Pennington Flash

Chiffchaff, Barton Clough

Seeing as how it was a bright and sunny Good Friday I thought I'd have an afternoon walk around Pennington Flash but I just missed the 25 to the Trafford Centre so I decided to have a nosy round my local patch then get the 250 to the Trafford Centre and bus it to Leigh from there.

Lostock Park 

Lostock Park was understandably busy, which didn't stop the great tits, blue tits and robins bouncing round the trees and shrubs. Somebody put up a lot of nest boxes over Winter and at least one of them has been adopted by great tits. The usual magpies were about, most of them on the playing field with a single mistle thrush which suggests there's an occupied nest somewhere.

Blackbird, Barton Clough

The old cornfields were busy with robins, great tits and blackbirds. I concluded that there were two singing chiffchaffs, one very mobile bird working the length of the park perimeter and the footpath, and one in the trees behind the school. A singing blackcap in a cherry tree made a pleasing tableau but he was very camera shy. It was good to see the buzzard hovering over the Parkway flyover.

Barton Clough 

• Black-headed gull 1 overhead
• Blackbird 10
• Blackcap 1
• Blue tit 8
• Buzzard 1
• Carrion crow 1
• Chaffinch 1
• Chiffchaff 2
• Dunnock 1
• Feral pigeon 1 overhead
• Goldfinch 5
• Great tit 7
• Greenfinch 4
• House sparrow 1
• Lesser black-back 1 overhead
• Long-tailed tit 2
• Magpie 13
• Mistle thrush 1
• Robin 6
• Starling 1
• Woodpigeon 14
• Wren 3

Gadwall, Pennington Flash

I forgot that the bank holiday timetable for the 126 and 132 is entirely different to normal running so it was a late afternoon visit to Pennington Flash. Which was OK as visitors were winding down and the birdlife wasn't much bothered by them anyway.

Pennington Flash 

Both duck and gull numbers were well down on the flash as birds move to on breeding quarters. There were still plenty of tufted ducks about and a raft of about a dozen goldeneyes. Oddly, there were more gadwall about on the open water than mallards. Herring gulls and lesser black-backs were peppered about liberally and nearly a hundred black-headed gulls made sure we know what they sound like. 

Horrocks spit

The Horrocks Hide has been reopened, which is good. The vegetation on the spit has grown quite high so mallards and woodpigeons tended to disappear into it. Pairs of great crested grebes were out in the open water, a raft of about a dozen grebes at the end of the spit looked like nothing so much as a teenage gang, which I dare say it was.

Mallard duckling, Pennington Flash

At least one pair of mallards had ducklings in tow on the pools on the way to the Tom Edmondson Hide. It was hard to be sure as the ducklings didn't seem to know which pair they were with and moved freely between both. Chiffchaffs and blackcaps sang in the trees and reed buntings were surprisingly conspicuous in the bushes by the paths.

Pennington Flash 

The Tom Edmondson Hide was quiet again though if you looked hard enough you could find a couple of herons lurking in the background.

The reeds obscure a lot of the view from Ramsdales, which is a shame as the water level's now good for passing waders. A couple of lapwings dozed with the teal and Canada geese and a pair of dabchicks hinneyed at each other from the pool.

Tufted ducks, Pennington Flash

Pengy's Pool was littered with tufted ducks and gadwall. A willow tit briefly joined the reed buntings and great tits on the feeders by the side of the hide.

Great tit, Pennington Flash

There were a lot more great tits and reed buntings on the feeders at the Bunting Hide, together with half a dozen each of magpies, stock doves and mallards.

Stock dove, Pennington Flash

Magpie, Pennington Flash

I walked back, having one last look at the flash. The raft of goldeneyes had tightened up into one dark patch on the water and the tufted ducks were starting to settle into larger groups for the night. Scanning round I noticed that what I thought was one of the hundred or more coots didn't have a white bill and had a long tail. We're in the middle of a cross-country migration by common scoters at the moment so I should have been more active about looking for one.

Pennington Flash 

I got home to "What time do you call this?" off the cat after a very good afternoon's birdwatching.

Carrington Moss

Primroses, Sinderland Brook

After a pot of tea and a mid-morning butty I got the 256 into Davyhulme and waited ten minutes for the 247 into Altrincham. I'd decided that I'd have a walk over Carrington Moss but rather than starting from the top of Isherwood Road in Carrington I'd start at Broadheath, pass Altrincham sewage works along the old Irlam to Altrincham railway line then walk through the moss and either end at Ashton on Mersey and get the bus home or, if I was feeling fitter than I imagined I was, walking home via Banky Meadow and Cob Kiln Wood. It was a bright sort of a day, albeit with a brisk, cold wind, so the walking ought to be OK.

Greenfinch and goldfinch, Altrincham Sewage Works

I got off the bus and nipped behind Waitrose and onto the old railway line, now a long line of birch scrub. I was tempted to take a diversion and explore the woodland in Stamford Brook but the day's itinerary was already crowded, it'll do for another day.

The old Irlam to Altrincham railway line 

The trees were noisy with robins, wrens and chiffchaffs, goldfinches and greenfinches bounced around the treetops and great tits and blackbirds foraged in the undergrowth. Pheasants and woodpigeons called from the fields beyond the trees. I could hear but not find a willow warbler singing in an ash tree and found a couple of blackcaps quietly gleaning insects from willow buds.

Sinderland Brook 

The path joined Sinderland Brook by the sewage works. I looked in vain for wagtails on the works but found a pair of moorhens on the brook.

Brookheys Road 

I joined Brookheys Road onto Carrington Moss, barely a path at this end then becoming a path through an avenue of thin birch scrub between the fields.. I'd been sheltered from the wind by the trees and it came as a shock when I walked out into the open. 

Brookheys Road 

A female sparrowhawk barrelled past, low over the fields, and that was pretty much it as far as bird life was concerned for the next couple of hundred yards. A pair of mistle thrushes glowed ghostly olive white in the sunlight against the black of a ploughed field and three woodpigeons sat in the last of the long avenue of birch trees as I neared the crossroads.

A windblown mistle thrush, Carrington Moss

The hedgerow at the crossroads with Ashton Road provided some relief with a handful of chaffinches and a robin and there was a skylark singing in the field. I carried on down Brookheys Road, the woodland becomes thicker here and I was optimistic of more birdlife but only found a couple more robins, a great tit and a singing chiffchaff. It was all in stark contrast to the old railway line.

The Shell Pool 

I'd been hearing black-headed gulls and, sure enough, the colony on the Shell Pool was in full voice. Piecing the jigsaw together through the gaps in the fence and the willows there were at least a hundred birds on the islands though I very much doubt if that would translate into half as many nests in a couple of weeks' time. A couple of herring gulls loafed, coots and moorhens dodged in and out of the crowds and mallards, tufted ducks and dabchicks kept well away. Reed buntings and long-tailed tits fussed about in the depths of the willows.

The long-tailed tits were being unusually coy on Shell Pool

I walked a little way down Isherwood Road then cut onto the footpath to Ashton on Mersey. The farmers were busy ploughing the fields accompanied by fifty-odd black-headed gulls, a few carrion crows and pied wagtails and another pair of mistle thrushes. A buzzard soared high overhead while woodpigeons and a couple of pairs of stock doves passed by. I've had a very thin year for yellowhammers so far so I was glad to see the male flitting about one of the hawthorn hedges but sorry he appeared to be on his own.

Carrington Moss 

I got into Ashton on Mersey, noticed I had ten minutes for the 18 to the Trafford Centre and decided not to push my luck. The weather has held, the birdwatching had been good though fitful, I'd had a few hours' exercise and far, far away there was a teapot calling my name.

Mosses

Lapwing, Chat Moss

A really rough night's sleep (no names, no pack drill: it was the cat) had me bleary-eyed and achy so I decided that in the circumstances the walk planned for today was a bit over-ambitious. New Moss Wood is one of the places I haven't got to yet this year so I had a late breakfast/early lunch and set off. (We don't do brunch in this house, it only encourages the cat.) I went over to Barton and got the 67 to Cadishead, a tactical error as the roadworks at Port Salford took nearly twenty minutes to crawl through so it would have been quicker to leave home later, get the train into Irlam and get the 67 from there.

I got off the bus opposite Cadishead Library and walked up New Moss Road. It was a bright and warm Spring lunchtime and the robins, blackbirds and wrens were singing in people's gardens as I walked along. I bobbed over the railway bridge and into the wood.

New Moss Wood

It was relatively quiet in the wood despite the songs of the robins, blackbirds and chiffchaffs. The poor fieldcraft of a sleepy old man no doubt a contributory factor.. A pheasant called from the field margins and I disturbed a couple of wrens but the rest of the birds were dead quiet, even the woodpigeons clambered round the treetops in silence. Blue tits, great tits and chaffinches foraged in the trees while blackbirds and dunnocks fossicked around in the undergrowth. A couple of greenfinches flew in and sang in one of the clearings. The sun brought out butterflies: peacocks flitted about the rides, small tortoiseshells checked out the hedge garlicks and honesty and a brimstone fed on the dandelions by the car park.

Cadishead Moss 

Buzzard, Cadishead Moss

The dry and dusty New Moss Road was a distinct contrast to yesterday's Lordship Road. It was busy today with builders' lorries and tractors, I usually nearly have it to myself. Goldfinches and house sparrows flitted between the hedgerows, twittering and chirping almost incessantly as they did. A buzzard soared over the fields, over the motorway another soared over the donkey paddock while another was perched on a fencepost. A couple of hundred yards down three buzzards soared around each other high over the fields. I think our local buzzard population may have bounced back after the twentieth century slump.

Buzzards, Chat Moss

Little Woolden Moss 

I walked into Little Woolden Moss. There were no dragonflies about but they'll have plenty to eat when they emerge. Wrens and a willow warbler sang in the birch scrub. At first sight there wasn't a lot on the open moss but first sight can be deceiving, there was plenty about albeit mostly distant. Pairs of lapwings were being bothered by a marsh harrier over by the fields and a kestrel hovered high over the rough. Pairs of Canada geese, oystercatchers and more lapwings loafed on the bunds on the pools. A few mallards and black-headed gulls dozed in corners of a couple of the pools. There were only a couple of meadow pipits about, that'll soon change. I walked through to the car park where robins, blackbirds and chiffchaffs sang in the trees and a reed bunting foraged in the hawthorns.

Little Woolden Moss 

Chat Moss by Four Lanes End 

Linnet, Chat Moss

It was a quiet walk through Four Lanes End and down Twelve Yards Road. A couple of chaffinches and a singing linnet were in the trees by the crossroads and a skylark sang over one of the turf fields. There were woodpigeons in the fields if you looked hard enough and four stock doves flew by. Halfway down I disturbed a flock of linnets and they sat twittering in the hawthorns almost drowning out the songs of a couple of greenfinches. Lapwings were holding territories and display-flying on the barley fields along the path and I was pleased to see the kestrels occupying their usual nest.

Cutnook Lane 

The walk down Cutnook Lane was accompanied by the songs of blackbirds and robins and yet another buzzard soared low over the treetops. Pairs of mallards dozed on the bank of the drain and coots squabbled on the fishery pool. I was feeling the lack of sleep as I walked up the slope and over the motorway and was relieved only to have to wait five minutes for the bus into Irlam and the train home.

Chat Moss 

Frodsham

Marsh harrier

I decided to go over to Frodsham today. It was a bright Spring day, I've not been there yet this year and I was feeling lazy so an easy trip out with a simple connection at Oxford Road appealed to me.

I saw my first butterfly of the year, a peacock, as the train passed through Winwick into Warrington. There were more butterflies, all small tortoiseshells, along the paths on Frodsham Marsh. Walking along Moorditch Lane every fifty yards there was a singing chiffchaff, robin or wren and goldfinches flitted between trees.

Frodsham Marsh, walking up to No.6 Lagoon

I took the path up past No.6 Lagoon. The sheep shared the fields with flocks of jackdaws and woodpigeons and half a dozen carrion crows swaggered about. 

Black-tailed godwits

Black-tailed godwits

Over on the lagoon there were a couple of hundred shovelers, mostly asleep on the far bank, dozens of mallards, teal, tufted ducks, coots and shelducks and about a hundred black-tailed godwits, mostly clustered together in the shallows by the reeds by the near bank. There were a few black-headed gulls loafing and bathing on the open water and a pair of dabchicks over at the deep end. A couple of redshanks and a lapwing were the only other waders I could find and they took some finding amongst the crowd of shovelers. A couple of Cetti's warblers sang, one from the bank of the lagoon and one from some brambles in the drain at the side of the path.

No.6 Lagoon

Marsh harrier

Marsh harriers

A couple of marsh harriers had been hunting at either end of the lagoon. They flew over and started skydancing together high above the wind turbines.

The clean-up crew attends to a dead sheep.
The small black birds are carrion crows, the others are ravens.

Ravens

I'd seen a couple of ravens flying about as I walked down the path. There was a crowd of them in one of the fields feeding on a dead sheep with a few carrion crows. At first I thought it was crows and jackdaws then some of the ravens flew over to the reedbeds on the lagoon and I realised I'd entirely misjudged the scale.

Walking further I was very aware that there was raven ribaldry going on over the other side of the high bank and they seemed very pleased with themselves about it. Eventually they flew up and flew acrobatic circles round each other, cronking their delight all the while. Ravens I am sure love flying for the fun of it, any bird flying upside down for no reason whatsoever must be enjoying themselves. A soaring buzzard drifted over and I thought the ravens might break off to give it a hard time but they were too busy with each other to be bothered. The buzzard made sure to climb sharply so that it was always soaring above the ravens, just in case.

Ravens

Lordship Lane 

I dropped down onto Lordship Lane which in parts was as muddy as hell, which by its standards is hardly at all. Flocks of linnets and goldfinches twittered between fields and hedgerows, more chiffchaffs, robins and wrens sang and a Cetti's warbler sang from a tangle of nettles and water hemlock in the drain by the lane.

Lordship Lane, a dry bit

I walked down Rake Lane into Helsby, chaffinches and great tits joining the linnets in the hedges and flocks of stock doves and woodpigeons feeding in the stubble fields. Another marsh harrier put up a flock of linnets over by the gutter.

I just missed the train back to Manchester from Helsby so I got the bus into Frodsham and was just in time for the next train from there (the Chester to Leeds train that skips Helsby). I'd had a very pleasant afternoon's walk and while the birdwatching hadn't felt busy it had still offered plenty to enjoy.

As I was walking home from Humphrey Park Station there was a commotion amongst the jackdaws, woodpigeons and starlings on Lostock School's playing field. I looked around for the usual sparrowhawk and found a male peregrine instead. Having scattered the birds he did a handbrake turn around one of the rooftops and steamed off towards the Trafford Centre.

Lazy day

Back garden

It's a bright Spring day and part of me has been insisting I take the opportunity to go out for a walk while most of me has said no, let's have a rest and let the crowds enjoy their day. It's been a busy week, I can afford to rest on my laurels for a day.

The dawn chorus has been a limited affair so far this Spring with the blackbirds kicking in at five and anything else following on a lot later. I haven't heard either the blackcap or the great tit any earlier than mid morning. The rooks are conspicuously absent having spent February singing down the chimney. The dunnocks have gone quiet, which usually means that they've settled down into nesting pairs, albeit with a lot of hopping about between the bedsheets. The paired-up collared doves are also quiet, only a couple of unpaired males doing any singing. The chiffchaff was a one day wonder, I suspect there's not enough tree cover here despite the sycamores on the railway embankment.

What I gained in visibility in the back garden by chopping back the rambling rose and hazel bushes I'm starting to lose now the other shrubs and trees are bursting into life. All the shrub roses are in full leaf and a couple already have flower buds. The damson's in full bloom and much-loved by bees and hoverflies, the cherry tree's just opening and they'll be followed by the pear tree and finally the rowan. Which means there's going to be nectar and insects for the birds and their young. I'll still be putting food out over Spring and Summer, though less often, in part to supplement the birds' diet and in part for the entirely selfish reason that I don't have to make any effort to control the aphids on the roses and soft fruit. The adults drop in, get something to eat and then pick up something to take home to the kids.

I struggle to work out what the local magpies are doing. The gang of unpaired birds has been doing the rounds, the other week there were thirty four birds on the school playing field, usually there's about a dozen. That big gang seems to have dispersed leaving eight birds behind to bounce between the school and the station. The usual pair seems to have returned to the nest in the pear tree across the road, a couple of pairs made half-hearted attempts at starting nests at the station and another pair has made two nests in the same tree round the corner and seem intent on using both. Down the line every other tree at Trafford Park Station has a half-made nest in it. I've no idea at all what the two pairs of carrion crows are doing, they're showing all the signs of breeding bar actually nesting. The old nests look to have been abandoned and none of the sticks the crows have been carrying about have gone into any nest building. In fact I think they've been stealing sticks out of magpies' nests out of spite.

I think this next couple of weeks I'll try to catch up with a few places I've been neglecting. We'll see how I do.

Elton Reservoir

Alpine swift

I noticed the news that an Alpine swift had been seen at Elton Reservoir yesterday and wondered if it would be around today. Then wondered whether I'd want to go on a Saturday twitch requiring travelling through the city centre. Sure enough the swift was reported as still being around this morning so I hummed and hawed and havered and had another cup of tea and eventually bit the bullet and got the train into town and a tram up to Bury, consoling myself with the thought that Elton Reservoir twitches tend to be friendly. Besides, it's been nearly half a century since I saw my last one and it would be nice to add it to my British list. As it was I was just being a fussbudget, the journey was perfectly tidy.

I got the 471 and wandered down to the reservoir, passing a few birdwatchers along the way who said it had been showing well but had gone missing from over the sailing club for half an hour and that it had probably gone back over Withins Reservoir for a bit. I decided to have a stroll round the reservoir and if I saw the swift that would be a bonus.

The feeders at the car park were busy with greenfinches and goldfinches, a few blue tits, great tits and bullfinches making up the numbers. The chaffinches, dunnocks and house sparrows kept to the hedgerows.

Herring gull

I walked up as far as the creek along an increasingly horrible path and heard my first willow warbler of the year. I didn't venture further, if the path was that bad at this stage I'd be up to my shoulders in mud further on. I retraced my steps and walked along the Southern shore of the reservoir instead. The puddles were many but shallow and fairly clean.

There was a couple of hundred black-headed gulls on the reservoir together with dozens of herring gulls and lesser black-backs of varying ages and a single battleship sized great black-back. The only ducks at the sailing club end were mallards, nearly all of them paired up. There were a few tufted ducks and a raft of goldeneyes over on the other end. I could only find a couple of great crested grebes and they were a hundred yards apart. A couple of sand martins flew across my line of view and made my heart skip a moment's beat.

Elton Reservoir 

A crowd of a dozen people stood at the end of the path gazing over the field between Elton and Withins reservoirs. I wandered down and noticed what they were looking after. A swift flew over the crowd at about a hundred feet then climbed and flew over the field. It gave cracking views, a big swift with a pale grey throat and pale abdomen, a big swift in sand martin's colours.

Alpine swift

I watched it a while as it soared and circled and swooped down low over the reservoir giving splendid views all the while.

I was feeling greedy so I had a look for wheatears or chats on the fields by Withins and quite deservedly had no luck. I had a nosy over the reservoir, mallards, Canada geese and a few black-headed gulls. A small black shape that launched itself off the pumping station and across the reservoir caught the light and flashed kingfisher blue. 

I walked into Radcliffe along the path that leads to St. Andrews Road. A couple of nesting lapwings took exception to my passing and flew low over my head to escort me on my way.

Once into Radcliffe I got the bus back into Manchester and thence home after a good afternoon's wander.