18 Jul 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

17.0°C > 22.0°C: Early cloud dispersed for a while before more approached from the West. Light southerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:09 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:55 – 06:15 // 07:30 – 09:40

(175th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 19 Canada Geese when I arrived: eventually 34.
- up to four Greylag Geese.
- two broods of four and seven Mallard ducklings. All other Mallard together as "(near) adults".
- the duck Pochard reappeared briefly: where is she hiding out?
- two Tufted Duck flew West at 05:30.
- a number of the Moorhens seen are full-grown juveniles. These tend to stay hidden until they are fully independent.
- at least two broods of Coots were previously unseen. Adults and juveniles all lumped in the count.
- all seven juvenile Great Crested Grebes from the four broods were found again. The true number of adults present remains elusive as parents continually dive for food.
- another sighting of a juvenile Black-headed Gull.
- a more usual passing of Jackdaws and Rooks.
- I am not sue why there are so few Reed Warblers around. Most years they would be having another brood and would leave mid- to late-August. Apart from the lack of song and calls I am not seeing any dashing across between the reeds on the lake side as I usually do.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 3 (?♂) Mallard flew East
- 2 (?♂) Tufted Duck: flew West
- 73 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 72 Jackdaws
- 34 Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 34 Canada Geese: see notes
- 2 Greylag Geese
- 2 Mute Swans
- *33 (?♂) + 11 (2 broods) Mallard: see notes
- *1 (0♂) Pochard
- 10 Moorhens again
- 106 Coots
- >7 + 7 (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 20 Black-headed Gulls: one of these a juvenile
- 7 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- no Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 4 Swifts
- 3 Barn Swallows
- House Martins heard high over: not located

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 2 (0) Cetti's Warbler
- 10 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 2 (0) Reed Warbler
- 3 (2) Blackcaps
- 1 (0) Common Whitethroat

Noted on the West end street lamp poles around-dawn:

Moths:
1 Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella
*1 Ruby Tiger Phragmatobia fuliginosa

Beetle:
*1 $$ ground beetle, possibly Paradromius linearis

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
1 Bridge Orb-web Spider Larinioides sclopetarius
two other unidentified spiders

Noted later:

Butterflies:
Large White Pieris brassicae
` Green-veined White Pieris napi
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
*Comma Polygonia c-album

Moths
many unidentified grass moths flying in to the middle distance
*3 Pale Straw Pearls Udea lutealis
1 Mother of Pearl Patania ruralis [was Pleuroptya ruralis]
1 caterpillar of Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae

Bees, wasps etc.:
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
*Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
*Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
*Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]
*Humming Syrphus Syrphus ribesii [Common Flower Fly]
Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis
*$ Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis [was Lesser Hornet Hoverfly]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
*Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]

Caddis etc. flies:
none

Other flies:
*$$ blow-fly, possibly Melinda gentilis
otherwise only unidentified fly species

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Amphibians:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

New flowers for the year:

None

A duck Mallard (closest to the camera) with her brood of four well-grown ducklings. It is probably too soon to make judgment about the sex of the ducklings. However the bird on the left looks to have the plainest bill that might suggest it will be a drake.

A distant shot of the duck Pochard. The only occasion I saw here today.

In the low sun before 06:00 I managed a shot of a juvenile Black-headed Gull in flight. They do look different.

How could I resist this Comma butterfly Polygonia c-album posing on the Teece Drive fence.

At the time I could only see the darker spot in the wings of this moth and thought it would be a Straw Dot Rivula sericealis. However editing the photo revealed more of the markings and it is in fact a worn Pale Straw Pearl moth Udea lutealis.

My second Ruby Tiger moth Phragmatobia fuliginosa here this year, this one on the overhanging lamp mechanism of a street lamp at the West end around dawn.

A Bumblebee Blacklet hoverfly Cheilosia illustrata. It is somewhat unusual for a hoverfly in often not being very approachable for a photo.

Compare and contrast: at the top a Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus. Below a female Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare. I have just noticed an unidentified bug lurking at the extreme right!

Good fortune here. This is a female Syrphus hoverfly (the eyes do not meet) and the left hind tibia is visible meaning this must be a Humming Syrphus S. ribesii or, as Obsidentify calls it, Common Flower Fly.

Not the best of angles as this Wasp Plumehorn Volucella inanis feeds on Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria. My first record of this species this year. It differs from the Hornet Hoverfly V. zonaria in having no orange on the abdomen.

I still don't seem able to find any Azure Damselflies Coenagrion puella at the moment. All those I photograph turn out to be Common Blue Damselflies Enallagma cyathigerum, like this male.

Obsidentify suggested two blow-flies from the Melinda genus. This one, M. gentilis, is the only one of the two species that is illustrated on the internet with red eyes.

Also on a street lamp pole around dawn was this ground beetle, possibly Paradromius linearis.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths: [28 species here before today; no additions]
none

Flies:
1 cranefly Tipula lateralis
2 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
14 midges of various species.

Arthropods:
2 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
1 Missing Sector Orb-web Spider Zygiella x-notata [Silver-sided Sector Spider]
2 female harvestmen Leiobunum rotundum
1 other unidentified harvestman

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:25

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- just 17 Tufted Duck today many now almost impossible to sex.
- three Great Crested Grebes as yesterday.

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

Noted on / around the water:
- 72 Canada Geese
- 30 Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans
- 14 Mallard
- 17 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- + 1 (1 broods) Moorhens
- 91 + 10 (4 dependent broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1 Black-headed Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- House Martin(s) heard only high over

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 5 (1) Chiffchaffs
- 4 (3) Blackcaps

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
Large White Pieris brassicae

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass] [58 species here before today: one addition]
*2 $ Italian Bark Moths Metalampra italica [was Italian Tubic]
1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
1 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata: a dead individual
*4 Single-dotted Waves Idaea dimidiata
*1 Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula: a second brood.

Bees, wasps etc.:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Tapered Dronefly Eristalis pertinax
Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger [Lunuled Aphideater]
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
none

Caddis etc. flies:
*Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis

Other flies:
various different midges and flies

Bugs:
*$$ mirid bug Campyloneura virgula

Beetles:
7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
1 harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus only
1 harvestman Leiobunum blackwalli / rotundum

New flowers for the year:

None

There were two of these tiny moth flying around and around alongside the Wesley Brook as it flows (or not at the moment!) between the academy and houses. Eventually one landed briefly and the photo revealed it to be an Italian Bark Moth Metalampra italica. I had one in almost exactly the same place three years ago that the Shropshire Recorder identified for me. The species is not well illustrated as it is a rapidly-spreading recent-colonist.

One of four Single-dotted Wave moths Idaea dimidiata that I found. One was on a street lamp pole and three were, like this, on the vegetation below different street lamps. I rarely seem to see moths below the street lamps along the West side of the Balancing Lake for some reason.

Another challenging moth but only because it was in full sun at the top of a street lamp pole. There are two species that are not easy to separate, the distinction being the marking at the very wing tip. Here there are only white streaks which identifies it as a Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula. Had there been a small white wedge it would have been a Lesser Swallow Prominent P. gnoma. I have seen both species on the street lamp poles in the wooded area at the top end. At this date this is a second generation individual.

The moustache-like yellow marks (lunules) identify this hoverfly as a Common Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger.

On the handrail of one of the footbridges I found this Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis . I have to say this individual is distinctly "shorticornis" compared to most but that does not seem to make it a different species - no other caddis fly shares the wing markings.

This mirid bug is a new species for me. The relatively long antennae and the bright yellow cuneus help to identify it as Campyloneura virgula . No vernacular name. Also on the handrail of one of the footbridges.

(Ed Wilson)

17 Jul 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

15.0°C > 17.0°C: Low cloud with spells of drizzle. Seemed to be the "Telford hat" as dry and bright, if not sunny, in Donnington as I departed. Light easterly breeze. Moderate, often poor, visibility.

Sunrise: 05:07 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 05:05 – 06:25 // 07:25 – 09:20

(174th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 11 Canada Geese when I arrived: eventually 36.
- the long-term Greylag Geese had a friend early only.
- a Gadwall, sex not determined, was seen in flight.
- the brood of seven Mallard ducklings seen again – at least I think there were still seven. Hard to see.
- the duck Pochard not noted again despite a good search around all her usual haunts.
- *the first recently-fledged juvenile Black-headed Gull of the year was seen.
- while sheltering along the North side c.05:45 a Kingfisher called and then flew past me. In later Winter I suspected one bird as roosting here and was heard and then seen many mornings.
- no Jackdaws or Rooks.
- a Cetti's Warbler was alarm calling at the West end c.05:30 with another bird giving quiet calls in response. A juvenile?
- *a Common Whitethroat was alarm calling and seen in the usual place. Nearby two juveniles warblers were heard making begging calls but I was unable to determine the species.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 2 Canada Geese: a pair outbound
- 2 Greylag Geese: a pair outbound
- 51 Wood Pigeons
- 3 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- no Jackdaws
- no Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- *36 Canada Geese: see notes
- *2 Greylag Geese: see notes
- 2 Mute Swans
- 1 (?♂) Gadwall: see notes
- *31 (?♂) + 7? (1 brood) Mallard: see notes
- 9 Moorhens
- 106 Coots
- *8 + 7 (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- *21 Black-headed Gulls: one of these a juvenile
- 1 Herring Gull
- 26 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron: departed?
- 1 Kingfisher

Hirundines etc. noted:
- no Swift
- c.10 Barn Swallows
- ? House Martins: heard only but lost in the low cloud

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 2 (0) Cetti's Warbler
- 6 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 6 (2) Reed Warblers
- 5 (2) Blackcaps
- *1 (0) Common Whitethroat

Noted on the West end street lamp poles around-dawn:

Moths:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
2 Bridge Orb-web Spiders Larinioides sclopetarius

Noted later:
Very little in drizzle

Butterflies:
none

Moths
*3 grass moths that I don't feel confident about identifying.

Bees, wasps etc.:
none

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
none

Caddis etc. flies:
none

Other flies:
*"greenbottle" Lucilia sp.
a few other unidentified fly species

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
*unidentified pollen beetle

Amphibians:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

New flowers for the year:

None

Apologies for the poor quality of some of the photos in the rain today. At the back here is a Canada Goose squabble. More or less in the centre is a very pale Mallard. I could log it as a "feral Mallard" but I doubt it is much less "wild" than any of the others. The two Mallard standing, one ahead of the Greylag Goose and the other alongside the goose are, despite their appearance, both drakes – this is evident from their pale green-yellow bills. They go through this plumage phase – called "eclipse" for some reason - to camouflage them while they moult all their flight feathers and become flightless for a period.

The trio of juvenile Great Crested Grebes doze while awaiting the next delivery of food. I read that at this age they are frequently referred to as "humbugs", Bah!

It does not look much like a Black-headed Gull but it is. It is a newly-fledged juvenile and at this time they have a dark gingery tone to many of the feathers which will be moulted in to first-winter plumage by September.

So a Common Whitethroat is still here and on territory.

One of the trio of grass moths I flushed and for which I have declined to guess an identity.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

I expected more sheltering from the drizzle

Moths: [28 species here before today; no additions]
*1 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata : on ceiling
*1 Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata : on wall

Other Flies:
*1 cranefly Limonia nubeculosa
5 moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
11 midges of various species.

Arthropods:
*5 White-legged Snake Millipedes Tachypodoiulus niger

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

A largely moth-free day in the rain. Two hiding in the tunnel: this Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata on the ceiling...

... and this Single-dotted Wave Idaea dimidiata sharing wall-space with a White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger.

A dreadful photo of an insect on the ceiling of the tunnel: it illustrates a point. At the time I thought "a harvestman". When I showed this edited photo to Obsidentify it thought "harvestman" too. It has only six legs but that does not mean too much as harvestmen often lose legs. But I can clearly see it has halteres and is therefore a (full-legged) cranefly. The combination of strongly marked wings and legs with dark and light sections mean it must be the cranefly Limonia nubeculosa.

One of very few flies out and about was this "greenbottle". Probably one of the Lucilia species but which I cannot tell. Note too that a small pollen beetle has had its photo taken.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:30 – 07:20

(171st visit of the year)

Bird notes
Highlight here was certainly one and probably two Willow Tits calling from the bottom end as I arrived. They eluded the camera!

Other bird notes:
- yesterday's single small Mallard duckling likely no more: what was probably its mother was where I photographed them yesterday and well away from the other Mallard.
- 25 Tufted Duck today.
- Reverted to three Great Crested Grebes! A bird was again sitting on a nest site at the top end with another seen close-by. The visibility was not good-enough to see that it was another bird that was by the island but I am sure it was.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:

None

Noted on / around the water:
****all numbers "best effort" in poor visibility and drizzle
- 72 Canada Geese
- 26 Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans
- 18 Mallard
- 25 (?♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Moorhens
- 85 + 5 (5 dependent broods) Coots
- 3 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 Black-headed Gull: adult
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: adult, briefly
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 2 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap still

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
none

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass] [58 species here before today (revised total): no additions]
none

Nothing else other than...
Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
8 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus

(Ed Wilson)

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Photos from 11 Jul - 13 Jul

As the weather left things a bit short-changed for photos today here are a few from Friday, Saturday and Sunday (11th – 13th July) that I did not have time to include at the time in the blog.

From Friday 11th

One of two Brown House-moths Hofmannophila pseudospretella that were in the Priorslee Avenue tunnel.

On this day an Early Thorn moth Selenia dentaria was on the wall of the tunnel giving a better view than perhaps the same individual had done when it was hanging from the ceiling on previous days.

A Common Footman moth Eilema lurideola I found on a street lamp pole at the Balancing Lake.

From Saturday 12th

An unusual sight of a Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus possibly asleep but certainly resting on the ceiling of the Priorslee Avenue tunnel

Also in the tunnel was this as I noted at the time an "unidentified fly with yellow face and longer than usual antennae". Both Obsidentify and Google Lens think it is from the Tetanocera group of marsh flies. The only species from this group with red legs is Tetanocera ferruginea, sometimes called Common Buff Snailkiller. I am not entirely happy as to my eyes this is a more robust fly and there appear to be dark marks on the abdomen in my photo.

Now four from The Flash. A Mirid bug Plagiognathus arbustorum negotiating the hairs on the back of my hand.

A 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata party on an umbellifer.

A Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis of the less-common form spectabilis crawling across my knuckle.

Just to show Common Red Soldier Beetles Rhagonycha fulva are not only found on Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium here are four enjoying a grass seed-head at The Flash.

From Sunday 13th

My first "real" Common Blue butterfly Polyommatus icarus of the year, one that I photographed earlier was relabelled when Martin Adlam pointed out it was a Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus!

And the underwing view of the same individual.

A very smart Ruby Tiger moth Phragmatobia fuliginosa on a street lamp pole. Not a moth I find every year.

Well named: a Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes

Not to be outdone an even larger 7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata party was being held on Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria at the Balancing Lake this day.

(Ed Wilson)

16 Jul 25

Priorslee Balancing Lake and The Flash

14.0°C > 17.0°C: Clear to the South early: otherwise mainly cloudy. Even a few spits in the wind c.10:00. Moderate westerly breeze. Very good visibility.

Sunrise: 05:06 BST

* = a species photographed today
$ = my first sighting of the species for this year
$$ = my first ever recorded sighting of the species in the area

Priorslee Balancing Lake: 04:50 – 06:15 // 07:35 – 10:05

(173rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- 16 Canada Geese when I arrived: eventually 39.
- just the long-term Greylag Geese.
- *one brood of seven Mallard ducklings seemed small-enough to be a very recent brood. Otherwise I have lumped all other Mallard together as "(near) adults" as I cannot reliably distinguish them all.
- the duck Pochard not noted but will all the geese, Mallard and Coots around the south-west grass it was hard to be sure.
- all seven juvenile Great Crested Grebes from the four broods were found again. There seems to be two adults that are nothing to do with any of the broods but confirming there are indeed ten adults is hard!
- once again the conditions brought a few hirundines to feed over the lake but only for a very short while. Why?
- if I thought yesterday's count of the usual passing Jackdaws and Rooks was poor it was worse today. Just two Jackdaws and they were after 08:00.
- song continues to fade away. Warblers as tabulated: just one Blackbird noted still singing: also only one Song Thrush.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 4 Canada Geese: a trio outbound; a single inbound
- 7 Greylag Geese: a duo and a quintet inbound
- 1 Feral Pigeon
- 83 Wood Pigeons
- 5 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 2 Jackdaws
- no Rooks

Counts from the lake area:
- 39 Canada Geese: see notes
- 1 Greylag Goose
- 2 Mute Swans
- 33 (?♂) + *7 (1 brood) Mallard: see notes
- no Pochard
- 7 Moorhens again
- 108 Coots
- *9 + 7 (4 broods) Great Crested Grebes again: see notes
- 13 Black-headed Gulls
- 4 Lesser Black-baked Gulls
- 1 Grey Heron

Hirundines etc. noted:
- 10 Swift
- >2 Sand Martins
- >6 Barn Swallows
- >4 House Martins

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 1 (0) Cetti's Warbler
- 8 (2) Chiffchaffs
- 3 (1) Reed Warbler
- 6 (4) Blackcaps

Noted on the West end street lamp poles around-dawn:

Moths:
*Black Arches Lymantria monacha [moth species #71 here this year for me]

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
6 harvestmen Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus:

Noted later:
Hard work again in the cloudy conditions.

Butterflies:
Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus

Moths
*2 Horse-chestnut Leaf-miners Cameraria ohridella
*1 Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella
2 Straw Grass-moths Agriphila straminella [was Straw Grass-veneer]
>20 other unidentified grass moths flying in to the middle distance
*2 Pale Straw Pearls Udea lutealis
7 caterpillars of Cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae
2 Straw Dots Rivula sericealis

Bees, wasps etc.:
*Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
*Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Wasp Paravespula vulgaris
*$$ sawfly Eutomostethus ephippium

Hoverflies:
Bumblebee Blacklet Cheilosia illustrata
*Dark-winged Wrinklehead Chrysogaster solstitialis
Stripe-backed Fleckwing Dasysyrphus albostriatus [Stripe-backed Brusheye]
*Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Migrant Field Syrph Eupeodes corollae [Migrant Hoverfly; Migrant Aphideater]
Meadow Field Syrph Eupeodes latifasciatus [Broad-banded Aphideater]
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]
Banded Meliscaeva Meliscaeva cinctella [Banded Thintail]
Common Twist-tail Sphaerophoria scripta [Long Hoverfly; Common Globetail]
*Syrphus sp. S. ribesii / S. vitripennis

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Common Bluet]
*Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma naja [Large Redeye]
Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura elegans [Common Bluetail]

Caddis etc. flies:
Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis

Other flies:
*$$ blowfly Melanomya nana
Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria
other unidentified fly species

Bugs:
Common Flower Bug Anthocoris nemorum
*Mirid bug Plagiognathus arbustorum
*unidentified leafhopper

Beetles:
7 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 7-punctata
*Green Dock Beetle Gastrophysa viridula
*Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Amphibians:
none

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

New flowers for the year:
*Bistort Polygonum bistorta [was Persicaria bistorta]

A brood of seven Mallard ducklings. I am losing track here. Have I seen these before? They look very small. We have had an amazingly successful breeding season this year. Normally I see no more than three broods and all the ducklings get predated. This year at least seven broods, several with multiple juveniles raised to full-size.

Probably the third pair of Great Crested Grebes to hatch you though because of the position of their nest site I logged them as the fourth. Here is one adult with one of two juveniles...

...and here is the other, equally fluffy, juvenile.

Another attempt at photographing the Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner moth Cameraria ohridella. Well the wings are only 3.5-5mm long!

An odd sighting here. Another Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella. What was strange was that I was walking up Teece Drive and almost at the point where the path dips toward the tunnel when this moth flew down on to the black tarmac path in front of me. I never would have noticed it had it not flown.

"I can see you but you can't see me". Well: I can see you but identifying which species of moth you are is a challenge. I flushed it could just make out it was a Pale Straw Pearl Udea lutealis when it dove in to the long grass.

Now a Black Arches moth Lymantria monacha here, this one on the overhang of a street light around dawn.

An extremely well-fed caterpillar of a Cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae. I have no idea how long each caterpillar takes to feed before it pupates. This caterpillar was on the same plant as I first saw several on the 30 June. Each time I have seen them the number has differed so is this a new-to-me individual?

A Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum.

A washed-out Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris

A new species for me: it is the sawfly Eutomostethus ephippium which one web site notes as "Saddleback Grass-cutter" which is easier to say but is it more appropriate?

Another attempt to highlight the "wrinkled head" of the Dark-winged Wrinklehead hoverfly Chrysogaster solstitialis. The white speckling on the side of the thorax and abdomen is pollen.

A Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus zooms in for a feed of Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra while two mirid bugs go about their business. The more obvious one is Plagiognathus arbustorum with the other probably also that species – hard to be sure.

"Little and large". The large is a Syrphus hoverfly. I have no idea about the small fly.

Another in my category of "not my best effort" but an interesting photos of a Red-eyed Damselfly Erythromma naja which has not neatly folded its wings over its back as damselflies usually do.

Its distinctive shape allows Obsidentify to tell me this is the blowfly Melanomya nana. Not a species I have knowingly seen but "common" according to NatureSpot. It is reminiscent of a small snipe fly but lacks the wing markings of that group.

While trying to photograph the tiny Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner moths several of these even-smaller unidentified leafhoppers distracted me. I doubt my camera has the ability to provide enough detail to separate several very similar mainly green species. A few species are strongly patterned and "easy"?!

A Green Dock Beetle Gastrophysa viridula.

A Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva on its own and nowhere near any Common Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium.

This flower spike is Bistort Polygonum bistorta. This year the vegetation along the wet South edge of the lake is more extensive and only the spikes of this plant are readily visible.

Plane of the day. This is an American registered (N77MS) Beech A36 Bonanza flying from its base on a farm strip near Cherwell to Hawarden Airport near Chester from where it flew to Kirkwall in Orkney. Some UK owners keep their aircraft on the American register as the inspection regime is less onerous and expensive but clearly satisfies the US regulator. Whether its flight to Orkney was a prelude to its ferry back to the US or a vacation trip only time will tell.

(Ed Wilson)

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In the Priorslee Avenue tunnel:

Moths: [27 species here before today; one addition]
*1 $ Scalloped Tortrix Acleris emargana [was Notch-wing Button]: on ceiling

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus: on ceiling

Other Flies:
no moth flies Psychodidae sp. [Drain Fly or Owl Fly]
18 midges of various species.

Arthropods:
1 White-legged Snake Millipede Tachypodoiulus niger

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
none

This micro moth was on the ceiling directly above the Wesley Brook so I could only shoot at an angle. However the unique wing shape of Scalloped Tortrix Acleris emargana made identification easy. The old name of Notch-wing Button is almost more appropriate.

(Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 06:20 – 07:30

(170th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- some geese have taken to feeding on the grass along the East side. This could be because the recent rain has caused the grass to grow slightly but I think it more likely that now they mostly have their wings they know they can escape from any errant dogs by flying away.
- *a single small Mallard duckling seen. Was it a brood I have seen before?
- 29 Tufted Duck today.
- I can explain, in part, the variation in the number of Coots logged on different days. As I am walking around the mass of birds alongside the island is dispersing toward the top end. If I get distracted(?) I fail to count some of the birds that move while I am walking around. This does not explain the variation in the number of Mallard logged.
- Back to two Great Crested Grebes! The bird was again sitting on a nest site at the top end. The other was by the island throughout.
- a Cormorant dropped in.
- Carrion Crows chased a Common Buzzard out of trees along the East side.

Bird(s) noted flying over here:
- 1 Black-headed Gulls

Noted on / around the water:
- *100 Canada Geese exactly: some of these flew off
- *43 Greylag Geese
- 6 Mute Swans
- *19 (?♂) + 1 (1 brood) Mallard
- 29 (24?♂) Tufted Duck
- 5 Moorhens
- 100 + 5 (4 broods) Coots: see notes
- 2 Great Crested Grebes: see notes
- 1 Black-headed Gull: adult
- 1 Grey Heron
- 1 Cormorant: arrived

Hirundines etc. noted:

None

Warblers recorded (the figure in brackets is birds noted singing):
- 4 (0) Chiffchaffs
- 1 (1) Blackcap again

Noted around the area:

Butterflies:
none

Moths [on street lamp poles and in the grass] [56 species here before today (revised total); no additions today]
1 Garden Grass-moth Chrysoteuchia culmella [was Garden Grass-veneer]
*1 $ White Plume Pterophorus pentadactyla [species #57]
*1 Small Fan-footed Wave Idaea biselata
1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata
*1 $$ Small Blood-vein Scopula imitaria [species #58]
1 Black Arches Lymantria monacha: same place as yesterday

Bees, wasps etc.:
none

Hoverflies:
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Chequered Hoverfly Melanostoma scalare [Long-winged Duskyface]

Dragon-/Damsel-flies:
none

Caddis etc. flies:
*Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis :

Other flies:
less numerous different midges and flies

Bugs:
none

Beetles:
larvae of Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni
Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva

Spiders, harvestmen etc.:
harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus/caudatus: now 17!. Forced to share street lamp poles!
harvestman Opilio canestrinii

New flowers for the year:

None

Ms. Mallard with a lone duckling. The duckling is too small to be the lone duckling seen last week. Perhaps even too small to be the lone survivor of the brood of six noted on Sunday (13th)? It is odd that the adult shows no hint of orange/brown along the bill edge.

Two Canada Geese showing a difference in the wing-moult timing. The front bird shows extensive white between the still-growing primary feathers and the tail. The back bird shows more advanced regrowth and is probably able to fly should it choose to do so.

And a Greylag Goose that won't be flying anytime soon.

A few moths of interest again. This is my first White Plume moth Pterophorus pentadactyla of the year and species #57 here this year for me.

A worn-looking Small Fan-footed Wave moth Idaea biselata.

This moth is a Small Blood-vein Scopula imitaria. Unlike the somewhat similar Blood-vein Timandra comae this species has two obvious cross-lines and the stronger line does not go from wing-tip to wing-tip. I have not previously recorded this common moth species in Shropshire and it becomes species #58 here this year for me.

A Grouse Wing caddis fly Mystacides longicornis. There must have been a "hatch" as I noted at least 20 on the handrail of one of the footbridges.

(Ed Wilson)

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2013
Priorslee Flash
Oystercatcher
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
2 drake Ruddy Duck
(Ed Wilson)