17 Nov 18

Priorslee Lake only

7°C: Dull with low cloud, mist and occasional light drizzle. Some sign of a clearance as I left. Light / moderate ESE wind. Moderate visibility, occasionally poor

Sunrise: 07:35 GMT

Priorslee Lake: 06:25 – 09:20

(154th visit of the year)

Again rather little flying over in the dull conditions

The drake Teal gave me another new species for 2018 here – another duck I missed both in the 2018 part of last winter and on Spring passage. Number 107

Other bird notes:
- 5 brownhead Goosanders circled and landed at 07:20. Eight appeared overhead at 07:30, circled but left to the W. Immediately after 4 more brownheads appeared from the S, circled and left to the W taking the birds that had landed with them. Then at 08:45 a lone bird flew S
- one the basis of the amount of head-streaking the separate single Lesser Black-backed Gulls were different birds
- just 2 Siskins found amongst c.25 Goldfinches feeding on Alder cones just inside the Teece Drive gate

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 13 (0♂) Goosanders
- 1 Common Buzzard yet again
- 3 Wood Pigeons only! (no groups)
- 101 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 12 Redwings (1 group)
- 3 Pied Wagtail
- 2 Meadow Pipits again
- 1 Siskin

Birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 1 Fieldfare
- 6 Redwings

The counts from the lake area taken in more dull conditions
- 1 Mute Swans again
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall still
- 1 (1♂) Teal
- 10 (7♂) Mallard
- 84 (>46♂) Tufted Ducks
- 5 (0♂) Goosanders
- 1 Grey Heron
- 4 Little Grebes
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 7 Moorhens
- 106 Coots
- >400 Black-headed Gulls
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (singles)

And other notes
my log today consisted of just
- Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) amazingly still in flower
- a few Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) plants also still in flower
- at least one Smooth Sow-thistle or Milk Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus): less unusual

Not my best ever photo. Poor light and shooting through waving reeds to avoid flushing the birds. Compare and contrast time here with, in the foreground, a drake Gadwall with the black stern: and at the back my first (Common) Teal of this year here, also a drake, with its distinctive yellow patch at the rear.

This is what most of my shots looked like – enough to identify, but ...hungry birds. Note the white speculum just showing on the Gadwall.

Another 'compare and contrast'. Amongst some 25 Goldfinches feeding on Alder cone careful observation revealed two Siskins. The Siskin is in the left of the photo.

A rather better shot of a Siskin – the black ‘hat’ makes it a male. Bits of two Goldfinches visible over his left shoulder. Male and female Alder catkins also visible. The male catkins are the slender bunches. The female catkins harden and turn in to the small cones.

Here we see the Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) amazingly still in flower in the middle of November. My books say June to August.

(Ed Wilson)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2017
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2016
Local Area
Today's Sightings Here

2013
Priorslee Lake
1 Wigeon 
2 Gadwall 
2 Teal 
62 Tufted Duck 
214 Coots 
9 Lapwings over 
c.210 Black-headed Gulls
c.250 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
2 Herring Gulls
7 Fieldfare
10 Redwings 
2 Siskins
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2011
Priorslee Lake
Caspian Gull
(Andy Latham)

2006
Priorslee Lake
1 Little Grebe
37 Pochard
55 Tufted Ducks
 >625 Black-headed Gulls
2245 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
2 Herring Gulls
1 Great Black-backed Gull
424 Wood Pigeons
23 Blackbirds
374 Fieldfares
58 Redwings
379 Jackdaws
151 Rooks
4 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)