Birdwatching in Manchester

I'm just back from visiting my parents near Manchester. It was nice to see them of course and also to see their garden in its full spring glory. They have a good selection of birds in their garden, but this time I was particularly pleased to see two goldfinches (normally a rare visitor to the garden) flying around. Also pleasing to see more house sparrows than there have been recently, though nowhere near the numbers there used to be when I was young. Very few starlings and the song thrush was only heard not seen. Also blackbirds, collared doves, jackdaws, chaffinches, blue tits and greenfinches and the songs of willow warbler and blackcap (or possibly garden warbler, against a background of other birdsong its difficult to tell the difference).

We also had a trip to Pennington Flash, a small lake near where my parents live. There were plenty of birds on the water, including a female mallard with nine chicks, coots, Canada geese, moorhens and a great crested grebe. From the woodland hide we saw 6 bullfinches, a cheering sight, not just because they're so bright but they're also in decline and its good to see several of them together. We also saw a great spotted woodpecker, the best view I've ever had of one, as it spent about five minutes on a birdfeeder just in front of the hide.