7th September 2005, Chorlton Water Park and Horwich
Despite the presence of a Wryneck near to Bolton, I forced myself to visit Chorlton first of all to try and record these weird Chiffchaffs I'm always hearing - just to make sure I'm not going mad. But today there was a breeze and passerines of any description were very thin on the ground. I even failed to score a Blue Tit. As such, my plan to record weird Chiffies was almost a total wash out until the very end when one started calling by the play area - it is weird and I'm not going mad! But more of that some other time...
Regardless of getting the Chiffy on record, it was well worth coming down this morning anyway, because just after I saw a pair of Sparrowhawks I looked behind me and saw 2 larger birds soaring over the golf course. Fucking Buzzards! An oft-predicted new personal patch tick - yes!
After a "we really should go shopping today" lunch of salmon quiche and beans (nice!), Miss Cole put off whatever crap she had to do to come along with me and see the Wryneck - a Manchester and year tick for us both as well as being a local bird of extreme rarity value. Just by Bolton's Reebok Stadium a small crowd of assembled birders indicated that we were in the right place, although I would have preferred to have been in the wrong place because I absolutely hate birding on roadsides and despise industrial estates - so this was a winner on both counts! It actually turned out to be very quiet and hassle free with very few people stopping to ask "what the flying fuck are you doing?"
.
The bird was absolutely brilliant. As we arrived it was sat out in the open, completely sprawled out on the floor pecking at ants and certainly not at all bothered about using its complicated cryptic camouflage to disguise its presence as it ran up and down the cycle track and under the bushes amongst the litter - Grimsby Robin deja vu! Looking for too long at all of those interlocking zig-zags and barring that tattooed its body was almost enough to induce an epileptic fit, or at least a migraine. A stupid squabble broke out amongst a couple of people over a photographer being too close to the bird (I bet they all download the photos off Surfbirds later tonight though!), but this outstanding bird clearly didn't give a toss!
Superb piccies of this superb bird can be seen on Sean Gray's website
6th September 2005, Chorlton Water Park
As good as ever! A pair of Great Crested Grebes with two relatively dependant young cramping their style, 2 Gadwall trying to hide in the reeds, 20 Black-headed Gulls and a load of Coot, but otherwise the lake was very quiet. A singing Willow Warbler was a bit odd alongside plenty of Chiffchaff, including some doing that weird call that I keep hearing, only mixing it with the proper hweet call and occasional snatches of song. I presume they are young birds?
The Mistle Thrush flock has already formed, rattling every now and then as they passed overhead, there were still quite a few hirundines around and the Jays were going through their usual September madness. 2 Bullfinches were kindly by the information board depicting them and a single Grey Wagtail was on the Mersey alongside the morning's stars - 2 Kingfishers that were sat still for once!
5th September 2005, Pennington Flash Country Park
Parking here now costs a whole English pound, the thieving bastards. Out on the lake there were big numbers of Coot, two 1st-winter Herring Gulls (which are not all that common in Mancunia - that's how good it is here) and lots more Coot. The walk along to the hides produced only the disappointment of seeing bloody kids all over the place; I thought they were back at school today, the little shits!
The same two birders as always were sat in the corner of Horrock's Hide, fiercely guarding their territory, and I suspect they probably haven't moved since I last visited a month back. They were also just as friendly as ever, the miserable old tossers. But, despite the inevitably hostile reception, this hide is really quite excellent, even with the spit being so overgrown with weeds at the moment. A nice leggy Reeve elegantly picked her way amongst a big mound of shit (which on closer inspection was actually a flock of eclipse Shovelers), a Lapwing was going ballistic over the presence of a very cute Little Ringed Plover, a cracking Little Grebe was diving just below the hide in 50/50 transitional plumage and 8+ Snipe were probing away in the mud before squelching as they took flight.
New Hide was pretty quiet with just loafing brown ducks, and the resident Heron - which I am now absolutely convinced is a model - did absolutely nothing at all whatsoever. Small numbers of Swallows and House Martins remained, as did a single Common Sandpiper from the viewing screen. Teal Hide was pretty poor being extremely overgrown which is a shame as it's often good for Green Sandpiper about now, but a Kingfisher showed exceptionally well on a post for ages allowing it to be sexed as a female, but of course I'd forgotten my bastard camera!