28 Jul 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 19.0°C: Clear and calm start. A few puffy clouds and a light southerly breeze developed. Very good visibility.

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: 05:05 – 06:00 // 07:05 – 09:55

(163rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- all four Mute Swans remain with no chasing today.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 30 Canada Geese: 27 outbound in three groups; a trio inbound
- 25 Greylag Geese: 21 outbound in two groups; a quartet inbound
- 116 Wood Pigeons
- 32 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 93 Jackdaws
- 20 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Barn Swallow
- House Martins heard only

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- *10 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (0) Reed Warblers
- 3 (1) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
'nominal' warbler:
- 1 (0) Goldcrest

Counts from the lake area:
- 29 Canada Geese: six remained from yesterday; 23 arrived in three groups
- 3 Greylag Geese: one remained from yesterday; a pair arrived
- 4 Mute Swans
- 18 (?♂) Mallard
- 8 adult and juvenile Moorhens
- 62 adult and juvenile Coots including a very new brood of three juveniles
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 17 Black-headed Gulls at most on the lake. 64 (no juveniles) were on the football field at 05:50
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the lake: none on the football field at 05:50
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Moths:
- *1 Ghost Moth Hepialus humuli: a female of the humuli form
- *1 Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata

Flies:
- *1 female Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus

Spiders etc.:
- *1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- *Large White Pieris brassicae
- *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
- Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- *Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Moths:
- Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Honey Bee Apis mellifera
- Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum
- *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *!!ichneumon-type just possibly a Slender Wood Borer Wasp Trypoxylon attenuatum

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.
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
- Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn]

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

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- *!!Thick-headed fly Conops quadrifasciatus
- *flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.
**otherwise only unidentified flies noted

Bugs etc.:
- none

Beetles:
- Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

A young Chiffchaff still with some fluffy juvenile feathers.

Juveniles often show a yellow wash, not so brightly as young Willow Warblers that can be very yellow.

Calling to fed no doubt though with no gape line this one would be too old to get any attention from its parents.

A Large White butterfly Pieris brassicae from underneath showing none of the markings that characterise...

 ...the underwing of Green-veined White Pieris napi.

A Gatekeeper butterfly Pyronia tithonus tucks in to nectar.

We should have more Gatekeeper butterflies next year!

Another Ghost Moth Hepialus humuli also a female of the humuli form.

Looking rather surprised is a second brood Flame Carpet moth Xanthorhoe designata.

A Honey Bee Apis mellifera tucks in. I had a few sightings of this species in April and then nothing until very recently. They now seem to be in good numbers.

An unusual Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum. Most have an orange 'pile' on their thorax but some, like this one, are dark. The white tail is a clue.

A find today was this ichneumon that spent as much time running around the leaves as it did flying. A small and slender wasp-type. The best I can suggest from scouring the internet with suggestions from Obsidentify and Google Lens is may just possibly be a Slender Wood Borer Wasp Trypoxylon attenuatum.

 Unusual on a street lamp pole pre-sunrise: a female Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus.

 The other "find of the day" was this Thick-headed fly Conops quadrifasciatus. A new species for me.

A flesh fly Sarcophaga sp.

The working part of a harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus. The long and forked pedipalps identify this species pair which are also unique in the way all four pairs of legs are almost at right angles to the body.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *3 Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata

Flies:
- *1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- *1 Spotted Cranefly Nephrotoma appendiculata
- *1 crane fly Rhipidia maculata

Other things:
- *1 unknown bug
- 7 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders etc.:
- *1 possible Garden (Cross) Spider Araneus diadematus

One of three Single-dotted Wave moths Idaea dimidiata on the wall or ceiling of the tunnel.

The proboscis (all the better to sting you with) indicates this is a female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata.

A Spotted Cranefly Nephrotoma appendiculata that has been in the wars with just two legs remaining. I can get nothing on the bug (?) alongside it.

The crane fly Rhipidia maculata

Obsidentify was certain this is a Garden (Cross) Spider Araneus diadematus. The legs look proportionately too long to me. Perhaps the angle?

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:05 – 07:00

(166th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Mallard were again having a hiding day.

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

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 House Martins

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 48 Canada Geese
- 5 Greylag Geese
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- 8 (?♂) Mallard
- 25 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 + 5 (3 broods) Moorhens
- 53 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 4 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Moths:
- 1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata : same as yesterday

Beetles:
- 1 Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni larva

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2012
Priorslee Lake
Grasshopper Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
17 Mistle Thrush including several juveniles
(John Isherwood)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Terns
(Ed Wilson)