Mosses

Female black darter, Chat Moss

It was one of those days which look lovely but feel like a damp armpit. I thought I'd push my luck with a walk across Chat Moss into Little Woolden Moss.

I got the 100 from the Trafford Centre into Irlam. As we passed the old "Fives" site before crossing the ship canal eighty-odd black-headed gulls loafed in the puddles with a few lesser black-backs and herring gulls.

Cutnook Lane 

I got off at Merlin Road and walked up Cutnook Lane into Chat Moss. Robins were practising their singing voices and a mixed tit flock bouncing about the hedgerow by Raspberry Lane included a citrus-bright juvenile willow warbler. I looked in vain for the chiffchaff I could hear squeaking then discovered it was a great tit mimicking the call. A small flock of lapwings flying overhead towards Barton Moss were the only waders of the day. A coal tit made squeaky dog toy noises at me as I passed the fishery.

Male black darter, Chat Moss

I joined Twelve Yards Road which was fizzing with common darters and black darters. Woodpigeons flew hither and thither, with large flocks in the stubble fields. A heron and a cormorant flew out of the fishery and went their separate ways, the cormorant into Irlam and the heron settling on the pools to the North. I decided not to head that way, the target was Little Woolden Moss and I didn't want to be bitten to pieces by mosquitos twice in one afternoon.

Buzzards, Chat Moss

A female kestrel flew by but didn't stop. I could hear a young buzzard begging for food but couldn't see where it was until two buzzards rose from the trees by the farmhouse. The adult studiously ignored the begging and after a few minutes the juvenile drifted off on its own, scattering a flock of woodpigeons in the process. It was back within two minutes.

Twelve Yards Road 

The hedgerows were busy with the quiet mutterings of greenfinches, goldfinches and tree sparrows. I looked back whence I came and noticed that Salford was copping for a thunderstorm. I was twice grateful a stiff breeze was blowing in my face as I carried on to Four Lanes End. 

Twelve Yards Road 

Small flocks of swallows hawked low over the fields, drifting up to treetop height at the margins then swooping back down again.

Woodpigeon and kestrel, Chat Moss

A couple of juvenile kestrels were hunting in the field by Four Lanes End, supervised at a distance by the adult male. The youngsters were evidently still lacking in confidence in their hovering so they spent most of their time sitting at the top of telegraph poles and pounce-hunting. Having seen their hovering I can see their point but they're going to have to get the practice in.

Common darter, Little Woolden Moss

The brambles at the entrance to Little Woolden Moss were busy with red admirals, commas and speckled woods. A couple of speckled woods mobbed a migrant hawker,which struck me as a tad foolhardy. Then they mobbed me, which was downright foolish. There were yet more common darters and black darters but just the one ruddy darter, a male though not a very colourful one. The literature says to look out for a clubbed tail to identify a ruddy darter and you may be mislead by the swollen end to a male common darter, ruddy darters remind me of Airfix models of Albatros biplanes. Besides which, ruddy darters have black legs and common darters don't.

Common darter, Little Woolden Moss

A few wrens and willow warblers objected to my passing by. It's famine or feast on the pools at Little Woolden Moss and today was one of the famine days. There was literally nothing on the pools on the Eastern side. Woodpigeons and swallows passed overhead and carrion crows called on the fields beyond. Black darters and common darters zipped about, it continued to be a thin year for ruddy darters. A few large whites joined the other butterflies along the path margins. A few more wrens and willow warblers called from the trees.

Little Woolden Moss 

The pools on the Western side are entirely hidden from the path by a dense double-planting of trees, which was frustrating because I could hear a bird bathing at the margins. I can never understand the point of going to the expense and effort of setting a bench by the path then obscuring the view by planting two rows of trees two feet apart less than a yard in front of it.

Walking towards Little Woolden Hall 

Things picked up as I walked towards Little Woolden Hall with a few goldfinches, linnets and meadow pipits in the fields. More swallows swooped by and yet more woodpigeons passed overhead. 

Little Woolden Moss 

I checked out the field by the river. Just as I'd concluded that I wasn't seeing any wagtails today a couple of pied wagtails emerged from behind some dock leaves. I'd almost reached the river when a chat bounced up from the grass and perched on a thistle before fidgeting over to the fence at the top of the riverbank. A whinchat? No, it'll be a stonechat, you've not seen the usual family today. Stonechats don't have thick white eyebrows. It'll be a wheatear then, except wheatears don't have dark brown rumps so I had to concede that I was right first time. The whinchat disappeared into the vegetation by the river. A couple of wheatears flew in, perched on the bridge to demonstrate that they had white arses and flew downriver. The only bird on the river was a moorhen deep in the shadows of the bank. A few dozen swallows hawked and reeled high overhead.

I walked down into Glazebrook, a female sparrowhawk flashing across the road and crashing through the hedgerows at waist height just after I'd crossed the motorway. Glazebrook, as ever, had more than its fair share of collared doves.

I crossed the river into the Cadishead and got the 67 to Eccles just as it started raining. The next bus heading my way from the Trafford Centre was the 250. As we passed the old Event City site more than a hundred black-headed gulls were loafing with some lesser black-backs and herring gulls.

I walked through Lostock Park on the way home. Over on the playing fields by Barton Clough School nearly a hundred black-headed gulls were dancing for worms with a supporting cast including common gulls, lesser black-backs and herring gulls.

I managed to keep missing the rain right up to four doors down from home.