Watergrove

Red-throated diver

I hadn't intended going on a walk. I've been a bit low energy all week, struggling to adjust to the cat's new feeding hours. A plan forged at daybreak was thwarted when I noticed the train I intended taking had been cancelled (Transpennine Express is being very unlucky with staff absences this year). So I got some kip and had another think. And another… And had gone no further than the kitchen by mid-afternoon so I dragged myself out to Wardle to see if the red-throated diver was still about.

Walking along Ramsden Road

I got the 458 bus from Littleborough Station to Wardle and walked up Ramsden Road to the reservoir. There were plenty of robins, greenfinches and woodpigeons singing in the village and more jackdaws knocking about than you could shake a stick at.

Watergrove Reservoir

There wasn't a lot out on the water. A couple of herring gulls flew low over and on over the hills. About half a dozen mallards drifted round the far edges and a great crested grebe lurked by the sailing club. Three teals swimming into the tree roots on the far bankside were a bit of a surprise. I've got into the habit of starting to think I'm having no luck and the diver's moved on then having another look out and finding the bird showing nicely dead centre in my field of view. Today was no exception. It's a handsome bird.

Red-throated diver

Red-throated diver

Red-throated diver

The plan had been to see the diver then return down to Wardle for the bus back into Rochdale thence home. I don't really know why I did a full circuit of the reservoir. I'd felt a bit overdressed and taken off my body warmer on the way up from Wardle but by the time I'd got round to Higher Slack Brook the weather had turned and I was happy to put it back on again. The clouds rolled in, the mists enveloped the wind turbines and the breeze had picked up and taken a definite edge.

A couple of skylarks sang in the breeze and magpies, woodpigeons and jackdaws fed on the grassy slope down from the reservoir. Once the path got into the lightly wooded areas by the hillside chaffinches, wrens and robins started to make themselves known. The trees reached the waterline here, providing cover for moorhens and coots.

Watergrove Reservoir

It was peak dog-walking time so I spent quite a bit of my time saying hello to friendly dogs. I got into conversation with one chap about the diver and I showed him some of my photos of the diver and he showed me photos of the young herons on the heronry in Alexandra Park in Oldham.

Higher Slack Brook

Moving on into Higher Slack Brook there were more small birds in the trees, mostly great tits with a very few blue tits and long-tailed tits. My moving out of the way to let a jogger go past disturbed a treecreeper I hadn't noticed on the tree trunk next to me. It flew all of two trees away and carried on with its business.

I went past the windsurfing club where some filming was taking place and joined the path running parallel to Ramsden Road. A great spotted woodpecker flew into the conifers on the other side of the road and a small flock of fieldfares flew over at treetop height.

By Watergrove Reservoir

Coming back into the open area and rounding the bend I could see most of the reservoir again. The diver took some finding, it was well away from where I last saw it and way over on the other side. A heron flew in, perched on a pole, decided it didn't like the couple of very yappy dogs running along the bank and flew off again. A second calendar year great black-back flew in and settled mid-water to loaf awhile.

Looking down towards Wardle

Walking down to the car park a song thrush joined the chorus of blackbirds and chaffinches in the trees and a single redwing was perched on a tree top calling to itself. As I walked down the path that joins Lower House Lane a coal tit joined in and a pair of great tits made noisy contact calls as they fed in the hawthorns by the path.

I got down into Wardle with ten minutes to wait for the 458 bus to Littleborough Station via Hollingworth Lake and thence home to find the cat sitting in the hall asking what time I called this then. I felt the better for having had the walk though I suspect having my tea so late isn't going to be improving my body clock any.