Mosses

Buzzard

It was one of those days which wasn't sure whether or not to be mild and sunny or cold and wet or some combination thereof. I wasn't sure that I wanted to be bothered with it but in the end I decided to have a wander round New Moss Wood and then depending on the weather or my mood I could walk up to Little Woolden Moss or beat a retreat back into Cadishead, or else I could take that footpath across from Moss Road to Astley Road I keep clocking as I walk past it.

New Moss Wood 

I got the train to Irlam and walked past the allotments to Moss Road and walked up to the wood. With my typical timing I chose a day when a team was thinning the trees. It sounded like they were working in the corner away from the road near the railway line so I took the paths away from there and whenever in doubt I followed the path that already had stacks of felled timber, which turned out to work just fine.

It was damp underfoot 

New Moss Wood 

The tree felling didn't stop the robins and goldfinches singing. Nor did it stop the great tits and wrens rummaging about amongst the felled logs. A great spotted woodpecker flew across one of the rides as I walked along and a flock of redwings flew in from across the road. I'm doing well for seeing redwings this Winter, in marked contrast to fieldfares which have been few and far between. The usual buzzard was patrolling the woodland fringe away from the road. I was idly speculating whether there'd be any frogspawn in a pool amongst the willows when I accidentally disturbed a pair of mallards. Their indignant quacking could probably be heard for miles.

Walking over to Astley Road 

It had been mostly sunny as I walked through the wood, so long as I didn't look West. I decided I'd do the walk over to Astley Road, I didn't want to push my luck any. My progress over a broken stile was ungainly but sufficient and I toddled along the path beside the field drain. Lapwings were doing their display flights in the sown field of grass on my side of the drain, rooks, stock doves and woodpigeons rummaged about the stubble field on the other side and skylarks skittered about in both when they weren't doing low-level flight songs. The stock doves got skittish when a buzzard flew by. It flew overhead and joined the bird in the wood and they circled each other at treetop height calling all the while before disappearing behind the trees.

Buzzard

The promise that is Springtime 

Looking back at the buzzards I noticed a band of filthy weather coming our way at a rate of knots. The edge of it hit just as I was approaching Astley Road, I reckon I would have been very wet had I headed for Little Woolden Moss. As it was it was damp enough for me to decide to head back home. The goldfinches and woodpigeons gathered in the trees along the roadside, the blackbirds retreated into the hawthorns and a chaffinch decided to break into song. As I passed Zinnia Close the privets were noisy with spadgers and a flock of black-headed gulls floated overhead into the wind. As I walked down to the station the sun came back out and it was quite pleasant when I got off the train and walked home.

Astley Road 

The first job when I got home was to check the washhouse. I'd been looking out of the living room window at lunchtime and got to wondering why a cock sparrow was making a fuss around the washhouse window. It took me a while to realise that it wasn't the sparrow's reflection in the window I was seeing. I went out and investigated. A dunnock had crept in under the gap in the door and was fluttering about the window trying to get out. No amount of trying to shepherd it out through the open door was any use, it went and hid amongst the old plant pots. The door's seen better days, to put it mildly, so I removed the bottom panel and pulled it shut, leaving a foot-high gap for the dunnock to find its way out again. There was no sign of it when I got home, hopefully the dunnock I saw bouncing round in the blackcurrant bushes was the same bird. I'll have to get some marine plywood to repair that door with. There are times I could do with being able to put the cat and the garden birds down as dependents for tax purposes.