2 Nov 18

Priorslee Lake: then Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

Priorslee Lake: 06:10 – 09:15
Trench Lock Pool: 09:25 – 10:05 // 10:55 – 11:00
Trench Middle Pool: 10:10 – 10:50

4°C > 10°C: Frosty start in shelter from light / moderate WSW wind. Few clouds. Excellent visibility

Sunrise: 07:08 GMT

Priorslee Lake: 06:10 – 09:15

(140th visit of the year)

Rather better viewing conditions today with probably more accurate counts from the lake

Busy overhead until c.08:00 when passage more or less stopped. Most unusual overhead was a Blackbird several hundred feet up passing N -> S

Bird notes:
- the 8 brownhead Goosanders circled several times before deciding not to land
- 2 Great Crested Grebes seen in flight this morning, both towards the NW reeds and neither seen thereafter. As far as I am aware the juvenile, which I saw on its own later, has not yet fledged so I assume there were at least 3 birds today

Bird totals

Birds noted flying over or flying near the lake
- 8 (0♂) Goosanders
- 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls
- 4 Feral Pigeons
- 7 Stock Doves
- 307 Wood Pigeons (285 of these in 10 groups N/NE)
- 1 Collared Dove
- 161 Jackdaws
- 24 Rooks
- 3 Skylarks
- 9 Starlings (2 groups)
- 1 Blackbird
- 66 Fieldfares (7 groups)
- 68 Redwings (9 groups)
- 1 Pied Wagtail
- 2 Meadow Pipits
- 11 Siskins
- 1 Lesser Redpoll
- 13 unidentified finches (2 groups)

Birds leaving roosts around the lake
- 4 Redwings
- 1 Reed Bunting

The counts from the lake area
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 6 (3♂) Gadwall again
- 9 (7♂) Mallard
- 76 (37♂) Tufted Ducks
- 3 Little Grebes
- 3 Great Crested Grebes
- 1, at least, Water Rail heard
- 10 Moorhens
- 129 Coots
- 25 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

And other notes
- my log today consisted of
- 2 Autumnal-type moths (Epirrita sp.) on different lamp poles
- 1 wasp sp. at a lamp pole much later along with ....
- c.25 basking Muscid flies on poles
- 3 Grey Squirrels

My mother always said that if the moon was lying on its back then rain would come and fill it up. I suppose this angle means we will get showers?

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 09:25 – 10:05 // 10:55 – 11:00

(18th visit of the year)

Bird notes from here
- the Goosander were new here for me this Autumn
- presumably what was last week’s unexpected Common Sandpiper was still present. Gave me another opportunity to check it was not a vagrant Spotted Sandpiper – very hard to distinguish in winter plumage. Having ‘mugged up’ on the differences was able to confirm from the length and strength of the white wing-bar and from the call-notes that this was indeed a Common Sandpiper
- Grey Wagtail here once more
and
- 2 Harlequin Ladybirds (an adult and a pupa) on a lamp pole. My first record of this species at this site

Birds noted flying over / near here
[apart from the local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws coming and going]
- 1 Buzzard

The counts from the water
- 14 Mute Swans again
- 4 Canada Geese
- 4 (2♂) Teal
- 10 (6♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) ‘feral’ Mallard again
- 2 (1♂) Shoveler
- 15 (10♂)Tufted Ducks
- 4 (1♂) Goosander
- 4 Cormorants
- 4 Little Grebes
- 6 (ages?) Great Crested Grebes
- 8 Moorhens again
- 184 Coots
- 1 Common Sandpiper still
- 15 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Here is a fine pair of Teal.

Two Little Grebes. Note the bird nearest us still has some adult breeding plumage with a chestnut tinge to the neck and yellow at the base of the bill. At this time of year immatures and adults in full winter plumage are likely to be indistinguishable. The other bird shows no sign of stripes on the face which a juvenile would show.

Here is a shot of a Grey Wagtail showing the yellow undertail clearly. It also shows an all-dark bill which means it is an adult. Indeed the yellow wash on the breast suggests an ‘older’ bird – whatever my Field Guide means by that phrase.

I thought this looked a bit odd with tufts at the back (or front?). It is a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) pupa on one of the lamps. Indeed the same lamp as ...

An adult Harlequin Ladybird of the form spectabilis (though the spectacles are not easy to see from this angle).

(Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool: 10:10 – 10:50

(17th visit of the year)

Notes from here
- no Great Crested Grebes found
- the over-flying Skylark was my first this year here. My previous record was on 23 December 2017. I am sure they fly over on passage every Spring and Autumn but ‘right place, right time’ is needed. My 40th bird species at this site in 2018

Birds noted flying over / near here
- 1 Common Buzzard again
- 8 Jackdaws
- 1 Skylark

The counts from the water
- 2 + 2 Mute Swans again
- 2 Greylag Geese: same?
- 26 Canada Geese
- 26 (21♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) ‘feral’ Mallard again
- 3 (1♂) Tufted Ducks
- 21 (2♂) Goosander
- 1 Cormorant
- 3 Grey Herons
- 14 Moorhens
- 26 Coots
- 63 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: same bird as in previous weeks?

Here is today’s obligatory Goosander from my visit to Trench Middle Pool. An immature / moulting drake.

At the time I had no idea what this was but it seemed to have legs or antenna sticking out. So I photographed it and enlarged it and ... I still have no idea what it is. I suspect a spider has wrapped something in its web to consume at leisure but what that might be ....

(Ed Wilson)

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

2016
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2015
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2014
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2012
Priorslee Lake
2 Gadwall
7 Pochard
Kestrel
Little Grebe
Sparrowhawk
(John Isherwood)

2011
Priorslee Lake
4 Yellow legged Gulls
(John Isherwood)

2010
Priorslee Lake
36 Pochard
85 Tufted Ducks
4 Lapwings over 
c.200 Starlings roosted at W end 
53 Wood Pigeons
249 Fieldfare
14 Redwings
7 Siskins
1 Redpoll
(Ed Wilson)

2006
Priorslee Lake
Little Grebes
17 Pochard
57 Tufted Ducks
1 drake Ruddy Duck
c.170 Golden Plover
1175 Wood Pigeons
1 Kingfisher
16 Pied Wagtails
22 Wrens
10 Dunnocks
27 Robins
22 Blackbirds
298 Fieldfares
8 Song Thrushes
24 Redwings
1 Mistle Thrush
69 Starlings
12 Chaffinches
33 Greenfinches
11 Goldfinches
1 Redpoll
5 Bullfinches
9 Reed Buntings
(Ed Wilson)

2005
Priorslee Lake
Adult Arctic Tern
172 Redwing
9 Pochard
47 Tufted Duck
Siskin
Redpolls
7 Reed Buntings
Kingfisher
(Ed Wilson)