Flixton

Holly blue, Dutton's Pond

I was bone-crunchingly tired after a bad night's sleep that involved finally starting to doze off just after half three only for a hairy hooligan to jump on the bed loudly complaining that she could see the bottom of the food bowl. The same hairy hooligan that was demanding breakfast at seven. Thus it was I was all set to waste a perfectly nice Spring day until I dragged myself out for a walk. The plan had been to have a potter about Pennington Flash but the bus to the Trafford Centre was very late and I'd miss the connections so I got the 256 into Flixton and had a walk round Wellacre Country Park.

Wellacre Wood 

There wasn't a lot that was different to last week's walk. The blackcaps were more in evidence in the woods and the swallows and sand martins were flying higher above the sewage works. There were considerably more butterflies about, including my first common blue of the year. I've had holly blues in the back garden for a week or so, the common blues seem to be a bit late this year.

Jack Lane 

Three reed warblers were singing on Jack Lane, the new bird singing about four yards away from the bird singing in the main reedbed. I'm not sure whether there's space enough for two territories in there. A sedge warbler was singing from the ditch by the path beside the railway. A couple of swallows passed overhead as did a flock of a dozen house martins, the precursors of a steady passage over the next hour as martins passed by in ones and twos heading into Urmston along the river. For all that it was a warm, sunny day I looked in vain for damselflies or dragonflies.

Apple blossom, Jack Lane

Dutton's Pond 

Dutton's Pond was noisy with blackcaps, chiffchaffs and a song thrush so I nearly missed the garden warbler gearing up with a few blackcapish notes tinged with a scratchy whitethroat riff before soaring off into a rich song like a blackcap on steroids. I was a bit dismayed to see a pair of red-eared terrapins sunning themselves in the pond.

Fly Ash Hill 

I took the long walk up Fly Ash Hill overlooking the lagoons where a coot was busy having a wash and brush-up. Willow warblers and chiffchaffs sang in the trees by the railway line, blackcaps sang in the scrub at the bottom of the hill and whitethroats sang at the top. Stock doves flew overhead as they passed from the paddocks on Flixton Road to those on Jack Lane.

Fly Ash Hill 

I hadn't long to wait for the bus into Urmston so I got the weekly shop done while I was at it. Those house martins must have been just passing, there was no sign of the regulars yet.