A mini trip around Greater Manchester with myself and Steve K leaving Rochdale around 8am. The weather was kind to us with the recent snow having been washed away in most areas. Binn Green near Greenfield (ex-Yorkshire) was first up and the expected Red Grouse were soon heard then seen with a Raven for company overhead. The feeders around the car park at Binn Green were very busy as 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers chased each other around, lots of tits & finches but no Brambling or Siskins. We headed for Heaton Park Reservoir were a very strong wind welcomed us as we balanced on the wall and looked through the fence. Our target species here was a Long Tailed Duck, as 3 had taken up residency on the reservoir. Lots of Teal, Goldeneye, Goosander and a couple of grebe species were found along with a small amount of gulls, As we both searched the water we found a single Long Tailed Duck but did`nt find the other 2, it happily floated around preening, perhaps it had been on the bank? On Rindle Road, Astley Moss the hoped for Yellowhammer or Treecreeper sightings never materialized but a large flock of Redwing and lots of Reed Bunting were seen along with Kestrel, Buzzard and a large flock of Jackdaw were noted. Pennington Flash held its usual amount of noisy people and good birds and fun with the car parking ticket machine! Even a group of grown men playing with toy cars on the car park did`nt stop us both enjoying this good place to birdwatch. A trip to most of the hides, but, in Bunting hide, a few pictures were taken as the birds fed quite close to us. The highlight was the 2 Water Rail`s that kept coming out to feed near the Moorhen`s and Stock Dove`s, good entertainment, along with a Willow Tit lots of finches, tits, Nuthatch and Blackbirds were really enjoyed in the dull winter weather, A return to Rindle Road around 3pm did not add any other species to our list. We both saw around 9 species for our year list. At home by 4pm to watch the magic of the FA Cup unravel more strange results. Nice days birding and close to home.
