Birding Group Visit to Wigan Flashes : 8th April 2014

Birding Group Visit to Wigan Flashes :  8th April 2014

We parked by the school as usual and walked down the path towards the bird feeding station by the reed beds which seems to have been abandoned and as a result there were no birds to be seen there. We continued on to the bridge and, staying on the car park side, we walked down the side of the canal onto Scotsman’s Flash where we could already see a large mixed flock of Sand Martins and (a first for the year) House Martins. There were mainly Tufted Ducks on the water with a few Great Crested Grebes. Looking over to the canal we got views of a pair of Red-crested Pochards – a male and a female.

These birds are often regarded as escapees and this is fairly plausible if it is a single bird. I am less certain when it is a pair ! We continued walking down the side of the canal where we saw a Jay on the far side and there was also a Kestrel and a Buzzard en route. As we crossed the bridge and came back down the other side we had much better views of the Red-crested Pochards – when they would stay up, of course. There were also a few Gadwall and a nesting Mute Swan. As we came back towards the car park just by the reed bed where there is a stand of willow trees we had a nice view of a Willow Warbler on a Willow tree (though not singing) and also a Willow Tit on another Willow tree nearby – a nice end to a pleasant visit to Wigan Flashes.

Bird Sightings : Wigan Flashes