New Moss Wood

Red admiral 

I decided I'd go for a walk across the Salford mosses to try and get some movement back in the knees and ankle. I want to take advantage of the decent walking weather before the hay fever season begins in earnest. I listened to the blackcap singing in the back garden as I had an early lunch then got the train to Irlam, reeking of tiger balm, camphor ice and Doctor Driscoll's fiery rubbing liniment in no particular order. I thought I'd walk through the allotments, have a nosy at New Moss Wood, walk up to Little Woolden Moss and have a look for yellow wagtails.

By the time I'd walked through the allotments and got to Moss Road I was ready to pack it in. The singing blackcaps, robins, blackbirds and chiffchaffs weren't a sufficient distraction. I gave the ankle another blast of freezing spray and headed for New Moss Wood.

New Moss Wood 

Whether it was the spray or the softer ground underfoot I don't know but it wasn't a bad walk around the wood. The great tits, robins and blackcaps were making most of the noise with the chiffchaffs, blackbirds and whitethroats as support. The wrens contented themselves with chakking at me as I walked past and a couple of pairs of blue tits were a bit tetchy, too. A lot of noise preceded a carrion crow escorting a buzzard out of the wood and into the fields beyond 

Blue-tailed damselfly

I had a nosy at a couple of the dragonfly ponds, expecting to see nothing and finding a couple of broad-bodied chasers, a male and a female, flitting round. Common blue damselflies zipped about the nettle tops in the rides. Every year I find myself puzzling over skinny damselflies with fluttery flight and every year they're blue-tailed damsels. Nearly all the butterflies were large whites but a couple of red admirals fluttered about a stand of nettles and brimstones fed from red campions.

New Moss Wood 

I did a circuit of the wood and asked myself if realistically I could walk up to Little Woolden Moss, have a walk round and come back. Realistically it wasn't on, so I gave up. I'm annoyed with myself for giving up even though it was the sensible thing to do. I walked back into Cadishead, resisting the allure of singing willow warblers down a side path along the way, and got the buses home. I think I'll give the legs a rest tomorrow.

New Moss Wood 

I got the bus back to the Trafford Centre. Every fourth bus stop had a pair of swifts flying overhead. Spring is in the air.