Train stopped play. (Well, nearly. Whiz for bloody-mindedness).

Common darter

The plan was to go yomping up some hills today. The knees were not keen on the idea. I paid no attention, we were going to get the train to Bolton then get a bus and go yomping up some hills today. Climbing the stairs up the footbridge to platform 2 at Oxford Road the knees staged an intervention that persuaded me that perhaps today wasn't the day. And that I need to be ordering a couple of bushels of fiery rubbing cream for the Winter. I'd received yet another complimentary return ticket in yesterday's post and my wallet was full to busting with them so I thought I'd use one up on a trip out to Cumbria.

The regular reader will be unsurprised to learn that the train to Barrow was cancelled at Preston.

At Preston there was an announcement telling passengers to get the next train to Lancaster (I think it was a Transpennine Express one). This sounded like a workaround until I looked at the train schedules at Lancaster: instead of waiting an hour and thirty minutes at Preston for the Windermere train and hoping to connect with the Carlisle train at Lancaster you'd be waiting ten minutes at Preston and waiting an hour and twenty minutes at Lancaster. Buttons to that, I thought.

On the way back I got off at Chorley and played bus station bingo, which is how I came to get the 347 to Mere Sands Wood via Eccleston, Croston and Rufford, joining up a few more dots in my mental map of West Lancashire along the way. And along the way I noticed that Stretford isn't the only town missing its woodpigeons.

Mere Sands Wood main entrance 

I got off the bus on Holmeswood Road near the entrance to Mere Sands Wood. Next time I come this way I must remember to get off at the bus stop on Cousins Lane in Rufford and go down the footpath round the back of the houses into the wood. The main entrance is not for the faint-hearted pedestrian, even with very considerate drivers. A skein of pink-footed geese passing over was a welcome distraction.

Mere Sands Wood 

It was another blowy day, thick cloud and sunshine alternating at irregular intervals. Once inside the shelter of the wood it was a very pleasant warm Autumn day. I had a meandering wander round the paths in a generally anticlockwise direction for a change. I don't know how I got into the habit of going clockwise round nature reserves and I have no idea if it makes any difference one way or another.

Mere Sands Wood 

Robins were singing and goldfinches and chaffinches were busy in the trees near the visitor centre. As I walked into the woodland I started hearing mixed tit flocks but it was only when I leaned back to stare up in the treetops that I started seeing them. The great tits, blue tits and nuthatches worked the upper reaches of the middle canopy while the coal tits and goldcrests stayed right up top. I could hear treecreepers but only saw the tail end of one of them as it flitted between trees. Even that started in the middle and worked its way up. An over mature female Southern hawker had me puzzled for a bit as it zipped around some bushes, all the bright colours had faded on the thorax so at first sight it looked entirely black and the abdomen had faded to a dull, pale blue-green.

Bathing gadwalls

The pools weren't overly busy, a few mallards, coots and gadwalls on the water and a few common darters basking on the wooden railings of the viewing platforms.

Coot

The woods were very picturesque in the low November sun. 

Mere Sands Wood 

Mere Sands Wood 

Turkey tail fungus

There were more chaffinches and tit flocks, there were some siskins with the goldfinches in one stand of birch trees, woodpigeons clattered about, magpies rattled, dunnocks and robins squeaked and wrens sang. I spent five minutes getting a crick in my neck watching a mystery squirrel building a drey in the top branches of a pine tree. It wasn't until it made a sortie for some more twigs that I could see it was a grey squirrel. In the end all the ones I saw today were greys.

The footpath to Curlew Lane

On a whim I took the footpath out of the wood that eventually leads to Curlew Lane and thence either Martin Mere or Burscough. I thought I'd walk into Burscough Bridge for the train home. Unfortunately I wasn't sure whether or not the path into a farmyard was the footpath or not and couldn't get a good enough 'phone signal to download a footpath map so I retraced my steps back into the wood. I'll have a go at walking up from Curlew Lane some time.

Pied wagtail 
The plumage pattern makes more sense when it's not a car park or railway station.

The cabbage fields had been harvested and left to the attentions of pied wagtails and skylarks. A field away something had brought a crowd of black-headed gulls and jackdaws over to one corner.

Looking over towards Tootle Lane

Mere Sands Wood 

Back into the wood I carried on along the path by the woodland margin and was seeing much the same as before, and very nice too. 

Mere Sands Wood from Rufford 

I took the path out of the wood and followed it as it jinked round the edge of the houses, accompanied most of the way by a very confiding goldcrest that disappeared into the hawthorn hedge any time the camera got it in focus. In the end I put the camera away and we almost walked hand-in-wing down to the top of the road.

I had a couple of minutes to wait for the next bus. The 347 to Southport, the 2a to Ormskirk and the 2a to Preston arrived within two minutes of each other in that order. I got the middle one, got off at Burscough Bridge station and had five minutes to wait for the train into Manchester and caught the train home from there because although we were stuck at Castlefield Junction for ten minutes my train home was eleven minutes late so I still had plenty of time to run across the platform to get it.

Despite Northern Rail's efforts I'd had a good day out.

Cob Kiln Wood

Goldcrest
(I was seriously tempted to use one of the dozen "There was a goldcrest there a moment ago" photos as being more representative of this species.)

It was another mild, grey day so I decided to walk down Cob Kiln Wood and have a dawdle round to see what was about. Wet woodland walking has been a bit famine or feast lately depending on the wind. It wasn't a gusty sort of a day so I was keeping my fingers crossed.

The spadgers, with the help of the squirrels and assorted titmice, had denuded the feeders and a couple of cock sparrows had spent lunchtime giving me Paddington Bear stares through the living room window. I made a note to get some more bird food on the way home. A bag of black sunflower seeds rather than the hearts this time so the coal tits can cache some things that will keep a bit better.

The November exodus of woodpigeons has happened again. It's easy to miss on the school playing field because there are so many jackdaws, magpies and pigeons making up the numbers but the woodies have been gone just over a week. Similarly, the lunchtime crowd of large gulls has shifted over from lesser black-backs to herring gulls, some days it's all herring gulls and others, like today, it's just a simple majority of one. In Summer it's the other way round. A feature of how mild an Autumn it's been is that I've been seeing common gulls here less than once a week.

It was good to see nearly fifty starlings in the trees around the allotments. They were a definite Summer scarcity this year. A very definite Summer scarcity.

Crossing Old Eeas Brook 

Robins had been exercising their lungs to proclaim their Winter territories all along the way and they, along with the chatter of magpies, were a constant background feature as I walked through the wood. Every so often they'd be joined by the screech of parakeets as they flew round the treetops. Looking at Old Eeas Brook as it lapped the top of the bank it was hard to believe that it was bone dry a few months ago. And very easy to believe we'll be having floods again this Winter.

By the pond

I joined the path going into the wood. The bare trees in the field by the path were heavy with woodpigeons, stock doves and magpies. I looked in vain for the reason why they weren't feeding in the ground. There was plenty of water in the little pond, too. I'd been assailed by a couple of peacock butterflies on the way in, I checked to see if any dragonflies might be about and drew a blank. While I was looking round a mixed tit flock appeared. At first it looked like there were just a couple of blue tits in the big willow over by the brook. They were joined by a couple of dozen long-tailed tits. Unlike yesterday I was having to look up into the treetops to find my birds.

Cob Kiln Wood 

I rejoined the path skirting the margins of the wood and negotiated the usual mud patches. I came to the conclusion that the mixed tit flock I was seeing here was a continuation of the one by the pond, it was heading in the same direction. The blue tits and great tits kept their distance, the coal tits weren't fussed about me but weren't keen on having their photos taken. The few long-tailed tits were in a hurry to catch up with the others.

The electricity pylon clearing 

I had decided not to cross the electricity pylon clearing, I didn't fancy the inevitable quagmire at the exit onto Cob Kiln Lane. Curiosity made me change my mind, it wasn't just blackbirds I was seeing flitting about the trees. Sure enough, a small flock of redwings were feeding in the hawthorns with the blackbirds. They kept to the half-stripped bushes close to the birch trees, the bushes closer to the path were still dark red with berries. Goldfinches and chaffinches flitted about. I thought I could hear siskins in some of the alders but couldn't confirm it. I followed the herd and walked through the bramble patch to get out into Cob Kiln Lane.

Redwing

The walk down the lane would have been quiet had a ring-necked parakeet not escorted a passing buzzard out of the wood. I think the peacock butterflies weren't being aggressive, they were just too clumsily weary to avoid bumping into people. There were plenty of people for them to bump into, mostly walking dogs or riding horses.

River Mersey 

The river was high and fast and there were no birds on it in either direction. A couple of mallards flew overhead towards Stretford. There weren't any pigeons or wagtails about, either, which is unusual.

I turned back and walked down Cob Kiln Lane into Urmston. The mixed tit flock moving through the hedgerow had goldcrests and dunnocks tagging along. The surprise of the day was finding a couple of teal in the little pond at the far end of one of the fields by the stables.

Honey fungus 

I'd spent a couple of hours wandering round, I decided not to go over for a nosy round Urmston Meadows, I'd best get that bird food bought while I remembered.

Wirral

Shelduck, Meols

A surprisingly sunny morning had me heading for a lunchtime stroll on the Wirral Coastal Path. I was still feeling out of sorts but the joints weren't as painful and stiff as they had been the past couple of days so I thought I might be able to walk some of it off. And it was better than sitting at home saying: "Oh dear me."

I got off the train at Moreton and walked past the new housing development with its mallard-littered water feature (an aerial photograph would be more duck than lawn) to Kerr's Field. As I walked down the road a warm but very assertive wind blew the clouds rolling in. Kerr's Field was busy with woodpigeons and magpies, the hedgerows were dead quiet. Aside from a couple of rose hips the hedgerows had been stripped of berries. A great spotted woodpecker made a commotion from the trees by Lingham Lane before flying out and over into the industrial estate.

By Kerr's Field 

The hedgerows behind the lighthouse were busy with house sparrows, blue tits, greenfinches and goldfinches, and nearly all of them heard but not seen. Every so often a bird or two would break cover to move between bushes or flit up into the trees with the blue tits for a moment before disappearing back out of the wind. I worked at it as I wanted to get my eye in properly, both a firecrest and a yellow-browed warbler have been reported this week as being in the trees on Leasowe Common, between Lingham Lane and the reedy pool, and I'd need to be alert to find either if they were still about. Especially in this wind.

Leasowe Common 

To cut a long story short, I didn't see either though I was told where they had been. I said hello to about a dozen birdwatchers on the same quest, at least one of them had seen the YBW earlier that morning near the pool and that's where the largest group had congregated. I was finding small mixed tit flocks which pretty much kept to the bramble undergrowth, nearly all the movement above head height was twigs and leaves blowing in the wind, and nearly all the small bird sounds were creaking branches and rustling twigs. Linnets and meadow pipits flew past the open areas, goldfinches and chaffinches passed between stands of trees. I ended up doing a circuit and a half of the common and the only warblers I found were goldcrests and chiffchaffs, which were nice to see anyway. A red admiral butterfly was a sign of how mild a day it was. I even made a point of checking the pool for any dragonflies, just in case. The yellow-browed warbler was reported as being present a couple of hours after I gave up and moved on.

Leasowe Common 

Walking down the revetment to the groyne

I wasn't sure if I was up for walking down the revetment onto Meols Promenade and then on to Hoylake so I went and did it. It was excellent walking weather, particularly for November. The tide was on the ebb but was starting to motor, the mudbanks were still islands at Leasowe, by the time I got to Meols the sea had retreated to the far horizon. As I reached the revetment hundreds of oystercatchers were scattered across the mudbanks with scores of redshanks and herring gulls. A dark patch on one mudbank turned out to be about fifty knots with a few redshanks and dunlins mixed in. Curlews and carrion crows prowled the margins of the mudbanks, lapwings loafed and little egrets squabbled noisily. And there were black-headed gulls all over the shop.

Lesser black-back, black-headed gulls and a little egret

Little egret

Little egrets

Little egrets

Turnstone 

I walked down towards the groyne, turnstones fossicking about in the seaweed at the base of the revetment, herring gulls and carrion crows dropping cockles onto the concrete to break them open. A ghostly shape gliding past the redshanks and black-headed gulls turned out to be a passing greenshank. Way out in the distance the tideline was marked by a line of cormorants and large gulls, 

Curlew

For once there were no birds on the groyne as I passed by and there wasn't an abrupt change in the bird life on the mud. The tide was retreating rapidly so there was more mud and less water which meant the knots and curlews were feeding closer in and any gulls wanting a bath were in the rills and gullies further out. A rock pipit skittered about the revetment before flying over onto the dunes. Pied wagtails stayed put unless passing dogs and their walkers got too close for comfort but they didn't fly off far. A few black-tailed godwits strolled amongst the redshanks and a bar-tailed godwit strolled amongst them just to stop me getting cocky.

Black-tailed godwit

Redshank 

Little egret

From Meols Promenade 

Oddly I wasn't seeing any shelducks. It wasn't until I was halfway down Meols Promenade that I started to see them then I started to see scores of them along the stretch where the mud meets the salt marsh. The salt marsh itself was very quiet save a couple of little egrets, I'd expect pied wagtails and meadow pipits and hope for ringed plovers but of they there were none.

Hoylake

I got to the lifeboat station, had a sit down, called it quits after a productive few hours' birdwatching. I could have done without such a strong wind keeping the small birds under cover on Leasowe Common but it was probably that strong wind that kept the rain away. Swings and roundabouts and all that. 

Local patch

Barton Clough 
Somebody set to some of the bramble patches with a strimmer last year. The consequence being a sea of goldenrod this year. The goldfinches don't seem awfully keen on the seeds.

It was a day of perpetual twilight. The spadgers in the back garden turned out en masse to bully the squirrel off the feeders and the magpies had the last of the rowan berries before the next wave of blackbirds passed through.

I was tired and out of sorts so didn't feel much like putting myself through my paces, such as they are, so I thought I'd have a wander round my local patch and then move on to play bus station bingo at the Trafford Centre.

Lostock Park 

Unlike my visit the other week it was very quiet indeed in the park, even quieter than it had been during the Summer. Walking through into the waste ground on Barton Clough it became apparent that nearly all the songbirds had decided the day hadn't been worth getting up for. There was a lot of chunnering going on in the brambles as I passed by and the Pyracantha bushes still held blackbirds. A small charm of goldfinches flitted overhead and disappeared into the hawthorns on the United Utilities land. Woodpigeons clattered about and headed to roost in the trees behind the school. Black-headed gulls and lesser black-backs flew overhead while three herring gulls shouted the odd from the factory roofs on St. Modwen's Road.

• Black-headed gull 2 overhead
• Blackbird 6
• Blue tit 2
• Carrion crow 2
• Dunnock 1
• Feral pigeon 1 overhead
• Goldfinch 7
• Great tit 2
• Greenfinch 1
• Herring gull 3
• Lesser black-back 5 overhead
• Magpie 2
• Robin 3
• Woodpigeon 5
• Wren 1

I waited twenty minutes in the rain for the 250 bus that was always due to arrive in four minutes' time. I asked myself if I could really be bothered. I couldn't. I went home.

Pennington Flash

Lesser black-back

It was a remarkably mild, grey November day. I'd pencilled in a couple of plans for the day but decided against, I just didn't want to be bothered with trains today. It turned out I'd dodged a bullet, missing out on a sea of hassle due to points failures on the local line and service suspension North of Preston with all the inevitable knock-on effects. I made myself a cooked breakfast, something I never do at breakfast time, then went out and played bus station bingo at the Trafford Centre and ended up at Pennington Flash.

By St Helens Road 

The mixed tit flock bouncing about in the trees by St Helens Road was a good omen. I decided I'd walk through the woodland on the South side of the country park and then drift round to the flash. 

Pennington Flash 

This turned out to be a good idea, there were plenty of birds about, very busy and very camera shy. Jays were heard constantly but I didn't see a one of them. A couple of times they appeared to be having shouting matches in oak trees with squirrels, the squirrels shaking their tails in fury from the tree trunks while ear-piercing screeches came from the depths of the canopy. Titmice, goldcrests and chiffchaffs flitted between trees, robins bobbed in and out of hedgerows, blackbirds and redwings raided hawthorn bushes. I put my camera away and the birds became less wary but only the goldcrests were approachable.

Tufted ducks 

Great rafts of coots and tufted ducks drifted about the flash. It was still technically lunchtime so there weren't crowds of gulls about, perhaps a couple of dozen each of lesser black-backs and herring gulls and a handful of great black-backs, all adults. A few dozen black-headed gulls were over by the car park with the Canada geese and mallards. 

Pennington Flash 

I spent a while scanning the flash to see what else was about. The handful of pochards took some finding, the drakes still in dull grey eclipse plumage which almost exactly matched the dull grey water. A couple of great crested grebes cruised about, a few cormorants were fishing and a redhead goosander steamed over towards the sailing club.

Pennington Brook

The brook was in full spate after the rains and appeared to be a mallards' knocking shop.

The car park wasn't busy with cars but was very busy indeed with Canada geese. Most of the mallards were dozing under trees and the gulls were loafing by the bank primed and ready for the arrival of anyone with a bag of goodies. I was accosted by a couple of geese that took some convincing I was empty-handed.

Horrocks spit

It was fairly quiet at the F.W. Horrocks Hide, the water was high and nearly all the birds were at the end of the spit. There was the usual motley assemblage of cormorants, herring gulls and herons. An oystercatcher made a lot of noise but there was a notable absence of lapwings. Nor were there any stock doves and just the one woodpigeon rummaging about in the grass. On the plus side there were a lot of teal and dabchicks on Ramsdales and a great white egret on the far bank.

The usual Cetti's warbler sang from the scrub by the screen opposite the Tom Edmondson Hide. A dozen teal dozed with the mallards in the roots of the willows at the edge of the reeds.

Mute swan

A few mute swans drifted about the pool at the Tom Edmondson Hide in the company of a pair of gadwalls and a few shovelers. There was a constant traffic of redwings and blackbirds between the hedgerows either side of the hide, the hawthorns providing berries and the dogwoods providing berries and cover. 

At Ramsdales Hide 

The scrub clearance had opened up the view at Ramsdales. Groups of teal dozed on the islands while a few individuals dabbled about in the pool close to the hide, a few shovelers and gadwalls further out.

Teal

I wandered round to Pengy's, which was liberally peppered with gadwalls, and to the Bunting Hide where moorhens and robins took last pickings from the emptied feeders. 

Pengy's Pool 

A shower of rain passed and I decided to call it a day. Wandering back a common gull was the fiftieth species on a tally that was missing lapwings, stock doves and reed buntings. I wasn't lucky with willow tits either but I always consider them a bonus rather than a target. I had nothing to complain about, there's been plenty to see, I'd had a good walk and I'd scarcely got wet. And the buses home ran on time.