Burrs Country Park

Went away for the weekend last Friday and Saturday - came back home on Sunday. We stayed on a Caravan Club Campsite just North of Bury (North Manchester), Burrs Country Park. The park is located on the site ruins of an early 19th century mill which used water from the River Irwell as the source of power. A reasonably complex set of canals and ducting routed the water from the river high point above a weir to drive water wheels etc. Enough of the mill foundations remain to make it historically quite interesting.

From a wildlife point of view this area has some real potential - even to a novice like me. I ventured out around the park on Saturday and Sunday morning and was rewarded with my first kingfisher sighting. A glorious flash of blue/turquoise in the subdued sunlight was a real treat. Even managed a highly pixelised photo through a 300mm lens. I never managed to get close enough for a proper photo though. However, I did manage to capture this pair of Goosander taking off. Really quite pleased with this one.

Last night (Wednesday), while driving from Sheffield to Manchester over the Snake Pass, I spotted a Black Grouse by the A57 at the very high point. According to my Bird watching book this is just about the furthest south that this bird is spotted, so quite chuffed with that as well.