Northwich woods and flashes

Dabchick. Neumann's Flash

I went for a wander around the Northwich flashes. The juvenile black-necked grebe that had been on Neumann's Flash over the weekend had last been reported early on Sunday so it was unlikely to still be around but it's a short hop on the train and it was a nice day for a walk.

As I walked across the bridge over Wade Brook, just by the car park, I could see a couple of small groups of mallard on the water and robins sang in the bushes by the paths. I took the path round Ashton's Flash which was fairly quiet: just a dozen black-headed gulls and half a dozen coot. A couple of buzzards called loudly as they rode the thermals over Marbury Country Park.

Things changed when I got to the bund separating Ashton's Flash from Neumann's Flash. Chiffchaffs called from the birch trees, a couple of jays screeched past and a couple of water rails were having a blood-curdling squealing match in the reeds.

The hide on Neumann's Flash was occupied so I stood outside and scanned round. There were plenty of waterbirds: a large flock of Canada geese, a dozen mute swans, a few dozen coot and mallard and smaller numbers of gadwall, shoveler, wigeon, teal and tufted duck. A few moorhens bobbed in and out the reeds on the other side of the water. More Canada geese and a few greylags loafed on the mud bank on the Eastern side of the flash, together with a dozen teal and fifty-odd lapwings. A dabchick was busy preening just by the hide, taking not one whit of notice of a group of Canada geese that passed by within inches.

Dabchick. Neumann's Flash

Dabchick. Neumann's Flash

Walking back from the hide to the bund I noticed a lot of red dragonflies flitting around the tops of the reeds. At first I thought they were common darters but a couple of them landed close by and I noticed they had a flattened tailfin affair, identifying them as ruddy darters. I'm guessing all the females with them were ruddy darters, too, I honestly can't tell them apart from female common darters.

Ruddy darter, Neumann's Flash

A little further down the bund I encountered a mixed tit flock: mostly blue and great tits with a family party of long-tailed tits and four chiffchaffs. One of the chiffchaffs decided to pick a fight with one of the long-tailed tits and got a shock when the victim turned and chased it off. I've not seen that happen before.

Just after that a flock of twenty-odd curlews flew in and landed by the lapwings.

I carried on along the path round Neumann's Flash. The hedgerows were full of goldfinches, blue tits and singing robins and a chiffchaff deep in one of the trees practiced a bit of song. The hide on the Eastern side was pretty quiet and not much of the water was visible behind the reeds.

I got to the fork in the path by Daisy House Fields. A Cetti's warbler was singing in the rough vegetation in the ditch by the path and I spent a few fruitless minutes trying to catch sight of the songster. The vegetation thins out again at this side of the flash so bits of the water are visible. I had a scan of these: more Canada geese, swans and coots congregated round the little island and a few black-headed gulls loafed on the water. There was something else at a distance bobbing round in an inlet at the corner of the flash almost entirely obscured by reeds. After a bit of fidgeting round I found a gap where I could get a better view of it. At first I decided it was just another juvenile coot, a dark cap, pale face and front of neck, then it turned in the water and it dawned on me that juvenile coots aren't that much smaller than black-headed gulls and don't have abruptly truncated rear ends. It dived for a few minutes and when it bobbed up I got a better look at the shape of its head and bill, a nice juvenile black-necked grebe, similar to but not as neat as an adult in Winter plumage.

I carried on down the path trying to find anywhere with a better, closer view but with no luck. I spent a while in the hide on the West side of the flash hoping the grebe might drift out of the inlet and into sight but it wasn't for doing it.

Neumann's Flash, looking out from the West hide

I had an hour and a half before the next train so I took the path that meanders through Daisy House Fields and into the woodlands over Forge Brook and out again. A goldcrest in a mixed tit flock by the brook was the only addition to the day's tally.

So I got the nice walk and added black-necked grebe to the year list as a bonus.