1 Jun 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 17.0°C: Fine ahead of forecast rain. Broken cloud with a few sunny intervals, especially early. Light moderate southerly breeze increasing moderate at times. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:53 BST yet again

* = a species photographed today
! = a first sighting of the species this year
$ = a new species for me in this area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 05:55 // 07:00 – 09:35

(128th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- six Canada Geese came and went.
- the seven Greylag Geese goslings present and correct with another adult present throughout.
- the two independent Mallard ducklings and seven small ducklings with an adult.
- a pair of Tufted Duck still here.
- a bumper number of juvenile Coots seen: 13 from six broods, two of the broods being very new and both to pairs whose first broods were all predated. It seems there is a lower than usual survival rate albeit second broods tend to fare better.
- single adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls visited the football field at 05:40, 07:05 and 09:30. Another visited the lake briefly at 08:10.
- I usually see a few Feral Pigeons on roofs in Pitchford Drive c.06:00. Today a group of eight had found something to eat on the academy's own playing field alongside a dozen or so Wood Pigeons.
- only the new of the Common Whitethroats was noted singing. None was heard or seen at the original site.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- *23 Canada Geese: in six groups flying in a variety of directions.
- *10 Greylag Geese flew West together
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant
- 1 Stock Dove
- 4 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw only

Counts from the lake area:
- 6 Canada Geese: see notes
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese: see notes
- 2 Mute Swan: the pen assumed to be on the hidden nest
- 13 (8♂) + 9 (2 broods) Mallard
- 2 (1♂) Tufted Duck still
- 4 Moorhens again
- 22 + 13 (6 broods) Coots
- 4 Great Crested Grebes only
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 10 Swifts: four arrived c.05:05 again. Ten at the East end by 08:00
- 3 Barn Swallows: seen together over the water / West end. Perhaps including a first=breed juvenile?
- 2 House Martins over the Castle Farm Way end.

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
In general the amount of song is steadily decreasing
- 12 (11) Chiffchaffs
- 10 (10) Reed Warblers
- 12 (11) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat

Also noted:
I have resurrected the code
! = a first sighting of the species this year

Butterflies:
- 1 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

Moths:
- 4 Plain Pollen-moth Micropterix calthella [was Plain Gold]
- *9 Yellow-barred Longhorn Nemophora degeerella
- *!2 Plum Tortrix Hedya pruniana
- 2 Silver-ground Carpet Xanthorhoe montanata

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *!Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum
- Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- wasp sp.: either German Wasp Vespula germanica or Common Wasp V. vulgaris
- *!sawfly Tenthredo mesomela

Hoverflies:
- *Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
- *Figwort Blacklet Cheilosia variabilis
- *Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly; Sun Fly]
- *Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum [Blotch-winged Whitebelt]
- *Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- *Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans
- *!Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa

Other flies:
- Common Blow Fly Calliphora vicina
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: >>100; no females noted
- *!Common Red-legged Robberfly Dioctria rufipes
- *long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *!presumed Awkward Clusterfly Pollenia rudis
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- Common Crane-fly Tipula oleracea
- *!$ female gall-fly Common Knapweed Urophora Urophora jaceana
- otherwise many unidentified fly species

Grasshoppers, crickets:
none

Bugs:
- Red-and-Black Froghopper Cercopis vulnerata

Beetles:
- *14 Spot Ladybird Propylea quattuordecimpunctata
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea
- *Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis [False Oil Beetle or Thick-legged Flower Beetle]
- False Blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens
- *Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus

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

New flowers for the year:
- *!Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed Centaurea nigra
- *!Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

yet another blank day!

The red sky was fading fast as I arrived and I had no time to scamper down to the lake for a reflection. Here it is as seen across the football field with some of the academy buildings in view.

A skein to confuse. Two Canada Geese were hiding in plain-sight among the Greylag Geese,

One of two Yellow-barred Longhorn moths Nemophora degeerella I had seen flying around in circles for several minutes before they settled back down. There seems to be no sexual difference and there is nothing in the literature to say whether this frequently seen behaviour is battling males or a mating-dance. Once I got my eye in I saw three pairs and a trio at different points around the lake.

One of two Plum Tortrix moths Hedya pruniana this morning: my first of the year.

A two-fer. My first Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum of the year on my first flower of Common (or Black; or Lesser) Knapweed Centaurea nigra.

This is the sawfly Tenthredo mesomela.

A different individual from a different angle.

The only Cheilosia species of hoverfly that isn't (almost) all-black. A Bumblebee Blacklet C. illustrata. Indeed I am not sure why it qualifies for the genus.

Whereas this Figwort Blacklet Cheilosia variabilis is mostly black.

A Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus about to land on a buttercup.

A well-posed Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly; Sun Fly]

A Blotch-winged Hoverfly Leucozona lucorum or, as Obsidentify calls it, Blotch-winged Whitebelt. A strange-looking face.

A female Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare showing her triangular yellow spots and the features of the Obsidentify name of Long-winged Duskyface.

"What blue eyes you have". A male Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella

My first dragonfly of the year – dragonflies perch with their wings held at right angles to their body. This is a Broad-bodied Chaser Libellula depressa: a species I see most years.

My first Common Red-legged Robberfly Dioctria rufipes of the year.

A different view of another individual.

A long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar. The eyes can appear red or green depending on the angle of the light.

The golden hairs on the thorax of this fly confirm it is in the genus Pollenia. It is most likely an Awkward Clusterfly P. rudis, the most abundant of the twenty or so species that are mostly impossible to separate from photos.

This is a female gall-fly and I think it is what Stephen Falk names Common Knapweed Urophora Urophora jaceana. There are many species of these boldly-patterned flies, not easy to separate. A new species for me.

A 14 Spot Ladybird Propylea quattuordecimpunctata. This species is smaller than the familiar red ladybirds.

Two male Swollen-thighed Beetles Oedemera nobilis in the flower of a Dog Rose Rosa canina agg. Hey guys....

...the girls are over here! Identify by the elytra (wing cases) held slightly apart.

A Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus

This is Common Mouse-ear Cerastium fontanum growing on the dam-top.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Flies:
- 16 midges of several species
- 1 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:00 – 06:55

(125th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- the Canada Goose gosling present.
- in addition to the gathering number of Canada Geese ahead of their annual moult a skein of 26 (in proper 'V-formation') flew East.
- two single Greylag Geese.
- yesterday's Canada x Greylag Goose not seen.
- the Mute Swan numbers as yesterday.
- another low count of Mallard – all drakes though one was well in to post-breeding moult and hard to recognise as a drake. I will soon pause sexing this species until they moult back in to breeding plumage.
- six juvenile Coots found from four broods. Another brood of begging juveniles heard, tucked up under over-hanging vegetation and not visible.
- a second Great Crested Grebe was present. The two birds were not seen to interact.
- a Pied Wagtail was heard flying over: an unusual date here.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 26 Canada Geese: flew east
- 1 Pied Wagtail

Noted on / around the water:
- 54 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is on the hidden nest?
- 13 (13♂) Mallard
- 6 Moorhens
- 26+ >6 (>4 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 2 Swifts again
- 2 House Martins: presumably the same two appeared over the East side on several occasions

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 2 (2) Chiffchaffs only
- 5 (4) Blackcaps

Noted around the area:
A few sunny spells brought a few insects out early

Moths:
- *1 Yellow-barred Longhorn Nemophora degeerella
- 1 Common Marble Celypha lacunana
- *1 Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda : same as yesterday

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
none

Damsel-/dragon-flies:
- *Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: all males
- *long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- *greenbottle Lucilia sp.

Beetles:
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea

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

A moth species that seems to be more common this year: another Yellow-barred Longhorn Nemophora degeerella.

Yesterday's Pale Tussock moth Calliteara pudibunda had moved slightly to provide a slightly clearer view.

An Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella. This is the less common of two species whose males are mainly blue-bodies. I cannot detect any colour-difference between this species and the Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum.

If I got its identity right at the lake yesterday this is the long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus (or similar).

A greenbottle Lucilia sp.

(Ed Wilson)

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2007
Priorslee Lake
Common Tern
(Martin Adlam)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 Ruddy Ducks
Peregrine
(Ed Wilson)