Mersey Valley

Mute swans, Sale Water Park 

It was a cooler, cloudier day with a definite edge to the wind. The business of the day was done by lunchtime so I had a walk from Chorlton back to Stretford via Chorlton Ees and Sale Water Park.

I got the 25 to Chorlton and walked down Hawthorn Lane into Ivy Green. The robins and carrion crows were singing in the trees, great tits, blue tits and wrens rummaged about, magpies were everywhere. I crossed the clearing and walked through the wood towards Chorlton Brook where the robins, magpies, crows and parakeets were vying to see who could make the most noise and were drowned out by a song thrush.

Ivy Green 

Chorlton Ees with a wild cherry in bloom

The path into Chorlton Ees was where I learned that the sounds of a magpie winding itself up into a song and a French bulldog climbing some steps are indistinguishable. There were more parakeets, robins, wrens and woodpigeons. A couple of chiffchaffs sang in trees next to the path, careful always to have plenty of twigs between them and the camera. Somewhere in the scrubby meadow a pheasant called and was answered by another in the woodland.

Grey wagtail 
I wish I knew how to get these painterly Ladybird Book illustration effects on purpose.

Greenfinches sang in the hawthorns by the river as I walked round to Jackson's Boat. Pairs of mallards loafed by the banks of the river and a grey wagtail skittered about on the rocks by the bridge.

Ring-necked parakeet

Barrow Brook 

Although it's been fairly dry lately Barrow Brook was still high and turgid. The woodland was busy with dunnocks, robins, great tits and blackbirds. Parakeets screeched about the treetops. A wren bobbed up onto the bridge to give me an opportunity not to get its photo.

Scarlet elf cup

Nuthatch

I got myself a hot drink and sat by the café to see what was coming to the feeders. Most of the time it was a lot of great tits. Every so often a couple of blue tits or long-tailed tits would wriggle their way through the crowd. The crowd scattered when a great spotted woodpecker came in to the fat feeder. A couple of nuthatches slipped in and then the great tits were back. Robins and dunnocks flitted about the base of the feeders and I got so used to them I nearly missed the willow tit that joined them for a moment then shot off into the depths of a tree to eat the seed it found. It came back a couple of times, another shot in, grabbed a sunflower from the feeder and disappeared as quickly as it came. I'd waited twenty minutes to see them, it's nice when it works.

Great spotted woodpecker 

Cherry blossom 

I wandered down into Sale Water Park where half the herd of mute swans were feeling frisky and the other half were with the Canada geese, mallards and black-headed gulls begging by the car park. The great crested grebe with half a wing is still doing fine and is paired up with a mate that was carrying a pile of water weed just in case it cared to dance.

Shovelers, mallards and Canada geese 

Broad Ees Dole was busier than it has been in ages. A dozen gadwall and five pairs of shovelers dabbled with the mallards and coots, the dabchicks were pairing up and hinneying with excitement, a couple of Canada geese loafed on what was left of the island and three herons lurked in the trees by the near bank. Oddly, there was nothing at all on the teal pool.

Coot, gadwalls and shovelers 

The gulls were coming in to roost on Sale Water Park as I made my way to the river. A dozen herring gulls and half a dozen lesser black-backs joined the dozens of black-headed gulls already there and they were followed by a couple of common gulls. More lesser black-backs were flying in as I walked through Stretford Ees into Stretford. The trees by the tram line were noisy with parakeets and magpies and the pigeons were settling in to roost under the viaduct. I decided I didn't have the legs for the walk through Stretford Meadows and thence home so I walked over to the Arndale for the bus home.

Chorlton Ees