Urmston

Lesser redpoll, Cob Kiln Wood

I had all sorts of ideas for things to do on another sunny Winter's day but I really struggled to motivate myself. In the end I spent most of the day reading a book then had a late afternoon wander round the Mersey Valley in Urmston. 

Cob Kiln Wood 

I headed over to Cob Kiln Wood with no particular expectations as to what I would be finding. It turned out that the wood was heaving with birds. I'd scarcely joined the path off Torbay Road when I bumped into the first of many pairs of long-tailed tits I'd encounter in the wood as they bounced around the ivy- and woodpigeon-covered trees. Further along there were pairs of great tits and blue tits; song thrushes, blackbirds and robins sang and a couple of parakeets screeched overhead. 

Lesser redpoll, Cob Kiln Wood

The stretch of path that this time of year is usually waist-deep in mud was bone dry. This gave me the opportunity to pay more attention to the birds feeding in the alders by the path. Ordinarily I'd only have noticed the singing greenfinches and the goldfinches twittering between the fields and entirely missed the half a dozen redpolls quietly working their way through the alder cones. They were ridiculously tame but very active and tricky to photograph against the low sun.

Lesser redpoll, Cob Kiln Wood

Lesser redpoll, Cob Kiln Wood

Walking towards Old Eeas Brook 

Given how dry that path was I thought I'd take a chance on the path along Old Eeas Brook to Urmston Cemetery. Much to my surprise, even though some stretches made me stop and think: "Will you just look at the state of that!" it was entirely navigable without resorting to Tarzan of the Apes tactics, the first time in my experience for decades. Great tits, robins and wrens called from the undergrowth, stock doves cooed, pairs of long-tailed tits flitted about and parakeets screeched and chased each other round the treetops. I'd just stopped to look at a pair of mallards in one of the pools when a pair of great spotted woodpeckers flew in and chased each other around a big willow before flying off to the trees by the riding stables. As I crossed the brook over to the cemetery I disturbed half a dozen song thrushes rummaging about in the leaf litter in the corner of the paddock by the path.

Ring-necked parakeet, Old Eeas Brook

The sun was low in the sky as I walked down from the cemetery into Urmston Meadows. Robins, wrens and blackbirds fossicked about in the brambles, woodpigeons clattered about in the ivies and a couple of great spotted woodpeckers called from the tall trees.

Urmston Meadows 

As I walked down Chassen Road into Urmston mistle thrushes and blackbirds sang in the trees and a squadron of lesser black-backs flew overhead to roost on the Ship Canal at Irlam.

Unplanned wanders can be surprisingly productive sometimes.