Friends of Priorslee Lake Wildlife Site: 30 May 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 16.0°C: Once again it was better weather to start with the scattered cloud increasing all the while to leave it mainly overcast. Moderate south-westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:54 BST

I went straight from a quicker than usual visit to see friends near Hereford and have not (yet) had time to sort out the photos. Tomorrow...?

no photographs today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:10 – 06:10 // 07:15 – 08:50

(134th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Canada and Greylag goslings all still present and correct.
- a pair of Canada Geese were, unusually, on the football field c.06:00. Strangely, and I am sure coincidentally, there was not a single Wood Pigeon on the football field at that time.
- the pair of Gadwall present throughout.
- one of the duck Mallard had two fairly well-grown ducklings with her – where had she been hiding these?
- the duck Pochard still here.
- I heard my first Great Spotted Woodpecker here for some weeks. I have been watching all the usual sites and had concluded they were not nesting here this year [in contrast they have been very noisy and obvious at The Flash: for the last two weeks in particular]
- a Garden Warbler sang briefly mid-point between the two earlier territories.
- the only Starlings noted were two adults with two juveniles on a roof in the estate [there were at least seven adults on the verge of Priorslee Avenue as I drove in: just outside my recording area].

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair outbound
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 1 Jackdaw

Counts from the lake area:
- 9 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan: the other resident assumed to be on the nest
- 2 (1♂) Gadwall
- 9 (6♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 2 Moorhens
- 36 Coots: adults and juveniles – I did not have time to look too closely
- 7 + >2 (2? broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 House Martin

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 16 (13) Chiffchaffs again
- 10 (9) Reed Warblers
- 11 (11) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler: see notes

Noted on the West end street lamp poles around-dawn:

Flies:
1 Downlooker Snipefly Rhagio scolopaceus

Noted later:
Note: a shorter than usual visit.

Butterflies:
none

Moths
1 Yellow-barred Longhorn Nemophora degeerella
6 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana
1 Common Marble Celypha lacunana
3 Silver-ground Carpets Xanthorhoe montanata
3 Straw Dots Rivula sericealis

Bees, wasps etc.:
Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
ichneumon
Tenthredo type sawfly

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [Azure Bluet]

Other flies:
dagger fly Empis tessellata
Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
Spotted Cranefly Nephrotoma appendiculata
Scorpion Fly Panorpa sp.
owl midge Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]
Downlooker Snipefly Rhagio scolopaceus
Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
plus
usual other boring and / or strange flies

Bugs:
Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris
Red-and-Black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata

Beetles:
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
larvae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis
presumed Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus

Slugs, snails etc.:
$White-lipped Snail Cepaea hortensis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
Zebra Spider Salticus scenicus
Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

New flowers for the year:

None

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
$1 Orange Swift Triodia sylvina

Flies
no owl midges Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]
2 craneflies
25 other midges of various species.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:05

(131st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- only five adult Mute Swans and the lone cygnet again.
- a new brood of at least six tiny Mallard ducklings by the island.
- guess what: no Great Crested Grebes
- one of several Great Spotted Woodpeckers was heard drumming. I have never heard this territorial sound so late in the year before.
- the singing Reed Warbler for its seventh day.
- many House Sparrow juveniles out and about.
- I heard Bullfinches calling for the first time for several weeks. Perhaps they have fledged juveniles (these look very different from adults in not having any black on the head).

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 80 Canada Geese
- 16 Greylag Geese
- 1 mainly white feral goose
- 5 + 1 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 20 (15♂) + 6 (1 brood) Mallard
- 5 Moorhens yet again
- 18 + 2 (1 brood) Coots

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 7 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Reed Warbler
- 7 (7) Blackcaps

Noted around the area:

Moths
1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
$1 Treble Brown Spot Idaea trigeminata

Bees, wasps etc.:
Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
ichneumon

Flies:
Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis
owl midge Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]
Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
also numerous different midges and flies

Bugs:
Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris

Beetles:
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
larvae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis

(Ed Wilson)

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Priorslee Lake - PM

Below are a few photos from the lake courtesy of Simon Lewis