Fir Tree Flash: A Warm Afternoon at Bickershaw Country Park
Birding at Fir Tree Flash (BCP)
My Field Notes
START/END TIME: 3-5pm
SEASON: Start of Summer
WEATHER: Very warm and sunny around 22°C, light breeze, visibility very good.
OPTICAL AIDS: Canon 70D & Sigma 150-600mm C / Nikon Prostaff 10x42 Binoculars
HABITAT OBSERVATIONS: Diverse wetlands, developing woodland and extensive grassland. Yellow Flag Iris, Lilly Pads flowering, Lots of young chicks, ducklings and goslings in and around the flash.
The park covers roughly 250 hectares, and the mix of open water, rough grassland and new woodland makes it an easy place to wander. There’s a small car park on Edna Road and roadside parking near Smiths Road and Plank Lane, and once you’re in, the paths open out for walking, cycling or riding. Dogs are welcome, though the usual countryside courtesy applies. The larger flashes are fished by the Leigh District Anglers, their pegs tucked quietly along the banks.
Wildlife is never far away. Willow tits call from the scrub, kingfishers flash low over the water, and herons stand motionless at the margins. In winter, jack snipe hide in the wetter corners. Roe deer slip through the young woodland, often seen only as a flick of movement between the trees. Over the grasslands, buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks work the air, quartering for field voles and other small mammals.
When we arrived, a crowd of Canada Geese, Mallards, and Coots were gathered right by the car park, though they quickly slipped back into the water as we approached. It’s a lovely spot — good paths all the way around, with only a few muddy patches near the angler pegs. You can easily imagine it becoming a truly stunning destination as it continues to develop over the coming years.
The swans, mallards, and geese — each with their cygnets, ducklings, and goslings — looked completely at home, all drifting together across the water.
Further along the lake we watched Moorhens and a pair of Great Crested Grebes tending to their two youngsters, while damselflies flickered above the water lilies like tiny sparks of colour.
BIRD OBSERVATIONS
Magpie
Woodpigeon
Black-headed Gull
Canada Geese
Mallard
Mute Swan
Coot
Blackbird
Robin
Wren
Ring-necked Pheasant in adjacent field near allotments
Willow Warbler
Blackcap
Blue Tit
Great Crested Grebe
Reed Bunting
Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Moorhen
Long-tailed Tit
Our outing today takes us to Fir Tree Flash WN7 5EZ, part of the Bickershaw Country Park that sits within the wider Flashes Nature Reserve of Wigan and Leigh, a huge sweep of reclaimed colliery land that’s slowly knitting itself back into a living landscape. Fir Tree Flash winds through the site like a long, quiet ribbon of water (see map below), one of three flashes — along with Diggle and Nevison’s — that shape the character of this young country park. Even now, with the land still maturing, you can feel how much potential it holds.
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| Canada Geese, Goslings and Mallards |
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| Cute Goslings |
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| Coot & Young |
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| Proud Parent and Goslings |
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| American Pekin Duck ?? |
The young of the great crested grebe, known for their boldly striped heads, are often referred to as "humbugs" due to their resemblance to the striped boiled sweets.
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| Striped chicks of the Great Crested Grebe affectionately named "Humbugs" |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Great Crested Grebe - Intimate relationship of Parent and chick |
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| Moorhen |
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| House Sparrow (Juvenile) - a small group were having a sand bath which made me smile and by the time I got my camera ready there was only one little bird left but being able to see them was a great feeling. |
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| Common Blue Damselfly |
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| Yellow Flag Iris |
Enjoy your birding and thanks for reading.
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