2 Jul 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 16.0°C: Cloudy after overnight rain. A clearance from the West was making slow progress and just about reached here when I had to leave. Brisk moderate even fresh north-westerly breeze. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:51 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 – 06:20 // 07:35 – 09:25

(162nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Canada and Greylag goslings all still present and correct.
- on the last few mornings both Mute Swans have been together as I arrived but thereafter the pen disappears, I assume to the nest site. Why? Surely the eggs, if any, will not now hatch.
- again only two groups of Mallard ducklings seen: today those with four and a single duckling. It is possible that two of those counted as adults are actually fully-grown juveniles.
- the duck Pochard had made her way to the East end of the water. Could this mean that as she undertakes her annual moult she will be able to fly again?
- the Little Grebe heard only once and calling very quietly.
- I still could not determine how many juveniles were with the third pair of Great Crested Grebes.
- a Common Kestrel flew West along the length of Teece Drive and away c.07:45.
- very few corvids (Jackdaws and Rooks) passing, most being a group of 16 Jackdaws inbound at 05:40.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 76 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Common Kestrel
- 1 Herring Gull yet again
- 11 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: flew East while one still at the lake
- 21 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook only

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 18 (?♂) + 3 (2 broods) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 2 Moorhens [yesterday should have read '3' not '32'!]
- 90 adult and juvenile Coots
- Little Grebe heard
- 9 + >3 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull, briefly
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 7 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift
- 1 Barn Swallow

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 10 (7) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (8) Reed Warblers
- 6 (5) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
- no Common Whitethroat

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

Moths
1 Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus
4 male harvestmen Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum

Noted later:
cloudy during most of the time

Butterflies:
a late burst of sun rescued the morning so far as butterflies were concerned
Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris
Large White Pieris brassicae
Green-veined White Pieris napi
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

Moths
1 $$ Common Knapweed Tortrix Eucosma hohenwartiana
1 Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis

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

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]
Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis
Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens [Pied Plumehorn]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
very few damselflies not specifically identified

Lacewings:
none

Other flies:
Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
$ Dryomyza anilis
Thick-headed Fly Sicus ferrugineus [Ferruginous Beegrabber]
plus
as usual many unidentified flies of many different species

Bugs:
$ Common Nettle Bug Liocoris tripustulatus

Beetles:
7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
$ Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. conspicua
Rough-haired Lagria Beetle Lagria hirta
Pollen Beetle Meligethes sp.
Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva [Hogweed Bonking-beetle]

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

Amphibians:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
unidentified money spider

New flowers for the year:

None

One of the latest brood of Great Crested Grebes appears to be something of a back-seat driver.

A moulting second year Lesser Black-backed Gull. Three and a half inner primaries are regrown with the adjacent few missing and yet to regrow with the four outermost still to be dropped.

A new moth species for me identified thanks to the Shropshire recorder. It is a Common Knapweed Tortrix Eucosma hohenwartiana . Snazzy species name! Perhaps derived from German "hohen" = "high"; "wart" = "guard or lookout"; "iana" = "associated with". So a moth looking out from high up? Must be correct - Google's AI says so.

Another view.

A moth from a group that is very difficult to identify unless the specimens are very fresh. I think this is a Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis.

This a male Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris. Note the scent gland in the forewing is curved and longer than on the Essex Skipper T. lineola in yesterday's photos.

A more-or-less pristine Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria. It won't stay that way long. A punchy species always battling to control its territory.

Do I need to say? Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

"Please sir: may I..." Actually this Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare is using one of its legs to clean its eye and not asking to be excused.

Not commonly seen though there must be many: this is a male Chequered Hoverfly with the more quadrate yellow spots (the female's are triangular)

One of the most distinctive hoverflies: a Pellucid Fly Volucella pellucens.

A very distinctive small fly which seems only to have a scientific name – Dryomyza anilis.

A Common Nettle Bug Liocoris tripustulatus.

I nailed this one! This Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis is of the form conspicua with one orange spot on each wing, the spots often sullied with some dusky markings just off-centre. Just about visible here.

A Rough-haired Lagria Beetle Lagria hirta

On one of the street lamp poles there were four male harvestmen from the species pair Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum. males are impossible to separate unless you can see the eye surround. Not here! Three obvious individuals and a few legs of the fourth at the top.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
1 Slender Pug Eupithecia tenuiata
1 unidentified pug Eupithecia sp.

Hoverflies:
1 Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria [Hornet Plumehorn]

Other flies:
1 Muscid fly
6 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
15 midges of various species.

I cannot get an identity for this pug moth from the Eupithecia group. Google Lens thought Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata. I am not sure.

Not a species I expected to be asleep in the tunnel: a Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria.

Or for that matter this unidentified Muscid fly.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:30

(160th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the geese were all together though with the Canada Geese separated from the Greylags so today's totals are probably my most accurate of this year's moulting season. There is the lone mainly white goose but none of the usual Canada x Greylag hybrids.
- six adult Mute Swans remain.
- the late brood of two Mallard ducklings not seen. A few of the Mallard still have enough flight feathers to manage to sit on house roofs/
- among a group of ten Tufted Duck was a drake Pochard: a strange date to see this species which is usually a mid-winter visitor (though this species does breed in the Midlands in small numbers]
- twelve Tufted Duck all-told.
- still only two Great Crested Grebes noted.
- a trio of Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived, staying only briefly: two adults and a second year bird.
- the Great (White) Egret noted again.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull
- 15 Jackdaws

Noted on / around the water:
- 192 Canada Geese
- 82 Greylag Geese
- 1 mainly white feral goose
- 6 Mute Swans
- 17 (?♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 12 (10♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 54 + 7 (three broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Great (White) Egret

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

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 3 (3) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (4) Blackcaps

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
none

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass]
1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata
1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
1 $ Common Zebra Moth Helcystogramma rufescens [was Orange Crest]
2 $$ Coleophora species: not further identifiable from photos
both of these with help from the recorder.

Bees, wasps etc.:
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
$ White-clubbed Glasswing Scaeva pyrastri [White-bowed Smoothwing] [was Pied Hoverfly]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
none

Other flies:
numerous different midges and flies

Bugs:
Common Flower Bug Anthocoris nemorum

Beetles:
larvae of Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
Rough-haired Lagria Beetle Lagria hirta
Pollen Beetle Meligethes sp.
Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva [Hogweed Bonking-beetle]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*$ harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

New flowers for the year:
$ Hemp-agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum

This moth is one of two from the Coleophora species group. These small moths are not further identifiable from photos and indeed their presence is most easily determined from the unique pattern the larvae of each species makes as it mines leaves in its food plant.

A Common Zebra Moth Helcystogramma rufescens characterised by the long palps curving back over its head. It was known as Orange Crest when the orange is miniscule and soon wears away. I am not sure "Zebra" is any more appropriate!

A soggy bee after the overnight rain. I am not sure I can identify it for certain.

Only a Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus but a pleasing view.

My first White-clubbed Glasswing hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri this year. The older name Pied Hoverfly seems somewhat more appropriate. A Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva gate-crashes the party.

The Common Red Soldier Beetles love Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra. The photo revealed a hitherto unnoticed Honey Bee Apis mellifera.

A plant that occurs here in abundance but is not seen at the Balancing Lake: Hemp-agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Hobby
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
3 Redshank
Hobby
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

1 Jul 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

18.0°C > 20.0°C: Broken cloud at multiple levels giving only occasional bright spells. Very light northerly breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:50 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: 05:00 – 06:20 // 07:35 – 10:00

(161st visit of the year)

Although eventually just about the average number of warblers were noted singing it was noticeable how quiet it often was this morning with periods when nothing was heard.

Bird notes:
- the Canada and Greylag goslings all still present and correct. The supernumerary adult Greylag Goose has been banished to the other end of the lake.
- again only two groups of Mallard ducklings seen: those of two and a single small duckling.
- a surprise at this date was a drake (Common) Teal seen flying in. I could not re-find it later.
- the duck Pochard not seen: probably hiding.
- the Little Grebe not heard.
- I again could not determine how many juveniles were with the third pair of Great Crested Grebes.
- another strange sighting of a group of 16 presumed Feral Pigeons appearing to be unsure where to go, high to the north-east at 05:25.
- three adult Black-headed Gulls dropped in briefly c.05:15 leaving almost immediately (for The Flash?). Much later a group of five circled high over before moving on.
- *a family party of at least five Jays noted.
- the usual strident Cetti's Warbler was heard only on my first circuit today and was then silent.
- *also family party of Reed Warblers seen.
- a single Common Whitethroat was seen in the usual area with no obvious song or call heard. My attention was drawn to the bird by a 'chack' call that sounded like a Blackcap but was in an unusual habitat.
- the Garden Warblers was still singing frequently in its south-west copse c.05:15. It (or another?) was singing near the Telford Sailing Club HQ after 09:00.
- the corvids (Jackdaws and Rooks) were going in both directions again. Why?

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 16 Feral Pigeons: see notes
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 91 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Herring Gull again
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Sparrowhawk
- 131 Jackdaws: 50 outbound (South); 81 inbound
- 75 Rooks: 41 outbound; 34 inbound

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 18 (?♂) + 3 (2 broods) Mallard
- 1 (Common) Teal
- no Pochard
- 32 Moorhens
- 86 adult and juvenile Coots
- no Little Grebe heard
- 8 + >3 (3 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls, briefly
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- no Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 3 Barn Swallows: singles flying through
- 1 House Martin

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 12 (10) Chiffchaffs
- *15 (9) Reed Warblers
- 8 (6) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler: see notes
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat

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

Butterflies:
*1 Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus : not what I expected!

Bees, wasps etc.:
1 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris (as prey of unidentified spiders): same as yesterday

Lacewings:
1 Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea

Noted later:
cloudy and humid.

Butterflies:
*$ Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola
Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris
Large White Pieris brassicae
Small White Pieris rapae
Green-veined White Pieris napi
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
*$ Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Moths
1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
*1 $ Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana [species #58 for me here in 2025]
3 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana
*1 Double Orange-spot Pammene aurana [was Orange-spot Piercer] [species #60]
1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
1 White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella [was Inlaid Grass-veneer]
*1 $ Common Purple & Gold Pyrausta purpuralis [species #59]
*2 Pale Straw Pearls Udea lutealis
1 Shaded Broad-bar Scotopteryx chenopodiata

Bees, wasps etc.:
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
*Dark-winged Wrinklehead Chrysogaster solstitialis
Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus [Stripe-backed Brusheye]
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger [Lunuled Aphideater]
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
*Spotted Meliscaeva Meliscaeva auricollis [Spotted Thintail]
Banded Meliscaeva Meliscaeva cinctella [Banded Thintail]
Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
*Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
many damselflies not specifically identified

Lacewings:
*lacewing Chrysopa perla
Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea

Other flies:
*male semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
*possible Dance fly Rhamphomyia flava
*Tachinid fly in the genus Siphona, likely S. geniculata
Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea
plus
as usual many unidentified flies of many different species

Bugs:
Mirid bug Orthops sp. possibly Orthops campestris
*Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Beetles:
7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
pupae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis
adult Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
Pollen Beetle Meligethes sp.
Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva [Hogweed Bonking-beetle]

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

Amphibians:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
unidentified money spider

New flowers for the year:

None

Not Mr. Kipling's "great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River" (or his exceedingly good cakes!) but the blue-green algal bloom on the Wesley Brook as it enters the Balancing Lake. Just so!

There were several family parties of Reed Warblers this morning. This I assume is an adult with food for its yet-to-be-independent but fledged juveniles.

Despite several birds jumping in and out of view it always seems to be an adult with food that stopped for a photo.

 I cannot identify the insect! I decided I had disturbed them more than enough and left the area.

Not my best but at 05:45 on a cloudy morning.... No mistaking the rounded wing outline of a Jay, one of a noisy family party of five birds.

Just a hint of the blue feathers in the upper wing show here.

Obsidentify was 100% sure this is an Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola. The separation between Essex Skipper and Small Skipper T. sylvestris is usually denoted by the antennae tips of the former being completely black, including on the underside which we cannot see here. There is a secondary feature for male Essex Skipper in that the scent gland in the forewing is short and parallel with the wing-edge, as here (longer, slightly curved and at a slight angle on Small Skipper). So Essex Skipper it is and not a species I can convince myself I have seen every year.

Not what I expected to have been attracted to the street lights overnight - a butterfly. Specifically a pristine-looking Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus.

My first Gatekeeper butterfly Pyronia tithonus of this year and 10 days earlier than in any previous year. The easiest identification feature is that the black circle in the forewing has two white dots (one in the larger Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina). Unhelpfully this specimen is holding its wings such that the second spot is obscured by the hindwing!

Apologies: I fouled up this photo of a Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix moth Pandemis heparana. I wasn't sure whether it was detritus or not and took this distant shot which was not focussed properly. When I moved it for a better shot it flew away. Not detritus after all.

A Double Orange-spot moth Pammene aurana. I photographed one at The Flash two days ago.

My first Common Purple & Gold moth Pyrausta purpuralis this year.

A Pale Straw Pearl moth Udea lutealis. Another species that is difficult to photograph as they insist on settling on the underside of leaves. Laying on the ground is the answer!

This species of hoverfly, Dark-winged Wrinklehead Chrysogaster solstitialis, was new for me this year. I have seen several but this is the first where I have been able to see the "wrinklehead" as well as the "dark wing".

A female Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare. Can I really see that this lives up to is Obsidentify name of Long-winged Duskyface? I get the long wings. The dusky face bit is harder to see for certain.

Yesterday a Banded Meliscaeva Meliscaeva cinctella: today this Spotted Meliscaeva M. auricollis (as well).

I checked most of the relatively few damselflies this morning and they were all, like this one, Common Blue Damselflies Enallagma cyathigerum.

A Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperia carnea. Apologies that part of the wing is not 'crisp' due to an out-of-focus grass stem partially obscuring the view.

I like it when I spot a male semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus. The white tips to his wings rule out any other of the similar species.

Google Lens came up with a reasonable suggestion for this small fly: possibly the Dance fly Rhamphomyia flava. Here sitting on one flower of an umbel of Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium.

This is a Tachinid fly in the genus Siphona, likely S. geniculata as the most abundant of the group. Otherwise its microscope out on the collected specimen!

A Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes. Seems an appropriate name.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
Riband Wave Idaea aversata
*Green Pug Pasiphila rectangulata
*$ Early Thorn Selenia dentaria [species #23 in the tunnel in 2025]

Flies
9 midges of various species.

My second Green Pug Pasiphila rectangulata of the year, this specimen looking greener than the previous example.

This is my first Early Thorn moth Selenia dentaria of the year. A tricky species to photograph, here resting on the ceiling. The "thorn" group of moths is unusual in that they rest with their wings held together above their backs in the manner typical of butterflies. It looked odd from whatever angle I tried.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:25 – 07:30

(159th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- six adult Mute Swans remain. One bird seems to disappear inside the island and what I believe to be the newest cob is often alongside the island. They could not be trying for a very late brood could they?
- the late brood of two Mallard ducklings again.
- nine Tufted Duck.
- again only two Great Crested Grebes noted. They are confusing!
- a trio of Black-headed Gulls along the edge of the island when I arrived but quickly departed. Perhaps the birds seen earlier at the Balancing Lake?
- the Great (White) Egret noted; it seems to have survived its reported skirmish with the Castle Farm Way traffic.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 170 Canada Geese
- 75 Greylag Geese
- 1 mainly white feral goose
- 6 Mute Swans
- 25 (?♂) + 2 (1 brood) Mallard
- 9 (6♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 48 + 4 (2 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 3 Black-headed Gulls: departed
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: departed
- 1 Great (White) Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 7 (6) Chiffchaffs again
- 2 (2) Blackcaps

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
none

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass]
1 Common Marble Celypha lacunana
*5 Garden Grass-moths Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]

Bees, wasps etc.:
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
none

Other flies:
numerous different midges and flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
larvae of Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
*$ possible pollen beetle Byturus ochraceus
pupae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis:
adult Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
Pollen Beetle Meligethes sp.
Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva [Hogweed Bonking-beetle]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*$ harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

New flowers for the year:

None

My best photo so far of a Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella. When freshly emerged they have a thin gold band at the tip of the wing and a row of sub-terminal black dots. The remnants of both are visible here: both wear away very quickly.

A typical pose adopted by all grass moths. Here another Garden Grass-moth showing the angled and slightly curved cross-line.

Mr. Google's AI suggests that the beetles loving the nectar in the buttercup are possibly the pollen beetle Byturus ochraceus. They are certainly the wrong colour to be Raspberry Beetles B. tomentosus.

My first harvestman of the year from the Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus species pair, inseparable from photos and characterised by the long, forked pedipalps. It still seems early to be to be seeing harvestmen. It was 26 July last year when I recorded that year's first.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper
(Ed Wilson)

2010
Priorslee Lake
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)