Bonxie at Audenshaw Reservoirs
Mark Varley and I met at the Scottish
Restaurant on the A59, discovering that Rocket was confined to his nest after a
night on’t ale in Accy and Alan McBride had ended up in a pub somewhere in
Preston. The previous day I had some time with the Great Skua at Audenshaw
Reservoirs and managed a handful of frames while it dodged the RSPCA man with a
net trying to catch it. On Saturday it had been zooming all over the reservoirs
at full speed, harassing gulls but today it looked very sluggish and unwell.
Great Skuas are rare inland in the northwest and I am still waiting for one in
East Lancs but it was sad to see it looking ill today. As if the skua was not
enough, a nice local birder asked ‘is it confirmed?’. It was - a juvenile
Red-necked Grebe was not something we expected today but I heard later one was
reported from here a couple of weeks ago. It is another local rarity so surely
the same bird. Further north behind Bob's Smithy Inn, near Winter Hill, the
four Glossy Ibises were still present digging up earthworms in the rough
pasture and occasionally coming to within five metres range, their iridescent
plumage shining in the afternoon sun. We even had time for a pint afterwards
and all this without being shot at. Although it has produced some of my favourite artists like Morrissey and Buzzcocks I don't much like Manchester. CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW to scroll..
