Mosses

Buzzard, Chat Moss

The day started with a garden full of juvenile birds feeding in the rain and a blackbird making inroads on the boysenberries. I don't mind them having the ones I can't reach, it's a bit annoying that they leave those till last.

The weather forecast reckoned the rain would die down to afternoon showers so I waited until after lunch before setting out for a walk. I wanted to try and find the quails that have been singing along Twelve Yards Road this past week so I got the 100 from the Trafford Centre into Irlam. 

The weather was atrocious as the bus left the Trafford Centre. The rain eased off as I got off the bus at Merlin Road and the sun came out as I walked down Cutnook Lane and crossed the motorway. In the five minutes from the bus stop to the horse paddocks it had become a sunny, if slightly cool and breezy, afternoon.

By Cutnook Lane

Half a dozen swallows hawked low over the fields either side of the road. Woodpigeons fed on the paddock fields, carrion crows, magpies and collared doves on the recently-scalped turf fields on the other side of the road. The small birds in the hedgerows were quiet and trying their best to be inconspicuous, only a dunnock and a blackcap singing in the birch scrub by the fishery. 

Twelve Yards Road 

I turned onto Twelve Yards Road where lapwings and lesser black-backs flew overhead and a kestrel hovered over a field of rough grazing. Linnets and goldfinches flitted between fields and hedges, swifts hawked and wheeled over the fields and a skylark sang overhead. I had a chat with a birdwatcher who'd copped for the heavy rain as he'd walked through Little Woolden Moss then got on my way.

Singing quail, Chat Moss

I'd nearly reached the end of the field of rough when I heard a quail singing. I could barely hear it over the sound of the wind in the dry grass and a song thrush singing over in the trees by Cutnook Lane. It was softly singing to itself as if it was practising. At first I thought I was indulging in wishful thinking but on the third time of hearing I had to concede it was a quail even if the encounter was a bit underwhelming. About a hundred yards down the road a rather more assertive quail was singing on the other side of the hawthorn hedge. It shadowed me as I walked down the road. At the end of the hedge it carried on into the long grass on the bank of the drain and I still couldn't see it. In the end I had to make do with just hearing it sing.

I carried on down the road. Flocks of woodpigeons flew overhead between fields, a heron lumbered by and the only oystercatcher of the day made a racket as it flew past. A couple of chiffchaffs sang in the trees, the whitethroats in the hedgerows were quiet until they noticed me and told me to beggar off and reed buntings bounced about the vegetation in the drains. The meadow browns and large whites were joined by a handful of gatekeepers, I've not seen many of those this year.

Twelve Yards Road 

Approaching Four Lanes End a flock of a couple of dozen swallows hawked low over the barley fields and half a dozen house martins wheeled about at treetop height. I felt a little less worried about hirundines than I had been, especially as there were nearly a dozen young swallows flitting about in between begging on telegraph wires.

Pied wagtail and lapwing chick, Little Woolden Moss

The willow warblers on Little Woolden Moss were fairly quiet, just a two were singing but there were plenty whizzing round with beaks full of insects. They were easily outsung by blackbirds and chiffchaffs. Out on the pools most of the young lapwings were well grown but one pair had a couple of small chicks pottering about with them. A couple of the juvenile pied wagtails bouncing around on the mud were young enough to still have primrose yellow faces. They were joined by meadow pipits, a yellow wagtail and a small flock of linnets. A kestrel flew close in and was chased off by reed buntings. Overhead there was a steady traffic of woodpigeons and lesser black-backs, a few swallows hawked at treetop height and swifts hawked and shrieked at head height.

Four-spotted chaser, Chat Moss

I hadn't seen any dragonflies so far this afternoon so it was nice to have a four-spotted chaser settle down to bask in the sun on the newly-gravelled path in front of me as I walked back to Four Lanes End. 

Juvenile swallows, Chat Moss

The swallows and martins were still hurtling round Twelve Yards Road, the youngsters settling and begging on the telegraph wires. Goldfinches and chiffchaffs sang in the trees, a couple of chaffinches pinked as I passed by and a family of long-tailed tits bounced through the hawthorn hedge.

Chat Moss 

I headed North and took the path parallel to Twelve Yards Road just as the clouds rolled in. A dozen swifts moved in with the rain front, woodpigeons took to the trees and a buzzard stopped its digging for worms and headed off to the copse over by Cutnook Lane. The muggy weather seemed to bring out the butterflies: the brambles and nettles were busy with red admirals, meadow browns, large whites and commas. A Southern hawker zipped by and came back to have another look at me before zipping off again. 

The pools were fairly quiet, just a few mallards and coots and a pair of teal dabbling by the birch scrub. The willow warblers and whitethroats took to singing in the rain and the reed buntings joined in for want of anything else to do.

Chat Moss 

It was a gentle trudge back down Cutnook Lane and into Irlam as the wind blew the clouds away and the sun shone brightly. I added a great spotted woodpecker to the day's tally as I passed the fishery and another heron flew by as I crossed the motorway.

Cutnook Lane 

I was dead jammy for catching the 100 back to the Trafford Centre and connecting with the 25 back home.