Mosses

Channel wagtail, Little Woolden Moss

The weather was set fair for the day so I decided to go for the walk across the Salford mosses I've been putting off while rain's been stopping play. And a jolly lucky decision that turned out to be.

Grey partridge, Irlam Moss

Things bode well when a grey partridge posed nicely for the camera as I was walking down Astley Road from the station. I took a couple of photos then it noticed me and sank slowly into the barley as if it was on a descending platform until I could only see the top of its crown.

There were plenty of whitethroats and blackcaps singing in the hedgerows down Astley Road but it wasn't until I was almost at Four Lanes End before I heard the first chiffchaffs of the day. Virtually every field had a small flock of starling feeding hungry young mouths. Swallows hawked low over the fields of turf, joined by a pair of house martins over the field by the motorway.

Hobby, Little Woolden Moss

Hobby, Little Woolden Moss

My arrival at Little Woolden Moss was heralded by whitethroats and willow warblers and I hadn't gone far down the path when a hobby flew in, wheeled round and flew off southbound, much to the dismay of a few swifts that immediately flew up into the clouds.

There was a work party on the bunds at the Astley Road end of the reserve so most of the waders were more heard than seen: a pair of redshanks, one or two oystercatchers and at least one curlew were out there. The lapwings made themselves very conspicuous, particularly when they were chasing off carrion crows. As I looked out from the site of the old hide a very fine looking male yellow wagtail landed on one of the distant bunds.

Hares tail grass, Little Woolden Moss

The hares tail grasses have gone to seed and are looking almost more like cotton grass than real cotton grass does. A broad-bodied chaser was my first dragonfly of the year. A few females patrolled the paths while a couple of males covered the open water. It took me a while to recognise them, every Spring's a back to school day for me with dragonflies. A few large red damselflies skittered about the small birches by the path, all females I think as they ranged from nearly black to dark dull red and not a bright red one amongst them.

I walked round and took the path heading towards Glazebury. The field by the reserve held a couple of pairs of lapwings, a small flock of linnets and a single singing skylark. I walked down the path across the field, got to the end, turned to walk parallel to the poly tunnels and literally stared a Channel wagtail in the face.

Channel wagtail, Little Woolden Moss

Channel wagtail, Little Woolden Moss

I said a bad word, unearthed my camera and took a few photos while the wagtail obligingly posed. It was so close I had to switch off autofocus and hope my eyesight was good enough to go. Channel wagtails are hybrid blue-headed x yellow wagtails. The head is lavender grey rather than slate blue like the blue-headed wagtail and the chin and throat is white while both its parents had fully yellow throats. In this bird the white's limited to the chin and upper throat so in some poses it was easy to miss.

We bid our adieus and I walked on down to Moss Lane. There were a few pied wagtails, a pair of oystercatchers and a small flock of house sparrows on the turf field next to the poly tunnels. More spadgers made a racket on the bird feeders by one of the farmhouses. The only birds on Glaze Brook were a pair of tufted ducks.

I got the bus from Glazebury, off home via Warrington and Altrincham on a day rover ticket for a change.