Shaw Clough is getting more treacherous with each passing day as the footpath is being eroded and chewed up by mountain bikers who continue to ride down there even though it is only a footpath and not a bridleway. I've had a few near misses with these idiots who behave as though the footpaths are their personal playgrounds and who seem to believe pedestrians/walkers shouldn't be there getting in their way, whereas in fact they shouldn't be on footpaths. Grrrrr.
Anyway, there were plenty of birds about today, nothing special but plenty of activity that suggests Spring is happening despite the cold weather. Daffodils buds are almost ready to burst into flower, wild garlic is recovering from the snow covering and birds are gathering nesting material and pairing off.
A Song Thrush was singing as I entered the wood and a Nuthatch was calling from a moss covered tree. Further down the clough a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming on a well-used dead branch. I didn't see any Treecreepers which is unusual here. I found a dead Shrew on the path which I would have exoected to have been eaten as carrion by something. However, I vaguely remember that Shrews have a nasty bite and have toxic saliva (?) so maybe this prevents them from being eaten by mammals or birds? I'll have to do a bit of research on this topic.
Along the Rochdale Canal and by the River Calder there were no birds of note just corvids and tits and a few Chaffinches, although the Jackdaw colony at the quarry is very noisy and busy with birds doing Springlike stuff.
Up through Lumbutts Clough past New Mill Dam there were 2 Dippers flying upstream; 2 Nuthatch with one calling; a Goldcrest feeding away and the sound of Great and Blue Tits everywhere. The wild garlic through Lumbutts Clough is coming on well and hopefully the smell will soon be a welcome sign of Spring.
At Lee Dam a pair of Goldcrest were flitting about and 3 Mallards and a female Goosander were on the water. A Moorhen was poking about on the small piece of land that has emerged from the lower water levels at long last.
Walking through Mankinholes there was only a single Little Owl to be seen, although I was little late this morning and it was getting on towards midday by the time I got to the hamlet. I find that the best time to see Little Owls around here is during the morning up to about 11:00 am and after about an hour before dusk in the evening.
Most of the photos I took weren't worth bothering with as the light was poor today (we had a short flurry of snow around 9:00 too) but this Nuthatch isn't too bad. I do feel that as the blog is supposed to be about my pics, I should try as post at least one photo with each entry :)
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