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 Sep Ringed 9 days previously at Skokholm, Dyfed, released at Pennington Flash
1967   Meynell Drive, Leigh 7th Sep Released at Pennington Flash
1974   Slag Lane, Leigh 5th Sep Released at West Kirby, Cheshire
1977   Oldham 12th Sep The bird was found and taken into care for 10 days, then successfully released
1977   Walkden 29th Sep Bird found dead in a garden
1979   Astley 21st Sep Wrecked but released at Pennington the next day
1979   Prestwich 19th Sep A single wrecked bird
1988   Leverhulme Park, Bolton Sep 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 Sep No details
1992   Bury 17th Sep In a garden, released at Seaforth
1992   Leigh 16th Sep Found on central reservation of A580, released at Seaforth
1992   Oldham 21st Sep 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 Sep Found in the town centre released at Heysham on 14th Sept
1994   Bolton 13th Sep 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 Sep Found dead as the result of a road traffic collision
1994   Stockport 1st Sep In garden released at Crosby
1995   Harrop Green, Saddleworth 22nd Sep Found exhausted in a porch, released on Redbrook Reservoir next day
1997   Bolton 6th Sep Taken into a bird sanctuary but died of aspergillosis
1997   Tyldesley 29th Aug Released at the coast
1998   Westhaughton 16th Sep Found in garden then released on Lower Rivington Reservoir
1999   The Mount, Orrell 1st Oct Found and collected by RSPCA
2000   Breightmet, Bolton 26th Sep Taken into care but died
2000   Parkway playing fields 28th Sep Found near Chorlton Water Park, taken to Lower Moss Wood Wildlife Sanctuary at Knutsford, then relocated to Stapeley Grange and released in Oct