17 Jun 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 15.0°C: Some sunny intervals tending to cloud more, though often bright. Light / moderate south-westerly breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST

* = a photo in today's blog.
! = a new species for me here this year
!! = a new species for me in Shropshire

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 06:05 // 07:10 – 09:55

(131st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two Mute Swans visited. They were not allowed to stay.
- *presumably the same duck Mallard now with just one duckling.
- a pair of Tufted Duck apparently flew out of the north-west reeds on to the water. I was at the dam end at the time and I did not see them again. Could they be nesting here?
- a Great Crested Grebe flew low West at 05:15, probably from the lake. I was checking the street lamp poles and could not see the lake at the time.
- as I arrived there were at least 60 Swifts to the East and north-east. By 08:30 there was just one.
- there were at least 71 Starlings on the football field at 06:00. Birds were coming and going all the while so probably more individuals involved. My largest post-breeding count here.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 2 Greylag Geese: inbound together
- 23 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 25 Jackdaws
- 5 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
largest numbers at onset of rain
- >60 Swifts: early only
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 2 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 14 (14) Chiffchaffs
- *13 (11) Reed Warblers
- 11 (9) Blackcaps
- *2 (0) Common Whitethroats [yesterday should have read 3 (0) and not 3 (3)]
'nominal' warbler:
- 4 (4) Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Mute Swans: an extra two birds for a short while
- *7 (5♂) + 1 (1 brood) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck: see notes
- 3 Moorhens
- 31 + 10 (7 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: see notes – perhaps a third seen flying off

On the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Nothing noted

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- *!Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus
- *!Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
- Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina

Moths:
- *Common Marble Celypha lacunana
- *Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
- *Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella
- !Blood-vein Timandra comae: would not stop for a photo.
- *Burnet Companion Euclidia glyphica

Bees, wasps etc.:
- no bees but..
- *sawfly of the Tenthredo arcuata / brevicornis / notha / schaefferi complex

Hoverflies:

The first name is according to Stephen Falk. The name in square brackets is that given by Obsidentify. The scientific names are common. The species are presented in alphabetic order of those scientific names.
- *!!Waisted Duckfly Anasimyia contracta [Waisted Swamp Fly]
- Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus [Late Buttercup Cheilosia]
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly]
- *Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum [Blotch-winged Whitebelt]
- Large Narcissus Fly Merodon equestris [Narcissus Bulb Fly]
- *Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans

Damsel-/dragon-flies:

Singles only of each
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: many hundred males noted; no females seen
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
- *Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- *!dagger fly Rhamphomyia-type, probably R. nigripennis

Bugs etc.:
- *Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris

Planthoppers, lacehoppers etc.
- *!!lacehopper, probably Cixius nervosus

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
- False Blister Beetle: Oedemera lurida or O. virescens
- Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Spiders:
- *wolf spider, perhaps Pardosa nigriceps
- Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

New flowers noted

None

 Another morning when this was about as good as it got. Cloud quickly developed.

The duck Mallard now with a lone duckling.

There was a lot more Reed Warbler song and activity today. I did not see any obvious juveniles. A fine adult here.

The same bird showing this species' distinctive sloping forehead profile.

Enough of that: back to the safety of the reeds (and no: I did not rotate the photo!).

It was again early when the Common Whitethroats were visible. Here is one. It does not have a grey head so it is not a male. It has a brown eye so is not a juvenile. So it must be an adult female.

A juvenile Song Thrush living dangerously. It is sitting on the kerb of Castle Farm Way, just a few feet from the passing traffic.

It was happy for me to come close. Indeed I waited for a gap in the traffic and then picked it up and carried it to the wooded area. It scampered off, hopefully none the worse for its adventure.

This was my 'safety shot' in case it flew off. It did! It is a Large Skipper butterfly Ochlodes sylvanus and can be identified by the irregular shading along the trailing edge of the wing. The Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris lacks this shading. They are not separable on size despite their names.

My first Ringlet butterfly Aphantopus hyperantus this year. From above most easily separated from Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina by the white edging to the wings. The dark dots in the upper wing form the centre of the circular marks on the underwing – the 'ringlets' of its name.

One of six Common Marble moths Celypha lacunana I noted. The antennae look in focus so I think the markings must be naturally blurred.

Differently blurred!

A tiny moth. It is a Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana sitting on the tip of a nettle leaf. With feathered antennae it is likely a male – all the better for detecting a female's pheromones.

A classic 'grass moth'. They always look surprised. The species are separated by the wing tip markings (if any) and the way the streaks along the folded wing are arranged. They like to rest head down usually amongst the grass stems making identification difficult. This is probably the best photo I have ever taken of one. It is a Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella. There will be many dozens soon.

 A good view of a Burnet Companion moth Euclidia glyphica. I could not find any burnet moths again.

Dusted in buttercup pollen is a sawfly of the Tenthredo arcuata / brevicornis / notha / schaefferi complex.

I nearly missed this: a new species of hoverfly for me. I thought at the time it was one of the Muscid flies with white patches on the abdomen. Only when I looked at the photo that I had luckily not deleted did I realise it was a hoverfly. It is a Waisted Duckfly Anasimyia contracta. The slight 'waisting' of the abdomen in this species is difficult to see here as the folded wings are obscuring it.

A favourite: a Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus.

Another old favourite: a Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.

A Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum. If you look carefully at the edge of the right eye you can see that the eyes are hairy. Many hoverflies have hairy eyes and I have no idea why.

 I am showing this, another Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans, because in this view the plumes on the antennae are, for once, visible.

Here is a damselfly struggling out of its larval case. I have not noted this before. See how short the wings look. As it emerges blood will start to circulate and the wings open. They will need to dry out and harden before it can flutter away.

The Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis formation dancing team. I think this was just luck. They do dance but not usually in unison.

I am not sure what this female Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp. is doing. Is it getting nectar from the grass flower? Seems unlikely.

A tiny dagger fly shown here on a single flower of one of the umbels of Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium. Note the 'dagger' mouthparts. It is one of the Rhamphomyia-type of flies, probably R. nigripennis.

These green plant bugs are tricky to identify. I think the Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris.

Apart from the new hoverfly this was my "find of the morning". It is a lacehopper, probably Cixius nervosus. There are, all together now, several similar species.

One of two wolf spiders I noted, both carrying what I presume are egg sacs. It is perhaps Pardosa nigriceps.

lane of the day. It is a 1979-build Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II owned and operated by Ravenair Aircraft based at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport. Like all Piper aircraft it was built in Florida. All the older types have names associated with Native American Indians of the area. Newer design of aircraft are given more politically neutral names. Sad,

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Only noted

Spiders:
- *1 spider, species not determined

Despite this being a distinctive-looking spider I cannot get an identity for it.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:10 – 07:05

(134th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- Just two additional (sub)adult Mute Swans remain.
- no Mallard ducklings noted.
- apparently only two Great Crested Grebes after the five yesterday. They were seen together patrolling all around the water.
- the Reed Warbler was still singing alongside Derwent Drive [I omitted this from the "Warblers noted" in yesterday's log]

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 2 Cormorants: together
- 1 Sparrowhawk: these have been scarce recently

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Reed Warbler
- 1 (1) Blackcap
'nominal' warbler:
- 2 (2) Goldcrests

Noted on / around the water:
- 212 Canada Geese: still no goslings seen
- 11 Greylag Geese
- no Canada x Greylag Goose
- 4 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 1 (0♂) Gadwall
- 21 Mallard: sexes not determined
- 4 (4♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 26 + 5 (3 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Moths:
- *1 probable Mottled Pug Eupithecia exiguata

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris: the only bee of the morning

Beetles:
- many Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- *Raspberry Beetle Byturus tomentosus

New flower for the year:
- *Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca

A Mottled Pug moth Eupithecia exiguata I hope. This group of moths include many that are very similar. I will try and get it checked.

What I believe to be a Raspberry Beetle Byturus tomentosus in the buttercup. One day I ought to try and work out what species of buttercup(s) I am seeing.

I have not seen this Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca at the Balancing Lake as yet this year.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2006
Priorslee Lake
Just a single cygnet left
(Martin Adlam)