Irlam

Mallards, Irlam Locks

Last night, when I was planning today's walk, I had occasion to remind myself that this isn't a job, there aren't stretch goals and performance targets and I should just be concentrating on having a nice walk and seeing a few birds and stuff. So I calmed down and put a stressload of travel plans on ice until next time I want to wind up my blood pressure. It was another nice Spring day, cooler and cloudier than yesterday, and I decided to have a toddle round someplace local.

I played bus stop bingo, got the 256 into Flixton and walked down Irlam Road to the locks. The spadgers were busy in the hedgerows, robins and woodpigeons sang from gardens and carrion crows croaked from telegraph poles. Walking along I kept an eye out for swallows and/or sand martins, particularly when I reached the stables by the locks. It's a week or two early for them really but you never know your luck. Today it wasn't on my side.

Coots, Irlam Locks

A couple of lurking coots jumped off the bank into the canal as I approached the remains of the old ferry pier. A couple of mallards gave me a dismissive look and carried on with their dabbling. A dozen black-headed gulls loafed on the water near the locks with a couple of pairs of Canada geese and a lesser black-back. Half a dozen herring gulls loafed on the dock with a couple of frisky oystercatchers. I wondered where all the pigeons were then realised they were all the irregular bumps amongst the regular bumps in the lock superstructure.

Mallards and frisky oystercatchers 

Younger viewers may want to avert their gaze

The water treatment works were busy but all the birds on the pans were magpies, a few dozen of them. I looked in vain for wagtails though a pied wagtail did fly overhead as I was walking onto the lock.

Irlam Locks 

I was halfway across the lock when the herring gulls and oystercatchers took flight. I couldn't see what had caused the rumpus, there was a dirty big lock wall in the way. It turned out that a barge had gone through the little side lock and the moving gate had disturbed the birds.

I walked along Cadishead Way and crossed over to the path leading to Ferry Road. There were plenty of singing great tits, robins and wrens in the trees and bushes and pairs of blue tits dangled head-first from birch twigs. I wondered why I hadn't noticed the pair of gadwalls on the canal on the way across, I can only think they were with the mallards perched on the concrete bumpers on the other side.

River Irwell Old Course 

The River Irwell Old Course is an oxbow left behind when they built the Ship Canal and runs from the Boathouse Inn down to the other end of Princes Park. A couple of pairs of moorhens picked their way through the drowned tree roots opposite the Boathouse and a pair of coots cruised the open water. A pair of great tits made a great fuss about my standing there at the fence and were quickly joined by a wren and a dunnock. Thus outnumbered I wandered into Irlam Community Wood and left them to it.

Woodpigeon 

There were yet more robins, great tits and wrens. A chiffchaff sang from the stand of trees in the centre, a coal tit sang about three trees along from it. It'll soon be Spring. I walked past the pond and watched the woodpigeons balancing on floating branches to get a drink. I tried to remember why I don't walk up the path that seems to go straight up to Ferry Road then tried it and remembered. I expect cats and ferrets can get through to the other end.

Irlam Community Wood 

Irwell Old Course 

I walked back to the Irwell Old Course and walked down it to Princes Park for the bus home. The coots and moorhens cruised purposefully about, coal tits, blue tits and great tits sang, woodpigeons clattered about in the trees and the grass beside Riverside Avenue had molehills the size of a Morris Minor. It hadn't been a spectacular walk but it had been very pleasant and a good reminder to lay off the performance dramas and enjoy the flow of things.

Irwell Old Course