It was fairly sunny this morning when I left the house and I decided to visit Priors Hall to see if any late season dragons might be lingering. Although the temperature has remained unseasonably mild this autumn there has been very little sunshine and I was far from optimistic when I set out. A mix up with the buses meant that I had to walk to Priors Hall though the stroll was pleasant enough and wasn't too taxing.
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| Pochard |
A check of the Quarry Lake at Priors did not produce much of note, a small flock of Tufted Ducks were the highlight. On one of the other ponds a drake Pochard was probably my bird of the day as they're a fairly rare visitor to the site. I was pleased to note that Siskins were feeding in the many alders in company with good numbers of Goldfinches, numbers of these little yellow finches do seem to be increasing after what seemed like a slow start. The local passerines were clearly upset by a passing Sparrowhawk if the volume of their alarm calls was anything to go by and one species disturbed by the passing raptor was Marsh Tit, at least two were present. One final birding highlight was a Kingfisher which I saw and heard on several occasions though my views were always brief.
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| Red Kite |
My search for darters took a while to get going and looked initially as if it might end in failure. I had a quick view of one though it didn't settle and this experience was repeated again as I wandered around the ponds. Eventually a female posed long enough for a few pics, I suspect these may be my last dragonfly pictures of the year. By now the weather was beginning to deteriorate and there were a few drops of light rain which prompted me to head back towards Weldon from where I caught my bus home.
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| Common Darter |
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