13 Jun 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 14.0°C: Broken cloud with some bright and sunny spells. Fresh westerly breeze gusting strong and feeling cool. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 04:46 BST 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– 05:45 // 06:45 – 09:40

(139th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- all seven Greylag Geese goslings have survived any further attention from the cob Mute Swan.
- five juvenile Coots seen from only three broods.
- yet again I did not see any Great Crested Grebe juveniles. Perhaps the windy conditions kept them inside the reeds.
- an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was on the football field at 05:25 and joined by another at 05:35.
- a "warbler morning" despite their being less song overall:
at least two Cetti's Warblers were heard and two glimpsed along the North side.
the Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the Ricoh hedge persistently around 05:15 and still singing, more intermittently, around 09:15 at least.
only West end Common Whitethroat was noted. It was also extending its song area in to the Ricoh grounds.
a Garden Warbler was heard singing from several of the larger shrubby trees between the South side of the lake and the M54 for a five-minute period around 08:55. I have no idea how this relates to the previous intermittent songsters this year.
- eight Starlings were seen in flight in three groups at least one of which, on calls, included juvenile(s).

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 11 Greylag Geese: a duo and a quarter flew East; two singles and a trio flew West
- 1 Herring Gull
- 9 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 9 Wood Pigeons
- 8 Starlings: see notes
- 8 Jackdaws
- 2 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swan: assuming the pen is still on the hidden nest
- 20 (13?♂) Mallard: some birds difficult to ascribe to sex as they moult
- no Tufted Duck
- 1 Moorhen only again
- 28 + 5 (3 broods) Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 Black-headed Gull: adult, briefly
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls: on the football field: see notes
- no Grey Herons

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 12 Swifts: at the East end, early: fewer later
- 1 Barn Swallow

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 2 (0) Cetti's Warblers
- 9 (9) Chiffchaffs
- 7 (7) Reed Warblers only
- 10 (8) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Lesser Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat
- 1 (1) Garden Warbler

Also noted:
The fresh wind kept things relatively quiet

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
- 1 Common Marble Celypha lacunana
- 3 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
at least a dozen grass-moths eluded me by flying away!

Bees, wasps etc.:
- *Honey Bee Apis mellifera
NB: many bumblebees not checked: the following species confirmed
- Tree Bumblebee Bombus hypnorum
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

Hoverflies:
- *!Yellow-girdled Fleckwing Dasysyrphus tricinctus [Yellow-girdled Brusheye]
-* Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
- *Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
- Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae [Migrant Hoverfly; Migrant Aphideater]
- *!Common Copperback Ferdinandea cuprea [Bronze Sap Hoverfly; Eurasian Copperback]
- *Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus [Tiger Marsh Fly; Sun Fly]
- *Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea [Common Batman Fly]
- *Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis / S. torvus
- *Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans [Bumblebee Plumehorn]

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
- *Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]: including a rufescens-obsoleta form of a female.

Other flies:
- Black Snipefly Chrysopilus cristatus: all males again today
- long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- *$ dance fly Hybos sp., probably H. culiciformis
- *! Muscid fly Phaonia pallida
- *$ Muscid fly perhaps Phaonia tuguriorum
- semaphore fly Poecilobothrus nobilitatus
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
plus many unidentified flies

Bugs:
- *$ probable Ant Damsel Bug Himacerus mirmicoides

Beetles:
- *larvae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis: very many
- False Blister Beetle Oedemera lurida or O. virescens
- Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis [False Oil Beetle or Thick-legged Flower Beetle]
- pollen beetle Meligethes sp.
- Nettle Weevil Phyllobius pomaceus

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

Flies:
- *1 $ Muscid fly Thricops diaphanus

Not quite sunrise when I arrive these days: still a good view in the right conditions.

A Common Buzzard of course. One from "across Castle Farm Way" circling to the East with the lighting all wrong in the morning. A bit of photo-editing produces an acceptable result.

Close-up and very personal with a Robin that was sunning itself. Only this part was visible to me through many branches.

A Honey Bee Apis mellifera: a busy Honey Bee with a full pollen load.

A first for the year: a Yellow-girdled Fleckwing hoverfly Dasysyrphus tricinctus. Obsidentify prefers the name Yellow-girdled Brusheye. It is true that this genus all have hairy eyes: it needs a better camera than mine to see that.

In many situations Marmalade Hoverflies Episyrphus balteatus look yellow. Not here it doesn't!

A typical Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.

An atypical example with no brown areas on the abdomen. While the markings are variable it is most unusual for there to be none.

Obsidentify assures me this is also a Common Dronefly. "In the field" it looked about two-thirds size and it is unusual for insects to vary appreciably in size other than sometimes between the sexes.

A smart Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae also known as Migrant Hoverfly or Migrant Aphideater.

Another first for the year: a Common Copperback hoverfly Ferdinandea cuprea. It also goes by the names Bronze Sap Hoverfly and Eurasian Copperback.

A smart Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.

A Dead-head Hoverfly Myathropa florea also known as a Common Batman Fly. You do have to view this species from an appropriate angle to see why has been given these names. This is not an appropriate angle.

A hoverfly of the Syrphus ribesii / S. vitripennis / S. torvus group. Females are separable by the pattern of light and dark on their hind legs. This is, naturally, a male so no further identification is possible.

A Bumblebee Plume-horned Hoverfly Volucella bombylans. This species comes in two forms. I always seem to see that with the white (as opposed to rufous) tail.

A Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans uncommon rufescens-obsoleta form only shown by some females of this species. She will never acquire any blue colouration.

A strange-looking fly that almost looks wasp-waisted. It is one of the dance fly Hybos sp., probably H. culiciformis. There are three species in the UK only one of which is shown on NatureSpot. One of the others has red legs.

A Muscid fly. But which. Not sure. What is it eating?

Another Muscid fly: it is Phaonia pallida.

This seems to be the Muscid fly Phaonia tuguriorum which is a new species for my logs.

The only thing on any of the West end street lamp poles around dawn was this fly which seems to be a Muscid fly Thricops diaphanus and a new(ly identified) species for me.

I think this is an Ant Damsel Bug Himacerus mirmicoides. Although it was Obsidentify's second choice my reading of the NatureSpot photo gallery favours this species.

Very common at the moment: did I ever show a photo of a larvae of Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis?

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
none

Flies:
- 12 midges of several species
- 1 cranefly from the Nephrotoma flavipalpis group: the wings were covering the important abdomen pattern.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- *1 female harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli
- 1 harvestman Leiobunum sp.?

Yesterday's confusing Leiobunum harvestman was still present. Today there was also this female harvestman L. blackwalli. Yesterday's is most certainly not a male of this species: the body-shape is quite wrong.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:40

(136th visit of the year)

There was no indication yesterday as to why the two footbridges had been fenced off or on whose authority. There were no footpath closure notices. Today the fencing had been cast aside and passage was possible. It is evident that one of the bridges is tilting though that is not new.

Bird notes:
- the Canada Goose gosling is still present.
- still eight visiting Mute Swans.
- roof-sitting by Mallard seems to be coming to an end. They are still active with mating seen today.
- only a drake Tufted Duck noted.
- several Great Spotted Woodpeckers were still evident around the lower Hickory's car parks and also further down the Wesley Brook (and alongside Teece Drive).

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 156 + 1 Canada Geese
- 56 Greylag Geese again
- 10 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is still on the hidden nest.
- 17 (12♂) Mallard only
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 4 Moorhens
- 41 + 10 (4 broods) Coots: one of these broods was new to me; two adults were noted sitting on nests
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: visited briefly

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 1 Swift only

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
very quiet again
- 1 (1) Chiffchaff
- 1 (1) Blackcap

Noted around the area:

Moths:
- 1 Common Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana
- 1 Common Marble Celypha lacunana
- 1 Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis
- *1 !White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella [was Inlaid Grass-veneer]
- 1 Treble Brown Spot Idaea trigeminata

Beetles:
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea

New moth for the year: a White-banded Grass-moth Crambus pascuella. The newly adopted vernacular name seems more appropriate than "Inlaid Grass-veneer".

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Flash
1 Greylag x Canada Goose
(Ed Wilson)