23 May 24

The Flash only

13.0°C: Medium-level overcast. A few VERY light sprinkles. Moderate north-westerly breeze. Excellent visibility.

[Sunrise: 05:01 BST]

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

Lingering rain and dull weather kept me away in the morning. Later I only visited The Flash to see what I could find.

The Flash: 12:15 – 13:30

(113th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- soon after I arrived a noisy party of c.25 House Martins appeared overhead. I think the appearance of a Common Buzzard being chased by a Carrion Crow at about the same time was co-incidence. Most faded away but...
- some 20 minutes later there were c.30 Swifts over the area, mainly over the wooded area in the south-west. These too mostly faded away.
- a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard begging and an adult heard calling at the top end.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull: immature
- *1 Sparrowhawk
- *1 Common Buzzard

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.30 Swifts
- c.25 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- no Goldcrest

Noted on / around the water:
- 29 Canada Geese
- 10 Greylag Geese
- 9 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 20 (15♂) Mallard
- 2 Moorhens
- 26 + 6 (4 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- *braconid sp.
- *ichneumon sp.
- *sawfly, probably Halidamia affinis

Hoverflies:
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]

Other flies:
- *possible female Hilara sp.
- *cranefly, possibly Molophilus obscurus
- *Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
- *possible Daffodil Fly Norellia spinipes
- *possible female semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- *many others

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- *weevil Polydrusus formosus

Spiders:
- *a pair of Dictyna spiders, perhaps D. uncinata; and a single female.

Flowers:
- *Cleavers Galium aparine
- Prickly Sow-thistle Sonchus asper

A silhouette view of a passing Sparrowhawk. Not the weather to show the plumage detail.

A Carrion Crow 'helps' a Common Buzzard away from its territory.

An Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum tucks in. I could not persuade Obsidentify to tell me what the garden escape flower is.

Obsidentify told me this was a braconid sp. I don't know what the distinction is between braconids and ichneumons. Both are part of the wasp family and there are over 1000 species in the UK.

I cannot begin to identify this ichneumon sp. It is a female with an unusually short (for this group) ovipositor. I only managed this 'safety' shot before it flew away.

A sawfly, probably Halidamia affinis.

At last: a male Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare showing (not very clearly) that it does indeed have yellow markings that are not triangular as they are in females.

I rooted around in any vegetation out of the wind and found many species of fly, most of them I cannot begin to identify. Obsidentify suggested this was one of the Hilara sp. If so it is a female: males of this group have swollen front femur. However I cannot trace any of this group that show a dark mark along the wing-edge.

This looks like a very small cranefly. It might be Molophilus obscurus though none of the photos I can find on the internet explain why this individual appears to have white halteres.

No problems identifying this as Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis, complete with long and banded antennae.

This is possibly a Daffodil Fly Norellia spinipes, the larvae of which do burrow in Daffodils. I think this individual has something in its jaws.

This looks to me like one of the semaphore flies and perhaps a female Poecilobothrus nobilitatus. The males of this species show white tips to their wings.

No idea about this one. At first sight it appears to have a pale scutellum: closer inspection shows it to be reflective green.

Another intriguing fly. It shows a green head between widely-spaced eye with "tufted" antennae sticking up vertically.

 This weevil is a Polydrusus formosus. It is similar to the Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus but it is obviously slightly smaller and the 'snout' is significantly shorter.

Two tiny spiders, I think a pair of Dictyna spiders, perhaps D. uncinata. Naturespot specifically notes this species is sexually dimorphic (sexes look different) and then confuses thing by noting the species is similar to others in the genus. Whatever it is the female that is the lower individual here, and she seems to have caught a small fly.

Another female Dictyna spider.

The very inconspicuous flower of Cleavers Galium aparine . This ubiquitous plant that is covered in fine hairs allowing it attach itself to anything that passes by. The bits that break off root vegetatively wherever they land. They hardly need seeds to propagate.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2006
Priorslee Lake
Mink seen by locals
(Ed Wilson)