30 Apr 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

7.0°C > 14.0°C: Clear skies. Moderate easterly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:40 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area

I will be concentrating on my aviation hobby for the next few days (weather permitting). Next report Monday?

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:20 – 06:30 // 07:25 – 09:45

(105th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- a pair of Canada Geese flew in and were eventually chased away by the cob Mute Swan. Meanwhile another pair were on the football field c.06:15.
- the seven Greylag Geese goslings still doing well. Another adult pair visited, the parents chasing them away.
- two broods of Mallard ducklings: a brood of two several day old ducklings; another uncounted brood mainly hiding in the reeds.
- a Common Sandpiper present throughout.
- no gulls anywhere today.
- now at least 15 Swifts screaming overhead.
- a Skylark half-singing and half-calling over Castle Farm Way. Traffic noise prevented me from determining its direction. It is some weeks since I heard a Sky Lark without visiting Woodhouse Lane.
- a few changes in the warblers:
the same Sedge Warbler noted.
only five Reed Warblers heard.
no Lesser Whitethroats heard
the Common Whitethroat singing early only.
nothing that sounded anything like a Garden Warbler.
- a Mistle Thrush was seen flying out of the south-east copse across Castle Fame Way. Later two were seen in flight over Teece Drive. Probably two pairs nesting in the area.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- *1 Greylag Goose: flew West
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Wood Pigeons only
- 2 Collared Doves

Counts from the lake area:
- 4 Canada Geese: see notes
- *4 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: see notes
- 2 Mute Swans
- 14 (11♂) + >24 (2 broods) Mallard: see notes
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck still
- 3 Moorhens only
- 22 Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Common Sandpiper
- *1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.15 Swifts
- 3 Sand Martins
- 2 Barn Swallows
- still no House Martins

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 14 (14) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 5 (5) Reed Warblers
- 23 (21) Blackcaps
- no Lesser Whitethroats
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat

On the West end street lamp poles post-dawn:
Disappointing: nothing. It was windy but mild

Noted around the area later:

Butterflies:
- *2 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

Moths:
- *1 Green Long-horn Adela reaumurella

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Tawny Mining Bee Andrena fulva
- *Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- *Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis

Hoverflies:
- *Buttercup Cheilosia-type: either Cheilosia albitarsus or C. ranunculi.
- *Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus [Stripe-backed Brusheye]
- *Early Epistrophe Epistrophe eligans [Spring Smoothtail]
- *Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly; Sun Fly]
- Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
- Syrphus sp.

Dragon-/damsel-flies:
- *Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula

Other flies:
- *dagger fly Empis tessellata
- Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *other unidentified flies

Bugs:
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus

Beetles:
- 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata

The most exciting I could make the clear skies.

The Greylag Geese with their seven goslings.

The only fly-over goose today was this lone Greylag.

My friend the Grey Heron was watching me carefully from among the fast-growing reeds along the front of the dam.

One of two Speckled Wood butterflies Pararge aegeria I noted.

A Green Long-horn moth Adela reaumurella. The wings are metallic-looking and only appear green with the light at the correct angle.

Tucking it to the last remaining flower on a spike of Cherry Laurel Prunus laurocerasus is a Tawny Mining Bee Andrena fulva.

This is a Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica.

Here is another Red Mason Bee Osmia bicornis . It lacks the hairs on the thorax of the somewhat similar Tawny Mining Bee. April is by far the month to see mining and mason bees.

Probably a Buttercup Cheilosia-type hoverfly: either Cheilosia albitarsus or C. ranunculi. Apart from one very distinctive species all the other Cheilosia hoverfly species are essentially black and hard to identify.

A "first of the year" hoverfly for me was this Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus known to Obsidentify as Stripe-backed Brusheye. The down-sloping yellow marks combined with the two lines down the thorax identify this species.

Yet another Early Epistrophe Epistrophe eligans, this a female. I do not record this species every year yet I must have seen double-figures today.

A well-posed male Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax

Another "first of the year" species is this Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus known to Obsidentify as a Tiger Marsh Fly and in some internet sites as a Sun Fly.

This is a Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula. Own up time: on 24 April I labelled a photo of this species as Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma naja by mistake. This latter species has a blue abdomen and red eyes. I also noted that it was my first April record of the species. That was not true either but it was my earliest-ever date for a Large Red Damselfly.

There were several of these dagger flies Empis tessellata around today. I could not get a photo that included the "dagger" mouth-parts. The two stripes on the thorax and orange wing-bases separate this from other Empis dagger flies.

Forgive me: I am out of time and cannot delve in to the mysteries of fly identification. A number of well-marked examples I noted this morning follow. This is #1.

 #2.

 #3.

And #4.

(Ed Wilson)

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Noted in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 8 midges of several species

- *1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

I've not shown one of the c.100 species of moth flies Psychodidae sp. for a while. I still can't find "real" moths here this year!

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:35 – 07:20

(104th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
Notable today was a Sedge Warbler singing again from the same spot as four of the other five records this year. It is in the sedges immediately behind the Long-tailed Tits nest which prevents any exploration. Often this species will sit out when singing but perhaps only when there are others nearby and it wishes to be seen. I saw the bird move but not well enough to tell the species. The song is distinctive so there is no question as to its identity.

Other bird notes:
- no Mallard ducklings seen.
- both Great Crested Grebes seen.
- *the Long-tailed Tits were still taking food to the nest so yesterday's Magpie did not return. At one point I noted three adults depart in quick succession.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 17 Canada Geese
- no Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- 23 (17♂) Mallard
- 9 (7♂) Tufted Duck
- 3 Moorhens
- 19 Coots again: also one well-grown juvenile
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 4 (4) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Sedge Warbler
- 4 (3) Blackcaps

Noted around the area:
- *unidentified fly!

Traffic jam at the Long-tailed Tit nest. Two about to enter with breakfast...

...and a third waiting its turn.

And an unidentified fly here as well.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Common Sandpiper
2 Raven
2 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Whinchat
1 Yellow Wagtail
1 White Wagtail
2 Common Redstart
40 Wheatear
(John Isherwood)

Long Lane, Wellington
3 Whimbrel
(JW Reeves)

2012
Priorslee Lake
1 Lesser Whitethroat
1 Reed Warbler
(John Isherwood)

Nedge Hill
1 Common Redstart
15 Wheatear
1 Lesser Whitethroat
2 Raven
(John Isherwood)

The Wrekin
2 Pied Flycatchers
Common Redstart
(Observer Unknown)

2009
Priorslee Lake
Hobby
2 Red-legged Partridge
Lesser Whitethroat
Cormorant
5 Lapwings
6 Reed Warblers
3 Whitethroats
8 Blackcaps
5 Chiffchaffs
4 Linnet
(Ed Wilson)

2008
Priorslee Lake
17 Mute Swans
(Martin Adlam)

2007
Priorslee Lake
1 Swift
c.20 Sand Martins
1 Swallow
6 House Sparrows
2 Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Kestrel
2 Stock Dove
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Sedge Warbler
4 Reed Warblers
Chiffchaff
126 Jackdaw
(Ed Wilson)

Nedge Hill
2 Buzzards
Swallow
Ring Ouzel
2 Common Whitethroat
1 Chiffchaff
2 Linnets
(Ed Wilson)

Priorslee Flash
3 Great Crested Grebes
Reed Bunting
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
5 Great Crested Grebes
2 Greylag Geese
6 Tufted Ducks
2 Common Sandpiper
1 Cuckoo
1 Skylark
c.10 Sand Martins
c.8 Swallows
c.20 House Martins
1 Meadow Pipit
2 Grey Wagtails
32 Wren
26 Blackbirds
2 Sedge Warblers
3 Reed Warblers
2 Lesser Whitethroats
2 Garden Warbler
10 Blackcaps
6 Chiffchaffs
1 Willow Warbler
1 Jay
11 Chaffinches
8 Greenfinches
3 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)