8 May 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 15.0°C: An area of medium cloud soon cleared to the East. Sunny for a while. Later broken cloud with some hazy sunny spells. Light south-easterly wind. Good visibility and rather hazy.

Sunrise: 05:24 BST

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

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

(100th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- correction: the resident Canada Geese have seven goslings. Where has that been hiding!
- the resident Greylag Geese still have five goslings.
- *two Mute Swans visited and were chased away.
- four pairs of Great Crested Grebes seen at first light. Later they were harder to find.
- just one pair of Coots seem to have juveniles. Rather strange as these juveniles are large-enough to have lost any red on their heads.
- yesterday's Sedge Warbler seems to have moved on.
- what I assume was 'our' Lesser Whitethroat was singing quietly at 05:05. I did not hear it again.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 1 Canada Goose: inbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: pair inbound
- 7 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 15 (15) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (8) Reed Warblers
- 17 (15) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
'nominal' warbler:
- 2 (2) Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 + 7 (1 brood) Canada Geese: a single and a pair flew in: the single departed
- 2 + 5 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- *4 Mute Swans: see notes
- 7 (6♂) Mallard
- *7 Moorhens: the breeding pair on the lower pool have juveniles
- 29 + 8 (1 brood) Coots
- 8 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Herring Gulls: adults on the football field by 05:00; flew off 06:00
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly

Seen on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- !*Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata

Other flies:
- several unidentified flies

Bug:
- !!*a plant bug Harpocera thoracica

Spiders:
- 3 Stout Sac Spider Clubiona sp.
- !*1 Common Candy-striped Spider Enoplognatha ovata / latimana: lineata form
- 1 Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Noted later:

Moths:
- *Plain Gold Micropterix calthella

Bees, wasps etc.
- *probable Flavous Nomad Bee Nomada flava
- *another species of nomad bee
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
NB: bumblebees seem to be very scarce this year

Hoverflies:
- !*Cheilosia albitarsus agg. either C. ranunculi [Early Buttercup Cheilosia] or C. albitarsis [Late 

Buttercup Cheilosia] [Buttercup Blacklet]
- !!*Yellow-girdled Fleckwing Dasysyrphus tricinctus [Yellow-girdled Brusheye]
- *Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum [Blotch-winged Whitebelt]
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus [Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or White-footed Hoverfly]
- !*Orange-belted Leafwalker Xylota segnis

Other flies:
- !*dagger fly Empis tessellata
- dagger fly Empis trigramma
- *owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea
- caddisfly Tinodes waeneri
- *unknown fly / crane-fly

Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata
- !*Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina
- !*unidentified froghopper

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni: very many
- Raspberry Beetle Byturus tomentosus
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

Molluscs:
- Kentish Snail Monacha cantiana

Spiders:
- *Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius
- *Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

Plants / Flowers:
- *Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus
- *Yellow Archangel Lamium galeobdolon
NB: it is as well I took a photo yesterday of the Germander Speedwell Veronica chamaedrys. Council contractors cut (well butchered) the verge it was growing on later!

One of the visiting Mute Swans.

The other one of what I assume is a pair.

 The resident cob on the warpath!

Giving chase.

Go, go, go!

We're going. Two Great Crested Grebes watch the action.

A Moorhen carefully negotiates the rocks on the dam. It manages better than I do.

 Two more Plain Gold moths Micropterix calthella enjoying the buttercup nectar (or pollen?)

An unmistakeable moth: a Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata.

One of the nomad bees. An almost impossible group unless you can get a clear view of the abdomen pattern and...

...even then it is hard. Males and females have a different pattern. Note this one has mainly black antennae and thorax whereas the previous example was mainly orange. I cannot identify either even after poring over my bee identification book.

One of a difficult pair of hoverfly species. It is either Cheilosia ranunculi [Early Buttercup Cheilosia] or C. albitarsis [Late Buttercup Cheilosia], both colloquially known also known as Buttercup Blacklet.

For me the find of the morning was this Yellow-girdled Fleckwing Dasysyrphus tricinctus: a new species of hoverfly for me. Not a rare species so I have probably overlooked it.

A Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum

An unusual view of a Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare. This view does not appear in any of the identification guides.

My first Orange-belted Leafwalker hoverfly Xylota segnis of the year. The orange band across the abdomen is often, as here, hidden by the folded wings. The build and hind-leg pattern are sufficient to identify it.

With its mouth-parts well buried is a dagger fly Empis tessellata. It is feeding on Cow Parsley Anthriscus sylvestris. Despite there being dozens of plants, each with dozens of tiny flowers this was the only insect I noted feeding and / or pollinating them.

An owl midge Psychodidae sp.

This unidentified fly has something of a cranefly about it: long legs and tiny head separated from the rest of the body. I cannot track down anything.

On a street lamp pole pre-dawn I found this plant bug Harpocera thoracica. A new species for me.

A Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina.

This froghopper I found on the wall of the sailing club HQ. It leapt off when I tried to get a side view which just might have led to an identification of a difficult group of insects.

Another pre-dawn find. A Common Candy-striped Spider Enoplognatha either E. ovata or E. latimana, not separable from photos. Whichever: it is of the lineata form.

A Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius. This one I found on the boxing ring which is hardly a 'bridge'.

I showed two specimens from underneath yesterday. Here is a top view of a Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. Note the two rows of four eyes.

 Just about over are the flowers of a Sycamore tree Acer pseudoplatanus.

I have photographed Yellow Archangel Lamium galeobdolon previously this year. These were at a handy height to get a level view without having to lie in the mud.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

- *spider sp., possible Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica

Of note

Nothing else

I am not certain about the identity of this spider. Obsidentify was convinced it is a Walnut Orb Weaver Nuctenea umbratica. Looks a bit long-legged and gangly to me, at least from this angle.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 – 07:05

(102nd visit of the year)

At least 20 trees at the top end have been dye-marked since yesterday, I assume for felling. When? Not during the birds' breeding season I hope. Why? Most are Ash trees and show partial infestation by ash die-back. To my untutored eye none looks to be in imminent danger of shedding branches and some look partially healthy. Some small saplings are dye-marked. Anyone know anything more?

Bird notes:
- two families of Coots noted neither being the family next to one of the footbridges
- two pairs of Great Crested Grebes noted.
- no Willow Warblers heard singing.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Cormorants: together
- 1 Grey Heron

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (3) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (1) Goldcrest

Noted on / around the water:
- 23 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 6 Mute Swans
- 15 (12♂) Mallard
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 26 + 6 (2 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Moths:
- !!*Least Black Arches Nola confusalis :** a new moth species for me.

Flies:
- !*1 midge from the Ablabesmyia group

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

Spiders etc.:
- !!*1 harvestman Platybunus triangularis

A non-biting midge with marked wings and banded legs means it is likely one of many species in the Ablabesmyia group. I don't find very many of these.

A new moth species for me. This neatly-marked individual is a Least Black Arches Nola confusalis

A harvestman in May?! Apparently yes. This species is sometimes called Spring Harvestman. It is Platybunus triangularis. Another new species for me.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2010
Priorslee Lake
1 Wheatear
1 Common Sandpiper
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
6 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Spotted Flycatcher
5 Black Terns
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Wheatears
3 Ravens
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)