27 Jul 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 15.0°C: Mainly broken medium / high cloud with only a few sunny periods. A calm start with a light westerly breeze developing. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:21 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 – 06:10 // 07:10 – 09:55

(162nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- all four Mute Swans remain.
- another increase in Coot numbers. Has the Winter build-up started? Or is it that they have all now emerged from their nest sites?
- 49 Jackdaws were counted outbound from wherever they roost c.05:40. The at c.08:10 two groups totalling 59 birds were circling over the dam area. My view was blocked and I could not determine which way they were going.
- only three House Martins noted: one of these was a begging juvenile.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 29 Canada Geese: 20 outbound in three groups; nine inbound together
- 73 Greylag Geese: 29 outbound in two groups; 44 inbound in two groups
- c.80 Racing Pigeons: together
- 198 Wood Pigeons
- 21 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: circled over checking the lake out but continued
- 108 Jackdaws
- 29 Rooks
- 1 Greenfinch

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 3 House Martins

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 14 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (1) Reed Warblers
- 1 (0) Blackcap
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (0) Goldcrest

Counts from the lake area:
- 33 Canada Geese: eight remained from yesterday; four arrived and departed; another (?) four arrived; then 17 arrived
- 10 Greylag Geese: one remained from yesterday; a single arrived and then eight more
- 4 Mute Swans
- 22 (?♂) Mallard
- 7 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 56 adult and juvenile Coots
- 7 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 25 Black-headed Gulls at most on the lake. 109 (1 juvenile) were on the football field at 05:55
- *1 Herring Gull
- 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the lake, at various times: also two on the football field at 05:55
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Kingfisher

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 !Large Emerald Geometra papilionaria
- *1 Black Arches Lymantria monacha

Spiders etc.:
- 1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
- Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Moths:
- Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
- Shaded Broad-bar Scotopteryx chenopodiata

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Honey Bee Apis mellifera [European Dark Bee A. mellifera mellifera]
- Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum
- *Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *ichneumon probably a male Ichneumon stramentor

Hoverflies:

The first name is that used by Stephen Falk. The name in square brackets is that given by Obsidentify or other sources if different. Scientific names are normally common. The species are presented in alphabetic order of those scientific names.
- *Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana
- *unidentified Cheilosia sp., just perhaps Yarrow Blacklet C. vulpina
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Short Melanostoma Melanostoma mellinum [Variable Duskyface]
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]

Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- Brown Hawker Aeshna grandis
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

Other flies:
- *Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- *probable Common Green Bottle Fly Lucilia sericata
- *Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
- *cluster fly Pollenia rudis
- *flesh fly Sarcophaga carnaria or similar
**otherwise only unidentified flies noted

Bugs etc.:
- *Red Bug Deraeocoris ruber
- *Mirid bug Lygus pratensis or similar

Beetles:
- Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Molluscs:
- *White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Fungus:
- *possible Stubble Rosegill Volvariella gloiocephala

This morning's sunrise. A touch of mist. More cloud later.

I am going with Herring Gull for this juvenile gull. The inner primaries are paler and the area above the tail band is dappled. I cannot entirely rule out Yellow-legged Gull.

This does not help much. I think Yellow-legged Gull would show a paler head.

 One of the local Common Buzzards flies to a perch in the Ricoh area...

...announcing its presence as it does so. The individual with the missing wing feathers I also photographed last week.

A new moth for the year. It is a Large Emerald Geometra papilionaria. I record one most years: this is my latest date for doing so.

A stunning moth: a different individual from that seen yesterday. A Black Arches Lymantria monacha.

A Honey Bee Apis mellifera. I cannot say I have noticed the thick rear leg on this species, perhaps because it is often covered by the pollen in the pollen sac. It seems this is also called the European Dark Bee with the scientific trinomial A. mellifera mellifera.

A Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius sleeping in the Ragwort.

This ichneumon is probably a male Ichneumon stramentor. There are several similar species.

A Parsley Blacklet hoverfly Cheilosia pagana. One of this mostly black group that is relatively easy to identify.

Whereas this Cheilosia hoverfly is more of a problem. It might have helped had the leg colouration been more visible. It is perhaps Yarrow Blacklet C. vulpina. A shame: it would have been a new species for me.

A Short Melanostoma hoverfly Melanostoma mellinum.

This Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare was a struggle for the ID apps. The preferred suggestion was Gossamer Hoverfly Baccha elongata (or Common Dainty) but that has a much thinner abdomen.

The thoracic markings on this Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea are rather indistinct.

A female Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus. The species name is not appropriate for the female.

Probably the Common Green Bottle Fly Lucilia sericata.

A Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis. Just about visible is the long, banded antennae.

This fly was making forays from the buttercup petal. I tried a new ID app – Google Lens – to give me the identity as the cluster fly Pollenia rudis. Obsidentify agreed it was a cluster fly but went no further.

A flesh fly Sarcophaga carnaria or one of several similar species.

A Red Bug Deraeocoris ruber. Seems a good name.

A bug in the hand is worth....

Photographed as it was about to fly off from my finger. This is a Mirid bug Lygus pratensis or similar. Separation requires use of a hand lens and the knowledge of the features to look for. I have neither.

A White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis. I see many most days. I rarely bother to photograph any. The shell marking are very variable.

Obsidentify thought this fungus most likely a Stubble Rosegill Volvariella gloiocephala. I am in no position to argue!

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- *1 cranefly possibly Tipula lateralis

Other things:
- 6 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

This cranefly is possibly Tipula lateralis. I could not get angle to see the wing pattern to clinch the identification.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:05

(165th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Mallard were having another hiding day.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 4 Jackdaws

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 House Martins

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 49 Canada Geese
- 9 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 13 (?♂) Mallard
- 30 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 9 + 1 (1 brood) Moorhens
- 47 + 5 (3 broods) Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Black-headed Gulls

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Moths:
- 1 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
- *1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata

Bees, wasps etc.:
- 1 Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Beetles:
- *1 Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata

By far the best specimen of a Riband Wave Idaea aversata I have seen this year. Again of the form remutata where the area between the outer cross lines is not solid colour.

Tucked up in the crease of a street lamp pole I found this Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2006
Priorslee Lake
Redshank
(Ed Wilson)