Hollingworth Lake and Orrell Water Park

Heron, Hollingworth Lake

Plans A to C were knocked out of the water by a train cancellation so I decided to have my first visit to Hollingworth Lake this year. I'm not sure why I haven't got round to it until now. The visit also gave me the chance to see how risky travel may be now we're into the Oaf Johnson's "Freedom Day." As it turned out it was business as usual for masks on trains and buses (and there were more mask wearers than usual in central Manchester!) Fingers crossed this will continue to be the norm.

Hollingworth Lake

I walked down to Hollingworth Lake from Smithybridge Station. Another hot day but there was a bit of cloud and enough of a cooling breeze to make it more bearable than the weekend. Even so, I decided to walk round the lake anticlockwise so's to take advantage of as much shade and shadow as possible. It wasn't very busy, which made for a nice walk.

It was fairly quiet birdwise due to the heat and time of year. A chiffchaff and a blackcap sang but most of the rest of the small birds quietly got on with their business. Out on the lake mallards and Canada geese clustered round the Lakeside bank and a couple of juvenile goosanders swam in mid-water. 

Roe deer, Hollingworth Lake

A quick nosey from the hide, which was busy, added a family of coots to the tally. A browsing roe deer was over on the far side of the pool, I got better views from the path further along. A few steps further on a pair of very noisy grey wagtail fledglings were flitting about the undergrowth demanding food from their mother. The father was a few yards away with another pair of hungry mouths.

Black-headed gulls, herring gulls and lesser black-backs, Hollingworth Lake

Walking along the road I scanned the big flock of loafing gulls and the forty-odd lapwings for anything unusual, without success. 

By Rakewood Road

I'd toyed with the idea of getting the bus to Wardle and having a walk round Watergrove but the heat decided against it. I got the Littleborough bus and got off at the station. The first train was the one for Kirkby so on a whim I decided to have an undemanding toddle round Orrell Water Park.

Orrell Water Park

Both chiffchaffs and a willow warbler were calling from the trees by the car park when I got to Orrell Water Park. Young families of coots made noises in the reeds and mallards loafed on the banks. The first dragonflies of the day were a couple of emperors and a bunch of blue-tailed damselflies. I spent some time watching a perch try to snatch damselflies and a shoal of minnows steer away from the perch.

There were no birds on the lower pond and the heat was obviously getting to the carp in there.

Take-off. Robin, Orrell Water Park
If you ever wonder why robins go into post-moult hiding in July this is a clue.

A wander round Greenslate Water Meadows provided a bit of shade. The feeders were busy, mostly with greenfinches, robins and blue tits. The young robins were starting to get their orange feathers and their parents were looking the worse for wear, with moulting progress ranging from downright tatty to well-nigh bald.