Pennington Flash

Lapwing

I spent most of the morning wracked with indecision: should I have another go at looking for the wryneck up in Horwich or should I have a wander elsewhere. I got impatient with myself so decided to go over and have a look round Pennington Flash and, if I was still fidgety after that I could get a bus over to Bolton.

Instead of going straight to the car park I first had a stroll round the paths on the South side of the flash to see if anything was about in the trees and hedgerows. There wasn't a lot: a small mixed tit flock, half a dozen robins and a couple of chiffchaffs. There was enough breeze about for me to be reacting half the time to falling leaves, the paths were already littered with ash tree leaves, which seems a lot early. A late touch of Summer was a couple of common hawkers patrolling the long grass by the path.

On the car park

It was easy to see that school holidays were over both by how few people were around and by the number of waterfowl dozing in the car park. A family with a toddler had come to feed the ducks and it was interesting to see the usual car park oystercatcher trotting along with the Canada geese for a free feed. The geese muscled their way into having pretty much anything the mallards couldn't grab so I still don't know if the oystercatcher actually would eat grain or peas.

The car park oystercatcher in the dinner queue

All the usuals were out on the flash though there seemed to be fewer great crested grebes than usual. Definitely Autumn: no swifts, hirundines or terns.

Looking out from the side of the Horrocks Hide the spit was carpeted in lapwings. A few cormorants were loafing out at the end of the spit in the company of a couple of Canada geese.

From the side of the Edmondson Hide I could see a couple of gadwall and shovelers. I could hear a water rail in the reeds but with the limited view available I couldn't see it.

Male shoveler coming out of eclipse plumage

A couple of coots and a pair of dabchicks were feeding close to the screen by Ramsdales Hide. There were a few dozen ducks further out, mostly mallard and gadwall. I watched a juvenile teal feeding for a few minutes and it was joined by a couple of adults and a shoveler that had drifted out from behind the little island. A few more shovelers emerged from the other side. After I'd checked them out I returned to the teals and noticed another duck with them. It was teal sized but a slightly different shape, with a higher forehead and slightly longer bill. It swam round and I got a better look at it: a stronger face pattern with a pale eyebrow, an overall warm cast to the rather contrasty upperparts and breast and when it stretched out a wing the speculum was dark with a wide white trailing edge. I'd seen reports of a juvenile garganey here recently but hadn't expected to see it, not least because it's a plumage I've never knowingly seen before. I have to admit, had I been actively looking for it I'd have expected something much more like a female garganey (I struggle with them when unaccompanied by a male, particularly if in the company of juvenile teal).Frustratingly, I couldn't manage to get a photo of it, it drifted behind a shoveler and thence behind the island and didn't re-emerge. Never mind, it's a first for me and I've learned something new.

Coot, shoveler and teal

It had been a nice quiet walk, and a rewarding one, so I decided not to traipse over to Horwich for a go at the wryneck, I'd had my luck for one day.