Mersey Valley

Common gulls and black-headed gulls, Chorlton Water Park

It was another cool and foggy day and I put the plans for today back on the shelf. If I was to be going out in the freezing cold not being able to see anything I'd as well be doing it locally as spending time and money getting somewhere to do it. So I got the 23 to Southern Cemetery, walked down to Chorlton Water Park and along the river back into Chorlton via the river and Jackson's Boat.

Pigeons in the mist

Chorlton Water Park was busy with people walking off Christmas despite the weather. Which somehow didn't persuade the pigeons to come down from the trees by the lake. The lake was heaving with waterfowl and gulls. Coots and black-headed gulls provided the crowd scenes but there were plenty enough mallards, gadwalls, Canada geese and mute swans to break the monotony and half a dozen bright salmon-pink drake goosanders dozed midwater in the mist. The cormorants, common gulls and great crested grebes hid in the crowds and it was only by accident I noticed the herring gulls sitting in the ghosts of trees on the far bank with a lot of black-headed gulls and a couple of common gulls. The ring-necked parakeets in the trees provided a constant invisible chorus to the whole scene.

Chorlton Water Park 

Gadwalls 

Mute swans, coots and Canada geese 

Goosanders, black-headed gulls and cormorant

There were small birds about in the trees along the path round the lake but most of they weren't for making themselves obvious. Dunnocks chased each other on the verges and robins sang in the bushes. A flock of long-tailed tits in the willows by the lake seemed to be working independently of the flock of blue tits working their way through the birch trees on the other side of the path.

Barlow Tip 

I had a quick wander round Barlow Tip where the jays were courting noisily and magpies singing to themselves quietly in the trees. Another flock of long-tailed tits, about a dozen of them, bounced their way through the hawthorns by the path.

River Mersey

The walk along the Mersey to Jackson's Boat contrived to be both very busy and very eerie with people fading in and out of the mist ad lib. As did the cormorants and carrion crows flying over the river. A few mallards added a bit of solid reality on the river and, despite the water still being high, one of the grey wagtails was fossicking about on the usual rocks by the bank.

The view across the river

Song thrush

A song thrush was singing in a bush by the tram bridge, suggesting that Spring isn't far behind. It was almost drowned out by the squawking of parakeets and rattle of magpies.

Jackson's Boat 

It was decidedly foggy at Jackson's Boat with its invisible parakeets and blackbirds calling from the grey shapes by the pub.

I decided to walk through Hardy Farm and Chorlton Ees into Chorlton, walking through the woods then following the brook to Chorlton Green. By the sound of it the jackdaws and parakeets had given up on the day and were heading to roost. Unlike the blackbirds and mistle thrushes which were busy in the undergrowth when they weren't sitting on fenceposts barracking passersby.

Chorlton Ees 

Rather a lot to my surprise I'd quite enjoyed the walk and it had been some productive birdwatching but I was looking forward to getting home for a pot of tea and a stand in front of a heat source.

Chorlton Ees