MANX SHEARWATER

 

All of the 24 records below involve birds found exhausted in the county after westerly gales and all are evenly dispersed throughout the month of September but of course, as with all wrecked birds, attempting to pre-empt the location of their arrival is a lottery.

It is worth mentioning that should you be lucky enough to find a Manx Shearwater in the county (as with any inland county), the bird should only be released on the coast, preferably at night and not at any inland water, should you have any doubts over the birds health the RSPCA should be called.

                                                                                            

1948   Wigan Road, Leigh 5th Sept Ringed 9 days previously at Skokholm, Dyfed, released at Pennington Flash
1967   Meynell Drive, Leigh 7th Sept Released at Pennington Flash
1974   Slag Lane, Leigh 5th Sept Released at West Kirby, Cheshire
1977   Oldham 12th Sept The bird was found and taken into care for 10 days, then successfully released
1977   Walkden 29th Sept Bird found dead in a garden
1979   Astley 21st Sept Wrecked but released at Pennington the next day
1979   Prestwich 19th Sept A single wrecked bird
1988   Leverhulme Park, Bolton September A single bird, presumably forced inland by gales. It was caught and released at Rivington, and was seen to fly off over the moors towards the sea
1988   Pennington Flash 4th Sept No details
1992   Bury 17th Sept In a garden, released at Seaforth
1992   Leigh 16th Sept Found on central reservation of A580, released at Seaforth
1992   Oldham 21st Sept In a garden, released at Seaforth
1993   Queens Road, Bredbury 2nd Oct Found tapping on a back door of a house, taken into car and released at Flamborough
1994   Bolton 13th Sept Found in the town centre released at Heysham on 14th Sept
1994   Bolton 13th Sept Found Horwich and released at Lower Rivington Reservoir, had been ringed on Skomer, Dyfed on 06.09.94, only a week before it appeared on the patio (277km)
1994   Little Hulton end of Sept Found dead as the result of a road traffic collision
1994   Stockport 1st Sept In garden released at Crosby
1995   Harrop Green, Saddleworth 22nd Sept Found exhausted in a porch, released on Redbrook Reservoir next day
1997   Bolton 6th Sept Taken into a bird sanctuary but died of aspergillosis
1997   Tyldesley 29th Aug Released at the coast
1998   Westhaughton 16th Sept Found in garden then released on Lower Rivington Reservoir
1999   The Mount, Orrell 1st Oct Found and collected by RSPCA
2000   Breightmet, Bolton 26th Sept Taken into care but died
2000   Parkway playing fields 28th Sept Found near Chorlton Water Park, taken to Lower Moss Wood Wildlife Sanctuary at Knutsford, then relocated to Stapeley Grange and released in Oct