3 Jun 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

11.0°C > 13.0°C: Initially bright under broken high cloud. Lowering cloud soon arrived from the south-west with light rain c.07:45 turning moderate by 09:00. Light / moderate southerly breeze. Good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:50 BST

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

Another abbreviated visit cut short by rain

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 05:50 // 06:45 – 09:05

(130th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- two Canada Geese arrived: the only Canadas seen from here today.
- once again the seven Greylag Geese goslings were present and correct with a third adult present throughout.
- a trio of independent Mallard ducklings seen; only two of the recent brood of small ducklings were seen but they were weaving in and out of reeds and it is possible there were more about.
- only a drake Tufted Duck seen.
- once again I suspect some (most?) of the juvenile Coots were sheltering from the rain: only one noted.
- two Lesser Black-backed Gulls were on the football field at 05:30. One of them looked to be the very worn/faded sub-adult seen a few days ago.
- a Grey Heron was on the south-west grass c.05:20. I assumed it was this one that flew West at 05:40 and that this was likely the bird seen later at The Flash. That bird flew off East at c.06:30. *A bird was again of the south-west grass here after 07:40. Were these sightings all the same bird?
- *not "bird of the day" but interesting was an all-white Racing Pigeon that flew on to the dam-face c.05:15 and stayed until c.08:25.
- when the Reed Warblers arrived at the end of April several were singing from the fresh growth of reeds along the dam face. For most of last month this area was quiet. In the last few days there has been as many as three birds singing from these reeds.
- only the new (South side) Common Whitethroats was heard singing and then only ahead of the rain.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Greylag Geese: a pair flew East and later a pair flew West.
- 1 Herring Gull
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 8 Wood Pigeons
- 7 Jackdaws together
- 1 Rook

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 Canada Geese: arrived
- *3 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swan: assuming the pen is still on the hidden nest
- *17 (14♂) + 5 (2 broods) Mallard: see notes
- 1 (1♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Moorhen only
- 24 + 1 (1 brood) Coots
- 6 Great Crested Grebes: two birds were seen displaying
- *1+? Grey Heron: see notes

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.15 Swifts
- *1? Sand Martin
- *>4 Barn Swallows
- *>20 House Martins
I might not have been able to find many insects. Clearly these were having a fine time feeding over the water.

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- 10 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 9 (9) Reed Warblers
- 8 (8) Blackcaps
- 1 (1) Common Whitethroat: see notes

Also noted:
Rain stopped play!

Butterflies:
none

Moths:
none

Bees, wasps etc.:
none

Hoverflies:
none

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
none

Other flies:
- *fly Minettia longipennis from the Lauxaniidae family
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- *wood gnat Sylvicola sp.
- otherwise only a very few unidentified fly species

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
none

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

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
typical!.

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

Photos from today and a few from yesterday, all noted as such. An adult Greylag Goose and a Grey Heron shared look-out duties today.

Yesterday there were these seven small Mallard ducklings. Today I only could see two though they were weaving in and out of the reed stems and there could have been more.

At 05:30 on the football field I noted these two pigeons among some twenty Wood Pigeons. The dark marks on the wing of the left-hand bird identify it as a Stock Dove. The other bird is a juvenile yet to acquire the markings.

This bird flew in at a distance and I thought "egret". Not so. It is a Racing Pigeon, either lost or just having a rest.

Part of the identity ring that identifies its owner is visible. Racing Pigeons are well used to people and often allow a close-approach.

Very smart!

After working yesterday's soaking vegetation looking for food a Long-tailed Tit emerges to dry out.

"Who me?"

A head-and-shoulders portrait.

I made yet another attempt to photograph the feeding martins and swallows. In the light rain there was not really enough light for sharp photos. This bird was a surprise as I was sending many of the photos to the trash can. The chest-band identifies it is a Sand Martin. I had not noticed any while I was looking at the feeding flock.

 Barn Swallows were going this way...

...and that.

One dipping a spread tail-streamer in the water and displaying the white spots at the base of the tail only visible when the tail is spread...

...as here.

A worn-looking individual.

There was an unusually high number of House Martins flying at low-level. Here is one.

The bright white rump is easily seen at long range.

Another speeds by.

Always puzzling. At this time of year the House Sparrows from the Teece Drive area of the estate fly all the way to the dam-face to collect both nesting material and food. This female looks to have caught two damselflies, a Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans to the left. I did not see any damselflies flying in this morning's rain.

A glimpse of the sun yesterday and a Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria emerged to soak up the warmth.

I think I saw this fly last Sunday and misidentified it. It is not as I then thought one of the lance flies (also known as spear-wings). The wings are long but not lance- or spear- shaped and the white half-moon to the scutellum did not match. I now think it is a Minettia longipennis from the Lauxaniidae family. The rubric in NatureSpot mentions a dark base to the wings but the photos in their gallery includes an individual which, like this, ha wing-bases barely tinged darker. The family has no vernacular name. Most have bright red eyes and many have patterned wings.

This seems to be a wood gnat from the genus Sylvicola. I am not used to seeing them other than by torch-light on the street lamp poles and I have never thought of them as anything but black. Clearly not. Though that does not help further identification.

Yesterday's new-for-the-year moth here was this Straw Dot Rivula sericealis bringing my 2026 moth species total here to 32. A species I see annually, often in some number, disturbed from grassy areas during the day.

Despite the soaking wet vegetation yesterday there were dozens of damselflies on the wing. This is a Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma naja, the least common of the "blue damselflies" and best spotted by the all-black top to the thorax. The eye-colour is not easy to see with the naked eye.

Also from yesterday, here is a lacewing Chrysopa perla identified by the ice-blue colour and dark top to the abdomen.

The sole inhabitant on the street lamp poles yesterday was this Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius also known as a Bridge Orbweaver.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- *1 Spectacle Abrostola tripartita: as yesterday

Flies:
- 7 midges only of several species

Beetles:
- 1 unidentified small black weevil (there are many species!)

There were two "first for the year" moths in the tunnel yesterday morning almost doubling my 2026 moth species count here to five. This is a Treble Brown Spot Idaea trigeminata. (Don't blame me: I didn't name it!)

The other moth was this Spectacle Abrostola tripartita. I have seen this species in my back garden though this is my first in the Priorslee area. My initial thought was that it was another of the many "Minor" species (I saw one here two days previously) and thus I failed to get a photo of the reason it is so-named. But...

...luckily it was still present today and I photographed it from head-on and then inverted the image to show the "spectacles".

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:55 – 06:40

(127th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I found the Canada Goose gosling again: with its parents in a front garden. A high count of Canada Geese as they gather ahead of their annual moult. *Several moulted large primary feathers were noted scattered around the edges.
- four Greylag Geese all together.
- *now eight visiting Mute Swans.
- I noted eight of the drake Mallard standing on the same roof in Hollyoak Grove.
- eleven juvenile Coots found from five broods. Four of these were in a brood new to me and a second brood from their parents. I could not find any of the four erstwhile independent juveniles from the first brood.
- the two Great Crested Grebes were again close together throughout with no display seen.
- a Chaffinch was heard in song from somewhere away to the West. My first song of this species here this year was on 30 March and I cannot recall hearing one sing here since then.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
- 107 + 1 (1 brood) Canada Geese: of these 10 departed in two groups
- 4 Greylag Geese
- *10 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is still on the hidden nest.
- 19 (15♂) Mallard
- 1 Moorhen only
- 41+ 11 (5 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron: departed

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 8 Swifts
- 4 House Martins

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

Noted around the area:
The lowing cloud and wet vegetation meant I was again unable to find even an unidentified fly to report.

A primary feather from a Canada Goose. As previously noted geese and ducks shed their all their primary feathers before the new ones grow and the birds become flightless. One or two feathers missing and they can, and do, fly. In a week or so from now most of the geese will be grounded (watered?) for a few weeks.

Six of the now eight visiting Mute Swans. As far as I could tell this photo includes the four arrivals since yesterday. The other two visitors, long behaving as a pair, were in their usual spot to the left of this view.

(Ed Wilson)

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2009
Priorslee Lake
Oystercatcher
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Possible Marsh Harrier
11 Reed Warblers
(Ed Wilson)

2 Jun 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 16.0°C: Early light rain and then broken cloud with a few sunny intervals. Light westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 04:52 BST

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

An abbreviated visit today hampered by some early rain and very wet vegetation after yesterday evening's downpour.

I have been out most of the day and the very few photos from today will be incorporated into tomorrow's blog.

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50– 05:45 // 06:40 – 08:45

(129th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- eleven Canada Geese present when I arrived. A single visited and then what I assume were the same eleven returned from the East. All twelve later left to the West.
- 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 as yesterday.
- a pair of Tufted Duck were here when I arrived. Two birds including at least one drake were seen flying low over the water before heading off South. Later just a drake was seen on the water. Confusing!.
- perhaps the juvenile Coots were sheltering from the rain: just four from three broods noted.
- a single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull fly-over was the only gull seen.
- both the new (South side) and regular (south-west area) Common Whitethroats were noted singing. A surprise was a third bird singing from bushes on the football field side of Teece Drive at 04:55 and then nearby from inside the academy ground at 05:35. It was not heard again.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 Canada Geese: a trio flew East.
- 9 Greylag Geese flew West together
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Cormorants together
- 3 Wood Pigeons
- 1 Jackdaw only again

Counts from the lake area:
- 12 Canada Geese: see notes
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swan: the pen assumed to be on the hidden nest
- 18 (15♂) + 9 (2 broods) Mallard
- 3 (2♂)? Tufted Duck: see notes
- 4 Moorhens once again
- 25 + 4 (3 broods) Coots
- 5 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- c.10 Swifts again
- 2 Barn Swallows
- 1+ House Martins heard calling.

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
I did not make my complete early circuit so some of the "dawn chorus", such as it still is, went unrecorded.
- 8 (8) Chiffchaffs
- 8 (8) Reed Warblers
- 9 (9) Blackcaps
- 3 (3) Common Whitethroats: see notes

Also noted:

Butterflies:
- 1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria

Moths:
- 1 Yellow-barred Longhorn Nemophora degeerella
- 1 Silver-ground Carpet Xanthorhoe montanata
- !1 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis

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

Hoverflies:
- Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
- Azure Damselfly Coenagrion puella
- Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum
- Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma naja [Large Redeye]
- Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans

Other flies:
Many flies around, mostly the species I cannot identify. No Black Snipe Flies seen despite being abundant yesterday. Wet vegetation the problem?
- !lacewing Chrysopa perla
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
- otherwise many unidentified fly species

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
- Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea

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

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:
This is getting tedious! yet another almost blank day.

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius [Bridge Orbweaver]

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths:
- !1 Treble Brown Spot Idaea trigeminata
- $1 Spectacle Abrostola tripartita

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

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:50 – 06:35

(126th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I could not locate the Canada Goose gosling.
- eight Greylag Geese all together.
- the Mute Swan numbers as yesterday.
- Mallard more normal today.
- seven juvenile Coots found from four broods. Another brood of begging juveniles heard. More adults on the open water today.
- the two Great Crested Grebes were close together throughout. No display or calls heard.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 60 Canada Geese
- 8 Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans: assuming the pen is on the hidden nest?
- 22 (19♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens
- 35+ >7 (>4 broods) Coots
- 2 Great Crested Grebes

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts
- 1 House Martin

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

Noted around the area:
The rain had only recently ceased and it was still overcast. I was slightly earlier than usual and combined with the very wet vegetation I was unable to find even an unidentified fly to report.

(Ed Wilson)

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2006
Priorslee Lake
Cuckoo
(Ed Wilson

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)