30 Oct 20

Priorslee Lake, The Flash, Trench Lock Pool and Trench Middle Pool

13.0°C > 16.0°C: Broken cloud at multiple levels with a very few bright periods. Light rain initially and a few sprinkles later. Moderate SW wind. Excellent visibility.

Sunrise: 07:04 GMT

* = a photo today.

Priorslee Lake: 05:37 – 09:00

(235th visit of the year)

Rain / low cloud deterred most migrants. The few Fieldfare and Redwings noted seemed to have left local trees.

Bird notes:
- See also the totals for The Flash. Is that where the 26 fly-over Goosanders were going?
- The Coots seemed to be late emerging from the reeds and when they did there were fewer noted.
- At least 20 Wood Pigeons flying out of trees around the lake seemed to be heading off S rather than on the usual local movements. These not included in the otherwise low fly-over totals.
- The Jackdaws seemed to have been taking lessons from Starlings and were doing an excellent 'murmuration' as they flew past the lake. I feel the numbers are likely to be significantly understated. Also two groups of 26 and then 25 flew by two hours after the main departure.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 8 Canada Geese: duo and sextet outbound.
- 26 (?♂) Goosander: groups of 19 and seven
- 2 Cormorants: singles
- 1 Common Buzzard as ever
- 2 Feral Pigeons: duo
- 35 Wood Pigeons: just 18 of these in one migrant party SW
- c.335 Jackdaws
- 1 Rook
- 6 Fieldfare: one group
- 14 Redwings: four groups
- 10 Pied Wagtails

Birds seen leaving roosts around the lake:
- 5 Starlings
- 11 Redwings again
- no Reed Buntings: at least two calling from roost

Counts from the lake area:
- 2 + 5 Mute Swans
- 7 (4♂) Gadwall
- 11 (6♂) Mallard
- 7 (6♂) Pochard
- 27 (17♂) Tufted Duck
- 2 Cormorants: arrived separately
- 1 Grey Heron
- no Little Grebe
- 11 Great Crested Grebes
- 5 Moorhens
- 106 Coots only
- c.300 Black-headed Gulls
- 421 Lesser Black-backed Gulls from the Hortonwood roost.
- 141 Lesser Black-backed Gulls arrived later
- 4 Herring Gulls: one adult; one near adult; two first-winter birds
- 1 Yellow-legged Gull: adult

Birds on the playing fields c.07:10:
- c.230 Black-headed Gulls on the football field
- 2 Common Buzzards on the academy fields

On / around the street lights etc. pre-sunrise:
- 1 November Moth-type (Epirrita sp.): different lamp pole
- 1 Mottled Umber moth (Erranis defoliaria): third morning in exactly the same place
- 1 Common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia)
- 1 Larinioides sclopetarius (Orb-web spider)
- 1 Paroligolophus agrestis harvestman

Noted later:

Nothing

Some more Autumn colour. The promised gales have not yet materialised to remove the last of the leaves. Here looking S along the dam.

Due to Half Term holidays there is little traffic to disturb the leaves that have fallen on to Teece Drive. Still plenty left on the trees.

 (Ed Wilson)

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The Flash: 09:04 – 09:54

(220th visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- So many Tufted Duck, Goosander and Coots milling about that accurate numbers, especially of Tufted Duck, hard to ascertain. There was certainly a further increase in the number of Tufties.
- The drake Pochard a new arrival.
- One of the Goosanders was an almost completely moulted drake. The total I counted was one fewer than the number that flew over the lake earlier so perhaps my total is one short. Of course they might be different birds.
- The only sizeable migrant party of Wood Pigeons all morning flew SW over here at a surprisingly low height – probably due to the cloud?

Birds noted flying over / near The Flash:
- c.130 Wood Pigeons (single group)
- 1 Jackdaw

Counts from the water: best effort in the rain
- 3 + 7 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 19 Canada Geese
- 39 (25♂) Mallard
- 1 (1♂) Pochard
- 126 (?♂) Tufted Duck (see notes)
- *25 (1♂) Goosanders (see notes)
- 1 Grey Heron
- 2 Great Crested Grebes again
- *7 Moorhens
- *37 Coots
- *84 Black-headed Gulls
- *1 Lesser Black-backed Gull: second-winter

Lamp poles, around the Ivy or of interest elsewhere:

Nothing

In the foreground the drake Goosander almost moulted in to breeding plumage. A hint of white above the bill suggests this is a first-year bird. Behind it is the tail of another Goosander diving to fish and trying to avoid the attentions of the adult winter Black-headed Gull on the look-out for a free meal.

Compare and contrast for those still in doubt. The smaller bird with the red shield, yellow-tipped bill and white in the flanks is a Moorhen. The all-dark bird with the white shield and bill is a Coot - "as bald as a Coot".

A rather handsome-looking second-winter Lesser Black-backed Gull showing the progress to acquiring some adult-type feathers. Extensive head-streaking on this individual – a rather variable feature on winter gulls. At this age a Herring Gull would typically show more pale at the base of the bill.

 (Ed Wilson)

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Trench Lock Pool: 10:04 – 10:15 // 10:55 – 11:15

(33rd visit of the year)

Still very quiet.

Bird notes:
- The adult Mute swan was blue 7JTZ. So where was its partner and the other four cygnets?

Birds noted flying over / near here:
[The local Wood Pigeons and Jackdaws not included]
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Counts from the water:
- 1 + 2 (1 brood) Mute Swans
- 18 Canada Geese
- 8 (5♂) Mallard
- 1 (0♂) Tufted Duck
- 1 Great Crested Grebe
- 2 Moorhens
- 18 Coots
- 14 Black-headed Gulls

Of note

Nothing

 (Ed Wilson)

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Trench Middle Pool: 10:20 – 10:50

(33rd visit of the year)

Bird notes:
- For the third consecutive visit all three juvenile Great Crested Grebes were clustered around one of the adults. At least today they were all diving together in the hunt for food. The other adult keeps well out of the way. Seems unfair.

Birds noted flying over / near here:
- 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Counts from the water:
- 2 Mute Swans
- 24 Canada Geese
- 1 all-white feral goose
- 27 (19♂) Mallard
- 21 (9♂) Tufted Duck
- no Goosander
- 2 + 3 (1 brood) Great Crested Grebes again
- 14 Moorhen
- 51 Coots
- 99 Black-headed Gulls
- 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Between the pools at Trench

Some more Autumn colour between the pools at Trench. The extent of the leaves on the grass made the whole area much brighter on a cloudy day.

A closer view of one of the trees here.

 (Ed Wilson)

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On this day

2019
Priorslee Lake
Today's Sightings Here

2018

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2015

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2014

Priorslee Lake

Today's Sightings Here

2010

Priorslee Lake

10 Swans

c.60 Golden Plover

c.200 Starlings left a roost in the reeds at the W end

763 Wood Pigeons

3 Skylarks

7 Meadow Pipits

165 Fieldfare

9 Redwings

4 Siskins

3 Linnets

1 Redpoll

(Ed Wilson)

2009

Priorslee Lake

8 Wigeon

20 Pochard

(John Isherwood)

The Flash

1 Goosander

1 Teal

(John Isherwood)

2006

Priorslee Lake

100 Jackdaw

130 Rooks

1 Buzzard

Kestrel

c.60 Golden Plover

(Martin Adlam)

2005

Priorslee Lake

450 to 500 Starlings left the roost

11 Pochard

47 Tufted Duck

Pair of Ruddy Duck

200+ Coot

1 Dunlin

104 Lesser Black-backed Gulls

100 Black-headed Gulls

Kingfisher

A Buzzard was seen feeding on earthworms and possibly beetles

2000+ Wood Pigeon

62 Redwing

54 Fieldfare

3 Song Thrushes 

(Martin Adlam)