7 Jul 24

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

10.0°C > 15.0°C: Broken cloud clearing somewhat. Later shower clouds forming nearby. Light / moderate south-westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:56 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 // 07:15 – 09:30

(147th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two Oystercatchers were on the south-west grass at 07:30. They were not seen earlier or later, neither were they heard in flight.
- 13 Black-headed Gulls and six Lesser Black-backed Gulls were on the football field by 06:00 when they all flew off. Just one Black-headed Gull seen at the lake later. All other gulls seen were fly-overs.
- a big total of Rooks seen to the Easy en route from their roost(s) to their feeding areas. The first large count of Autumn. Less of an increase in the number of Jackdaws at the same time.

Counts of birds noted flying over:
- 1 Stock Dove
- 94 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Herring Gulls
- 20 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 44 Jackdaws
- 138 Rooks

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 7 Swifts

Warblers noted (the figure in brackets relates to birds heard singing):
- 17 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (6) Reed Warblers
- 9 (7) Blackcaps
'nominal' warbler:
- no Goldcrests

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 9 (?♂) Mallard
- 6 + 3 (2 broods) Moorhens
- 25 + 9 (4 broods) Coots
- 2 Oystercatchers: briefly
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Grey Heron throughout

Noted on the street lamps poles pre-dawn:

Harvestman:
- *1 female harvestman Leiobunum rotundum

Noted later:

Butterflies:
- Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus

Moths:
- Common Marble Celypha lacunana
- *!Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

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.
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- *Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn]
- Orange-belted Leaf Licker Xylota segnis [Orange-belted Leafwalker]

Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

Other flies:
- *Long-horned Black Legionnaire Beris geniculata.
- *Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus : males and mating pair
- *dagger fly Empis livida
- *!Scorpion Fly Panorpa communis
- *Muscid fly Phaonia pallida
- semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- *cranefly Tipula fascipennis
- other unidentified flies

Bugs etc.:
- *Red Bug Deraeocoris ruber
- Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius

Beetles:
- *False Blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens
- *Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis
- *Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Molluscs:
- White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Amphibians:
- *Common Toad Bufo bufo

New flowers noted:
- *Rosebay Willowherb Chamerion angustifolium [Fireweed]

The cloud tended to break later in the morning ahead of more showers.

 The only chance I had this morning to photograph my first Pale Straw Pearl moth Udea lutealis of the year. It should be common for the next few weeks and I'll try for a better shot.

A female Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.

A female Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.

A very smart Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens.

A female Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum showing no blue tone. She may, or may not, change colour: some don't.

This one is only slightly blue.

I think this is a Long-horned Black Legionnaire Beris geniculata.

When males and females of a species have different colouration or markings the species is said to be sexually dimorphic. These two Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus illustrate the point with the broader-bodied paler female on the left. Our Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic: Song Thrushes are not.

A dagger fly Empis livida showing its dagger-like mouthparts. Note the shape of the tip of the abdomen.

A different individual with a point on the tip of its abdomen. I assume therefore it is a female with an ovipositor. None of the photos on the NatureSpot web site are labelled male or female and there is no mention in the text of an ovipositor.

I now know that this female Scorpion Fly is Panorpa communis. There is an article in the latest British Nature explaining how to separate this species from P. germanica. The latter species shows three almost equal-sized black marks on the inner edge of the wings and also never shows a dark band across the complete wing. Now I know.

 It looks to be a very distinctive fly. It is probably the Muscid fly Phaonia pallida but there are several less common confusion species.

A cranefly Tipula fascipennis with a crick in its neck.

Today's unidentified fly.

 I thought I had seen the last of the False Blister Beetles Oedemera lurida or O. virescens this year. I noted just this one.

I also was not expecting to see more Swollen-thighed Beetles Oedemera nobilis this year. A male here.

Someone needs to tell these mating Common Red Soldier Beetles Rhagonycha fulva that it is Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris and not their preferred Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium.

A Red Bug Deraeocoris ruber.

The important part of a species of Leiobunum harvestman. Males of the two species – L. blackwalli and L. rotundum – both have a round abdomen and are difficult to separate. The females, as here, have a more elongated abdomen. The dark saddle mark differs and the species are easier to separate. This is an L. rotundum. On the female L. blackwalli the dark on the saddle widens posteriorly and ends abruptly part way along.

I found this warty-looking Common Toad Bufo bufo in Teece Drive trying to climb the concrete edging to get to the water. I had to help it but not before...

...it confusingly leapt like a frog...

...as well as crept like a toad.

One day I will remember to turn the phone's camera on its side. It seems to take better flower photos than my usual camera.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Nothing of note

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:10

(150th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- another late brood of Mallard ducklings, already just two.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Jackdaws: singles

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Swifts

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 214 Canada Geese
- 65 Greylag Geese
- 1 Canada x Greylag Goose
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swan
- *19 + 2 (1 brood) Mallard: sexes of adults not determined
- 14 Tufted Duck: sexes not determined
- 5 + 3 (3 broods) Moorhens
- 47 + 1 (1 brood) Coots: neither of yesterday's new broods was noted
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull

Noted elsewhere around The Flash:

Flies:
- *1 owl midge Psychodidae sp.

A duck Mallard with just two ducklings remaining. The ducklings look to be several days old. This is the first time I have seen this brood.

Owl midges Psychodidae sp. are always a challenge to photograph. They are very small and look fuzzy without the aid of camera shake from my unsteady hands.

(Ed Wilson)

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Sightings from previous years

2011
Priorslee Lake
Lesser Whitethroat
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
2 Common Sandpipers
3 Common Terns
Kingfisher
50+ Swifts
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 drake Ruddy Duck
(Martin Adlam)