Pennington Flash

Mallard and ducklings

It was another glorious Spring day, we'll have to make the most of it as it's all change next week and God knows what Summer will be like. I thought I'd have a few hours pottering round Pennington Flash.

I got the 610 from Leigh and walked in from the St Helens Road entrance. The trees were full of the songs of robins, great tits, woodpigeons, blackbirds and a very loud song thrush. As I walked down to the brook they were joined by dunnocks, wrens, a coal tit and, eventually, a chiffchaff and a blackcap.

Pennington Brook 

For once there weren't any waterfowl on the brook. There was a small shoal of roach idling under the bridge, though. The car park, inevitably, was busy with people though not particularly busy with birds. In part this was because most of the mallards, coots and Canada geese were busy with nests on the small pools and most of the black-headed gulls have moved on to their breeding colonies and the local breeders had nest territories to defend. And in part it was because there were so many people about there were rich pickings for mendicant waterfowl the length of the bank from the car park to the hides. Surprisingly, despite the crowds, one of the great crested grebes was fishing close to shore.

Great crested grebe 

There were rafts of a couple of dozen tufted ducks out on the flash  near the car park and a few dozen herring gulls and lesser black-backs midwater, including a few very bleached second calendar year birds that were almost white. 

From the Horrocks Hide 

The spit at the Horrocks Hide was very dry. A few woodpigeons rummaged about, mallards dozed and Canada geese grazed. The usual assortment of cormorants, herring gulls and lapwings loafed at the end of the spit with a few shovelers and an oystercatcher. A raft of a dozen great crested grebes cruised the channel beyond, another was carrying a lot of nesting material. The black-headed gulls on the nesting rafts were very noisy indeed.

There were plenty of chiffchaffs and blackcaps singing in the trees on the way to the Tom Edmondson Hide. One of the blackcaps kept not quite getting into the song, which made me wonder for a minute if a garden warbler had arrived early. Then it braced itself and lost all the scratchy elements and bubbled into song.

The pool opposite the Tom Edmondson Hide 

A female garganey had been reported all week from the pool opposite the Tom Edmondson Hide. I had a look but could only see three teal, a drake and two ducks and all spending most of the time upended with their heads underwater. My disappointment was tempered by the Cetti's warbler belting out a song from the reeds.

Heron

The Tom Edmondson Hide was relatively quiet. A couple of herons lurked in the reeds with a little egret. A pair of mallards escorted their ducklings into the pool, which was a lot like trying to herd cats as they whirligigged about catching flies.

Mallards and ducklings

I had another look at the pool opposite. There were four teals now, one looking a bit different. It was a colder, slightly darker shade of brown and had more contrast in its plumage but that could have been wishful thinking. At last it raised its head to catch its breath and showed the very contrasty eye stripe and eyebrow of a female garganey. I still wasn't convinced it wasn't wishful thinking and was frustrated when it swam into the reeds out of sight. Another birder joined me and we both looked in vain for it. The Cetti's warbler burst into song again, we both remarked that we wouldn't be seeing it and it flew out into the open, sat in the thin reeds just in front of us before zipping back into the reeds.

From Ramsdales Hide 

The islands at Ramsdales were busy with black-headed gulls and Canada geese, a couple of redshanks skittering about. Pair of teal, shovelers and gadwalls dabbled in the pools. The garganey had drifted into the pool right at the back and had joined a couple of lapwings in having a bath. Any doubts I may have had were put to bed by the flashes of bluish-grey underwing and the conspicuous lack of green. A little ringed plover flew in and disappeared behind the rise of one of the islands and didn't emerge into view. It doesn't take much raised earth to hide a little ringed plover, every year I'm reminded how tiny they are.

Walking by the canal

There were yet more chiffchaffs and blackcaps as I walked up to the canal and round towards the Charlie Owen Hide but not a willow warbler to be heard. I stopped to watch a robin punch-up that ended in two very disheveled combatants retreating to their corners and noticed a willow tit bouncing about in the tree behind them. It was joined by another which kept flitting to and fro. Then they both noticed me and were very anti. By and large willow tits don't give a monkeys about people so their agitation told me I should move on and leave them to their nest-building.

Stock dove

The Charlie Owen Hide and Pengy's Hide were shut but the Bunting Hide was open. A crowd of stock doves, woodpigeons and squirrels rummaged about, only a couple of great tits and a reed bunting came to the feeders. Back home the feeders aren't getting emptied so quickly, the spadgers in particular are preferring to feed up on insects in the roses and sycamores after a very quick sunflower seed breakfast first thing.

Mooehen

It was approaching teatime when I wandered back to the car park and threaded my way through the crowds. I had one last, unsuccessful, look over the flash for any hirundines, not so much as a passing sand martin which is very unusual. There'll soon be plenty and it's not as if there wasn't a lot else to see today.