Stretford and Sale

Heron, Broad Ees Dole

It was an unscheduled sunny day so once I escaped the cat I went for a teatime stroll round the local patch.

As predicted, the goldenrod has filled in the space left by the strimming down of the bramble patches.

Even given the time of day and time of year it was rather quiet. 

• Black-headed Gull 1
• Blackbird 1
• Bullfinch 1
• Carrion Crow 1
• Chiffchaff 1
• Dunnock 1
• Feral Pigeon 15
• Goldfinch 7
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 4
• Magpie 15
• Woodpigeon 16
• Wren 1

I decided to bob over to Sale Water Park for a wander. It was fairly quiet of people by the time I got there and most of the small birds were settling down for the evening. A few goldfinches twittered about in the treetops and a couple of willow warblers played fair by calling from the willows.

There were a couple of jet skiers out on the water so most of the waterfowl were congregated round the slipway begging for food from passersby. There were just forty-odd coots and the family of mute swans with half a dozen mallards and a handful of Canada geese.

Broad Ees Dole

Given the traffic on the lake it wasn't surprising that Broad Ees Dole was busier than usual. Eight herons sat on the island opposite the hide, accompanied by a dozen each of mallard and gadwall, half a dozen Canada geese, a couple of dozen coots, a few moorhens and half a dozen dabchicks. 

Herons, Broad Ees Dole

I lingered in the hopes of spotting a kingfisher. No kingfisher but a low-flying buzzard lolloping out of the trees caused a bit of a shuffle amongst the ducks revealing a pochard sleeping in the crowd, a drake just coming out of eclipse, showing coppery red on the back of its otherwise brown head.

I walked home through Stretford Ees where the chiffchaffs and great tits were calling softly in the deep undergrowth. 

Stretford Ees