Sunny Sunday

Pochard, Chorlton Water Park

It's been quiet in the garden: I know birds are out there because I can see the seeds going down in the feeders and every so often I'll see a few spadgers' heads poking out of the rose bushes.

I had a wander round the local patch while it wasn't raining. It felt quiet but there was actually quite a bit about. There were plenty of goldfinches about and the greenfinches showed well, too. It sounded like there's a family of blue tits in the oleasters by the old railway line. The blackcaps and chiffchaffs sang out loudly but there was neither sight nor sound of whitethroats until I'd almost finished my walk round when one flew into the thin bit of remnant bramble left behind when someone had fun with a strimmer. Ironically, there weren't any in the bramble patches that are usually the centre of whitethroat territories. Half a dozen swifts hawking low overhead were an antidote to the otherwise Autumnal feel of the day.

• Black-headed Gull 1 overhead
• Blackbird 5
• Blackcap 3
• Blue Tit 3
• Bullfinch 1
• Chaffinch 1
• Chiffchaff 2
• Dunnock 1
• Feral Pigeon 8 overhead
• Goldfinch 16
• Great Tit 2
• Greenfinch 4
• Herring Gull 1 overhead
• House Sparrow 8
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 overhead
• Magpie 9
• Robin 3
• Swift 7
• Whitethroat 1
• Woodpigeon 4
• Wren 4

The weather was looking to be steady if uninspiring so I went over to Chorlton Water Park for a nosy round. The mute swans had half a dozen cygnets in tow but the Canada geese were still sitting on nests. The usual pochard was out in the open for a change. It turns out that the reason it hasn't moved on is a badly injured right wing. It doesn't seem to be stopping him getting by.

I had a short wander through Barlow Tip, which was surprisingly dry underfoot. Again, chiffchaffs and blackcaps sang out loud but the whitethroats were keeping a lot lower profile. A male churring from the middle of a gorse bush by the path was the boldest. Overhead the heavy weather seemed to be working in favour of a flock of swifts and a couple of pairs each of swallow and sand martin.

Juvenile grey wagtail, River Mersey by Chorlton Water Park

I walked along the river to Kenworthy Woods. A couple of swallows and thirty-odd swifts hawked low over the river. A pied wagtail flew sorties out into the middle of the water and plucked insects off the surface while a grey wagtail was content to do its fly-catching close to the bank where its youngster was waiting to be fed.

Kenworthy Woods

It started raining when I got to Kenworthy Woods, which seemed to be the signal for all the blackbirds and song thrushes to have a singing contest. Even the parakeets were drowned out.

I could see why they need this sign asking people to leave the dead wood where it's lying: some parts of the wood look like Iron Age reenactment villages.