sharp results.

A Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica. And no: there is no chocolate mine around the lake!

An ichneumon, possibly in the family Cryptinae.

Another Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus that to my eyes looked unusually small. Martin Adlam tells me that he has read that small individuals of fly species can occur when the larvae have not completed their growth before they pupate.

A Dead-head Hoverfly (Myathropa florea).

A Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans and here...

...zoomed in to show the 'plume-horns' - the short but feathered antennae.

The 'U'-shaped mark on the first body segment identifies this as an Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella. To my eyes there is no difference in the 'blue' of this species and the blue of the Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum.

This fly seems to be a long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar.

Well now. A Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp. with a rather dead-looking cranefly Tipula lunata. Whether there is a direct connection I cannot say.

I have no thoughts on this fly. The bright red eyes and pale body would seem to be distinctive. But...

Neither have I on this fly despite it looking very distinctive. Neither suggestion from Obsidentify was anywhere near the mark.

Another photo of the Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris. These are not easy to photo. When they detect my approach they usually run underneath the leaves they are on.

A new beetle for me: it is the click beetle Denticollis linearis.

A Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the form spectabilis.

The long snout identifies this as a Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus.

Also feeding on a buttercup is a (Common) Striped Woodlouse Philoscia muscorum.

At least this Garden Snail Cornu aspersum is not in your garden. Yet!

This is a Hairy Snail Trochulus hispidus. The hairs soon wear off.

An unusual view of a Cucumber Green Orb Spider Araniella sp. possibly A. cucurbitina.

A more normal view of the same individual.

A female wolf spider Pardosa sp. with her egg sac full of spiderlings.

Two Long-jawed Orb-web Spiders Tetragnatha sp. The upper individual has large palps and therefore a male. I assume the other is a female. The pattern on the abdomen of this species is very variable, as with many species of spider, and rarely help to sex the individual.

Just coming in to flower is the Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed Centaurea nigra. This one is being attacked by a snail...

This snail. A Kentish Snail Monacha cantiana.

Ignore the leaves: the flower is my first White Clover Trifolium repens of the year. A False blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens photobombs.

(Ed Wilson)

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

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata

Flies:
- 1 cranefly Nephrotoma quadrifaria
and the usual midges of several species

Arthropod:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spider:
- *1 Amaurobius sp. perhaps a Black Lace-weaver A. ferox

Another form of Common Marbled Carpet moth Chloroclysta truncata.

An Amaurobius spider perhaps a Black Lace-weaver A. ferox.

(Ed Wilson)

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

The Flash: 06:25 – 07:15

(117th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- *a single Canada Goose gosling noted: a very recent hatchling it seemed.
- *now 10 (near) adult Mute Swans. It seems to be a home for waifs and strays and beyond the capability of the resident cob to do much about it.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts
- 1 House Martin

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 4 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 2 (2) Goldcrests

Noted on / around the water:
- 31 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- *10 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 14 (12♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 25+ 4 (2 broods) Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Hoverflies:
- !Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Beetles:
- many Alder Leaf Beetles Agelastica alni