Birding Group Visit to Pennington Flash
According to Wikipedia “Pennington Flash Country Park is a 200 hectares (494 acres) country park located between Lowton and Pennington, Leigh in Greater Manchester, England. The flash is a 70 hectares (173 acres) lake created at the turn of the 20th century by coal mining subsidence and flooding, mainly from Bickershaw Colliery. Now an extensive nature reserve with several bird hides and a network of tracks and footpaths, Pennington Flash Country Park is nationally renowned for its bird life and is a classic example of natural regeneration. A variety of well-maintained paths cater for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Ideal for disabled persons, the Flash’s hides have ramps for wheelchair access. One of the premier birdwatching sites in North West England, over 230 bird species have been recorded on site
The weather was cold and the water was substantially still frozen over still from the freezing December weather. However this did not stop us from seeing large numbers of birds including Goldeneye and Goosander on the water and at the – very busy – feeding station lots of Bullfinches, Greenfinches and Chaffinches as well as Marsh and Coal tits and a variety of other birds all crowding around the feeders.
Bird List
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Blackbird | 3 |
| Black-headed Gull | 8 |
| Blue Tit | 6 |
| Bullfinch | 10 |
| Canada Goose | 20 |
| Chaffinch | 6 |
| Coal Tit | 1 |
| Collared Dove | 4 |
| Coot | 50 |
| Cormorant | 4 |
| Dunnock | 1 |
| Goldeneye | 6 |
| Goosander | 1 |
| Great Tit | 6 |
| Greenfinch | 10 |
| Grey Heron | 1 |
| Lapwing | 20 |
| Long-tailed Tit | 5 |
| Magpie | 4 |
| Mallard | 50 |
| Marsh Tit | 1 |
| Mute Swan | 7 |
| Robin | 3 |
| Woodpigeon | 6 |
How to Get There
- Head north on Chequers Rd toward High Ln/A5145 433 ft
- Turn left onto High Ln/A5145 Continue to follow A5145 1.3 mi
- Turn left onto Chester Rd/A56 0.7 mi
- Turn right (signs for Ring Rd (N)/L’pool/M62/Bolton/M61/Leeds/M60) 98 ft
- Turn right onto the ramp to M60 0.6 mi
- Keep right at the fork, follow signs for M60/Ring Rd (N & E)/Liverpool/M62/Bolton/M61/Leeds and merge onto M60 5.0 mi
- At junction 13, take the A575/A572 exit to Worsley/Leigh/Swinton 0.4 mi
- At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Leigh Rd/A572 heading to Boothstown
- Continue to follow A572 1.6 mi
- Continue onto Mosley Common Rd/A577 0.1 mi
- Turn left onto E Lancashire Rd/A580
- Go through 1 roundabout 5.2 mi
- Turn right onto A579 0.8 mi
- Sharp left onto St Helen’s Rd/A572
- Destination will be on the left 0.3 mi
- Leigh WN7 3PA
