Greater Manchester bumper bundle

Black-necked grebe, High Rid Reservoir 

What with one thing or another the past week was shot to bits as far as getting out and about was concerned so I thought I'd best catch up with some walking before the joints seized up completely, I'd spent the weekend walking like Long John Silver. The weather was what's euphemistically described as: "changeable," so I thought I'd have a short walk that could be easily extended weather permitting. A juvenile black-necked grebe has been showing well at High Rid Reservoir so I headed thataway.

Fall Birch Road 

I got the train to Bolton and the 575 to Ox Hey Lane. Crossing the road's fun here but two drivers took pity on an old man. I made heavy weather of the gentle cobbled slope up Fall Birch Road, I really should have made more of an effort to walk around the block a few times every day last week. The birdwatching was very quiet: a few woodpigeons clattered about the rooftops and silhouettes of blackbirds, great tits and robins flitted about the hedgerow by the golf course.

Mallards

A crowd of mallards, most of them near-grown ducklings, clustered about the near corner of the reservoir. More of them littered the banks. One duck had two tiny youngsters in tow. A crowd of coots clustered in the corner further along and a raft of a couple of dozen tufted ducks drifting between the crowds included a couple of half-grown ducklings. 

Black-necked grebe
First sighting it was asleep.

I spotted the black-necked grebe before I noticed the half-grown tufties, which saved a deal of confusion (I managed to confuse myself something silly later on when I was scanning round from the Northern shore). I walked up a bit, finding a couple of dabchicks in amongst the tufted ducks, the juvenile being altogether greyer and browner and much more low contrast compared to the black-necked grebe. I looked out into the midwater where I'd last seen that, to confirm the comparison. Stap me vittles there were two of them. They drifted close to each other and dived, staying underwater an unconscionable time, which seems to be a feature of black-necked grebes, before bobbing back up again a hundred yards apart.

Black-necked grebe diving

Black-necked grebe 

Juvenile grey wagtail 

While I was watching the grebes and ducks a family of grey wagtails fossicked about on the waterside. Pied wagtails fussed about on the bank to the North and an adult male worked its way along the castellated top of the stone wall, bobbing up and dropping down as it went.

Pied wagtail 

Pied wagtail 

Canada geese and greylags 

A herd of Canada geese with a handful of greylags grazed the field to the North. A flock of rooks and jackdaws fussed about in the shorter grazing further up the hill. Half a dozen each of Canada geese and greylags cruised the reservoir, a couple of the greylags flying over from the field to join them. There weren't many gulls about, most of the lesser black-backs, herring gulls and black-headed gulls were flying over between engagements. A few black-headed gulls and a couple of lesser black-backs settled on the reservoir to bathe before moving on to wherever. 

High Rid Reservoir 

Looking North towards Chorley New Road

The wind had picked up and was pushing some filthy clouds our way. A common gull blew in as the rain started spotting. I decided not to push my luck carrying on down Old Hall Lane and walked back down Fall Birch Road, the joints making themselves known along the way.

I got the 575 into Wigan, the weather clearing along the way. I'd decided I needed an off-road dawdle on the flat to get some movement back into the joints. There were a few options available, I hadn't visited Byrom Hall Wood yet this year and the 610 was sitting at the bus station when we arrived so that's where I headed for.

Byrom Hall Wood 

I got off the bus at Golborne High School and walked down Farm Croft Drive then followed the path down past the school field. This stretch always looks and feels like unfinished business with drives through gateways to non-existent houses. I disturbed a charm of about fifty goldfinches feeding on the thistledown in the abandoned pasture. Much to my surprise a garden warbler was singing in the copse by the gate.

Lightshaw Meadows 

A quick scan over Lightshaw Meadows found woodpigeons commuting between fields and swallows hawking low over ripening grain. A willow warbler squeaked in the trees I was standing by.

Batman hoverfly looking fearsomely wasp-like 

Batman hoverfly, a bit friendlier from the front
Unfortunately it wasn't for letting me have a good dorsal view to show the Batman mask on its thorax.

It was a fairly quiet Summer walk through the woodland. The woodpigeons, jays and magpies made themselves obvious enough. A couple of wrens sang. Chiffchaffs and willow warblers squeaked, great tits and blue tits tutted, long-tailed tits tried and failed to be silent as they bounced through the oak scrub. The brambles were awash with butterflies, mostly gatekeepers and speckled woods. Meadow browns, large whites and peacocks fluttered about the clearings. A small bird flew into a hawthorn I was passing and stood stock still and silent under the cover of twigs and branches. But not so under cover that I couldn't see the bright brown wing panel that nailed it as a whitethroat.

Peacock

As I approached Byrom Hall swallows and woodpigeons flew about the fields and a family of greenfinches flitted about between hedgerows. I had half an hour to wait for the 588 to Leigh so I crossed the road and wandered down Byrom Lane to Pennington Flash.

Byrom Hall 

Pennington Flash 

For a change I took the footpath that heads past Mossley Hall. I very rarely approach the flash from this end. A raft of about fifty coots drifted in the bay at the Northwest corner of the flash with a herd of a dozen mute swans and a couple of great crested grebes. Further out a small raft of lesser black-backs and herring gulls drifted midwater and in the distance there were more mute swans on the Horrocks spit.

Walking to Slag Lane 

Blackbirds and song thrushes sang in the trees and a great spotted woodpecker greatly objected to my passing by. I followed the path down and round to Slag Lane where I only had a couple of minutes to wait for the 588. While I waited I was serenaded by woodpigeons, a blackbird, a blackcap and a song thrush.