Mersey Valley

Mute swan, Sale Water Park

It was the first proper cold day of Winter and the frost lingered all day in the shade. I decided on a walk from Stretford Meadows to wherever to take advantage of a crisp sunny day where the golden hour lasted all afternoon.

There were six lesser black-backs perched on the rooves of the houses near the garden centre on Newcroft Road. I don't know if they were killing time before moving on to the school playing fields down the road or had followed the Christmas tree lorry on spec. The house sparrows in the hedgerow at the bottom of the road were particularly noisy, as were some passing crows. Perhaps I'd missed all the fun.

Stretford Meadows 

The frozen ground made the paths less messy than they would have been yesterday though here and there it was obvious there was only a thin crust of frozen mud to put your trust in. Great tits and blackbirds fidgeted around in the trees, a mistle thrush rattled from somewhere in a conifer and a couple of dozen goldfinches bounced around the treetops. It was quiet out in the open, save the usual mischief of magpies. The meadow pipits were keeping deep undercover in the willowherb thickets and a pair of greenfinches did a tour of duty of the hawthorn bushes at the top of the rise. There was more going on around the margins with woodpigeons barrelling around in the trees and a couple of parakeets making a racket as well as some more blackbirds and crows.

The downside to the thaw on the sunny slopes became apparent as I descended the summit. For once I was relieved to safely get down to the Transpennine Trail and was rewarded by a song thrush and a few long-tailed tits foraging in one of the hawthorn bushes.

Mist over Kickety Brook 

The walk along Kickety Brook was relatively quiet, for the first half I only saw a couple of magpies and rather a lot of squirrels in the throes of romantic passion. I was compensated by the scenery and lighting and a mist rising from the brook. I was coming to the conclusion that it was going to be magpies all the way when I bumped into a very loosely organised mixed tit flock with blue tits, great tits, a few goldfinches and chaffinches and a female bullfinch.

Blue tit drying off after a bath in Kickety Brook

Stretford Ees 

At Stretford Ees I had a nosy on the open field to see if any stonechats had moved in yet. No luck today but looking at the weather forecast they'll be along soon. A heron stalked the frosted grass and a sparrowhawk was chased into the cemetery by a couple of carrion crows. 

Mallards, mute swans and black-headed gulls, Sale Water Park

Common gull (centre) and black-headed gulls, Sale Water Park

I bobbed over the river to Sale Water Park. There was about a hundred gulls on this side of the lake, mostly black-headed with a few common gulls and lesser black-backs. The mute swans were feeding near the banks with the coots and mallards, I noticed there weren't many Canada geese about. There's been an outbreak of avian flu here and they've been the primary casualties. There was just the one great crested grebe, a stripey first-Winter, but plenty of dabchicks. It became clear why when I looked in at Broad Ees Dole where both main ponds were frozen. The drains were still free-floating, which gave a pair of teal somewhere to dabble. It took me a while to find the great spotted woodpecker calling in the trees.

Magpies and Canada goose carcasse, Broad Ees Dole

Teal, Broad Ees Dole

Dabchick, Sale Water Park

Robin, Sale Water Park

Further along the lake a family of long-tailed tits frolicked in the alders which had finally been laid bare by the overnight frost. Out on the water a dozen gadwall mingled with a large raft of coots and a single redhead goosander cruised the far bank.

Sale Ees 

There were more long-tailed tits in the trees in Sale Ees and ring-necked parakeets squawked in the treetops before moving on to the roost at Jackson's Boat. There were forty-odd parakeets already in the trees by the pub car park when I walked past at sunset.

Kestrel, Hardy Farm

Jackdaws, Hardy Farm

The bridge at Jackson's Boat seems at least as wobbly as it was before it was repaired. I walked through Hardy Farm in the dusk with jackdaws congregating in the trees and a kestrel having one last look around before going to roost. A nice end to a good walk.

Moonrise, Hardy Farm