13 Jul 26

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

13.0°C > 15.0°C: A few breaks in the cloud early. By 07:30 overcast. Moderate north-east breeze, gusting fresh at times. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:02 BST

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

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:45– 05:50 // 07:05 – 09:25

(158th visit of the year)

Very, very quiet. On my first circuit I head song from just one Chiffchaff, one Blackcap, one Song Thrush and a few Wrens along with ubiquitous calling Wood Pigeons. Not a lot more later.

Bird notes:
- I assume the Greylag Geese goslings have successfully fledges and departed. Just one adult remains (along with five newly-arrived Canada Geese).
- seven Black-headed Gulls, all adults, were on the football field c.05:30. A few others at the lake.
- groups of Swifts kept appearing and disappearing. 15 was maximum count. Probably more birds involved.
- at least two Sand Martins were hawking insects from the water. An unusual date to see this species here.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Herring Gull
- 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 2 Stock Doves: together
- 102 Wood Pigeons
- 23 Jackdaws
- 6 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 5 Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 Mute Swans
- 24 (?♂) Mallard
- 4 Moorhens once again
- 43 Coots
- 4 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes
- 10 Black-headed Gulls: no juveniles noted: see notes
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Cormorant: arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- >15 Swifts
- 2 Sand Martins
- 4 Barn Swallows
where are the House Martins?

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
Very little song now:
- 3 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (1) Reed Warblers
- 3 (2) Blackcaps
- no Common Whitethroats

Also noted:

Butterflies:
- 1 Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
- 5 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
- 22+ Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
- 2 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
- 2 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
- 1 Peacock Aglais io

Moths:
- >10 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
- ! 2 Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
very many more "grass moths" got away.

Bees, wasps etc.:
- Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
- Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
- wasp sp.: either German Wasp Vespula germanica or Common Wasp V. vulgaris

Hoverflies:
- Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
- Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Damsel / Dragon-flies:
none

True flies:
very few including...
- long-legged fly Dolichopus ungulatus or similar
- dagger fly Empis livida
- greenbottle Lucilia sp.
- Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
a few other unidentified flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
- Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva : just one!

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus

Mammals:
- 1 Brown Hare Lepus europaeus

On the West end street lamp poles around dawn:

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

The sibling trio of Great Crested Grebe juvenile "humbugs". These seem to be doing well.

A butterfly species that I thought was at the end of its flight period. However this Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus looks very fresh.

With no sun this Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta was trying to soak up as much warmth from the path through grass. The lack of sun did mean that for once the camera has rendered the red more accurately than usual.

The underwing pattern of the larger butterflies are distinctive but rarely noticed. Trying to hide is a Painted Lady Vanessa cardui.

v

I must have seen at least fifty grass moths scattering ahead of me as I walked through the grassy areas. Most went unidentified as they dived for cover. This was my first Straw Grass-moth Agriphila straminella of the year. It can, with a good view, be separated from the currently still more numerous Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella by the absence of the diagonal cross line toward the wing tip.

A delightfully scruffy-looking Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum getting stuck in to Knapweed Centaurea nigra.

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris also tucking in to Knapweed.

I noted several of these Marmalade Hoverflies Episyrphus balteatus.

The only other hoverfly I noted was this Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax.

I am not sure what is going on here. The upper insect is a dagger fly Empis livida. I think it is with prey rather than a mate. I cannot see a "dagger" from the head of the victim and the wings look more transparent.

A male Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria

The only Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva I noted today. None was noted on any of the Common Hogweed flowers Heracleum sphondylium.

One of three Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius eats breakfast from its extensive larder. This shows only a small part of the flies caught in the web!

This Brown Hare Lepus europaeus was an unexpected sighting as it sprinted across the football field c.05:30. I have now seen more hares than rabbits this year here!

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:
The wind was blowing straight through the tunnel, probably keeping numbers down.

Moths:
- 1 micromoth to be identified

Flies:
- 7 midges of several species
- 2 mayfly, possibly Pond Olive Cloeon dipterum.
- 3 moth fly Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]: one a day but never in the same place on the wall

Arthropods:
- 1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

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

I am not sure of the ID of this micromoth. Neither of Obsidentify's suggestions nor that of Google Lens look to be correct. I know a man who may be able to help.

Strange: there were two mayflies on the wall of the tunnel today, probably the same species and most likely Pond Olives Cloeon dipterum.

This is the harvestman Phalangium opilio. I see this species here frequently.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 05:55 – 07:00

(155th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- I had expected more of the geese to be flying and have left by now.
- 17 Mute Swans.
- a duck Mallard seen with what appeared to be three smaller birds, presumed well-grown ducklings, in loose convoy..
- a single Great Crested Grebe found.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Jackdaw

Noted on / around the water:
- 140 Canada Geese
- 96 Greylag Geese
- 17 Mute Swans
- 28 (?♂) Mallard: see notes
- 27 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 65 Coots
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 5 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, arrived
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers noted (the number in brackets refers to birds singing):
- no Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
- 3 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui

Moths:
- 1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
- 1 as yet unidentified micromoth

Hoverflies:
none

True flies:
none identified

Beetles:
- 1 Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis var. succinea

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
- 1 harvestman from the species pair Dicranopalpus ramosus / D. caudatus

Another micromoth I cannot ID. It was a long way up a tall street lamp pole so it is not the clearest of views.

Another unusual underwing view of...

...a Painted Lady butterfly Vanessa cardui. In my experience it is unusual to see this species with its wings closed. That said it would have been easy to overlook had I not seen it fly in and close its wings.

(Ed Wilson)

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2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2007
Priorslee Lake
Hobby
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
3 drake Ruddy Ducks
(Ed Wilson)