26 Oct 17

Priorslee Lake only

9.0°C > 11.0°C: Mainly cloudy at medium level; a few breaks. Very light SE wind fell calm. Very good visibility

Sunrise: 07:55 BST

Busy again with another big passage of Wood Pigeons: more smaller parties today

Priorslee Lake: 07:00 – 10:10

(130th visit of the year)

Notes from today:
- 59 of the Greylag Geese flew SW to the E before 07:30 – unusual direction. Just 4 inbound with the Canada Geese
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose flew inbound before 07:20 making its characteristic call
- 20 Canada Geese stopped off inbound (in addition to the overflights logged)
- more Gadwalls today: now 4 pairs and 2 ‘spare’ ducks
- 2 duck Pochard new in
- 4 separate Common Buzzards flew E pre-dawn from wherever they had been roosting
- big party of >200 Golden Plover seen flying around to the far E
- the very heavy Wood Pigeon passage started before 08:00: this morning it had stopped by 09:30. In some of the closer groups a few smaller Stock Doves were noted. The parties were tending to fly SSW today (rather than S, as they did yesterday). One party was seen heading W before turning S. More than 50 more birds were in the fields to the NE and >75 seen flying low overhead
- 5 Jays seen flying N before I noted any flying S: on the usual ‘burying acorns’ flights?
and
- 3 November Moth sp. on the lamps: another presumed this species seen in flight

On with today’s bird totals

Birds noted flying over the lake:
- 63 Greylag Geese (3 groups – see notes)
- 1 Greylag x Canada Goose (inbound)
- 44 Canada Geese (3 groups inbound)
- 4 Common Buzzards
- 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- >200 Golden Plover
- 11 Feral Pigeons (4 groups)
- >6 Stock Doves (in with Wood Pigeons)
- >4300 Wood Pigeons (46 groups)
- 2 Collared Doves (singles)
- c.575 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook only
- 1 Skylark
- 12 Starlings (3 groups)
- 4 Pied Wagtails
- 10 Meadow Pipits (4 groups)
- 25 Fieldfare (2 groups)
- 54 Redwings (7 groups)
- 1 Chaffinch
- 1 Goldfinch
- 2 Goldfinches
- >6 unidentified finch sps.

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 3 Mute Swans
- 20 Canada Geese
- 10 (6♂) Gadwall
- 16 (9♂) Mallard again
- 2 (0♂) Pochard
- 40 (21♂) Tufted Ducks
- 2 Grey Herons
- 6 + 2 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 169 Coots
- >110 Black-headed Gulls
- 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 1 Kingfisher

(Ed Wilson)

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On this day..........

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2011
Priorslee Lake
17 Tufted Ducks
c.400 Lesser Black-backed Gull
(Mike Cooper)

2005
Priorslee Lake
16 Pochard
41 Tufted Duck
212 Coot
778 Fieldfare
199 Redwings
800 Wood Pigeons
Chiffchaff
Possible Firecrest
3 Siskin
18 Redpoll
275 Starlings
(Ed Wilson)