The Green-winged Teal at Stocks Reservoir, Lancs.

17-21/10/02.

The first East Lancashire record.

 On Thursday, 17th October 2002, whilst looking through the large numbers of Common Teal present at Stocks Reservoir (SD730560), nr Slaidburn, Lancashire, UK, John Metcalfe located this bird from the hide, mid-afternoon. 

John immediately contacted local birders of his discovery, and by the end of the first  afternoon, several East Lancs birders had managed to connect with this first record for the area. 

The GWT was not seen on the Friday, but John Wright managed to relocate the bird on Saturday 19th October. From then on, the bird was seen daily from the hide, but could be elusive at times, as when flushed from the bay at the northern end of the reservoir, it often fed along the non-accessible stretch of shoreline between the hide and the causeway, but would eventually return to the bay,  until last seen on the 21st October 2002. The day after the final sighting, it was clearly apparent to local birders checking for the birds presence, that there had been a significant departure of Teal from the site, as the wildfowl continued their autumn migration.

Upon seeing the bird, many observers were pleasantly surprised at how advanced the bird was out of eclipse plumage. The only obvious evidence of residual eclipse plumage being along the upper flanks.

This recently split species had long been mooted by several East Lancs birders as an inevitable addition to the area list one day, and, given the number of Common Teal that move through in the autumn / overwinter at Stocks Reservoir, the location when it did finally occur was also somewhat inevitable........Now bring on the American Wigeon!

Bill Aspin (21.10.02)