I'd not been out birding since returning to work after New Year, and so when the weather brightened up today I decided to try a new location to which I'd never been before. The main aim of going to Clifton Country Park in Kearsley, Salford was to see the rare Red-headed Smew that had been regularly mentioned on the Manchester Birding Forum recently.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the Country Park, which included a small visitor's centre and a large free car park. The lake (which is sometimes called Clifton Marina) is the flooded remains of a gravel pit which was excavated to provide material for the construvtion of the nearby M62 motorway. Today it was mostly frozen, with just a small pool of water available conveniently in front of the viewing platform.
As I was getting ready to leave the car I, a fellow birder called Keith Mills passed by and so we had a quick chat. Keith had also come see the Smew and so we both made for the viewing platform where another female birder was already taking photos.
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| Goldeneye |
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| Smew on ice |
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| Smew |
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| Smew |
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| Cormorant over |
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| Cormorant |
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| Mute Swan on ice |
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| Mute Swans landing |
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| Male Tufted Duck |
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| Female Tufted Duck |
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| Two white Mallards ? |
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| Duck melee ! |
