Mosses

Moss Lane

Today's plan was to take advantage of the rather better weather than last week to get a bit of walking done across Chat Moss. I thought I'd start from Glazebury for a change, which turned out to be a good move as I had a keen wind behind me.

First stop was the trees by the water treatment works at the end of Hey Shoot Lane. I thought I'd heard a Siberian chiffchaff last time I visited and there had been fairly regular reports of one or even two over the past few weeks so I decided I should have a good look round. Eventually I heard the call a couple of times: a sad bullfinchy sort of tweet with a descending note, soft and easily drowned out by the creaking of the trees in the wind. The second time of hearing I managed to see the bird itself very briefly, a dull brown warbler disappearing into the undergrowth. A third, final call was all I got for the rest of my visit.

The water treatment works had a small flock of pied wagtails flitting about accompanied by a couple of grey wagtails.

The walk down Moss Lane was pleasant but not spectacular for birdwatching. There were plenty of blue tits, house sparrows and chaffinches in the hedgerows and a couple of dozen fieldfares in one of the fields. A curlew was calling from the field nearest the railway line. The first skylarks of the day were singing in the field just before Little Woolden Moss.

Little Woolden Moss

Little Woolden Moss was mostly quiet again. A brown hare shot off into the distance as I went through the gate. Other than that there were just a few meadow pipits and wrens on the moss proper and small numbers of goldfinches and chaffinches in the trees. A buzzard soared overhead towards Astley. It was midday so it wasn't surprising not to see one of the short-eared owls that have been reported here recently.

The fields opposite Four Lanes End were full of fieldfares, stock doves and jackdaws. Walking down Twelve Yards Road there were good numbers of skylarks singing and lapwings display flying in the fields. Although there were plenty of chaffinches and linnets kicking about I drew another blank as far as yellowhammers are concerned. About halfway along to Cutnook Lane pair of grey partridges shot up from the roadside and disappeared into the ploughed furrows of the field further along. Raptors included a couple of kestrels and another buzzard. As I turned into Cutnook Lane a bird rose up slowly from behind the trees then flew off towards Barton Moss, disappearing behind the trees lining that stretch of Twelve Yards Road. Obviously bigger than a kestrel or sparrowhawk, not as chunky as a buzzard and with a long, barred tail — my first Greater Manchester hen harrier!

Cutnook Lane

Down Cutnook Lane and over the motorway bridge for my first singing chiffchaff of the year and the bus back to the Trafford Centre.