Pennington Flash

Tufted ducks, goosanders and black-headed gulls

Today's the only day this week when the trains aren't on strike so I was tempted to make the most of it. Then I remembered the usual start of the year shitshow and decided against. (Ironically, our local trains ran as scheduled for once.) I didn't want to waste a sunny Bank Holiday Monday, and didn't fancy getting embroiled on the Mersey Valley so I headed off for Pennington Flash. The sunny day I didn't want to waste lasted as far as the bus stop round the corner. Luckily, the 126 was the best part of half an hour late leaving the Trafford Centre so by the time we got into Leigh the rain had moved South and it was a sunny afternoon.

Walking in from St Helens Road I noticed a large white patch in the trees on the other side of the meadow. A closer look revealed it to be a very contrasty buzzard with clean white underparts and a lot of white to its tail. 

For all that it was quiet and bright there wasn't much about in the trees or hedgerow. I'd just given up on scanning the blackthorns when I noticed a movement on the ground. A shrew scuttled across the path and disappeared into a clump of damp nettles. It's very rare I ever actually see a live shrew, they're usually just furtive movements working their way through grass and leaves.

Tufted duck, coot and black-headed gulls

It was bank holiday busy so the usual suspects on the car park had rations aplenty. I noticed the car park oystercatcher isn't above begging from small children. 

Pennington Flash 

The weather was a lot calmer so the birds were more evenly spread across the flash. A couple of hundred black-headed gulls and a few common gulls crowded around the car park end.  There were relatively low numbers of large gulls, perhaps fifty or so in a dispersed raft over on the sailing club side of the flash. Most were herring gulls or lesser black-backs, a dozen great black-backs were bathing and loafing in the middle of the group. There were plenty of tufted ducks and coots out there, together with a dozen or more pochards and a few goldeneyes. Four goosanders steamed through before flying off towards the far side.

From the Horrocks Hide: cormorants and black-headed gulls

I compared notes with another birdwatcher as we stood by the Horrocks Hide. Neither of us had seen anything out of the ordinary, I put him onto the first-Winter common gulls by the car park and a raft of goldeneyes at the end of the spit, he put me onto a group of great crested grebes I'd missed.

I kept hearing teal as I walked down to the Tom Edmondson Hide but I had no luck finding them. There were plenty of mute swans, shovelers and gadwalls on Pengy's pool.

Herons, Tom Edmondson Hide

There were more gadwalls and shovelers with the coots on the pool at the Tom Edmondson Hide, together with a congregation of herons. A robin came into the hide and fussed around at the window beside me as it found some seed somebody had left behind.

I had another look at the pool opposite when I left the hide. I had more luck this time, the back ends of a few teal had floated out of the edges of the reeds. It was nice to hear the usual Cetti's warbler again, it's been months since I last heard it. It seems to be favouring the reeds at the moment as the bramble patch has been drowned.

At Ramsdales Hide

The scene at Ramsdales was pretty much the same as last week, with the addition of a couple of dabchicks fishing in the corner by the reedbed.

At Pengy's Hide 

I had a brief look at Pengy's, the last of the ice had now gone and the pool was littered with gadwalls, mallards and coots.

Dunnock, Bunting Hide

I spent a while at the Bunting Hide. It was still properly daylight so there were fewer reed buntings about than last week, they started to drift in as I was leaving.

Pennington Flash, walking across the golf course 

I left via the footpath over the golf course and walked through Pennington Hall Park for the bus on St Helens Road. Squadrons of lesser black-backs flew overhead to roost on the flash, a few herring gulls tagging along.

The days are visibly lengthening, there was useful light up to half four today. The last few pigeons wandered round the bus station and a couple of pied wagtails flew in to roost on the roof of the shopping centre. Bank holiday bus times being as they are it was quicker getting the V1 into Manchester and the train home than waiting for the 126 back to the Trafford Centre. Not a bad first outing for the year.