Mersey Valley

Common blue damselfly, Barton Tip

It was another nice day so I decided to get off for a wander. I had a couple of plans in mind but on the train into Manchester I decided to have a less crowded day of it. As we were sat at signals by Pomona Dick I watched a Southern hawker patrolling the Bridgewater Canal. I was also struck by how few butterflies there were on the trackside buddleias, something I've been noticing a lot this year. There were just a few large whites on this stretch.

I was reviewing my butterfly records last night and I was struck by how few there were along the Chorlton stretch of the Mersey Valley. Most years I'd have had a big list cobbled together by now. With this in mind, once I got off the train at Oxford Road I went round the corner and got the 101 and headed down for Yew Tree Lane, the stop just after the motorway along Princess Road. I crossed over the bridge and headed for Kenworthy Woods and embarked on what was going to be a very quiet walk along the Mersey Valley.

Kenworthy Woods 

It was a sunny lunchtime with a very welcome fresh breeze. Speckled woods and large whites fluttered about the trees either side of the bridge and a very dark buzzard floated by at treetop height. I took unfamiliar paths around the wood for a good wander. Magpies quietly rummaged about and wrens scolded and sang in the undergrowth. More speckled woods and large whites and a few brown hawkers zipped by. It was a very nice stroll but a lot thin on wildlife. Eventually I drifted back and walked through the orchard onto the road to the river. A chiffchaff called in the trees, robins and blue tits called in the hedgerows.

River Mersey by Chorlton Water Park 

The only bird on the river at the bridge was a moorhen tucked tightly into the waterside vegetation for a doze. Another buzzard passed overhead and off over Northern Moor.

Canada goose and black-headed gulls

There were lots of people about on Chorlton Water Park but it wasn't as crowded as I'd expected. Forty-odd black-headed gulls floated about in groups near the slipways waiting for people to feed the ducks. Small groups of mallards, coots and Canada geese were dotted about and a couple of herring gulls lurked near the ice cream van. Common blue damselflies zipped across the water of the lake and brown hawkers patrolled the willow margins. The usual pair of great crested grebes were near the big island on the far side but there was no sign of any of the youngsters.

Barlow Tip 

I walked over the rise into Barlow Tip, the sedges and thistles busy with common blue damselflies and blue-tailed damselflies. I've no idea how many brown hawkers there were, there were always two or three zipping by at head height. The usual chiffchaff called from the hawthorn by the inspection road and very welcome it was, too.

River Mersey by Barlow Tip 

It was a very quiet walk down the river to Jackson's Boat. A few woodpigeons and a single stock dove passed by. A Canada goose and a handful of mallards sat on the river. A heron loafed on the bank. A chiffchaff and a parakeet called from the trees on the golf course. More brown hawkers zipped by. A meadow brown and a couple of red admirals joined the large whites fluttering along the bank. Parakeets were heard but not seen at Jackson's Boat.

River Mersey, Jackson's Boat 

From Jackson's Boat I walked into Chorlton Ees. It was thin pickings here, too, rescued at the last minute by a mixed tit flock — a family of long-tailed tits, a couple of blue tits and a great tit — bouncing around high up in the maples by Chorlton Brook.

Walking through Ivy Green I have seldom been so happy to see a blackbird.

Fifty-odd black-headed gulls loafed on the field at Turn Moss with a couple of dozen magpies, some jackdaws and a couple of carrion crows. Goldfinches, chaffinches and chiffchaffs squeaked in the trees and squirrels scampered through the hedgerows.

I'd had a very pleasant walk though I hadn't improved my tally of butterfly records overly much, it feels like a bad butterfly year after that peculiar mixture of scorching June and dreadful July. The birdwatching was very quiet, even for August. Woodland walks in August are for enjoying the scenery.