16 May 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 14.0°C: Clear very first thing. Local mist soon rolled in. Later lifted to low cloud. A very few brighter interludes. Very light breeze. Very good visibility, becoming poor. Later good.

Sunrise: 05:11 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 – 06:15 // 07:20 – 09:35

(107th visit of the year)

New Bird Species
*Highlight this morning were two Common Terns that dropped in very briefly at 08:30. They made one circuit, landed on a buoy and departed. They bring my bird species total for the year here to #92.

Other bird notes:
- the resident Canada Geese still have six goslings.
- the resident Greylag Geese still have the one goslings.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair inbound
- 3 Wood Pigeons
That's it!

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Barn Swallows

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

Counts from the lake area:
Low numbers of some species likely due to the rather brisk wind blowing across the water.
- 4 + 6 (1 brood) Canada Geese: an additional pair flew in and stayed
- 2 + 1 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 3 (3♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 22 + 6 (3 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes
- *1 Common Sandpiper
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: an adult briefly on the football field 05:05
- *2 Common Terns: as highlighted

Seen on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Green Carpet Colostygia pectinataria

Spiders:
- 1 Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later:

Moths:
- Plain Gold Micropterix calthella
- *Silver-ground Carpet Xanthorhoe montanata

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *!Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- *!Alder Sawfly Eriocampa ovata

Hoverflies:
- *Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus [Late Buttercup Cheilosia]
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Tooth-thighed Hoverfly Tropidia scita [Swamp Thickleg]

Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- *larvae only

Other flies:
- *root-maggot fly of the Anthomyiidae family
- *cranefly Epiphragma ocellare
- *Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- Alder Fly Sialis lutaria

Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- *False blister Beetle: Oedemera lurida/virescens

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Spiders:
- *Cucumber Green Orb Spider Araniella cucurbitina type
- *money spider Erigone sp.
- Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis
- Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *unidentified spider

Plants photographed:
- *Broad-leaved Dock Rumex obtusifolius

Before the mist rolled in the morning looked quite promising.

Sun just rising.

There are several of words that spring to mind over this destruction. Perhaps "why" is the most printable. Followed by "why now?"

Me and my shadow: the Common Sandpiper here this morning.

The two Common Terns circle the water.

One settling on a distant buoy. The dark wedge along the trailing edge of the wings eliminates any possibility of the similar Arctic and Roseate Terns.

Is there room for two?

This shows another difference between Common and Arctic Terns: the latter appear almost legless when perched. There is also a difference in bill colour but at this range it is not readily discernable. I had to walk around a few trees to try to get close and in those few moments the birds disappeared.

I found this Green Carpet moth Colostygia pectinataria on the overhang at the top of a street lamp pole.

 I am not doing too well at photographing Silver-ground Carpet moths Xanthorhoe montanata so far this year. This one refused to open its wings. I am not sure I have ever photographed the underside before.

At last: a bumblebee and my first Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum of the year.

A very distinctive insect: it is an Alder Sawfly Eriocampa ovata.

Obsidentify was 100% convinced this is a Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus. I hope it has been trained on the photos of this difficult group on Steven Falk's web site.

A Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus. The abdomen pattern is variable with the narrower marking often very pale, almost white.

Seems many days since I noted a Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax.

Another Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare. Seems I only ever find females with the triangular yellow marks. It is the males that are 'chequered'. It is feeding on Hedge Garlic or Jack-by-the-Hedge Alliaria petiolata.

The swollen thigh and white 'knees' identify this as a Tooth-thighed Hoverfly Tropidia scita.

This damselfly larva crawled on the top of the boxing ring and promptly fell off before the adult could emerge.

The unusual wing shape identify this fly as a root-maggot fly of the Anthomyiidae family. But which? I cannot say.

 I found my first cranefly Epiphragma ocellare of the year only yesterday. Here is a better view which shows the circular markings in the well-patterned wings and well as the banded abdomen.

Another female Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp. with no 'sting'.

Another one of the False blister Beetle species pair Oedemera lurida or O. virescens.

This spider probably does not like buttercups per se but likes the things that visit them. It is a Cucumber Green Orb Spider Araniella cucurbitina type laying in wait. There are two similar species: I needed o turn it over look and the underside pattern for a definitive identification.

A tiny money spider Erigone sp. makes its way along the handrail of the boxing ring.

That's just greedy. A spider with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was unable to isolate the spider well-enough for Obsidentify to make a suggestion.

Dock plants Rumex sp. do not have exciting flowers and are best identified from their leaves. Not surprisingly this leaf is from a Broad-leaved Dock R. obtusifolius

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- plus the usual midges of several species

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:15

(109th visit of the year)
It was very misty here and it was never possible to see all the water from any one position. Totals are 'best effort' though I did not try to count the adult Coots.

Bird notes:
- amazingly there were two additional Mute Swans, perhaps the two first years that I noted flying over the Balancing Lake yesterday.
- a pair of Tufted Duck was seen flying low over the water. Whether the were coming, going or just flying around was impossible to judge.
- the warblers were all singing away this morning.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Blackcap
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (1) Goldcrest

Noted on / around the water:
- 18 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- *9 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans: see notes
- 14 (11♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 6 Moorhens
- ? + 12 (6 broods) Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Moths:
- *1 Green Carpet Colostygia pectinataria

Hoverflies:
- 1 Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare: asleep on a street lamp pole.

Molluscs:
- *1 White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

The mist was clearing as I was leaving and took this shot.

With the mist restricting the visibility it was this close Mute Swan that alerted me that something had changed. This individual has more brown in its plumage than all the recent occupants. It prompted me to count them again and I found nine in addition to the trio of this year's cygnets.

Whereas I found this somewhat faded Green Carpet moth Colostygia pectinataria near the base of a street lamp pole.

A very smart shell on this White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2012
Nedge Hill
10 Northern Wheatears
(Richard Camp)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
Cuckoo
(Ed Wilson)