Marple

Brabyns Park 

I like to imagine I'm not a fair-weather birdwatcher but after plans A to E were shot out of the water by cancelled trains I wondered if I shouldn't be staying home in the warm and dry and drinking too much tea. There's a strike day this coming Friday, I wonder if we'll notice any diminution of service.

A refill of the feeders in the back garden was quickly demolished by the attentions of a couple of dozen spadgers, a couple of magpies and a mixed tit flock. The poor squirrels couldn't get a look in. It was nice to see a goldcrest in the rowan tree with the flock of long-tailed tits.

Out on the school playing field the herring gulls have been outnumbering the lesser black-backs 3:1 lately and today was no exception. Just a couple of dozen black-headed gulls on this lunchtime, it was nudging forty yesterday. And still no woodpigeons about.

In the end I beetled over to Marple, thinking I could have a couple of hours toddling round Brabyns Park and Etherow Country Park. I didn't bother taking my big camera lens, the light was so bad I'd just be getting a lot of camera shake with long exposures.

Brabyns Park 

I left Marple Station and walked round the corner to the park entrance on Brabyns Brow. It was raining pretty heavily and promising to rain a lot more. Half a dozen mallards and a moorhen skulked on the water lily pond, glowering at passersby and daring them to make any "nice weather for ducks" quips. Carrion crows and woodpigeons clattered around the treetops and pairs of jackdaws made crowd scene noises as they passed overhead. 

I walked past the car park into the trees, great tits and dunnocks making noises in the undergrowth while a robin and a song thrush tried to outsing each other in an Irish yew. More woodpigeons and crows clattered about and a couple of wrens pottered about by the paths.

River Goyt, Brabyns Park 

The plan had been to cross the iron bridge over the River Goyt and join Compstall Road just below Etherow Country Park but the bridge was fenced off. I walked down the river back to Marple Bridge. The river was in full spate so any hopes of dippers or wagtails were dashed, even the ducks were keeping off it. The weather closed in, it was a good half an hour before sunset but it already lit for twilight.

River Goyt, Brabyns Park 

By the time I got to Marple Bridge I was very wet, didn't fancy the walk up to Etherow Country Park in the encroaching gloom and couldn't justify getting a bus for two stops. So I called it quits. There are times when I am a fair-weather birdwatcher.