Winter Starlings

Some photos of the great murmurations that cluster over Bagmere - back of Brereton Country Park, near Congleton, Cheshire. At dusk during the winter, different groups of starlings fly in from different directions to congregate over the reed beds. After the evening performance they all drop suddenly into the reed beds where they roost.
Bagmere sunset

January 2012 - Mere

Salt Line, near Alsager

The fungi at this time of year is amazing, the Salt Line walk near Alsager, Cheshire has plenty of different types although sadly the light was poor yesterday when we went...

The Solar System installation is a great idea for this lateral route - with the 'Sun' in the car park, posts are placed relative to that all the way along the walk, on a scale of 1m = 1.8million km in space.

Some more Salt Line info here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEiCW6pN8FQ&feature=colike

Link to OS walk:

http://www.discovercheshire.co.uk/Route.aspx?refnum=DC107&region=1&mapCategory=WLK&overview=true&mapBackLayers=WLK1P&mapBackE=378040&mapBackN=371960&mapBackMpp=160&mapBackSearchTxt=

Astbury Mere - Autumn 2011 pictures

Autumn 2011 - the geese return

It's Autumn when we hear the geese arrive - we hear them as they fly in to the Mere over our house.

Summer's end, 2011

Early morning is the best time to see the swans flying up & down in the sunshine on the south side of the Mere.

Spring 2011 Astbury Mere

Grebes dancing & nest building, young sparrow in rowan, and I finally got my pic of swan in flight. Usually they wait till I've put the camera away.