Mersey Valley

Ring-necked parakeet, Sale Water Park

It was a nice day so I decided to have a wander across Stretford Meadows to Sale Water Park. A nice walk but the effects of lockdown were already very apparent: the paths were very busy for a weekday.

The first couple of paths onto the meadows from Newcroft Road were swampy so I braved the velodrome track until I could get on via a relatively dry path. Plenty of jackdaws and woodpigeons overhead and the hedgerows held small flocks of goldfinches and chaffinches. The meadow was fairly quiet, mostly magpies and blackbirds, and the pair of kestrels sat together in one of the trees by the cricket pitch. Fifty-odd starlings chattered from one of the pylons by the motorway, most of them getting the hump and moving on when a buzzard landed for a rest. It only stayed a few minutes, staying longer while being chakked by starlings and mobbed by a carrion crow obviously didn't appeal.

Starlings not impressed that the Stretford Meadows buzzard had landed on their pylon

There were a couple of mixed tit flocks along Kickety Brook, mostly long-tailed tits and blue tits with great tits and chaffinches in tow. I walked down the path on the edge of Stretford Ees next to the tram line. The mixed tit flock there included a treecreeper.

Dabchick, Broad Ees Dole

A handful of herons were loafing round on Broad Ees Dole, together with small groups of mallard, gadwall, teal and coot, and the family of dabchicks are still going strong. As I sat down in the hide a kingfisher shot across the water and disappeared into the willows. A couple of black-headed gulls were busy splashing about having a bath.

Gadwall, Broad Ees Dole

Bathing black-headed gull, Broad Ees Dole

A couple of hundred black-headed gulls were on the water at Sale Water Park together with a handful of lesser black-backs and a couple of common gulls. I watched a couple of black-headed gulls trying to steal catches off a great crested grebe. Each time the grebe's head breached the water the gulls swivelled round on the water and tried to snatch fish from its beak. In the end the grebe got tired and only dived to get out of the way from the gulls, coming up briefly for a breath of air. After five minutes of the grebe's turning up empty-handed the gulls got bored and moved on to squabbling with each other.

Willow tit, Sale Water Park

Somebody had topped up the feeding station by the café and it was busy with titmice and magpies. Three ring-necked parakeets — two adults and a youngster — arrived, which proved popular with passers-by. Unfortunately most of the passers-by tended to stop right next to the feeding station then try to move in as close as possible to the parakeets, not realising they'd have a better, longer view if they took two steps back and keep still and quiet. Ah well, the birds had a feed and the passers-by saw the birds so I guess no harm done. Despite all the kerfuffle one of the willow tits turned up and visited the bird table a couple of times.

Ring-necked parakeet, Sale Water Park

More ring-necked parakeets at Jackson's Boat, and a pair of grey wagtails on the river.

I walked through Hardy Farm and into Chorlton. I didn't much fancy walking through Chorlton late on a Friday afternoon so I got the bus home (quicker, less crowded and everyone wore a mask). While I was waiting waves of jackdaws flew overhead to roost on Hardy Farm and Chorlton Ees. By the time the bus arrived 864 jackdaws had passed over and I suspect there were more to come.