20 Jun 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 15.0°C: High cloud keeping the sun at best watery. Light mainly southerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST: still as early as it gets

This year the longest day.

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:00 – 06:10 // 07:25 – 09:50
(134th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- A burst of song from a Lesser Whitethroat at 09:25 not precisely where I have heard any previously but close-enough to lead me to suspect that this secretive species has at least attempted to breed here.
- Meanwhile the Common Whitethroat has found its voice again and was heard singing, albeit quietly, on several occasions.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
***almost all the fly-overs occurred before 05:50
- 6 Feral Pigeons: together (I ignore the birds that wheel around the estate for fly-over purposes)
- 12 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Herring Gulls
- 17 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 15 Starlings: in addition to the 42 birds counted on the football field c.06:00
- 23 Jackdaws
- 11 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts at 05:10: no more until 7 at 09:30
- 1 Barn Swallow
- ? House Martins: heard only

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 14 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (6) Reed Warblers
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 2 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 12 (12) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- 2 (2) Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 5 (5♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck: departed? disappeared?
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 25 + 10 (5 broods) Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Herring Gull: with...
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: briefly

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Nothing

Noted later:
An early departure meant fewer insects. Mostly cloudy again

Butterflies:
- none

Moths:
- Timothy Tortrix Zelotherses paleana
- Common Marble Celypha lacunana
- grass moths: unidentified
- *!caterpillar of Vapourer Orgyia antiqua

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

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.
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae [Migrant Hoverfly; Migrant Aphideater]
- *Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger [Lunuled Aphideater]
- Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans

Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: a female noted today
- dagger fly Empis livida
- Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
- Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
- *Muscid fly Phaonia pallida
- *semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- *owl midge Psychodidae sp.
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- cranefly Tipula fascipennis
- ****various unidentified flies

Bugs etc.:
- *Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Planthoppers, lacehoppers etc.
- none

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
- *Raspberry Beetle Byturus tomentosus
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
- *False Blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens
- *!22 Spot Ladybird Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata
- *unidentified larva

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Spiders:
- Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- *!!money spider, probably Microlinyphia pusilla
- *White Crab Spider Misumena vatia [Flower Spider]

New flowers noted:

None

Another morning when sunrise was as "good as it got".

Two to note here. The caterpillar is of a Vapourer moth Orgyia antiqua. The ladybird is a 22 Spot Ladybird Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata.

What a bizarre creature the caterpillar is. I doubt much would want to eat it.

The 22 Spot Ladybird in close-up.

Common Droneflies Eristalis tenax are at last beginning to appear in some numbers.

A Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae

What seems to be a male Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger. I am rather puzzled by the blue-grey areas between the yellow "lunules" which I cannot see on any of the photos on Steven Falk's comprehensive illustrated web site. Neither can I see them on any of the broadly similar species.

The distinctive Muscid fly Phaonia pallida.

A male semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus, recognised by the white tips to his wings. A small but smart-looking fly.

An owl midge Psychodidae sp.

Unknown fly species #1. Obsidentify suggested this was a horsefly: it isn't. Like many flies it has a brown base to its wings. I have no idea why this should be.

Unknown fly species #2. This has different markings on its thorax from other recent "long-legged flies".

Unknown fly species #3. A very small "long-legged fly" with a proportionately large head and a tapered abdomen.

Unknown fly species #4. Doing what many flies are good at: clearing away debris.

 The distinctive shape of a Dock Bug Coreus marginatus.

A trio of things here. Top right the only False Blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens I noted this morning. Buried in the buttercup are what seems to be two Raspberry Beetles Byturus tomentosus. In the front and presumably unwilling to tackle beetles is a White Crab Spider Misumena vatia.

A closer view of the White Crab Spider.

My first thought was this would be a ladybird larva. Checking with the internet if it were it would have visible legs. So what is it?

A different money spider on the boxing ring this morning and unlike the 'usual' species it has white markings on its abdomen. It is most likely Microlinyphia pusilla.

(Ed Wilson)

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

In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Nothing of note.

(Ed Wilson)

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

The Flash: 06:15 – 07:20

(137th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- There was a third 'white' Mute Swan lurking at the top end. On Wednesday when the resident cob was chasing the few remaining visitors he seemed to be forcing them out of the water. When I could see no extra birds yesterday I went in the wooded area to check there were none cowering (or worse, dead) there. I found none. The cob seemed to be ignoring it today.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Jackdaw
- 2 Starlings

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts
- 2 House Martins

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 219 Canada Geese: includes three goslings
- 34 Greylag Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 21 Mallard: no ducklings seen: sexes not determined
- *10 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 19 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Moths:
- *1 Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata

Flies:
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.

Beetles:
- Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni

A trio of Tufted Ducks flying around, with a duck flanked by drakes. Note the rear duck is acting as a "quacky duck"!

He looks pleased with himself. The top-side view and...

...the under-side.

I found this Flame Carpet moth Xanthorhoe designata on one of the metal palings that surround the academy.

(Ed Wilson)

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

Sightings from previous years

2009
Priorslee Lake
A pair of Siskins
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
A drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)