Moses Gate Country Park

While we were in Manchester over the weekend we visited Moses Gate Country Park, in Farnworth, Bolton. It's a lovely local nature reserve, tucked away in quite a built up area, with a lake and reedbeds and a bit of woodland. We were lucky with the weather, the earlier rain had disappeared and the sky was clear and the air crisp and still, though it was a bit slippy underfoot! The lake was covered with Canada Geese with plenty of mallards, tufted ducks and coots. We also saw one black swan (probably an escape from either a private collected or from the nearby Wildfowl and Wetlands Reserve at Martin Mere.) We only saw one greylag goose , though there may have been more. There was also a very sad and ill-looking white goose, sitting on the bank.

When we got back to Edinburgh, I was delighted to find that I've won a mounted print of Mark Eccleston's stunning photo Frosted Teasel. If you don't know Mark's work, why not go and visit his blog and website - his photos are wonderful! And thanks for the prize, Mark!