Overview

Pennington Flash near Leigh in Greater Manchester is a 494 acre Country Park. The Flash itself is a 173 acre lake. Surrounding the lake is a mixture of smaller pools, reedbeds and scrubland. There are 7 hides overlooking the Flash itself and the surrounding area and an extensive system of pathways. Bunting Hide contains a feeding station where very close views ( and photographs ) of a range of birds especially willow tits and bullfinch are possible. There is an extensive parking area ( £1.00 per day) toilet facilites and a small information centre posting recent sitings. As a birding venue it is excellent with over 230 species recorded. However the only possible drawback is that as a Country Park hosting a variety of leisure pursuits and containing a childrens play area it can get quite crowded. The hides near the childrens play area can also be noisy with sometimes feral children running in and out screaming. Therefore for good weather visits in summer and at weekends you need to proceed with caution !

Access

From the M6 at junction 23 take the A580 East Lancs Road east towards Manchester. Pennington Flash is clearly signposted from this road. You follow the A579 and then the A572 and the entrance is on the right.

Birds

In winter wildfowl are present in large numbers. Teal , Pochard ,Tufted Duck, Shoveler and Wigeon and smaller numbers of Gadwall , Goosander and even Scaup. Grebes are also present occasionally including rarer ones such as Slavonian and Black necked. Bittern, Snipe, Jack Snipe and Water Rail can frequent the reedbeds and the bunting hide feed station can reveal Willow Tit, Bullfinch, Long tailed Tit, Jay, GS Woodpecker , Goldfinch, Brambling, Tree Sparrow and Siskin. Gulls roost on the flash in large numbers and can sometimes contain rarities. Long eared Owls also roost but can remain illusive. Spring involves passage of a variety of waders and the reedbeds can reveal a wide variety of warblers. Kingfisher, Redpoll, Grebes and Common Tern breed in the area.