Rochdale

Red-throated diver, Watergrove Reservoir

Another dull grey day so I thought I'd take advantage of the flat light to try and get some photos of the red-throated diver on Watergrove Reservoir.

Peregrine, Rochdale Town Ha;;

I got the train to Rochdale and had twenty minutes to wait for the bus to Wardle so I had a nosy round the town centre. The male peregrine was perched on one of the spouts just above the clock face of the town hall, with the local pigeons blithely flying around oblivious to the threat. Down on the river, by the Regal Moon, a dipper was busy feeding around the rocks at the base of the bridge.

Dipper, Rochdale

Walking up to Watergrove Reservoir from Wardle I was struck by how many jackdaws there were on the chimney pots of the village. 

Steps up to the top of the dam

I wondered which would be the harder on the knees, walking up the long incline to the top of the dam or climbing the stairs. I decided to bite the bullet with the climb. 

Watergrove Reservoir

There had been a few black-headed gulls and common gulls in the fields on the walk in. There were a few more out on the reservoir: perhaps a dozen black-headed gulls loafing on the water near the water sports centre and half a dozen common gulls on the water. A couple of lesser black-backs sat on a couple of posts by the far bank and a pair of goosander swam in mid-water.

Red-throated diver, Watergrove Reservoir

For a couple of minutes I thought that was the lot, then the diver bobbed up not far from the dam. It must have had a successful hunt underwater because it soon settled itself and spent the next quarter of an hour preening and putting a lot of effort into making sure all its head feathers were rubbed against the oil glands on its back.

Red-throated diver, Watergrove Reservoir

Red-throated diver, Watergrove Reservoir

Red-throated diver, Watergrove Reservoir

Red-throated diver, Watergrove Reservoir

Red-throated diver, Watergrove Reservoir

I toyed briefly with the idea of going over the tops to Whitworth or Shore but the visibility being as it was I wasn't comfortable with the idea of doing it without an Inverness Cape and deerstalker hat. Instead I followed the path down into Wardle than runs besides the reservoir overflow and meanders down to the bridge at Biggins. A mixed flock of blue tits, great tits, chaffinches and goldfinches were working their way through the trees with a coal tit and a bullfinch tagging along. The couple of jays I'd keep hearing while I was up on the dam were silently rummaging about in the young oak trees by the water treatment works.

Walking down to Wardle

I got the next bus from Wardle, which happened to be the 458 which goes by Hollingworth Lake. The visibility on the lake was markedly poorer than it was up on the reservoir so I stayed on the bus to Littleborough and made my way home.

Passing through Trafford Park there was a big passage of large gulls moving on to roost on the Ship Canal. A few hundred birds passed overhead in groups of between a dozen and eighty, mostly lesser black-backs with a few dozen herring gulls and a couple of great black-backs. There may have been a few more exotic creatures in there but at that height in this light I hadn't a chance.

I was glad of a hot cup of tea when I got home.