Chorlton

Ivy Green

I didn't want to waste a sunny Sunday afternoon but didn't much fancy sunny Sunday public transport so I bobbed over to Chorlton and walked through Ivy Green along Chorlton Brook, had a wander round Chorlton Ees and then back through Hardy Farm.

Ivy Green was busy but even so there were plenty of birds around. There were more woodpigeons flying over than in the trees. Two of those were a pair of squabs exercising their flight muscles in the nest. The magpies were noisy, the jays uncharacteristically quiet. A couple of mixed tit flocks — blue, great and coal — kept well into the undergrowth away from noisy families and even the robins and ring-necked parakeets kept undercover.

Chorlton Ees was quieter, particularly once I moved off the path along the brook. Pretty much the same variety of birds as in Ivy Green but easier to see and hear.

The parakeets at Jackson's Boat were particularly noisy, probably getting ready to go off to their roosts. There were half a dozen mallards on the river, mostly hugging the bank to keep out of the fast water. A grey wagtail foraged along the bank before being flushed by a spaniel.

Hardy Farm

As I walked through Hardy Farm some bloody fool was letting off fireworks from somewhere near the football pitch. I consoled myself with the thought they'd wasted half their money at least as it was still daylight. The noise brought up small groups of woodpigeons and parakeets and a couple of pairs of mallards. A small charm of goldfinches, just eight birds, flew into a bramble patch.

As I waited for the bus home from Barlow Moor Road a nice, round 350 jackdaws flew overhead to roost on Hardy Farm.