Orrell

Juvenile long-tailed tit, Greenslate Water Meadows

The plans for today having been postponed I had a free day I hadn't banked on. I decided last night that if the cat woke me up at silly o'clock as per usual I'd go off on an adventure so for once either she let me sleep in or I slept through the whole performance.

Given that I'd finally seen my first dragonfly of the year yesterday I thought I'd go over to Orrell to see if I could add to the tally. Two reasons for the choice: I've not visited yet this year and between them Orrell Water Park and Greenslate Water Meadows have a surprising variety of freshwater habitats in a very small space, which I thought might shorten the odds for me. [Spoiler: I didn't see a one.]

Long-tailed tit, Greenslate Water Meadows
One of the adults showing the wear and tear of the breeding season

I got the 132 to Wigan then the 352, getting off at the car park to Orrell Water Park. Chiffchaffs, robins and a song thrush sang in the trees and out on the lake there was a crowd of Canada geese, a few mallards and a single drake tufted duck.

Robin, Greenslate Water Meadows

Greenslate Water Meadows was busy with small birds. Most of the singing was from blackbirds, robins, wrens and chiffchaffs, accompanied by the occasional chaffinch, blackcap or song thrush. Woodpigeons and magpies clattered about in the treetops while great tits, blue tits and nuthatches quietly foraged. There were a couple of families of long-tailed tits; the youngsters of one of the families came in close to see what I was about, so close I couldn't get them into focus with my big camera lens.

I made an afternoon of it and took the longest of the circular walks through the wooded bits of the meadows. I got back to the car park in time to catch the 352 back to Wigan and the train back home.

A classic of the "There was a warbler here a moment ago" genre
Male blackcap, Greenslate Water Meadows

Flag iris, Greenslate Water Meadows