Etherow Country Park

Dipper, Etherow Country Park

I'd had a very ropey night's sleep due to the hay fever kicking in (everyone and his dog seemed to be mowing their lawns yesterday evening) and didn't feel like either of today's planned outings so I went over to Etherow Country Park to see if any dippers were about.

Moorhens, Etherow Country Park

I got the 383 from Stockport and got off at Compstall post office and walked into Etherow Country Park. It was a cloudy day with a bit of an edge to the wind but it wasn't as variable as it has been and it made for comfortable walking.

Chiffchaffs and wrens sang in the trees by the car park while mallards, Canada geese and pigeons mugged passersby for food. I could only see the one mute swan, I hope that means the others were on nests elsewhere. I didn't see any Muscovy ducks either, which is a first. A pair of moorhens by the garden centre were kept busy trying to keep half a dozen chicks in any kind of order.

Mandarin ducks, Etherow Country Park

There were a few pairs of mandarin ducks loafing about by the path and a few more unattached drakes (there seemed to be a lot of male ducklings last year). More pairs whistled from the river and from Ernocroft Wood.

Mandarin ducks, Etherow Country Park

Walking up the path to the weir I noticed a pair of robins feeding a chick in the depths of the undergrowth on the canal bank. I assayed a few photos but it was so dark under there all I got was a lot of camera shake.

Dipper, Etherow Country Park

Mandarin duck, Etherow Country Park

A dipper was busy feeding on the rapids downstream from the weir, sometimes sharing a rock with a grey wagtail. Both seemed to be collecting food for youngsters, the dipper zipping to and fro towards the weir and the wagtail towards the canal overflow. A pair of mandarins dozed as they bobbed along with the water.

Keg Wood 

I had a walk round Keg Wood which seems to have become my go-to when I'm feeling delicate. The rollercoaster of a walk gives my lungs and knees a workout. The birdsong was thinly spread, mostly blackbirds, chiffchaffs and wrens. Here and there there'd be a blackcap or a song thrush and a goldcrest sang from somewhere in a thicket of elder and hawthorn.

Keg Wood 

Most of the birds were busy feeding young, flitting about with beakfuls of insects. There were plenty of holes in the trees that could be used for nesting, a good number of perfectly healthy trees spotted a few hollow limbs and cracks in their trunks. It was surprisingly easy to find some blue tit nests along the path and I'd spotted a nuthatch nest on my last visit. The pair of nuthatches were busy though sometimes working at cross-purposes. At one point the male arrived at the nest just as the female was leaving, she took the food off him, ate it and flew off. The great spotted woodpeckers looked to have a nest deep in the beeches, the nest they used a couple of years ago was occupied by tree bumblebees.

Bluebells 

There were still swathes of wild garlic and bluebells in flower and patches of red campions along the paths and clearings. 

Red campions and wild garlic

I had a sit down in the shelter at Sunny Corner for a drink. The shelter acts like a hide if you keep still and the birds soon ignore you. Except the ones that come to the bird table a few yards away and wonder why you've not put anything on it. One female nuthatch was most insistent but I didn't have any food with me. Wrens sang, carrion crows flew about in silence. Blue tits, great tits and a family of long-tailed tits flitted about almost invisible in the tree canopies. It took me a while to spot the pair of squirrels in the trees, it took them longer to spot me when they eventually came down to rummage in the undergrowth. I hadn't heard any coal tits along the way and I'd hoped one might turn up while I was here but I had no luck today. This time of year coal tits are well nigh invisible, they are masters at keeping a low profile.

Keg Wood 

Walking back I bumped into a family of mistle thrushes, the youngsters making a bad fist of hiding in the ivy on one of the tree trunks.

Dipper, Etherow Country Park

I wandered back to the weir to see if the dipper was about. It was, and showing very well as it collected caddis flies by the bridge. And this time I spotted where the nest was, too, so I'll know where to look for youngsters next time.

Dipper, Etherow Country Park

Dipper, Etherow Country Park

I felt a lot better for taking the walk but when I got home I wondered why everyone and his dog felt the need to mow their lawns again.