Wigan bumper bundle

Small skipper, Bickershaw Country Park

It was a cooler, sunny day with a nice breeze and I wondered what I was going to be doing with it. My original plan was to have a lazy wander round Leighton Moss but I didn't really want to be bothered with trains, which wasn't a bad call in the event as it's all been a bit hairy North of Lancaster today. Eventually I drifted over to Leigh for a wander round Bickershaw Country Park, kicking off a bit later than planned because the 126 was half an hour late leaving the Trafford Centre.

Bickershaw Country Park 

I got the number 8 bus to Edna Road and walked down to the entrance by the lake. Over by the car park dozens of Canada geese and mallards loafed on the bank while families of coots and moorhens fussed about the lake. Chiffchaffs, blackcaps and blackbirds sang in the trees and a pair of jays made a racket as they bounced around the treetops. Walking round the South shore of the lake I hoped to be seeing dragonflies but aside from a couple of blue-tailed damselflies none were to be seen.

Coot and chick, Bickershaw Country Park

Kingfisher, Bickershaw Country Park

As I rounded a corner a flash of dark blue caught my eye in the trees on the opposite bank. Even though I knew it was there it took me a while to find the kingfisher, serenaded by a reed warbler and a Cetti's warbler as I hunted for it.

Bickershaw Country Park 

Moving onto the open scrub willow warblers took over from the chiffchaffs and whitethroats from the blackcaps and a couple of swifts barrelled over. There were more butterflies, mostly brimstones and meadow browns. Every year I'm surprised by how small large skippers are and every year I misidentify my first small skipper's because I know I'm always surprised at how small large skippers are. The marsh thistles and vetchlings of the shaley waste gave way to field thistles and buttercups and the appearance of ringlet butterflies and common blue damselflies. Goldfinches and chaffinches twittered and squeaked in the trees and a pheasant called from somewhere in the heather.

Bickershaw Country Park 

I reached the junction between the paths going all points of the compass and headed North. Pairs of stock doves browsed the grassy meadows, more willow warblers, chiffchaffs, blackcaps and whitethroats sang, a family of bullfinches bounced across the path as I approached the road to nowhere (possibly the best-preserved road in Greater Manchester, it used to be used by the lorries taking slag up top). I startled a few rabbits as I took a side path off the road. After the blisteringly hot weather lately it was reassuring to find a few muddy puddles along the paths.

I decided to have a look at the fishery near Bickershaw Lane, an inspired choice as all the dragonflies I hadn't been seeing were concentrated here. Huge numbers of common blue damselflies whizzed about. There were a few azure damselflies and at least one blue-tailed damselfly in the mix and the variability in the females of common blue damselflies gave me plenty of scope for confusion. If you told me there were other species of blue damselflies in there as well I couldn't contradict you. Black-tailed skimmers basked, four-spotted and broad-bodied chasers chased and a brown hawker patrolled some meadowsweet. It was good to see my first Southern hawker of the year. Coots and mute swans had families on the water and somewhere in the reeds a dabchick hinneyed. I was surprised there was enough cover for a Cetti's warbler to have a territory.

Along Close Lane 

I crossed Bickershaw Lane and tried to trace back the path I took earlier in the year that took me past HMP Hindley. In the end I found a better path about a hundred yards to the left that connects to Close Lane and thence into Hindley. Willow warblers, whitethroats and chiffchaffs sang in the fields and trees and reed buntings sang in the wet meadows. I was extremely surprised to bump into a half-grown grey partridge as it walked down the path. The partridge was just as surprised and discovered it could fly about six feet and disappear into the tall grass.

My reassurance at finding a few muddy paths was stretched beyond its limit

I missed the bit where Close Lane turns to meet the rough path to Low Hall and found myself exploring a slag heath that's in the process of being colonised by heather and St John's wort. My reassurance at finding a few muddy paths was stretched beyond its limit so I turned round and had another go at finding the right path. When you're standing on top of a slag heap you don't expect a passing common tern but there was one.

Low Hall

I found the right path and had a meander round Low Hall. There were more chiffchaffs, blackcaps and willow warblers singing in the trees and I kept tripping over wrens and blackbirds.

Amberswood 

Amberswood Lake

I wondered if I had the legs to walk through Amberswood to Ince for the buses to Wigan but a quick look at the bus schedules gave me no choice unless I wanted to walk the same distance down to Platt Bridge or Hindley. (At this time in the evening the 132 only goes as far as Tyldesley so realistically I had to get the train home from Wigan.)

Mute cygnets, Amberswood

The coots, mallards and mute swans were parading their young families around the lake, the swans going out of their way to be obnoxious to the mallards, hissing and barging their way through the family groups. A Cetti's warbler joined a reed warbler in singing in the reedbeds, blackbirds, blackcaps and song thrushes in the woods. Walking down to Manchester Road the hedgerows were busy with blue tits, wrens and chaffinches, a family of long-tailed tits bounced about deep in a sycamore and a goldcrest sang from a gorse bush.

Mute swan and mallards, Amberswood

Mallard ducklings beating a retreat, Amberswood

I got the next bus into Wigan, had five minutes' wait at Wallgate for the train into Manchester and got home to a "What time do you call this?" from the cat.

Bickershaw Country Park