Mersey Valley

Long-tailed tit, Broad Ees Dole

It was good weather for walking so I decided to take a stroll down to Stretford Meadows and on through to Sale Water Park. In the event I carried on through Chorlton Water Park and on to Kenworthy Woods.

It was cloudy with the promise of getting sunny later on and there was a fresh breeze which kept it comfortable. I was barely halfway across the garden centre car park at the bottom of Newcroft Road when a young buzzard flew low overhead heading towards Urmston.

The path onto the meadows was reassuringly muddy, I'd scarcely negotiated the puddles when I noticed something flitting about the tops of the young trees just ahead of me. My first thought was a sand martin but it was fluttering rather than swooping about the treetops and seemed to be gleaning insects from the leaves. As soon as I had my binoculars on it it was obviously a bat. It wasn't any bat I could recognise: it was too big for any of the pipistrelles but way too small for a noctule, definitely not one of the long-eared bats, or horseshoe bats either, and Daubenton's bats don't feed like that. By a process of elimination it was either a Brandt's bat, a Natterer's bat or a whiskered bat. I watched it for half a minute before it disappeared into the tall trees. I then spent quarter of an hour looking at bat identification pages. The feeding method fitted Natterer's or whiskered best but it looked too dark to be a Natterer's bat so I'm pretty sure it was a whiskered bat. I was surprised — to put it mildly — to see one out at this time of day but I suppose if it was hungry or had hungry mouths to feed it had no choice. Or it might have been disturbed and decided that while it was up it might as well get something to eat.

Stretford Meadows 

There's a new information sign at the car park and I'd been scoffing at the decision to depict a great spotted woodpecker instead of a whitethroat or a reed bunting. I had to take it back after seeing no buntings, hearing just the one whitethroat and seeing a great spotted woodpecker fly out from the cricket pitch and off over the motorway. 

Stretford Meadows 

There were plenty of carrion crows and magpies kicking about and a steady traffic of woodpigeons overhead. Half a dozen linnets joined the charm of goldfinches feeding on the thistledown. A painted lady and a couple of meadow browns were busy on a patch of knapweed.

Painted lady, Stretford Meadows

I walked down along Kickety Brook to Stretford Ees. It had become sunny and the butterflies (large whites and speckled woods) were busy and squirrels dozed on branches in the hedgerows. Here and there there'd be the rustle of great tits or robins in the undergrowth or woodpigeons feeding in the hawthorns. A migrant hawker gave me the once-over then zoomed off on its way.

Hornet hoverfly, Stretford Ees
I never realised they had such jolly bottoms

Stretford Ees was very quiet, odd pairs of woodpigeons passed overhead, a couple of magpies fed on the grass and a chiffchaff, a wren and a blackbird called in the trees by the tram lines in response to passing cyclists.

Stretford Ees

Sale Water Park was busy with jet skis, kayaks and swimming competitions so all the birdlife on the big lake hugged the water margins or else joined the mute swans mugging passersby at the car park. The herd of swans is two dozen strong now. There were similar numbers of Canada geese, coots and mallards and a few black-headed gulls. A couple of great crested grebes kept to the reeds with the families of young coots.

Canada geese and mallards, Broad Ees Dole

Broad Ees Dole was busy with birds. A couple of dozen mallards loafed on the Teal Pool. I was checking that they were all mallards when a kingfisher shot by at close quarters. Try as I might I didn't find where it went. More mallards loafed with the coots, Canada geese, herons and gadwalls on the islands by the hide. Moorhens fussed about, black-headed gulls fidgeted and a stock dove came down for a drink. It took me a while to find any dabchicks, one of the adults was supervising a youngster's fishing expeditions in the duckweed. All the while I kept getting distracted by long-tailed tits bouncing round in the vegetation in the ditch in front of the hide.

The path around the lake was littered with damselflies, mostly common blue damsels with a few blue-tailed damsels. A brown hawker patrolled the tops of the hedgerows. There wasn't a lot of food put out on the feeders by the café but there was enough to keep a nuthatch interested while great tits, coal tits and a robin flitted in and out.

Ring-necked parakeet, Jackson's Boat

I walked up to Jackson's Boat unsure whether to call it quits and walk through Hardy Farm to get the bus or carry on to Chorlton Water Park. While I was being busy being indecisive a ring-necked parakeet made a racket just above my head. It took a few minutes to find it despite it's being big and noisy and just twelve feet away. It's amazing how well they blend in with sycamore leaves.

I crossed the bridge and found myself walking down the river on autopilot. There was a total absence of ducks or wagtails on the water. More woodpigeons passed overhead, a couple of crows called from the tops of trees by the golf course and chiffchaffs, blue tits and greenfinches foraged in the hedgerow. I was almost at Chorlton Water Park when a flock of swallows flew in to feed over the river, the only hirundines of the day.

Chorlton Water Park 

Chorlton Water Park was understandably busy so I just had a quick turn around the lake. The black-headed gulls were back in numbers, the Canada geese and mallards crowded round the runways where people might have some food for them. There weren't many mute swans on the lake today and no obvious reason why not .The trees were quiet save for the occasional chiffchaff and a couple of parakeets.

Grey squirrel, Kenworthy Woods

I didn't fancy traipsing up to Southern Cemetery for the bus home so I crossed the river and walked through Kenworthy Woods for the 101 into Manchester. For a change I followed the road straight through and was rewarded by jays, magpies and goldfinches feeding on the roadside while blackbirds, a mixed tit flock and some chiffchaffs fed in the hedgerows. Squirrels fed in the hawthorn bushes and a great spotted woodpecker called from the tall trees just behind.

Chorlton Water Park 

I'd intended this to be a short dawdle but ended up spending four hours wandering about. It had been a good walk, the birdwatching had been pretty good for this time of year and how often do you see a bat feeding in broad daylight?