Harris Hikers Welsh "Stay at Home" Walk 5. A Riverside Wa\lk in Search of a Pink Foot. Friday 30th October 2020

A Riverside Walk in Search of a Pink Foot.

Mallard and Moorhen on Balderton Brook.

Autumnal colours and tree branches without leaves at The Riverside, River Lane, Saltney.

Pink footed geese in a maize stubble field.

Greylag geese with Canada geese in a maize stubble field.

Canada geese in a maize stubble field.

Greylag geese join Canada geese on the river.

A Common kestrel, briefly resting on a branch.

A Great cormorant dries its wings in the breeze.

Socially distance Carrion crows.

But not for long!

Feral pigeons on the roof of the old Mold Junction Engine Shed.

Distance: 6.0 miles. Climb: 117'.

Time: 2 hours 32 minutes. On the move walking average: 3.0 m.p.h. Overall walk avrage: 2.3 m.p.h.

Group: Martyn.

I had to wait until just before mid-day for the rain/dampness in the air to disappear and enourage me to step out of doors. It was relatively warm today, so I decided to give my shorts a probable last outing.

Birds seen or heard today included: Mallard, Moorhen, Pied wagtail, Common chaffinch, Black-billed magpie, European robin, Black headed gull, Common gull, Jackdaw, Feral pigeon, Carrion crow, Woodpigeon,Winter wren, Goldfinch, Meadow pipit, Common starling, Collared dove, Common kestrel, Canada goose, Greylag goose and Pink footed Goose.

The absence of any signicant wind and temperature of about 13 Celsius made this a very enjoyable walk, The hope of see Pink footed geese turned into a reality, only a few in a maize stubble field wth a few Greylag and an impressively large number of Canada geese.  In fact the geese moved onto the river, where they were more easily observed. Although counting them wasn't easy they probably numbered in excess of 1000, with one white goose very noticeable within the flock.. Saying I had distant views of Moel Famau would be a figment of my imagination as the Clwydian hills were shrouded in cloud throughout my walk.