Pin Mill Brow

River Medlock

It occurred to me that I hadn't done any city centre birdwatching at all this year. There's not the incentive these days as a lot of the redevelopment and gentrification has pushed out the bird life, not many green spaces haven't been concreted over. And time was you could walk down Port Street to watch black redstarts at ground level, these days you need to work in an office overlooking a rooftop near the Town Hall. I record the birds I see as I'm passing through but that doesn't feel quite enough. I was feeling a bit idle so I thought I'd give it the once over today.

I got the train to Oxford Road. As we passed through Deansgate a raven flew low overhead towards Castlefield Basin. At Oxford Road I got the train to Piccadilly then walked up Fairfield Street towards Great Ancoats Street, turning off onto Helmet Street and walking round. It's a less direct route to Great Ancoats Street but it gives me an early view of the River Medlock. 

The rubbish-strewn banks looked worse than they ever did and it's a very long time since I've seen dippers or grey wagtails here but it's worth a look. I noticed the carrion crows were already building their nest. Truth be told, this walk's a bit of a nostalgia trip as I used to walk up this way to work in Beswick. It's only this first stretch that's anything like I remember, I don't get far up Pollard Street before getting bewildered.  The A to Z I used to first find my way about is an archaeological artefact these days.

Limekiln Lane

I crossed the road and walked down Limekiln Lane onto Pin Mill Brow and along the the Medlock. This is a tiny strip but the river and the trees did their work and I hardly noticed the heavy traffic noise beyond. Four mallards, three drakes and a duck, dabbled about in the river which was running low but fast. The mud-washed banks told the story of recent spates. They were the only birds I saw on the river today.

By the Medlock

The thin woodland was very quiet, save the dozen or more magpies rattling their way through. A few blackbirds rummaged about, a dunnock poked its head out of the brambles and a robin sang from deep in some dogwoods. And that was it. Which wasn't unduly surprising for December, I suppose.

Turkey tail fungus 

I crossed the river on Viaduct Street and wandered along the other bank of the river back to Pin Mill Brow. There were yet more magpies and a couple of woodpigeons sang in the trees. I was the bloke standing on tiptoe at the corner of Helmet Street looking over the wall to see if any wagtails were about. The only blue tit of the visit was in an empty car lot on Helmet Street. A heron flew by as I rejoined Fairfield Street.

So a quiet afternoon then. The obsessive in me is glad I did the walk anyway and I got a bit of exercise in. Hopefully I'll be feeling a bit more up to the mark tomorrow to complete the year.