17 Jul 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 17.0°C: Low cloud with spells of drizzle. Seemed to be the "Telford hat" as dry and bright, if not sunny, in Donnington as I departed. Light easterly breeze. Moderate, often poor, visibility.

Sunrise: 05:07 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 06:25 // 07:25 – 09:20

(174th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 11 Canada Geese when I arrived: eventually 36.
- the long-term Greylag Geese had a friend early only.
- a Gadwall, sex not determined, was seen in flight.
- the brood of seven Mallard ducklings seen again – at least I think there were still seven. Hard to see.
- the duck Pochard not noted again despite a good search around all her usual haunts.
- *the first recently-fledged juvenile Black-headed Gull of the year was seen.
- while sheltering along the North side c.05:45 a Kingfisher called and then flew past me. In later Winter I suspected one bird as roosting here and was heard and then seen many mornings.
- no Jackdaws or Rooks.
- a Cetti's Warbler was alarm calling at the West end c.05:30 with another bird giving quiet calls in response. A juvenile?
- *a Common Whitethroat was alarm calling and seen in the usual place. Nearby two juveniles warblers were heard making begging calls but I was unable to determine the species.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair outbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair outbound
- 51 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- no Jackdaws
- no Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- *36 Canada Geese: see notes
- *2 Greylag Geese: see notes
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (?♂) Gadwall: see notes
- *31 (?♂) + 7? (1 brood) Mallard: see notes
- 9 Moorhens
- 106 Coots
- *8 + 7 (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- *21 Black-headed Gulls: one of these a juvenile
- 1 Herring Gull
- 26 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed?
- 1 Kingfisher

Hirundines etc. noted:
- no Swift
- c.10 Barn Swallows
- ? House Martins: heard only but lost in the low cloud

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 2 (0) Cetti's Warbler
- 6 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (2) Reed Warblers
- 5 (2) Blackcaps
- *1 (0) Common Whitethroat

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

Moths:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius

Noted later:
Very little in drizzle

Butterflies:
none

Moths
*3 grass moths that I don't feel confident about identifying.

Bees, wasps etc.:
none

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
none

Caddis etc. flies:
none

Other flies:
*"greenbottle" Lucilia sp.
a few other unidentified fly species

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
*unidentified pollen beetle

Amphibians:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

New flowers for the year:

None

Apologies for the poor quality of some of the photos in the rain today. At the back here is a Canada Goose squabble. More or less in the centre is a very pale Mallard. I could log it as a "feral Mallard" but I doubt it is much less "wild" than any of the others. The two Mallard standing, one ahead of the Greylag Goose and the other alongside the goose are, despite their appearance, both drakes – this is evident from their pale green-yellow bills. They go through this plumage phase – called "eclipse" for some reason - to camouflage them while they moult all their flight feathers and become flightless for a period.

The trio of juvenile Great Crested Grebes doze while awaiting the next delivery of food. I read that at this age they are frequently referred to as "humbugs", Bah!

It does not look much like a Black-headed Gull but it is. It is a newly-fledged juvenile and at this time they have a dark gingery tone to many of the feathers which will be moulted in to first-winter plumage by September.

So a Common Whitethroat is still here and on territory.

One of the trio of grass moths I flushed and for which I have declined to guess an identity.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

I expected more sheltering from the drizzle

Moths: [28 species here before today; no additions]
*1 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata : on ceiling
*1 Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata : on wall

Other Flies:
*1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
5 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
11 midges of various species.

Arthropods:
*5 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

A largely moth-free day in the rain. Two hiding in the tunnel: this Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata on the ceiling...

... and this Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata sharing wall-space with a White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger.

A dreadful photo of an insect on the ceiling of the tunnel: it illustrates a point. At the time I thought "a harvestman". When I showed this edited photo to Obsidentify it thought "harvestman" too. It has only six legs but that does not mean too much as harvestmen often lose legs. But I can clearly see it has halteres and is therefore a (full-legged) cranefly. The combination of strongly marked wings and legs with dark and light sections mean it must be the cranefly Limonia nubeculosa.

One of very few flies out and about was this "greenbottle". Probably one of the Lucilia species but which I cannot tell. Note too that a small pollen beetle has had its photo taken.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:20

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes
Highlight here was certainly one and probably two Willow Tits calling from the bottom end as I arrived. They eluded the camera!

Other bird notes:
- yesterday's single small Mallard duckling likely no more: what was probably its mother was where I photographed them yesterday and well away from the other Mallard.
- 25 Tufted Duck today.
- Reverted to three Great Crested Grebes! A bird was again sitting on a nest site at the top end with another seen close-by. The visibility was not good-enough to see that it was another bird that was by the island but I am sure it was.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
****all numbers "best effort" in poor visibility and drizzle
- 72 Canada Geese
- 26 Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans
- 18 Mallard
- 25 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 85 + 5 (5 dependent broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 Black-headed Gull: adult
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap still

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
none

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass] [58 species here before today (revised total): no additions]
none

Nothing else other than...
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
8 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

(Ed Wilson)

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Photos from 11 Jul - 13 Jul

As the weather left things a bit short-changed for photos today here are a few from Friday, Saturday and Sunday (11th – 13th July) that I did not have time to include at the time in the blog.

From Friday 11th

One of two Brown House-moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella that were in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel.

On this day an Early Thorn moth Selenia dentaria was on the wall of the tunnel giving a better view than perhaps the same individual had done when it was hanging from the ceiling on previous days.

A Common Footman moth Eilema lurideola I found on a street lamp pole at the Balancing Lake.

From Saturday 12th

An unusual sight of a Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus possibly asleep but certainly resting on the ceiling of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

Also in the tunnel was this as I noted at the time an "unidentified fly with yellow face and longer than usual antennae". Both Obsidentify and Google Lens think it is from the Tetanocera group of marsh flies. The only species from this group with red legs is Tetanocera ferruginea, sometimes called Common Buff Snailkiller. I am not entirely happy as to my eyes this is a more robust fly and there appear to be dark marks on the abdomen in my photo.

Now four from The Flash. A Mirid bug Plagiognathus arbustorum negotiating the hairs on the back of my hand.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata party on an umbellifer.

A Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the less-common form spectabilis crawling across my knuckle.

Just to show Common Red Soldier Beetles Rhagonycha fulva are not only found on Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium here are four enjoying a grass seed-head at The Flash.

From Sunday 13th

My first "real" Common Blue butterfly Polyommatus icarus of the year, one that I photographed earlier was relabelled when Martin Adlam pointed out it was a Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus!

And the underwing view of the same individual.

A very smart Ruby Tiger moth Phragmatobia fuliginosa on a street lamp pole. Not a moth I find every year.

Well named: a Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Not to be outdone an even larger 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata party was being held on Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria at the Balancing Lake this day.

(Ed Wilson)