Salford

Juvenile goosanders

I was going over to friends in Salford to drop off a couple of bags of rowan berries so I thought I'd take the opportunity to have a stroll down the stretch of the Irwell between New Bridge Street and the Adelphi Bridge just past Lower Broughton. It's a surprisingly nice walk and never gets silly busy.

River Irwell

Joining the path by the river there were a few black-headed gulls about and a couple of blackbirds were making a start on the first of the ripe elderberries. Walking down a bit to the first bend I could hear a couple of mallards but couldn't see them for the vegetation on the bank (it was only when I got to the little bridge over to the other side that I saw them). The first goosander of the day — a lone female — had a desultory bit of a fishing before swimming upstream. A chiffchaff called from the elder bushes by the bridge and was answered by another somewhere further down the bank away from any paths.

I carried on down towards Lower Broughton. More black-headed gulls and a couple of dozen mallards safely loafing on the far bank. Then a swallow flew in, spent a couple of minutes hawking for insects over the water then flew off towards the city centre. Shortly afterwards a grey wagtail flew upstream, immediately followed by a kingfisher. I'm still a bit surprised to be finding grey wagtails on these waters, I'm staggered whenever I find a kingfisher here.

There were seventy-odd Canada geese on the stretch by the shopping parade on Lower Broughton Road, together with more mallards and black-headed gulls and a single cormorant. A couple of lesser black-backs flew over but didn't stop. Another chiffchaff, together with a couple of wrens and a robin were in the hedge along the path. Six goosanders loafed on a sandbank in the company of a family of grey wagtails and a shopping trolley.

Heron

A little further on a heron was preening on the bank, stopping only to check what I was doing with the camera and getting back to business once it had been established it was some old bloke taking photos.

Juvenile goosanders, Canada goose and rubber tyre

Another fifteen juvenile goosanders were dozing on the riverbank just before the Adelphi Bridge. It's obviously been a good year for them. And the fish life must be productive to be able to feed these hungry mouths.

Juvenile goosander