16.0°C > 20.0°C: Early cloud giving a short spell of rain c.05:40. Cloud clearing away after 08:15 with a few puffy clouds developing. An almost calm start with a light south-westerly breeze picking up after the clearance. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 06:11 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: 05:10 – 06:40 // 07:45 – 10:00
(210th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- only outbound geese numbers. A large mixed party was heard inbound while my view was blocked by trees.
- *six visiting Mute Swans flew in, almost certainly from The Flash. The residents quickly sent two on their way. After chasing two of the other four for a while they gave up and these remained unmolested,
- the unprecedented number of Mallard continues. There were at least 40 and perhaps as many as 48 present this morning. Some were flying around and out and back to the fields / ponds to the east.
- *only one of yesterday's four "small" ducks noted: a duck Common Teal.
- two Common Sandpipers were noted c.09:15. I had not seen or heard them earlier.
- a Kingfisher was seen along the North side.
- no Swifts seen: it was raining and I was sheltering at the time any might have.
- one Sand Martin was with five Barn Swallows hunting insects over the water.
- no House Martins noted.
- Cetti's Warbler song was heard from both the South side and the North side. There was plenty of time in between for one bird to have flown around (or across) the lake so I am not sure how many birds there might be.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 52 Canada Geese: outbound together: see notes
- 38 Greylag Geese: outbound together: see notes
- 29 Wood Pigeons
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 6 Jackdaws only
- 105 Rooks
Counts from the lake area:
- 14 Canada Geese: arrived together
- *2 > 6 > 6 Mute Swans: see notes
- c.40 (♂?) Mallard: see notes
- *1 (0?) Common Teal
- no Pochard
- 14 Moorhens: no dependent juveniles noted
- *161 adult and juvenile Coots
- 6 + 4 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 2 Common Sandpipers
- 66 Black-headed Gulls
- 3 Herring Gulls
- 22 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Grey Herons at least: comings and goings
- 1 Kingfisher
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Sand Martin
- 5 Barn Swallows again
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warblers: see notes
- 17 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (0) Reed Warbler
- 4 (0) Blackcaps
Noted on the West end street lamp poles around-dawn:
Moths:
- 2 Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]
- 2 Common Grass-moths Agriphila tristella [previously Common Grass-veneer]
Bees, wasps etc.:
- *1 $$ ichneumon Opheltes glaucopterus
- *1 $$ ichneumon Opheltes glaucopterus
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 Large House Spider-type: Eratigena sp.
- *1 Noble or False Widow Spider Steatoda nobilis
Noted later:
Hard going again. With all the Chiffchaffs around you would expect there to be many insects for them to catch.
- *1 Large House Spider-type: Eratigena sp.
- *1 Noble or False Widow Spider Steatoda nobilis
Noted later:
Hard going again. With all the Chiffchaffs around you would expect there to be many insects for them to catch.
Butterflies:
- *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- *Green-veined White Pieris napi
- Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
Moths:
- *1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
- *1 $ Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata: moth species #84 here this year for me
- *1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
- *1 $ Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata: moth species #84 here this year for me
Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
- *European Hornet Vespa crabro
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
- *European Hornet Vespa crabro
Hoverflies:
- *Yellow-girdled Fleckwing Dasysyrphus tricinctus [Yellow-girdled Brusheye]
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Common Copperback Ferdinandea cuprea [Bronze Sap Hoverfly; Eurasian Copperback]
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly; Sun Fly]
- *Yellow-girdled Fleckwing Dasysyrphus tricinctus [Yellow-girdled Brusheye]
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Common Copperback Ferdinandea cuprea [Bronze Sap Hoverfly; Eurasian Copperback]
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly; Sun Fly]
Damsel-/Dragonflies
- Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- *Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
- Migrant Hawker Aeshna mixta
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- *Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum
Beetles:
- none
- none
Flies:
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp., possibly S. carnaria
- otherwise no interesting identified or unidentified flies
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp., possibly S. carnaria
- otherwise no interesting identified or unidentified flies
Slugs, snails etc.:
- *large Arion-type slug
One of the visiting Mute Swans about to splash down, wing tip just brushing the surface. The bill looks like that of a full adult which is perhaps why the resident swans singled this one out for the chase.
Green is showing in the folded wing of the small duck so it must be a Common Teal feeding on the weed surrounded by Coots.
The visiting Grey Herons seem to like perching on the buoys. I have not seen them do this in earlier years. This meant that when a visiting Herring Gull wanted to claim ownership it was repelled.
A Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi. "White" butterflies will fly in cloudy conditions if it is warm enough.
Hard to see after being hard to find. A Common Nettle-tap moth Anthophila fabriciana flew on to the end of a dead flower where it was not at all obvious.
Another lucky find as I flushed this moth in a dark wooded area and just managed to see where it landed. It is, rather belatedly, my first Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata this year and moth species #84 here for me
A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum with an impressive pollen load from the Butterfly-bush Buddleja davidii.
Working the same bush was a Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris. No pollen load visible. I read that in this species only queens and workers have pollen sacs and males do not. I am not sure I can say which sex this is.
My second Yellow-girdled Fleckwing hoverfly Dasysyrphus tricinctus this year. This group have unusually long antennae for hoverflies.
The grey lines on the thorax are often the first clue that it is a Common Copperback hoverfly Ferdinandea cuprea as the "copper back" is often obscured by the folded wings.
I have again extended my "latest date" for seeing a Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum. A male here.
A female Common Darter Sympetrum striolatum. Males have a red abdomen once they mature and usually show some red almost as soon as they emerge.
I am not entirely sure what is going on here. A Large House Spider-type: Eratigena sp. apparently peering in to a crack in a street lamp pole. Is there anything else inside?
Now what has the Noble or False Widow Spider Steatoda nobilis got hold of for its breakfast? No wonder I find no insects on this street lamp pole.
A few minutes of rain and a large Arion-type slug appears. I give up with the identification of these. Black ones can be Orange Slugs and orange ones Black Slugs, all Arion species. DNA seems to be the only reliable way.
There are still several clumps of Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris in flower. I failed to find a single insect visiting any of them.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Yes well: I wasn't taking this moth's photo and I only noticed it when I was reviewing my photos. I asked Obsidentify what it thought. It wasn't sure. However the Shropshire recorder was made of sterner stuff and has identified it as a Nut Bud Moth Epinotia tenerana. A new species for me this year and my 43rd found the tunnel.
On size this has to be a Limonid cranefly. Obsidentify suggested Pilaria discicollis which is not illustrated in the NatureSpot web site. A wider Google search suggested that was a possibility without giving alternatives.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:45 – 07:40
(205th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- still 15 Mute Swans present though I suspect some flew to the lake after I departed
- three Grey Herons.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 10 Jackdaws loosely together
Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 15 Mute Swans
- 34 (?♂) Mallard
- 13 (10?♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 Moorhens
- 93 adult and juvenile Coots: see notes
- 5 + 5 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Black-headed Gulls: at least two juveniles again
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, briefly
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 Grey Herons
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 4 (1) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Noted around the area:
- *large Arion-type slug
...trying again...
...and again before giving up.
Sitting at a jaunty angle is a new species for me: the ichneumon Opheltes glaucopterus
Thanks to the eagle-eyed " breakfast club" at Paul's Classic Catering van in the lay-by here is a photo of yet another European Hornet Vespa crabro. I think I persuaded them not to tread on it.
Not noted for a few days – a Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.
I don't think the tiny patch of red showing in this view alters my opinion of it as a female.
Wonderfully disgusting-looking: a Flesh fly Sarcophaga sp., possibly S. carnaria
(Ed Wilson)
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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Moths: [42 species here before today; one addition]
*1 $ Nut Bud Moth Epinotia tenerana [formerly Nut-bud Moth]
*1 $ Nut Bud Moth Epinotia tenerana [formerly Nut-bud Moth]
Flies:
1 female Missing Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
*1 $$? Limonid cranefly, perhaps Pilaria discicollis
10 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
*1 Phantom cranefly Ptychoptera albimana
*1 probable Robber fly sp.
11 midges of various species
1 female Missing Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
*1 $$? Limonid cranefly, perhaps Pilaria discicollis
10 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
*1 Phantom cranefly Ptychoptera albimana
*1 probable Robber fly sp.
11 midges of various species
Arthropods:
1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger
1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*1 Garden Spider Araneus diadematus [Garden Cross Spider]
*2 Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
5 unidentified spiders
*1 Garden Spider Araneus diadematus [Garden Cross Spider]
*2 Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
5 unidentified spiders
A Phantom cranefly Ptychoptera albimana
A probable Robber fly sp.
Another variation of Garden Spider Araneus diadematus.
A Missing Sector Orb-web Spiders Zygiella x-notata
And another!
(Ed Wilson)
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The Flash: 06:45 – 07:40
(205th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- still 15 Mute Swans present though I suspect some flew to the lake after I departed
- three Grey Herons.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 10 Jackdaws loosely together
Noted on / around the water:
- 5 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 15 Mute Swans
- 34 (?♂) Mallard
- 13 (10?♂) Tufted Duck
- 13 Moorhens
- 93 adult and juvenile Coots: see notes
- 5 + 5 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 16 Black-headed Gulls: at least two juveniles again
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, briefly
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 Grey Herons
Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 4 (1) Chiffchaffs
- no Blackcaps
Noted around the area:
Moths:
none
none
Bugs:
*3 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes
*3 Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes
Beetles:
*1 Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata
*1 Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
no harvestmen noted
A two-fer: an Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata climbing alongside a Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata.
(Ed Wilson)
*1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
no harvestmen noted
One of three Red-legged Shieldbugs Pentatoma rufipes I noted on different street lamp poles.
(Ed Wilson)
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2013
Priorslee Lake
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)
Priorslee Lake
Yellow Wagtail
(Ed Wilson)