Woolston

Tufted ducks, Woolston Weir

It was another fitfully sunny day so I set off for a few hours' walking to try and work the movement back into my knees after yesterday's limited success. A female lesser scaup's been kicking around Rixton and Woolston Eyes the past few days, spending yesterday on the Mersey at Woolston Weir. It was reported as having flown off yesterday teatime but you never know your luck, I've only ever seen a drake lesser scaup, and if I didn't have any luck it's a decent walk and can be very productive otherwise.

As I was preparing to go out (read: forgetting to put anything to eat or drink in my jacket pocket) I noticed there was a couple of dozen black-headed gulls on the school playing field with a few herring gulls and common gulls. All of a sudden all of the black-headed gulls scattered, leaving the larger gulls with a crowd of jackdaws and magpies. The cause was a buzzard circling fairly low overhead as it drifted over towards the canal.

Woolston Brook 

I got the train to Padgate, walked down Green Lane and took the path along Woolston Brook to Paddington Meadows. It was a very mild day. Robins sang in the bushes, magpies and woodpigeons busied about and black-headed gulls and lesser black-backs drifted overhead. The brook was high but there was plenty of evidence of it's having been a lot higher this Winter.

New Cut

Blackbird, Woolston

Blue tit, Woolston

I crossed Manchester Road and walked down to join the New Cut Trail. Robins, coal tits and wrens sang in the bushes on the green. As I walked down the New Cut loose mixed tit flocks bounced about in the drowned willows while blackbirds, robins and wrens foraged in the bushes on the wayside. This is the sort of environment where I expect to see willow tits but I couldn't hear or see any today. Moorhens were heard more than seen as they swam about the tree roots, pairs of mallards were seen and not heard. Over on Grey Mist Mere a raft of coots squabbled and a couple of dozen black-headed gulls fussed about. All the great crested grebes were first Winters.

Grey Mist Mere 

Approaching Woolston Weir a small flock of greylags called noisily as they passed low overhead. I was rather surprised to hear a Cetti's warbler singing from a rank stand of flattened reeds and brambles at the end of the cut.

Tufted ducks, Woolston Weir

Sheldrake, Woolston Weir

Tufted duck, Woolston Weir

Pochards, Woolston Weir

There were plenty of tufted ducks to check out on Woolston Weir. I'd reminded myself that I wasn't to start getting giddy at the first female Aythya with a white blaze on the front of its face, a surprising number of tufted ducks have them. As it was I needn't have worried, not a single one of the ducks had any white on their faces. Handfuls of pochards and gadwall and a couple of shelducks drifted amongst the rafts and the mallards were busy making babies by the lock gates.

Tufted ducks and pochards, Woolston Weir

Tufted ducks and gadwalls, Woolston Weir

Woolston Weir 

Woolston Eyes 

I crossed the Weir and took the path up the bank of No.2 Bed and follows the Mersey round to Thelwell Lane. There's a fairly steep climb here which was harder work than it should have been but got the movement back into my left knee, which is usually the good one. This bit of the walk is fairly exposed and the wind had a definite edge to it I hadn't noticed walking the New Cut. As I got higher I got a bird's eye view of the tufties on the weir pool and kept scanning them just in case I'd missed the lesser scaup. I hadn't. No matter, there were at least three Cetti's warblers singing along this stretch, a couple of buzzards floated over and there were more gadwalls and mallards with the shovelers, teals and dabchicks on the river below and a few herons on the banks.

River Mersey, Woolston Eyes 

I bumped into another birdwatcher (hello Steve) who told me that the first black-necked grebe of the year had arrived unseasonably early on No.3 Bed. I don't have a permit so can't get onto the reserve proper so I'll have to wait til Spring to add one to my year list unless I get very lucky elsewhere. He was off to try his luck with the lesser scaup, too. Sadly, he had no more luck than I did. I bet it turns up on Moore before the week's out.

As the path dropped down and joined the Ship Canal I checked out the tufties on there, just in case. The Cat5 bus that would take me to Partington sailed by as I was crossing Latchford Locks so I walked down to the Dog & Dart and waited half an hour for the X5 to Altrincham. I'd had a decent walk and got the movement back in the joints, the weather and been decent and the birdwatching had been pretty good and I was looking forward to a pot of tea when I got home.