Dreich

I didn't see much merit in going out in yesterday's weather. Today boded better but I overslept after a pretty grotty night's sleep. On the plus side I found out that the blackbird starts singing at ten past five in the morning and the gulls passing overhead half an hour before dawn included a Mediterranean gull. Common scoters are on nocturnal migration this time of year so I kept an ear out for them but no joy this time.

It was good to see what was eating the bird food in the back garden today, yesterday I only knew there were any birds out there because the levels in the feeders kept going down. The spadgers made the most inroads, with the great tits and blue tits getting in while they may. The long-tailed tits, however, just wriggle their way into the feeders in a manner reminiscent of the cat getting more than its fair share of the bed. I was interested to notice that the blue tits are still caching sunflower seeds. I suspect the coal tits are living on their caches, I hardly see them these days and then only very fleetingly.

I was just getting my boots on for a walk when it started sleeting heavily. I decided to go out anyway: I was going stir crazy, I didn't fancy another day of being walked all over by the cat and wondering where the bruises came from, and I'd not used my monthly travel card for a couple of days and wanted to get the value of it. So I got the train into Manchester with half an idea of having a nosy round Alexandra Park in Oldham to see if the herons are nesting yet. When I got to Piccadilly I found there was a rail replacement service in place of the train to Greenfield where I'd planned to get the Oldham bus. I didn't fancy that, and the prospect of getting a bus to Oldham from Manchester in the rain didn't elicit joy. So I bobbed over to Victoria and got the train to Rochdale.

The trees along the railway embankments were dotted with woodpigeons sulking in the rain. The magpies and carrion crows had a bit more bounce to them. The canal and fields just after Mills Hill was empty of birds, which is unusual, there's usually a few magpies and Canada geese kicking about. There wasn't much on the pool just afterwards save a few coots and a dozing mute swan.

Rochdale town centre from St. Chad's 

I walked into Rochdale town centre via St. Chad's Church steps. There's been a bit of tree-felling going on, giving a view of Rochdale I've never seen before. The remaining trees were full of woodpigeons and goldfinches and a couple of chaffinches let on as I passed by. I could see no signs of peregrines on the Town Hall clock tower, I hope the ongoing building works haven't put them off. The river was high with meltwater so there was no chance of my striking lucky with a town centre dipper, not any wagtails or geese. The only ducks were a couple of pairs of mallards sitting by the bus station.

I took a circuitous route home via Ramsbottom where the pond at Kay Brow Lodge was full of mallards. I'll have to have a proper day's birdwatching tomorrow.