25 Jun 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

18.0°C > 20.0°C: Early cloud producing some very light drizzle before breaks appeared and sunny intervals developed. A calm start with a moderate westerly breeze picking up. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:47 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: 04:55 – 06:15 // 07:30 – 10:00

(155th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Canada and Greylag goslings all still present and correct.
- I could not locate any visiting adult Mute Swan. Only the resident cob was seen.
- no Mallard ducklings seen.
- the duck Pochard not seen.
- an adult Black-headed Gull was on one of the sailing club's piers at 05:10 and not seen thereafter
- the Garden Warbler was again heard singing from various bushes around its presumed nesting site.
- a Common Whitethroat was again heard giving an alarm call.
- I have no idea what was going on with the Jackdaws this morning. There were more than recently noted flying South outbound from their roost site(s) [80 birds]. Their timing is triggered by the daylight so with a cloudy start they would have been later and therefore more likely to be seen after I had arrived. That said a party of 62 seen flying North at 05:30 (followed by 60 more in eight smaller groups) seems unprecedented. Such movement is normal in late afternoon as they return to their roost(s).

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 56 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls again
- 202 Jackdaws: see notes
- 36 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 1 Mute Swan: see notes
- 20 (?♂) Mallard: see notes
- no Pochard
- 3 Moorhens again
- 79 adult and juvenile Coots
- 7 + 2 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Black-headed Gull
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Swifts
- 1 Barn Swallow
- 4 House Martins

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

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

Moths:
*1 Ghost Moth Hepialus humuli: female dead in web.
*$ 1 Bramble Shoot Moth Notocelia uddmanniana [my moth species #54 here in 2025]

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

Noted later:
Less breezy but often cloudy.

Butterflies:
*Green-veined White Pieris napi
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
*Comma Polygonia c-album
$ Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

Moths
5 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana
8 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana

Bees, wasps etc.:
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
*$$ leafcutter bee Megachile sp.
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: very many, mainly small individuals
*Crabonid wasp, possibly Hogweed Fly Fox Ectemnius lituratus
*ichneumon, perhaps Cosmoconus sp.
*two unidentified ichneumon sps.

Hoverflies:
*Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
Dark-saddled Leucozona Leucozona laternaria [Dark-saddled Hoary]
*$$ Stripe-backed Glimmer Riponnensia splendens
Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]
Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis
*Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans [Bumblebee Plumehorn]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [Azure Bluet]
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]

Lacewings:
none

Other flies:
Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
dagger fly Empis livida
*Thick-headed Fly Sicus ferrugineus [Ferruginous Beegrabber]
plus
as usual many unidentified flies of many different species

Bugs:
*$ Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius

Beetles:
7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
pupae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis: many
Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: adult
*$ Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. spectabilis: adult
Pollen Beetle Meligethes sp.
Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis [False Oil Beetle or Thick-legged Flower Beetle]
*$ Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva [Hogweed Bonking-beetle]

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

Amphibians:
Common Toad Bufo bufo

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

New flowers for the year:

None

Well the left antenna tip is in sharp focus even if nothing else is. However the, ahem, "green" veins of this Green-veined White butterfly Pieris napi show well-enough.

As long as they keep posing I will keep photographing any Comma butterfly Polygonia c-album!

More or less "wings only" remain of a female Ghost Moth Hepialus humuli. It is only the males that are ghostly white.

This Bramble Shoot Moth Notocelia uddmanniana is a distinctive micro-moth with no confusion species. Unusually this flash photo was enough to cause it to fly to the far distance. Most moths seem unconcerned by camera flash.

The first of a quartet of "ichneumon wasps" I noted today. This a Crabonid wasp, possibly Hogweed Fly Fox Ectemnius lituratus though there are many similar species.

This view did not help confirm any identity.

A potential new bee species for me though not specifically identified. It is a leafcutter bee Megachile species. But which?

This ichneumon is suggested by Obsidentify as perhaps a Cosmoconus species. A trawl of the internet failed to deliver any conclusion. A smart creature. I assume a female with a short ovipositor though one wonders how she copes with what appears to be a blunt instrument.

This first of two unidentified ichneumon sps.

And the other one. I would have thought the very odd hind legs would have provided an easy identification. Apparently not.

A Bumblebee Blacklet hoverfly Cheilosia illustrata.

My find of the day was this new species of hoverfly for me. It is a Stripe-backed Glimmer Riponnensia splendens. I did read once how hoverflies are characterised as separate from all the other groups of flies but it was far too technical for me to understand. You probably need a hand lens at least to see the characteristics. Hoverflies are far from all being "black and yellow"! Obsidentify seems especially good at hoverflies and I suspect it has been trained on Steven Falk's monumental Flickr photo collection.

A close-up of a Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans. The right antenna in particular shows why it is called a "plume horn".

Very messy. A Thick-headed Fly Sicus ferrugineus has wrapped itself around a dead flower-head.

An over-zoomed photo of my first Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius of the year I had to over-zoom to force the camera to focus on the insect rather than any part of the surrounding vegetation.

My first Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the form spectabilis this year. That said all forms are somewhat generalisations as variations occur. Normally this form shows a black crescent eating in to the front red spots.

My first this year of what used to be called Common Red Soldier Beetles Rhagonycha fulva. The online community seems to have rechristened them, not without some validity, Hogweed Bonking-beetles. This one is indeed on Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium, albeit without a partner.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

Flies
1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
23 midges of various species.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:25

(153rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- now a pair of Tufted Duck.
- again only one Great Crested Grebe noted.
- the Great (White) Egret present again.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 185 Canada Geese
- 56 Greylag Geese
- 1 mainly white feral goose
- *6 Mute Swans
- 24 (?♂) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 19 + 3 (2 broods) Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- *1 Great White Egret

Hirundines etc. noted:
- no Swifts
- 2 House Martins

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

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
none

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass]
1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
4 Garden Grass-moths Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
*1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla
*1 Treble Brown Spot Idaea trigeminata

Bees, wasps etc.:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
*ichneumon Amblyteles armatorius

Hoverflies:
Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
*Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]

Other flies:
*Little Snipe Fly Chrysopilus asiliformis
Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
also numerous different midges and flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
pupae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis
Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: adult

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

New flowers for the year:

None

Which is the whitest of then all? Mute Swan or Great (White) Egret?

Something I do not see too often. A Wren not only on the ground but...

...staying around and treading the boards to have its photo taken. I could have wished for more light but at 06:30...

...I'll take it anyway.

There was dappled sunlight when I came across this juvenile spotty Robin looking as if butter wouldn't melt in its mouth.

A Common Plume moth Emmelina monodactyla. As with most species in this group the wings are segmented with the tightly wrapped when at rest.

The most pristine Treble Brown Spot moth Idaea trigeminata to date. Apparently named because the outer cross-line of dark marks on the forewing is "pinched in" in two places meaning that there are three more prominent areas. Seems tenuous to me but you have to name it something.

It is not that easy to see the ichneumon Amblyteles armatorius amongst all the vegetation.

Up and about early was a Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans.

I suspect this is my first Little Snipe Fly Chrysopilus asiliformis here: my records from The Flash are not so extensive as those from the Balancing Lake.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
Willow Tits
(Ed Wilson)

2012
Priorslee Lake
Probable Grasshopper Warbler
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
Peregrine Falcon
(Ed Wilson)

2007
Priorslee Lake
The water level was the highest I have seen it for many years and the rows of marker buoys just off the south bank had all disappeared under the water. The full effect of Wesley Brook downstream has been devastating for Shifnal, with so much water in the reservoir it was no surprise to hear that many premises alongside the brook were under 2 to 3 feet of water for the second time this month.
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

24 Jun 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 19.0°C: Mostly cloudy. A light drizzly shower c.06:30. A very few sunny bits after 08:30. Fresh south-westerly breeze tending to ease somewhat. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:45 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: 04:55 – 06:10 // 07:25 – 10:05

(154th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Canada and Greylag goslings all still present and correct.
- the visiting unringed adult Mute Swan was hissing at passers by as it was stranded on the dam. I do not understand why it does not fly away. The wings, when it arches them at passers-by, look uninjured. The pen was not seen again.
- four duck Mallard with ducklings seen just to confuse: eleven, four, six and one in descending size order. I also suspect that two of those I have counted as adults are fully-fledged juveniles from here.
- the duck Pochard still around.
- the Little Grebe was not heard on either of my transits past the area.
- a single Feral Pigeon flew fast West c.05:40 closely followed by a group of six. These did not to seem to any of the birds that fly around the estate and which I do not report unless they do anything unusual.
- the Garden Warbler was again heard singing and seen flying around from bush to bush with another non-singing/calling bird in pursuit.
- a Common Whitethroat was heard giving its alarm call. I assume this means it is too busy on nesting duty to sing at the moment.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 7 Feral Pigeons: see notes
- 44 Wood Pigeons
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 20 Jackdaws
- 3 Rooks
- 6 Starlings

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 3 + 3 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans: see notes
- 22 (?♂) + 22 (4 broods) Mallard: see notes
- 1 (0♂) Pochard
- 3 Moorhens
- 81 adult and juvenile Coots
- no Little Grebe heard
- 7 + 2 (2 broods) Great Crested Grebes
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 12 Swifts: these are typically only seen over the dam area c.05:30.

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (1) Cetti's Warbler
- 17 (13) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (7) Reed Warblers again
- 8 (7) Blackcaps
- 2 (1) Garden Warblers: see notes
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat: see notes

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

Moths:
*1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata [my moth species #53 here in 2025]

Noted later:
Breezy again

Butterflies:
Large White Pieris brassicae
Small White Pieris rapae
Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
*Comma Polygonia c-album

Moths
*2 Common Nettle-taps Anthophila fabriciana
*1 Timothy Tortrix Zelotherses paleana (was Aphelia paleana)
1 Barred Marble Celypha striana
3 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana
1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
1 Latticed Heath Chiasmia clathrata

Bees, wasps etc.:
*probable Hairy-footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes [Fork-tailed Flower-Bee]
*Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris: very many, mainly small individuals
*small ichneumon sp.

Hoverflies:
Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
*$ Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus [Stripe-backed Brusheye]
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
*Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus
*Dark-saddled Leucozona Leucozona laternaria [Dark-saddled Hoary]
Grey-spotted Boxer Platycheirus albimanus [Grey-spotted Sedgesitter or White-footed Hoverfly]
Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis
*$ Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria [Hornet Plumehorn]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [Azure Bluet]
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]

Lacewings:
*1 unidentified "brown lacewing"

Other flies:
*$$ caddis fly Triaenodes bicolor
*$$ possible root-maggot fly Pegomya bicolor
*female semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
Tachinid fly, perhaps one of the Siphona species
female Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea
plus
as usual many unidentified flies of many different species

Bugs:
$ Common Flower Bug Anthocoris nemorum
*Mirid bug Plagiognathus arbustorum

Beetles:
*$ 10 Spot Ladybird Adalia decempunctata
*Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata
pupae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis: many
Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: adult
*Pollen Beetle Meligethes sp.

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

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*unidentified money spider

New flowers for the year:
*$ Rosebay Willowherb Chamerion angustifolium [Fireweed]

A Comma butterfly Polygonia c-album brightens any day.

A Common Nettle-tap moth Anthophila fabriciana on Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium. Of interest as it was one of several feeding on the flower nectar and I cannot recall seeing them do this before. A pollen beetle gate-crashing.

Not the best of angles on what is a very plain-looking moth. It is a Timothy Tortrix Zelotherses paleana though Obsidentify still uses the older scientific name Aphelia paleana. The yellowing around the "collar" is about the only feature of this common species.

Only previously seen elsewhere this year is a Riband Wave moth Idaea aversata. A recalculation makes it my moth species #53 here in 2025.

Obsidentify was 97% sure this is a Hairy-footed Flower Bee Anthophora plumipes though it calls the species Fork-tailed Flower-Bee. Not a species I have seen before. I took another photo...

...and this time it was 100% sure. Steven Falk's Flickr pages show so many different individuals I ended up confused.

Fresh out of the hairdressing salon is this Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum.

A tiny unidentified ichneumon.

Downward angled yellow marks on the abdomen and two stripes on the thorax identify this hoverfly as a Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus.

Rubbing her hands (with glee?) is a female Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.

It would be great if all hoverflies posed like this Dark-saddled Leucozona Leucozona laternaria. Obsidentify knows it as Dark-saddled Hoary.

Just about the largest of the British hoverflies is this Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria. Despite its appearance it is quite harmless and a nectar feeder.

I couldn't get a better angle on this insect so it will stay in the log as an unidentified "brown lacewing".

At first sight this seems to be a Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis without patterning on the wings. But it also has what seems like a large moustache (actually the palps)! It is the different caddis fly Triaenodes bicolor. In this instance "bicolor" refers to the different colour of the underwing, hidden here. As caddis flies are not true flies they have two pairs of wings rather than one pair and halteres. A new insect for me.

This may be the root-maggot fly Pegomya bicolor (or a similar species in the genus). However it does look more robust than those shown on the internet. I cannot come up with a better suggestion.

A female semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus. She lacks the white tips to the wings that the male uses as display.

Up close and personal with an unidentified fly.

Today I have managed to confirm this as the Mirid bug Plagiognathus arbustorum. The black along the leading edge of the hind femur is, according to NatureSpot, diagnostic of this species in the group.

At first glance I thought this was a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis without or with faded spots. Then I noticed the extent of the white on the "face" It has to be a 10 Spot Ladybird Adalia decempunctata though that does not entirely explain where the spots have gone. New for the year for me.

And another ladybird I nearly misidentified. I thought Cream Spot Ladybird Calvia quattuordecimguttata: but that has its "quattuordecim" (14) "guttata" (spots) on a brown background. This an Orange Ladybird Halyzia sedecimguttata which does indeed have "sedecim" (16) spots when viewed from above. Not new for the year as, bizarrely, I found one on a street lamp pole on 01 January. A money spider was determined to get in on the action.

Rosebay Willowherb Chamerion angustifolium also known as Fireweed due its propensity to be the first species to grow back on railway embankments after they had been subject to controlled burning to stop the embers from steam trains (remember them?) causing serious fires.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

Flies
2 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
11 midges of various species.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*1 Garden Spider Araneus diadematus [Garden Cross Spider]

A Garden Spider Araneus diadematus that was on the ceiling of the tunnel. It clearly shows the mark at the from of the abdomen that gives it the alternative name of Garden Cross Spider.       

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:15 – 07:20

(152nd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- where were the rest of the geese? They cannot fly at the moment. I assume inside the island but if so they were strangely muted.
- six adult Mute Swans yet again.
- a scruffy and moulting drake Tufted Duck was a new arrival
- only one Great Crested Grebe noted
- the Great (White) Egret has reappeared
- it always happens. Several weeks ago I flushed a Common Buzzard off one of the goal posts in the small football field at the top end. The camera was not ready so I did not get a shot. Since then whenever I have approached the area I have ensured the camera is primed. Today I forgot. Guess what? The bird flew off from the goal post as I approached. Botheration!

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 69 Canada Geese
- 36 Greylag Geese
- no mainly white feral goose
- 6 Mute Swans
- *25 (?♂) Mallard only
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 6 Moorhens
- 22 + 6 (3 broods) Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Great White Egret

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

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

Noted around the area:
It was drizzling while I was here so not much found

Butterflies:
none

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass]
1 Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella
1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
*1 $ White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella [was Inlaid Grass-veneer]
1 Common Marble Celypha lacunana
*1 Blood-vein Timandra comae

Bees, wasps etc.:
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
none

Other flies:
numerous different midges and flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
larva of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis
Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: adult

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
*Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.

New flowers for the year:

None

Not as first seems a duck Mallard. The plain pale bill means it is a drake. This drake is in so-called "eclipse" plumage and it is flightless – note the short flight feathers on its back. It needs more camouflage when it cannot fly. Another separation feature between drakes and ducks in this transition plumage is that the drake's head is grey rather than brown.

A moth making life hard. The contrast between the pale moth and the shaded vegetation had the camera struggling and the moth has wrapped its right wing around its body partially covering the diagnostic markings on the left wing. It is my first White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella of this year.

Trying to hide in the vegetation was this Blood-vein moth Timandra comae. I failed to get a photo of the one I saw at the Balancing Lake about 10 days ago.

A Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp. in exactly the same place as it was two days ago. Did it eat the moth that was next to it then?

(Ed Wilson)

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2011
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper - First returning
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
Common Sandpiper - First returning
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 drake Ruddy Duck
1 Snipe
1 Common Sandpiper - First returning
At least 38 Swifts
(Ed Wilson)