HONEY BUZZARD

 

There have been 12 records of this raptor in Greater Manchester, including a bird shot at Lostock in October 1852 which appears to be authentic.

 

The seven records in 2000 coincided with a well observed influx of the species throughout the UK at that time.

The most bizarre record involved a juvenile bird which was never actually seen in the county but was tracked through Greater Manchester by means of a radio transmitter fitted whilst in the nest in north Scotland. The bird roosted in the county at Over Hulton on the 24th September and had arrived in southern Spain on the 23rd October.

 

1852   Lostock Oct A bird shot
1998   Amberswood 26th May  
2000   Ashworth Moor Reservoir 22nd Sept Adult, seen flying in from Harden Moor in Lancashire
2000   Astley Tip 23rd Sept Adult
2000   Chester Road, Sale 25th Sept Juvenile
2000   Heaton Park Reservoir 22nd Sept Dark-phase juvenile
2000   Orrell Water Park 25th Sept Adult
2000   Piethorne Valley 25th Sept Dark-phased juvenile
2000   Shell Carrington NR 1st Oct Adult
2001   Hulton Park 24th Sept Juvenile
2005   Arley Woods, Wigan 27th Aug Soaring with 3 Common Buzzards it drifted off south west
2008   near Outwood 17th Sep A juvenile ringed as a chick in the north of Scotland and fitted with a radio tracking device roosted at 53.646N 2.333W. By early October it had reached Morocco via France and Spain but was almost certainly dead by mid-October