5 Jun 25

The Flash - only

13.0°C > 17.0°C: Some blue patches and occasional sun after earlier rain. Light / moderate south-westerly wind. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:49 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species

I decided to give my usual early start a miss and stay dry. I went for an extended explore around The Flash (only) later.

The Flash:  10:50 – 12:25

(136th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- five adult Mute Swans seen. I did not record the cygnet: it could well have been "the other side" of its parent.
- some of the geese were hauled out on the island and my totals are likely incomplete
- the duck Gadwall was still present: fast asleep.
- no Tufted Duck found.
- a new brood of six Coots were the only juveniles I noted.
- I can only conclude that it was the time of day that resulted in almost twice as many adult Coots as usual being seen.
- two Great Crested Grebes! One asleep in the water at the top end: the other at the mid-point. One of the adult Mute Swans was alongside the site two grebes seemed to be refurbishing last week.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 118 Canada Geese
- 13 Greylag Geese
- 1 mainly white feral goose
- 1 (0♂) Gadwall
- 5 Mute Swans
- 19 (16♂) Mallard again
- no Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 36 + 2 (1 brood) Coots
- no Great Crested Grebes

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

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps

Noted around the area:

Moths
*2 Yellow-barred Longhorn Nemophora degeerella
*5 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana

Bees, wasps etc.:
Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum
*Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
*Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
*Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
none

Other flies:
Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
*long-legged fly Dolichopus sp.
*dagger fly Empis livida
*phantom cranefly Ptychoptera contaminata
*$ long-legged fly Rhaphium appendiculatum or similar
*Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
*$ marsh fly probably Tetanocera ferruginea
Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea
plus numerous other unidentified midges and flies

Bugs:
Mirid bug Calocoris alpestris
*$ Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina

Beetles:
Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
adult Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
larvae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis
*Red-headed Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli

A Yellow-barred Longhorn moth Nemophora degeerella showing one of its antennae to good effect.

One of five Common Nettle-tap moths Anthophila fabriciana I found today.

I found my first Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum here this year apparently "at ease".

The golden tones of an Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum.

Almost a complete set of common bumblebees were on the bramble flowers. This is a Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris.

This is a long-legged fly of the Dolichopus group. There are at least 17 species, very hard to separate. Leg colour, number and location of bristles thereon only gets you so far.

One of the smaller dagger flies this is Empis livida. Despite its small size it still sports a formidable looking 'dagger' - its sucking mouthparts.

I think I saw what was probably this species of phantom cranefly Ptychoptera contaminata some ten days ago but at that time couldn't tie up identification. Seems it has a tiny friend of an unidentified fly.

Another long-legged fly this is Rhaphium appendiculatum or similar. This genus has one unusually long segment of its antennae thickened. What happens with the other antennae segments is how the species are separated and there is insufficient resolution here. I have chosen the species known to be most-numerous.

A female Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria. Seems this species doesn't shave its legs (or anything else).

This is a marsh fly and probably Tetanocera ferruginea. There are two other similar species which seem unlikely as they both have some dark shading in the wings.

Mating marsh flies. Not sure of the species. The (slightly?) interesting thing is that in many fly species the females have well-separated eyes and the eyes of the males are co-joined. I assume not in this species!

New for my 2025 list was this Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina.

A Red-headed Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis.

A female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli. As NatureSpot notes the dark marking on the abdomen widens posteriorly and ends abruptly; unlike the parallel sided full-length dark marking on female L. rotundum. Males can most easily be separated by the eye surround - white on this species as shown here. And black on L. rotundum.

(Ed Wilson)

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This seems an appropriate place to show some photos from here taken on Friday 30 May that I did not have time to prepare then.

The Great Spotted Woodpeckers have just fledged their young. Shortly before they did the male (red on the nape) surprised me by visiting an air-brick in one of the houses in Derwent Drive...

 ...stuck in his beak and....

...pulled out a plum (or was that Little Jack Horner?)

Also just fledged were a whole gang of House Sparrows. This a very recently fledged individual with a very obvious yellow gape line looking for its parent to feed it – which it did behind a leaf: bother!

An older fledgling with very little yellow gape and many adult-looking feathers. Looks to be a boy.

The first Treble Brown Spot moth Idaea trigeminata of the year. Don't blame me: I didn't name it! And anyway "geminata" means "twinned" so the scientific name translates to "three twins" and I am none the wiser.

(Ed Wilson)

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2012
Holmer Lake
Black Swan
(Marilyn Morton)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)