Stretford and Salford

Goosander, Peel Park

After a night of wind and rain running into a windy morning most everything was staying undercover in the garden. I definitely wasn't up for being stranded in Terra Incognita in this weather so, predictably, I had a potter about at home.

I'd hoped the weather might have blown a crowd of gulls onto the school playing field but all there was were half a dozen lesser black-backs and the usual dozen black-headed gulls.

Barton Clough

The local patch was thin on the ground. I wouldn't say quiet: the unpaired magpies are forming their Winter gangs and the carrion crows were particularly noisy. The weather was very changeable, one of those days when you're either too hot or too cold depending on how the wind blew. All the small birds were keeping a low profile, I could hear robins, dunnocks and great tits but they were hard work to spot. After half an hour of it I jacked it in as a bad job.

• Blackbird 2
• Carrion Crow 2
• Dunnock 2
• Feral Pigeon 5
• Goldfinch 3
• Great Tit 3
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
• Magpie 14
• Robin 1
• Woodpigeon 25

I decided to move on. I've not been along the Irwell in Salford this year and goosanders have been thin on the ground lately so I thought this would be as good a time as any for a wander over there. I got the 10 bus from Victoria to the last remains of the Mocha shopping centre (demolition's pretty much complete now), the bus having to stop anyway because of Canada geese on the road. I noticed they've got a greylag in tow with them today.

River Irwell, Salford

The river was very high today so there was no space on the banks for loafing ducks. A few mallards and black-headed gulls drifted about on the water. A large mixed tit flock bounced about in the willows by the path: at least a dozen long-tailed tits, perhaps half as many each of blue tits and great tits.

I moved onto The Meadow where flocks of magpies and pigeons rummaged about in the grass mowings on the open ground. There wasn't much on the river along this stretch. On the other hand, there was plenty in the trees on the Southern end of The Meadow. A few carrion crows made a racket and a couple of robins sang. Another mixed tit flock moved through the trees with a pair of bullfinches and a chiffchaff in tow. The chiffchaff was hard to find, I thought I'd tracked it down but the bird I found "only" turned out to be a spotted flycatcher. I got a couple of photos of where it had just been then left it in peace.

River Irwell, Peel Park

I crossed over the bridge into Peel Park. A large flock of black-headed gulls littered the water and small groups of mallards and Canada geese loafed on the water's edge. A couple of dabchicks bobbed about on the far bank. Amongst the waterfowl was a lone redhead goosander.

I got the V1 bus to Leigh, the idea being to get over to Pennington Flash to have a nosy at the gull roost but when I got to Leigh bus station and started waiting for the next bus I changed my mind and did a bit of shopping instead.