Gorton Reservoirs

Great crested grebes

It had been an exceedingly wet morning and I spent most of it saying: "The garden's needed it." I needed some exercise so mid-afternoon I got the train into town and then the Sheffield train from Piccadilly with the intention of getting off at Bradbury, Romiley or Marple for to go and take photos of mandarin ducks in the rain at Etherow Country Park. It was while I was deciding which of the three stops made the best bus connection I got off at Reddish North and walked up Gorton Road to Debdale Park. Like you do.

It had become a sunny afternoon when I stepped off the train. I wondered how long it would last. I did well, it didn't start raining again until I was wandering round Debdale Park. It became one of those unhealthy feeling walks where you're either hot and sweaty or cool and clammy depending on the disposition of the clouds and the wind at any given moment.

Debdale Park 

Magpies and woodpigeons ferreted about on the grass, mixed tit flocks bustled through the treetops and grey squirrels dashed across paths.

As the path skirted Lower Gorton Reservoir I could hear the mutterings of coots behind the trees. As the path veered off into the parkland I noticed a rough path cutting through the wayside brambles so I took it to see where it went.

Lower Gorton Reservoir 

It took me directly to the end of Lower Gorton Reservoir on the grass below the dam between the two reservoirs. There wasn't a lot of bird life this end of the reservoir: a few coots, a tufted duck and a dabchick were out on the water and a few mallards lurked by the banks under the trees. I could hear great crested grebes, eventually a pair with a couple of noisy humbugs floated into view. While I was looking for them I noticed that a couple of ducks under a willow just beyond them were teal, not mallards.

All the action was down the other end of the reservoir where Canada geese, black-headed gulls and mute swans were mugging for after-school scraps.

Upper Gorton Reservoir 

I scrambled up to the dam and looked over Upper Gorton Reservoir. A pair of mute swans drifted about the near corner, a couple of great crested grebes could be seen in the distance and a peppering of coots got more intense at the far end.

I hadn't taken the path that runs beside the upper reservoir before so I did today. Chiffchaffs and great tits squeaked in the trees and robins struck poses on fenceposts. Out on the water I was finding a few tufted ducks amongst the coots and the Grebes had humbugs in tow. It struck me yet again how difficult it is to take photos of young great crested grebes without their stripey face patterns bleaching out, in the end I was bracketing the exposure on the camera and hoping for the least worst.

Great crested grebes 

Jays screeched in the trees as they squabbled with a magpie over hawthorn berries. I could hear parakeets over by the Fairfield Loop path but couldn't see them.

I took the path that heads straight to Fairfield Station, sort of regretted it because it's a dead straight walk between high wooden fences and then was glad that I did because the train back to Manchester was due in three minutes.