Cutacre

Heron

The warm sunny day we've been promised for the past week finally arrived. I had a few domestic chores to do before nipping out to exercise my franchise then going out for a walk. I wanted a gentle sort of walk and bus station bingo at the Trafford Centre got me onto the 132 to Wigan. I tossed a coin for Amberswood or Cutacre, Cutacre won and I got off the bus at Tyldseley Town Hall and set off up Common Lane.

Common Lane

The hedgerows were noisy with the songs of robins, chiffchaffs, blackcaps and chaffinches. Goldfinches, house sparrows and great tits bustled about in the hawthorns. The fields either side were busy with woodpigeons, magpies and jackdaws and carrion crows flew overhead. The warmth of the day brought out the butterflies — orange tips, speckled woods and green-veined whites fluttered about the lane margins and peacocks skittered about the tops of the hawthorn bushes.

Carrion crow, Cumbermere Lane 

As Common Lane turned into Cumbermere Lane the goldfinches and spadgers in the hedgerows were joined by greenfinches and linnets. Lesser black-backs and herring gulls made a racket as they passed overhead.

Engine Lane 

Passing the cattery the trees became busy with blue tits, great tits, chiffchaffs and blackcaps and a couple of willow warblers sang near the railway. Turning onto Engine Lane a skylark sang over the fields. Just beyond one of the fields was half-flooded, the pool surrounded by lesser black-backs and herring gulls with oystercatchers, lapwings and coots fussing about.

Oystercatcher 

I crossed the railway line and descended into the country park. Dozens of swallows skittered and twittered overhead daring me to try and take their photo. (I tried and failed.) I sat myself down on the bench overlooking Swan Lake and had a look round. Chiffchaffs and whitethroats sang from the trees by the railway and skylarks sang overhead. Pairs of mallards and Canada geese littered the pool, a pair of gadwalls were loafing on one of the banks. A dabchick kept taking food into a clump of reeds over the other side of the island which I hope means it had mouths to feed and it wasn't just a shy eater. I scanned round in the hopes of waders (let's be honest, in the hopes of little ringed plovers) but the only wader here was an oystercatcher fossicking about on the island.

Swan Lake
It looks a lot bigger than is really is when you see it from the train.

I wandered on. Linnets and reed buntings skittered about in the long grass. Pairs of gadwalls and coots lurked in reedy pools and a reed warbler sang, appropriately enough, from one of the reedbeds.

Gadwall

Cutacre Country Park 

Overhead there was a steady passage of lesser black-backs and herring gulls heading North for teatime for no obvious reason. A few black-headed gulls drifted in the opposition direction for the same reason. There was a bit of commotion on high as a few herring gulls noticed a soaring buzzard and had to fly up to give it a hard time. I decided to head eastwards as I hadn't explored over that way.

The view from Skylark Hill

Skylark Hill was serenaded by skylarks as I sat and took in the views. It isn't a high hill by any means, not even a high mound, but in this open country even a modest elevation provides a vista. Tyldseley looked picturesque in the distance and I could ignore the fact I could see the Trafford Centre with the naked eye. A kestrel hovered overhead making a few unsuccessful passes in the long grass by the pool at the base of the mound.

Looking towards Tyldseley 

I carried on walking. More skylarks, linnets and reed buntings. Goldfinches, greenfinches and whitethroats sang from the hawthorn scrub. A raven passed low overhead and was almost immediately mobbed by carrion crows and chased away but not before the raven had done a few tight turns and chased the crows about a bit.

Approaching Little Hulton 

The path I was following took me into a thin patch of birch trees by a solar panel farm and abracadabra I was at the bus stop with just four minutes to wait for the 36 bus to Manchester. Which turned out to be a very convenient ending to an extremely pleasant short walk.