Moore - I saw an owl!

Having read a lot about Moore Nature Reserve near Warrington, I headed down there today, Its quite a big place by the side of the Manchester Ship Canal, with lagoons and woodland, so a chance to see a variety of birds.
Sadly, I am not very good at spotting and recognised birds I dont know and after a good hours walk I had hardly seen anything I could a name too. I finally arrived at a hide where 2 guys were sat. I had heard that there was a Tawny Owl that was regularly seen during the day and so I asked them if they knew where it was. One of them generously offered to show me as it was quite close to where we were, and sure enough there it was in the ivy on a tree trunk, just its head showing but clearly an owl. In all the years I have had an interest in birds I have never knowingly seen an owl in the wild so this was a big first for me and here he or she is.

I barely got round half the the reserve and am going to have to go back, hopefully with people who can spot and recognise birds.

Dunham Massey

Well after a few days stuck indoors due to the weather, I finally got out today and set off for Dunham Massey near Altrincham. it is a house, gardens and park managed by the National Trust and a place I have visited before. I was particularly looking for birds today and so I spent my time in the gardens and the park. The gardens are quite colourful even in january with snowdrops, crocus and daffodils on show, I spent most of the time scanning the trees, there were plenty of tits and nothing new until I spotted movement on one of the tree trunks, it was a Nuthatch, I have only ever seen one before so it was a nice spot, they are quite pretty being bluey grey on top and buff underneath and behave a lot like treecreepers. I tried to get a good photo but it promptly ran rounf the otherside of the trunk, but I did manage this.

I then had a wander around the park, there is a deer sanctuary and using binoculars I did see a small group of Roe Deer through the trees.

That was about it for interesting spots although there were plenty of Great and Longtailed tits, Jackdaw, tufted duck as well as the far more common birds.

Twitching

Since I have retired, I have taken to going out for  a bit of fresh air and exercise but going to places where I can expect to see birds. I thought I would these trips to my blog.
The weather has been excellent these last few days so here is a catch up on where I have been.

Thursday, I went for a walk around Worsley Woods, these are situated between the M60 and the A572 Worsley Rd. They start at The Delph, which is a pool where the old underground canals from the coal mines emerge to join the Bridgewater Canal. I had heard a Kingfisher is often seen here so I set off with high hopes of seeing on, although on a previous visit here I had failed. I had a good look in the Delph when I arrived but my quarry proved to be elusive and so I set off up the path into the woods themselves. After all the rain the paths were very muddy, but there were very few people around so it boded well. Parts of the wood are quite marshy and there is also a small man-made lake called old Warke Dam. I looked at every sign of movement but more often than not it was a Grey Squirrel, there must be hundreds here, although one movement did turn out to be a treecreeper, a first for me.
In the woods there were lots of birds. Great, Blue, Coal and Longtailed tits, Chaffinch, Jay, Crows,Magpies and a flock of around 50 Woodpidgeons.
As I got to the lake, I saw Mallard, Mute Swans, Teal and in the trees overlooking the lake 6 Grey Heron. There is an impressive house in the woods and the lake was built and stocked with fish, but apparrently isn't fished now except by the herons.
On the way back to the car I stopped again at the Delph and this timw I rewarded, the Kingfisher was perched on the branch of a dead tree in the pool, and I got a few pictures before returning to the car and home.

Friday

I decided to go to Dovestone Reservoir, near Oldham, the area managed by the RSPB so I was hopeful of some nice sightings but when I arrived the place was full of dog walkers and people with small children, it was very noisy, even the bird feeding station was full of feral pigeons so after a short walk to take a couple of photos, I drove a little  way up the road to a place call Binn Green, which over looks the reservoir. Here there was another feeding station but it was much quieter so I had a wander around and saw a good number of birds, all the usual tits there were at Worsley but also a lot of Goldfinches plus Greenfinch, Siskin and Lesser Redpoll, the last two being firsts.

Sunday

I ventured farther afield and drove up to the Leighton Moss RSPB reserve with the hope of seeing a family of Otters. Having found out where they were likely to been seen I set off for one of the hides, most of the water was frozen but there were patches with plenty of birds, I enquired about the otters and yes they had been out all morning but despite a long wait they didnt not re appear  for me, however I did see several Bittern including one flying over, they stand in the reeds and blend in so well that it is diffult to spot them but no mistaking them in flight. Also I saw Marsh Harriers and Sparrowhawks covering the site looking for prey, there were also a couple of Snipe on the edges of the lagoon, also a Water Rail, another shy bird. On the water there were Teal, Tufted Duck, Shelduck, Gadwall (a first) and Cormorants, I then waited as it was approaching dusk for the starlings to flock, While waiting I saw a Glossy Ibis and several Little Egrets flying in to roost, both firsts for me. (someone pointed both these out to me). Then the starlings started to arrive, you could see flocks building up in the distant and merging together as they approached the reeds were they roost, there must have been thousands as the seemed to perform for the viewers flying right by the hide several times. A starling on its own is no big deal but seein g so many together is quite stunning, still photographs cant do them justice.

Monday

Off to Pennington Flash, a popular site for me being only 20 minutes away. The site is on what are flooded mine workings with a large lake ples small lagoons and reeds and also woodland all in quite a small area. In the big lake there were a lot of gulls, Black Headed, Great and lesser blackbacked and Herring, a bout a dozen Cormorants, loads of Mallard, Canada Geese Coots and MuteSwans after scraps visitors throw for them. I walked around the smaller lagoons again most were frozen but did see Tufted Duck, Gadwall again and Shelduck.
I then headed for my favourite place, a hide overlooking a feeding area, on the way there I was walking along a path the runs next to a golf course, when  I saw a flash of blue flying up the stream between the Flash and the golf course, another Kingfisher! The feeding area is  always popular with tits and finches I saw a lovely Bullfinch, plud a Reed Bunting ( a first), Moorhen, Dunnock, Pheasant, and Squirrels. I then returned to the big lake as the sun was setting to get a few sunset photos, also saw a Grey Lag  Goose.
On the way home I pulled into a layby to take some photos of the Headgear at the old Astley green Colliery.

Tuesday

Today I was very close to home on the bank of the River Irwell in Salford, suprisingly, it was a quiet area near Agecroft Bridge and on the walk I saw some nice waterfowl, especially Goldeneye and Gossanders (a first) I also spotted a pair of Green Sandpipers (a first) as they were disturbed several times and fly up and down the river.

So a lovely few days, several new spots and a total of 52 species of birds.

Goyt Valley and Bugsworth Basin

After over indulging at Christmas, it was time to get some fresh air and a little exercise, so I set off for a canal walk. Before I reached the canal I was aiming for I saw a sign for the Goyt Valley way, so decided to explore. I was near New Mills in Derbyshire and hving found a car park, descended down some steps to reach the river. When I hewar the word goyt I always thing of the stream that flowed through a culvert in Nelson that we used to call the goyt, but this Goyt is far from that. I flows quite swiftly with farmland on one bank and a wooded hillside on the other. The path mostly follows the river although wanders off nowe and again.
There has been quite a bit of work done to promote wildlife there are several small pools and also an area which has been fanced and they are trying to create a reed bed, which should make a nice habitat in time.
I followed the path for about a mile stopping occassionally to look for bird life but sadly saw very little, apart from a flockof Canada Geese, a heron, a moorhen and several mallard. Eventually the wind started to get me so I retraced my steps and step off to find somewhere to have a coffee to warm myself up.

I drove to the canal I was amaing for and ended up at Bugworh Basin

After a break in the Navigation Inn I went for a wander around the basin. It was built  around 1800 and was the end of the Peak Forest canal, and connected with a tramway that brought limestone and grit from the quarries of what is now part of the Peak District. Parts of the tramway are still visible. The site was derelict for a long time but has been renovated and is now a scheduled ancient monument. It is quite a fascinating place and after a look round I went for a stroll down the tow path and back, it was now starting to grow dark so I returned to the car and set off for home.

Not a long walk but far enough considering it was rather cold, especially in the wind. I think buth places visioted are worth another visit in the future.

Stanage Edge

Another lovely late October day so we decided to head down towards Hathersage close to where we were last week and walk Stanage Edge. So after another drive through Glossop and over the Sanke pass we arrived at Hatherseage itself. We had a walk starting for the villlage but as it was going to be going dark around 4.30 we decided to find a closer starting point to the Edge. A look at the OS map found a carparking area near to the southern End and we were lucky to get the last parking spot.

We start off following up a broad path the took us up through bracken almost to the top and just a little scramble and were were there.

Stanage is certainly the most dramatic Edge we have walked, it is on the edge of Hathersage Moor which stretchs East toward towards Sheffield, however the best views are to the west where we could look down across the Hope valley towards Castleton and clearly see Mam Tor and the great ridge stretching to Lose Hill, with its companion Win Hill also is sight.

Looking South West we could see down the Derwent valley overlooked by Froggat Edge.

Although the day was glorious, the wind on the top was very strong, but it wasnt a chilling wind fortunately. We set off along the edge, which is very popular with rock climbers, every buttress seemed to be alive with them. The cliffs of edge I assume are Millstone grit although there were certainly traces of sandstone on the cliff top. The way was for a large part over boulders as well as grass between them, also very fine sand which along with the pools of water reminded me of walking along a rocky seashore.

We continued to walk along. for the most part the scenery on the top was pretty similar, climbers, gaps between the rock, moorland to the east,, these are grouse moors and I did brief see one grouse in the distance. After a while more views opened up, KinderScout was unmistakable, also other hills to the north of it which i do not know.

We finally reached a trig point and dropping back from the edge found a sheltered spot to stop and eat our snack. 

After the break we then started to retrace our steps, part of the way along we stopped at a place called Robin Hood's cave, we had passed it on the way out but this time I decided to climb down and have a close look. It is a ledge with a number of  very rounded hemispheres in the rock, how these are formed I dont know, maybe it is the wind which blows the dust around and over many years shapes them, there is also a gap in the stone where after climbing down came to  the back of a small circular cave presumeably formed the same way. Going through this you come out onto a little balcony overlooking the rock face. Cave with a balcony? certainly sir.

Returning to the edge we arrived back at the point where we had climbed onto the edge and decided to continue up to Cowley rocks at the end of the edge. On reaching these rocks I was quite amused to find another trig point which had been afixed to a large rock.

From these rocks we could see over to Higger Tor which we did last week and it  was only a fairly short walk from where we were. We realised these were the rocks that we could see last week.

We now decided that instead of walking back along the edge we would descend here, which we did with a bit of scrambling and then followed a path through the bracken which lead to the main park from the carpark.

Oh and we actually some of the famed discarded millstones, they were so well grouped that if I were a cynic I would say that they had been deliberately placed there.

All told we walked between 5 and a half and six miles in the surprisingly fast, for us, 3 and a half hours.



Higger Tor

For one reason or another we havent walked for quite a while but we finally got out today and decided to do a walk described as medium, which was to walk around Burbage rocks and then back over Higger Tor.
We drove over Snake Pass after suffering driving through Glossop. The road is far too busy for its size ands so quite slow going.
W started the walk from the Longshaw Estate, a National Trust property so free car parking, always a plus. I didnt know it until we arrived but the meadows we walked through on the White Edge walk were part of this estate too.
We started of walking throiugh Woods on the estate and dont past little strams to the valley crossing a wooden bridge before ascending to cross a road. At this point we realised we had taken the wrong route through the woods so had to follow the road to get to the correct point. After scratcdhing our heads on which path to take, there were several, we started to climb along a rock strewn path up towards the top of Burbage Rocks. Burbage rocks is an edge which drops from Heather moorland to an oval valley. The path took us upwards and I am sure there would have been lovely views but it was quite hazy so most things were indistinct.
The rocks on the edge were broken wirh fissures between them and we were careful not to get to close, unlike lots of rock climbers who were all over them. All the time the path was strewm with rocks so the going wasnt exactly straight forward. The path took us past a disused quarry and there were supposed  to be millstones strewn around but we didnt see any. I guess back in the day,  the stones were cut at the quarry and then taken to where they were needed. The path curved around the valley until we reached the head. This was by the Fiddlers Elbow road and was a popular place with quite a number of cars parked and lots of people around. We soon crossed a couple of streams and the set of away from the crowds to return down the other side of the valley.
We probably misread the route at this point because we started to descend towards woods where the route clearly took us around them, so we had to work our way back up towards a path we could see and then after a short break for a snack continue upwards to the top of Higger Tor. I felt a little cheated whe nwe got there becuase the road runs just beloe the top and so people were parking up and strolling up a 100 yard long path to the top.
The top of the tor is covered with boulders which are are prominent around the eastern and southern sides of the hill, some precariously balanced. From the southern edge we could look down and see the smaller tor Carl Wark which we were heading for. We could not see a proper path down the southern side so we had to scramble carefully down the side picking out way carefully over the rocks. We then followed the path to Carl Wark.
Cark Wark is a Neolithic/Bronze age/iron age (take your pick) reinforced hill. We approached it up a path   to the top top which is guarded by a stone faced bank about 10 feet high. Like Higger Tor, the top is strewn with boulders and what this place was used for I dont know and googling it didnt help, it appears to be a bit of a mystery. After crossing the summit we again were faced with a scrambling descent. Once we reached a recognised path we followed it  towards a cark park crossing a stream on the way. Once at the carpark we crossed the road and again entered Longshaw Estate. A stroll through the woods and we were back at the car.
The walk was around 5 miles, but as the going was not  straightforward we were out for about 4 hours. The views were not as good as they could have been due to the hazy conditions and not much in the way of wildlife. That said it was an interesting walk and we had how first experience of having to do some scrambling, as I have been put off in the past where routes say scrambling involved, maybe we willget a bit more adventurous.

Underground, Overground and the Fawlty Towers Tea rooms.

No I didn't go and see the Wombles, but today was my walking buddies birthday so instead of a walk she wanted to do the Castleton Caves.
We started of at Speedwell Cavern, which is basically an uunderground boat ride down a narrow former lead mining tunnel, the trip was notable for the engine of the boat breaking down and our guide having to "walk the boat"  I thought it was a gimmick bit no he assured me that there had been a problem. At the end of the boat trip is a natural cavern. The trip was quite informative but not that dramatic.
We then walked to Treak Cliffe Cavern but had just missed a tour and wouldnt have had time to wait for the next one and make the last Peak tavern trip, which was already paid for. So we had to head off to Peak or the Devil's Arse as it is known.
We arrived with quite a bit of time to spare so decided to visis the tearooms close by, me have been here a few times and it really is surreal. We know from experience that the guy who owns it doesnt like people to buy just a drink, which wasnt a problem as we wanted the cream tea. While we waited, an eldewrly couple walked up and sat down. The conversation went something like this,
"2 teas please"
" 2 teas and scones"
"no we just want 2 teas"
"No you have to have scones"
"can we have 2 teas and an icecream?"
" i dont normally, but just this once I will"
as an aside as the owner walks away the lady mutters "weird"
So the poor chap had to eat an icecream while drinking his tea.
Then came the time to pay, the bill was about £8. conversation.
"Thats a lot"
"well you could have had tea and scones for £11.50"
"its still a lot"
"get over it... come again"
"no chance"

well we managed to control our laughter and headed for Peak Cavern, this is a pretty impressive cave, where people used to live and make rope, we were treated to a demo of how it was done and the had a tour of the cave, a good tour although you have to use your imagination to see some of the rock shapes you are supposed to see.

After the tour we returned to the tea shop where i managed toget just a coffee, well I had bought scones a hour ago.  Outside we had a conversation with a guy who said they had just been there and had wanted 6 drinks and 3 lots of scones (about £20) he said the owner wouldnt serve them until they had agreed to buy 4 lots of scones.

Well it was a nice afternoon, and I thought the tea shop was a laugh, but it is possible that you might have had to be there to appreciate it.