12.0°C > 18.0°C: Broken cloud after overnight thunder clearing away to the north-east despite the light / moderate south-easterly wind. Very good visibility.
Sunrise: 04:56 BST
* = a species photographed today
$ = a new species for me in this area
Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:55 – 06:05 // 07:00 – 09:35
(124th visit of the year)
Bird notes:
- the seven Greylag Geese goslings present and correct. At one point the pair of Canada Geese and three adult and the seven goslings were joined on the south-west grass by the cob Mute Swan. They all warily kept their distance but the swan showed no aggression toward any of them.
- *both adult Mute Swans actively chased two visiting Mute Swans that arrived from the West at c.08:10 and soon departed to the East.
- *a very new brood of nine Mallard ducklings seen: also the two almost full-grown birds.
- the trio (two drakes) of Tufted Duck remain.
- three juvenile Coots seen. More adults today.
- no gulls visited.
- only the south-side Common Whitethroat noted.
- one Garden Warbler was singing in the same general area as yesterday. It is impossible to see this bird properly as the only access points means looking in to the light.
- *no Mistle Thrush heard although one was looking for food on the dam-top c.08:10.
- I heard House Sparrow from the hedge on the East side of Castle Farm Way. I guess this means they have moved in to the new estate. It is many, many years since I recorded sparrows in the hedge and they were last Tree Sparrows I ever saw in the area.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 5 Greylag Geese: a single flew East; and a single and a trio flew West.
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 5 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook again
Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair departed
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: the third adult throughout
- *4 Mute Swans: see notes
- *18 (14♂) + 11 (2 broods) Mallard: see notes
- 3 (2♂) Tufted Duck again
- 2 Moorhens again
- 21 + 4 (two broods) Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes again
- 1 Grey Heron
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 6 Swifts at c.05:30 for c.10 minutes
- 2 Barn Swallows: a pair feeding over the West end grass
- 1+ House Martin(s): heard high overhead c.04:55 when insufficient contrast in the sky to see..
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 13 (12) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers only and all song very sporadic
- 19 (19) Blackcaps
- 1 (2) Common Whitethroat: see notes
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler
Also noted:
Highlights among the insects were
- *an unprecedented number of Painted Lady butterflies
- *a new hoverfly species for me: a Smudge-winged Pithead
- *only my second-ever Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly here (my previous record in the area was one by the lower pool between the here and The Flash in July 2021)
- *an unprecedented number of Painted Lady butterflies
- *a new hoverfly species for me: a Smudge-winged Pithead
- *only my second-ever Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly here (my previous record in the area was one by the lower pool between the here and The Flash in July 2021)
Butterflies:
- 2 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- *>15 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
- 2 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
- *>15 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
Moths:
none
none
Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica
- *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- *sawfly of the Tenthredo arcuata / brevicornis / notha / schaefferi complex
- *Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica
- *Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- *Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- *Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- *sawfly of the Tenthredo arcuata / brevicornis / notha / schaefferi complex
Hoverflies:
- Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus [Late Buttercup Cheilosia]
- *Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana
- *Figwort Blacklet Cheilosia variabilis
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *$ Smudge-winged Pithead Pipiza lugubris
- Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus [Late Buttercup Cheilosia]
- *Parsley Blacklet Cheilosia pagana
- *Figwort Blacklet Cheilosia variabilis
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- *$ Smudge-winged Pithead Pipiza lugubris
Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [Azure Bluet]
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula
- *Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo
other damselflies were not specifically identified
- *Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella [Azure Bluet]
- *Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula
- *Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo
other damselflies were not specifically identified
Other flies:
- *Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- otherwise nothing exceptional noted: many unidentified fly species
- *Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus
- otherwise nothing exceptional noted: many unidentified fly species
Bugs:
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
- Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
Beetles:
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: just the one!
beetles were again strangely scarce this morning
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea: just the one!
beetles were again strangely scarce this morning
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
- Long-jawed Orb-web Spider Tetragnatha sp.
Fungus:
- *1 fungus, perhaps of the genus Xerocomus, one of the Boletes family
On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
staying almost everything free!
- *1 fungus, perhaps of the genus Xerocomus, one of the Boletes family
On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
staying almost everything free!
Flies:
- 1 unidentified red fly
- 1 unidentified red fly
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 unidentified spider(?)
Ms. Mallard with nine small ducklings. The brood went this way and that always staying behind their mother. I took at least twenty photos and this is the only one to show there are nine ducklings.
Not something that happens every day. A Mistle Thrush walking toward me. It was not as if I were hiding. I was standing on the dam top.
It looks to be quizzing me here but I suspect it was the dog-walker that was approaching from behind me that stopped the thrush.
I counted at least fifteen Painted Lady butterflies Vanessa cardui. An unprecedented number for me here. Many of them, like this one, flushed off the informal path along the South side where they were soaking up the sun's rays on the bare ground.
Not a typical Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum. Normally the typically scruffy "pile" on the thorax would be ginger or brown. In all variations the black and white banding on the abdomen is consistent.
This bumblebee with a ginger "pile" is a Tree Bumblebee B. hypnorum. It has a white tail and an otherwise black abdomen and is never "banded".
To complete today's trio of species here is an Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum with three areas of brown.
On a buttercup but not a Buttercup Blacklet Cheilosia albitarsus. It is too slightly-built for that species and is a Parsley Blacklet C. pagana
Another of the confusing all-black Cheilosia hoverflies. It is the subtle difference in body shape that identifies this as a Figwort Blacklet C. variabilis. It seems Obsidentify finds it easier to recognise shape variation than I do.
A Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus tucking in to what might or might not be Common Hawkweed Hieracium lachenalii (formerly Hieracium vulgatum). I find these yellow flowers very confusing.
Not exactly beautiful but has to be my insect of the day. It is my first-ever Smudge-winged Pithead hoverfly Pipiza lugubris. All the Pipiza species do have some shading in their wings but none so strongly as this species. An "uncommon species" according to Steven Falk's account on his Flickr gallery. I double- treble-checked!
It is the marking on the first body segment that identifies this as a male Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella.
Female "blue" damselflies can be tricky to identify when they are not blue. Most become blue as they age but some do not. I identify this as a Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum by the "pen-nib" marking on the pre-penultimate body segment (does anyone know what a pen-nib looks like these days?)
Almost "insect of the day" is this Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo. Very smart and one of the few damselflies that can be identified from a moving car.
A fly that will be very common for many weeks. It is a male Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus with a slim tapering body and a cloud in the wing. The female is more robust and her abdomen is banded brown and fawn.
A spider. Or is it? Google Lens suggested it was a discarded exoskeleton without offering any species. It may be correct though the front left leg seems to be attached to he strand of a web. The abdomen pattern looks to be very distinctive but I cannot find anything like it.
(Ed Wilson)
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
A female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata. Although the banding on the abdomen that gives the species its name is not visible this species is the only mosquito with banded legs.
(121st visit of the year)
New bird species:
- *1 unidentified spider(?)
One of the visiting Mute Swans decides to leave. No rings visible.
And the other doing a Roadrunner imitation. No rings either.
Ms. Reed Bunting on nest collecting duty. Meanwhile Mr. Reed Bunting was on singing duty. I'll say it for you: "typical".
One of the few that seemed interested in feeding.
And from a different perspective!
A Chocolate Mining Bee Andrena scotica tucks in to a bramble flower.
A sawfly of the Tenthredo arcuata / brevicornis / notha / schaefferi complex at ease in a buttercup.
Obsidentify suggested this fungus is perhaps of the genus Xerocomus, one of the Boletes family.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
Flies:
- 36 midges of several species
- *1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 1 unidentified cranefly
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]
- 36 midges of several species
- *1 female Banded Mosquito Culiseta annulata
- 1 unidentified cranefly
- 1 owl midge Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly, Moth Fly or Owl Fly]
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 (partial) running crab spider Philodromus sp.
- *1 (partial) running crab spider Philodromus sp.
Another weird spider! It looks to be part of a running crab spider Philodromus sp. I have no idea what might have happened.
(Ed Wilson)
The Flash: 06:10 – 06:55
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Flash: 06:10 – 06:55
(121st visit of the year)
New bird species:
At last. I can add Swift to my bird species list for here this year! Four birds seemed to race through while I was at the top end c.06:30. When I scanned around from the bottom end c.15 minutes later there were at least 12 birds flying around to the North. Bird species #69.
Other bird notes:
- still five visiting Mute Swans and the presumption of the resident pen on the nest.
- no Canada Goose gosling seen.
- still no Greylag Geese.
- ten juvenile Coots seen from four broods.
- three Great Crested Grebes seen. I heard a pair displaying and as I watched a third bird approached driving off one of the others and then displaying with the remaining bird. There is no obvious way to sex this species visually.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
Other bird notes:
- still five visiting Mute Swans and the presumption of the resident pen on the nest.
- no Canada Goose gosling seen.
- still no Greylag Geese.
- ten juvenile Coots seen from four broods.
- three Great Crested Grebes seen. I heard a pair displaying and as I watched a third bird approached driving off one of the others and then displaying with the remaining bird. There is no obvious way to sex this species visually.
Bird(s) noted flying over here:
None
Noted on / around the water:
- 49 Canada Geese
- 7 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is on the hidden nest?
- *20 (17♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 27+ 10 (4 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 12 Swifts
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (6) Blackcaps
Noted around the area:
Noted on / around the water:
- 49 Canada Geese
- 7 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is on the hidden nest?
- *20 (17♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 27+ 10 (4 broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
Hirundines etc. noted:
- 12 Swifts
Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 5 (5) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (6) Blackcaps
Noted around the area:
Moths:
- *1 White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella. Moth species #13 for me here this year.
- *1 White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella. Moth species #13 for me here this year.
Bugs:
- *1 Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus
(Ed Wilson)
2012
Nedge Hill
2 Ravens mobbing Kestrel.
(John Isherwood)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Red Kite
(Ed Wilson)
- *1 Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus
As the breeding season draws to a close drake Mallard begin to lose their finery.
A White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella. My first of the year.
A Birch Shieldbug Elasmostethus interstinctus too far up a street lamp pole for a decent photo.
(Ed Wilson)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012
Nedge Hill
2 Ravens mobbing Kestrel.
(John Isherwood)
2010
Priorslee Lake
Ringed Plover
(Ed Wilson)
2009
Priorslee Lake
Red Kite
(Ed Wilson)