A local walk. (1 Viewer)

[Ruth Daniel]

A Local Walk.

Wanting to preserve what fuel we had for hubbys daily commute into Manchester we decided to leave the car behind and do our birding locally this weekend.

We set off on a dry cloudy afternoon yesterday hoping for some dragon/damsel/butterfly sightings in our local nature reserves.We walked through the village and down onto the canal towpath where several pairs of Mute Swan were showing off their various broods of cygnets alongside Mallards with chicks of differing ages and sizes.

Leaving the canal with it's colourful barges behind us we headed downhill again this time to river level.Sedge Warbler could be heard their harsh songs echoing across the water .On the other bank we heard GSW and a Heron squawked as it flew across our path.

By now the sun had come out and it was quite hot as the high thick hedges either side of us were protecting of the cool wind. Wild Rose was everywhere (see pic1) as was the scent of a profusion of creamy Elder flowers.Blackberry bushes were full of flowers too......tis going to be a good harvest of fruit this autumn.

In the river we could see shoals of fish and as we sat a while could see huge lazy fish slowly rise and pick off yet another fly,their fins just breaking the surface of the water before they disappeared from view again leaving behind an ever widening and slowly dispersing ripple.

A Moorhen comically bobbed it's way from the security of the reed beds and we saw a Reed Warbler briefly cling to the reeds before diving into the deep beds safe from prying eyes and prey.

Climbing up now and leaving the river behind (pic 2) we moved on towards our birdhide and settled down for a well earned breather.Here we saw Oystercatcher,Shelduck,Lapwing,Buzzard,Ruddy Duck,Teal,Shoveller,Buzzard,Little Ringed Plover and a nice surprise and a year tick a superb Green Sandpiper!

Leaving the hide and the water behind us we now headed through a beautiful wildflower meadow (pic 3) which normally gives good butterfly results but despite us sitting for a while we saw nothing only a lone Small White......hopefully things will improve if we get some sort of a summer!

Joining back up with the canal again now we made our way again passed the colourful boats and home for a well deserved cuppa.

 

[Mabel]

Some nice birds and a nice location too Ruth!

 

[Pam_m]

I walked that one with you, Ruth! Delightful! :t:

What a super walk you have close by you, I would also leave the car behind if I had such a splendid countryside/canalside walk close by me as you do. Some super birds too! Great that the weather was kind...makes a walk doesn't it! Pity the damsels etc didn't show for you. Plenty of time yet though for you to see an abundance in such surroundings as you have.

Thanks for sharing your walk, Ruth! Bet that cuppa went down a treat!o

 

[pie]

Hi Ruth,
What a great description of a lovely day out. The Green Sandpiper is a lovely bird to see, I saw one at Rutland Waters last year, giving us excellent views just a metre or so outside the hide.
Sounds like a lovely carbon free day Ruth! lol!
btw, my puter is slow tonight & not letting me see pics, they look good from a distance :t:

 

[Judo]

Hi Ruth,
A lovely walk, thanks for 'taking me along'! with you. Haven't been able to get out lately myself, very difficult walking at the moment, as my knees have been very painful! so I enjoyed sharing your walk and hearing of the lovely birds you saw. Congrats on the G.Sandpiper too.
Lovely photos to go with a lovely report Ruth.

 

[Sue Wright]

A lovely time on a beautiful day, with a good list too. It's the same down here with lack of Butterflies, though we have plenty of Damsels and Chasers but no Dragonflies that we've seen.

Lovely to go out for the walk and Wildlife, but it's always good to get back and stick the kettle on!

All the best,

Sue.

 

[NIK III]

A lovely description of what sounds like a very nice walk Ruth.

 

[Kits]

Lovely to have that so close to you, Ruth.

 

[Wendy Morris]

A good selection there, Ruth. A Green Sandpiper would be a lifer for me

 

[Ruth Daniel]

Thanks for all your replies folks!:t:
Glad you all enjoyed the walk,I've another from the weekend to post soon and you'll all be very welcome to tag along again.o

 

[Pam_m]

Thanks for all your replies folks!:t:
Glad you all enjoyed the walk,I've another from the weekend to post soon and you'll all be very welcome to tag along again.o

Looking forward to another walk with you, Ruth!:t:

 

[bill moss]

Hi Ruth,

Well I quite enjoyed that, much more productive than my own stroll along the little River Frome, which I'm not even going to write about. Except to say that I'm with you on lack of Butterflys etc. Did see a few Meadow Browns and a couple of Demoiselles arguing but that's all, the place should be heaving now.

Nothing like your list of birds either, that really made your walk worthwhile didn't it. Haven't seen a Green Sandpiper in years.

Agree with you about the wild blossoms, but I wonder whether there are enough insects to pollinate them all. Time will tell.

Hold on to your car fuel and exercise more, it's a lot more interesting!

Bill