Platt Fields

Canada geese, mallards and coots

Looking out of the window watching the spadgers make swift inroads on a feeder full of suet pellets it struck me once again that me and the Met Office have different ideas of "Light rain." Time was I'd not have cared and would have gone bouncing out to some rain swept corner, which possibly explains why I now have joints that can tell you it's going to rain tomorrow.

The rain eased a bit at lunchtime so I decided I'd bob over to Platt Fields in Manchester to see what was on the duck pond. By the time I arrived it had stopped raining completely though it was still a thoroughly miserable afternoon.

Blue tits, great tits and robins sang in the trees as I walked in from Wilmslow Road. It sounded like the ring-necked parakeets were already going to roost though they were making enough noise to raise the dead. The magpies were positively sedate by comparison.

Platt Fields duck pond

I keep expecting herons on this island but I've yet to see one here

I expected more mute swans and Canada geese on the pond, there were a handful of geese and a couple of swans. On the other hand there were plenty of coots and mallards and a dozen tufted ducks. I checked just in case it was Manchester's turn to host a ring-necked duck again. It wasn't. I had an hour's putter about without adding anything else to the tally so I headed home.

I knew the 150 bus back to Stretford was due soon so I checked on Google Maps. It was due very soon so I clicked on "directions" to see how likely I was to miss it. Google Maps told me it would take half an hour to walk to the bus stop, which was nonsense. I checked it again while I was waiting to cross the road at the corner opposite the bus stop. Sometimes you have to conclude that Google Maps has been drinking.

Some travel advice can safely go unheeded