We went for a walk across the Meadows to Jackson’s Boat bridge and then along the Mersey to Chorlton Water Park.\u00a0 As we walked along the Mersey a Heron fledgling flew by and stopped at the water edge for a while. The lake at the water park was as empty as I think I have ever seen it and was decidedly lacking in the usual large numbers of Black-headed Gulls and even Feral Pigeons which are usually everywhere. On the water there were around 20 Canada Geese and around 10 Mallard. There were around 4 Coots and 3 Great Crested Grebes and some Swallows flying overhead as well but that was about it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the trees around the lake we saw a Greenfinch and some Whitethroats and could hear a couple of Chiffchaffs. We did actually see some other Warblers but we could not get a good enough view to identify them properly but one at least sounded like a Willow Warbler. On our way back we encountered a little flock of Long-Tailed Tits and a much larger flock of Jackdaws. We also watched from Jackson’s Bridge as a female Mallard and her five ducklings snatched and snapped at clouds of insects hovering just above them. We also passed a tree with a nest box attached and we stood and watched for a while as two parent Great Tits came and went with food – we could even hear their young chirping from inside the nest box.<\/p>\n
| Species<\/th>\n | Count<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n <\/p>\n |
|---|---|
| Blackbird<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Black-headed Gull<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Blue Tit<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Canada Goose<\/td>\n | 12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Carrion Crow<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Chiffchaff<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Coot<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Dunnock<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Great Crested Grebe<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Great Tit<\/td>\n | 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Greenfinch<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Grey Heron<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Jackdaw<\/td>\n | 50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Long-tailed Tit<\/td>\n | 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Magpie<\/td>\n | 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Mallard<\/td>\n | 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Robin<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Swallow<\/td>\n | 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Whitethroat<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| \u00a0Woodpigeon<\/td>\n | 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Walk to Chorlton Water Park We went for a walk across the Meadows to Jackson’s Boat bridge and then along the Mersey to Chorlton Water Park.\u00a0 As we walked along the Mersey a Heron fledgling flew by and stopped at the water edge for a while. The lake at the water park was as empty … <\/p>\n |