Twice in one week, eh? Must be good! What happened was that I sent a plea to a member of the Manchester Birding Forum for a guided tour of all the good spots here and Ray Ashcroft very kindly showed me round tonight. I decided not to take my camera tonight so I could concentrate on getting my bearings here and talking to Ray without distraction.
Whilst I was waiting for Ray to arrive at the agreed time of 6pm, I spotted a Jay in the trees near the filter beds - all on my own too! Ray arrived promptly at 6pm and we set off immediately on a route in between the filter beds. Before we knew it four Green Sandpipers took off from bed 9a - at least Ray said they were, I wouldn't have been able to tell myself. He pointed out the characteristic wing shape and white marking on the back - and then another one flew out from right beneath us! This time I got quite a good look and saw the markings quite clearly. Five Green Sandpipers is a good tally for this time of year, so Ray was pleased, but we were obviously far too noisy for this bird which is easily spooked.
Ray then showed me round the rest of the area pointing where he'd seen various birds including Kingfisher along the River Glaze and the famous Grey Phalarope of 2007 on one of the filter beds. We finished off by having a look at the main lake and as well as the usual suspects there was a Little Grebe swimming in and out of the reeds on one of the banks.
All in all an interesting location and one to which I'm sure I'll return in the future. Thanks Ray.
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