Mersey Valley

Nuthatch, Sale Water Park

It's been weeks since I last saw a willow tit so I had a wander down towards Sale Water Park to try my luck. The weather was fine and it's Bank Holiday weekend so there would be plenty of people about but I hoped it would still be OK.

Goldfinches, Hardy Farm

Hardy Farm was awash with magpies and jackdaws. The football field held a couple of dozen black-headed gulls and a few carrion crows and woodpigeons, scattering whenever a football came their way and returning immediately play moved back where it came from. A small flock of goldfinches, half of which were juveniles, fed on the thistles and ragworts by the path. I kept hearing ring-necked parakeets calling but it was a while before a pair flew overhead and on towards Chorlton.

Ring-necked parakeet, Jackson's Boat

The parakeets got noisier as I approached Jackson's Boat. At least two were objecting to a pair of carrion crows loafing on their favourite telegraph pole. The only water birds about were five mallards on the river below the bridge. A robin singing in the pub car park was trying and mostly failing to make itself heard above the sound of parakeets and people.

I walked down into Sale Ees where it was a little (not much) quieter. Seven parakeets flew over and landed in a couple of willow trees and immediately disappeared in the foliage, calling all the while. There were a couple of great tits and a chiffchaff in the hawthorn tree near the river and not much else for the first hundred yards. About halfway down the path towards Sale Water Park I encountered a mixed tit flock: a dozen or more long-tailed tits, a similar number of blue tits. a couple each of great tits and nuthatch and three more chiffchaffs. Woodpigeons clattered about in the trees and more flew over in squadrons high overhead.

Nuthatch and great tit, Sale Water Park

I got to Sale Water Park and went over to the café for a cup of tea and a sit down by the bird feeders. (I've come to really appreciate having somebody else make me a cup of tea.) I sat on the bench by the café overlooking the feeding station for three quarters of an hour in the hope that one of the willow tits make an appearance. It seemed like the world and his dog, oh so many of his little yapping dogs, passed by while I was waiting. A dozen great tits were about, and were always first to come back after passersby passed by. They were nearly always joined by a couple of blue tits and when things got quiet a couple of nuthatches would drop in. A coal tit dropped by and a couple of woodpigeons perched on the bird table for a while. One of the magpies that had been skittering about landed on the bird table and quickly though better of it. I've noticed this before: magpies are dead hard-faced but they seem wary of woodpigeons. Maybe they don't like being clattered about when the woodpigeons take flight.

Great tits and blue tit, Sale Water Park

No willow tits turned up, nor did I hear any. I suppose it's not really surprising given how busy things were. Something else struck me while I was watching: I never see willow tits in mixed tit flocks. I'll see them at feeding stations with other tit species but they always keep themselves separate and tend to arrive when things are quiet. On the other hand, I quite often see marsh tits in mixed tit flocks when I see them at all. I don't know if this is an established behavioural difference between the two or just my limited experience of them: I'm only ever seeing marsh tits at Leighton Moss these days.

I'd had enough of yapping dogs by then so I gave up on the idea of walking through the water park and on to Stretford and skipped off for the tram.