Etherow Country Park

Mandarin duck

I thought I'd best take advantage of the last afternoon before the heatwave so I had a wander over Etherow Country Park to have a look at the mandarins. The drakes are all in full eclipse plumage and there are still a few half-grown ducklings about.

Mandarin duck

The black-headed gulls are back in force now, a sign that we're past the peak of Summer.

River Etherow 

There were a couple of mandarins on the river, too. A scan round eventually found a couple grey wagtails but try as I might I couldn't see any dippers. I suspect they've abandoned this stretch of the river. I had a look at the Weir, just in case. A mandarin was dozing part way up just to keep things interesting.

Great spotted woodpecker

It wasn't too hot so I thought I'd have a walk into Keg Wood. I'd had a brief look at Ernocroft Wood but didn't fancy the steep haul in this weather but the gentler, if more persistent dips and rises of Keg Wood might be manageable. And so it turned out. It was fairly quiet: a few twittering goldfinches, woodpigeons clattering about and chiffchaffs and blackcaps having the occasional bit of song. 

Keg Wood 

I walked up to Sunny Corner and had quarter of an hour's sit down and a drink. It didn't take long for a robin to turn up and start feeding in the undergrowth by the shelter. A family of great tits passed by silently, a couple of blue tits were almost as quiet. A great spotted woodpecker flew close in and gave one of the limbs on an oak tree a good bashing, scattering flakes of wood in the process. I walked back whence I came, I didn't fancy dropping round on the full circuit, the drag uphill from Keg Pool is a task for cooler weather.

Mandarin ducks

The mandarins were out in force sunbathing along the path back to the car park. I've not seen great crested grebes on the big pool this Summer, there was a pair on there this afternoon.

Mandarin ducks

Great crested grebe