Mersey Valley

Immature heron, Broad Ees Dole
One of last year's youngsters.

It was one of those walks where you tell yourself: "It's a bit of a drag to the bus stop from here, if I just walk along a bit there's a bus stop that's a bit closer…" and you end up walking home.

I'd renewed my monthly travel card and got the 101 down to Northenden, thinking I could walk along the Mersey into Kenworthy Woods then have a potter about Chorlton Water Park and then decide whether or not to go on any further. I took the path through the woods and under the motorway to the river. Blackbirds, wrens, chiffchaffs and song thrushes sang above the traffic noise, which was no mean feat.

The river on this side of Princess Parkway was fairly quiet, a couple of drake mallards dabbling by the bank, a few woodpigeons feeding on the tops. It was one of those days where the clouds hung dark and heavy but the sun still made a showing and it would have been very nice if the wind hadn't been both strong and cold, a feature of the week. It was okay walking weather, though, so that was all right then.

River Mersey, looking back at Kenworthy Woods 

Passing under the bridge and walking alongside Kenworthy Woods there was a distinct change. There were more mallards on the water, including a duck with half a dozen well-grown ducklings, and a lot more woodpigeons. The squadron of ring-necked parakeets swirling overhead included a couple of youngsters with their shorter, rather blunt tails. Blackcaps and goldfinches joined in the songscape in the trees, it took me an age to find the treecreeper I could hear in the trees by the path. A couple of swifts hawked low over the river and a could see a flock of them wheeling low over the trees by Chorlton Water Park.

River Mersey
Barlow Tip's behind the trees on the right. The flowers are goatsbeards.

A visit to Chorlton Water Park wasn't happening today, the bridge had been closed. Which was a nuisance. So I walked down to Jackson's Boat in the company of a lot more swifts. I quickly gave up on trying to get any photos of them. The greenfinches and reed buntings on the golf courses joined the blackbirds, goldfinches and blackcaps singing in the background. I was most the way down to Jackson's Boat before I saw a grey wagtail foraging at the water side. The water's been quite high lately and it was still too high for their usual nest site to be in use, I'm glad they're still about. There are enough rocky bits of bank protection around here for them to find alternative accomodation.

House martin and swallow, Jackson's Boat

The absence of swallows and martins along the river had been conspicuous. A lot of the swallows, and a house martin, were perched on the tram wires across the bridge. Much to my surprise one of the swallows was a young juvenile, its parents must have been quick off the mark nesting when they arrived. There were more swallows and house martins hawking over the river between the bridges at Jackson's Boat.

Juvenile swallow, Jackson's Boat

I didn't fancy going over and through Hardy Farm and traipsing all the way to Barlow Moor Road for the bus home so took the path along Barrow Brook to Sale Water Park. The hedgerows were busy with singing birds — mostly chiffchaffs, blackbirds and song thrushes — and parakeets screeched in the treetops. A female chaffinch was collecting nesting material on the path in front of me. Most of it seemed to be the fibres from pieces of Himalayan balsam stems that had been trampled underfoot. At the bottom of the brook a Cetti's warbler sang from the flag irises by the path but managed somehow to stay out of sight.

Heron, Barrow Brook

The wooded path to the lake was busy with wrens, blackbirds and robins. Looking across the lake a raft of mute swans cruised by the sailing club while a crowd of mallards and Canada geese haunted the slipway by the car park. Some more Canada geese loafed on the floating platforms near by with a couple of cormorants. A couple of pairs of great crested grebes cruised about midwater. I couldn't see any humbugs with or on them.

Mute swan on the nest, Sale Water Park
One of last year's cygnets.

I took a walk by the lake to Broad Ees Dole. A young swan was asleep on a nest on one of the islands, probably one of the pair of cygnets that were courting a while back. It's only a couple of yards of shallow water away from dogs being walked along the path, the mature adults will have made sure to have the pick of the best places. Fingers crossed anyway. A mallard and her handful of tiny ducklings cruised by as I passed.

Mallard and ducklings, Sale Water Park

Mute swan, Sale Water Park

It's been a shockingly bad year so far for butterflies and today was no exception, not even any large whites to be seen. I wasn't expecting to see any dragonflies in this weather, a few common blue damselflies proved hardier than I'd expected. As I walked into Broad Ees Dole a blue-tailed damselfly fluttered about in the undergrowth by the path before settling into the cover of some brambles.

Coot on the nest, Broad Ees Dole

Another Cetti's warbler sang from somewhere within a tiny patch of reeds by the lake. I had more luck with the reed warblers further along as two singing males decided to settle a dispute over the willows between two patches of reeds by coming to blows before retreating back to their corners. The pool by the hide was high, there was just enough of a ridge of island poking up for half a dozen mallards to sleep in a line. The drakes were already starting to mount into eclipse plumage. A couple of coots fussed about, one sat on its nest and a moorhen swam across the back of the pool. There was neither sight nor sound of any dabchicks, which suggests they're busy in the wooded creeks behind the pool.

Adult (front) and second-calendar-year herons, Broad Ees Dole

A second-calendar-year heron, still with grey on its head and a pale bill, stalked the weeds in the middle of the pool for newts and minnows, striking lucky more often than not. An adult flew in and joined it which gave me an opportunity to get some photos of them together for comparison.

The teal pool 

For once the teal pool was devoid of visible bird life. A passing banded demoiselle added to my damselfly tally for the day, looking all exotic as it caught the sunlight.

Stretford Ees

I bobbed over the river and walked through Stretford Ees. Parakeets made an almighty racket in the treetops, a family of great tits fidgeted about and a bullfinch sang wheezily in an elderflower bush.

Stretford Meadows 

I'd gotten this far, it didn't make sense to walk into the town centre for a bus, the building works and roadworks have closed the bus stop by the shopping mall. I walked along Kickety Brook into Stretford Meadows and walked round the Northeast corner onto Urmston Lane. Along the way I added a garden warbler with a beakful of spiders and the whitethroats singing in the hawthorns to the afternoon's tally of warblers.

As I made my way home I reflected that I've been making a habit of turning quick potters about into five mile walks lately. Which would be great if I wasn't taking itchy eyes and a runny nose home with me. The pollen forecasts are currently "moderate," I'll have to watch myself when they go to "high."