Lightshaw Meadows

Russian white-fronted geese, greylags and Canada geese

It turned out that I didn't have to do a complicated logistics exercise to get Russian white-fronted geese onto the year list after all. A fellow birdwatcher's excellent deductive reasoning led to the report that there was a flock of them on Lightshaw Meadows, roughly halfway between Pennington Flash and Abram. Thanks Colin! 

Mallards

The geese were on the meadows near the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. As it happens the walk along this stretch of the canal between Plank Lane and Abram was already on this year's to-do list so I got it done today. I got the 588 from Leigh Bus Station to Plank Lane, joined the canal and walked westwards down the towpath.

It was a very pleasant walk, though a bit quiet birdwise. A few mallards puttered about in the canal or loafed on the far bank. Woodpigeons, magpies and robins were busy in the trees, a small flock of siskins bounced through a stand of alders. 

Leeds and Liverpool Canal 

I passed under Greggs Bridge, the first of two I had to pass to get to my destination. Blackbirds, great tits and blue tits joined the robins in the wayside. The second bridge was unnamed, Google Maps had told me to follow the road leading to it rather than walking down the towpath. I'm glad I chose my own way, the path from the bridge to the towpath was fenced off, I think it's a private road for the nearby farmhouse. It was a shame, though, as the rise to the bridge would have given the best views of the geese.

Russian white-fronted geese, greylags and Canada geese

I could see the Canada geese in the field and hear the greylags a long time before I could see the white-fronts. They were largely hidden by trees and I had to shuffle up and down the towpath to see them. There were at least twenty of them in total. Their most striking, and in some ways surprising, feature was their small size. I'm used to seeing white-fronted geese in the company of pink-footed geese, which aren't a lot bigger than mallards (though they're a lot chunkier). Consequently I think of white-fronts as being fairly big birds. They're not when they're in the company of greylags and Canada geese.

The white flashes on most of their faces and their pink bills provided easy confirmation that they really were white-fronted geese and that they were Russian white-fronts. I've never seen so many in one place before and it was nice to see them so close to hand.

Russian white-fronted geese and greylags

Russian white-fronted geese and greylags

Russian white-fronted geese and greylags

Having had a long look at the geese I carried on walking down the canal. It was good walking though there was a sharp edge to the wind. My eye was caught by the bright yellow patches of witch's butter on some of the alders by the wayside. This is an odd fungus that feeds on wood-rotting fungus.

Witch's butter

I was most of the way to Abram when I noticed a path dropping down from the towpath into the meadows. Checking the map I found it ran Southwest in a straight line to Wigan Road just North of Golborne, emerging close to a bus stop. I followed the path down out of curiosity and was immediately grateful to get out of the wind.

There was a big pond behind the trees here. Tufted ducks, coots and at least one pair of goosanders puttered about on the water. Titmice, robins and bullfinches bounced about in the trees in front of me. A pair of coal tits made rude noises as they bounced out of a willow thicket and nearly collided with me. I could hear moorhens in the brook running near the path but I was blessed if I could see them.

This one corner of the pond wasn't half-hidden behind layers of trees

Lightshaw Meadows 

Blackbirds and robins were busy in the path verges, not bothering to move very far out of my way as I passed by. There were still haws on some of the hawthorn bushes and they attracted more blackbirds and a couple of redwings. A pair of greylags on a pond a couple of fields away outshouted the birds closer to hand.

The path to Wigan Road 

I had ten minutes to wait for the 360 which goes from Wigan to Warrington. I reckoned to get that to Newton-le-Willows and get the trains home. I hadn't reckoned on its being twenty-five minutes late. Had the information online been any better I'd have walked into Golborne and got a bus to Wigan or Leigh. So it was that I was sat at Newton-le-Willows Station for forty minutes counting chaffinches and goldfinches in the trees. But for once the trains behaved impeccably and I was soon pouring a pot of hot tea down me after a good afternoon stroll. I think this is another of those walks that would do well in late Spring for warblers.