County garden lists

County lister or not, most birders surely keep a garden list, so why not add yours!

Admittedly this is his dad's garden but Dave of course did live there for much of his life and the garden does indeed overlook the flash, infact the bottom of the garden is the flash! His list, as you might expect, is sickeningly impressive (but still lacks afew common birds!) and includes excellent county birds such as Slavonian Grebe, Firecrest, Long-tailed Duck, Osprey, a flock of Red-throated Divers, Glaucous, Iceland and Yellow-legged Gulls, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Long and Short-eared Owl, Black Redstart, Yellow-browed Warbler, Water Rail and Grasshopper Warbler. His most painful omission however was a Spoonbill which was actually IN the garden whilst he was away in Scilly in 1990 (the bird was also seen at Carrington Moss the same day). Not surprisingly his list is unlikely to be bettered in the county, and I thought my garden list was good!

Jeff has a medium sized garden with a few large trees in the area, good vision to the south and the Bridgewater Canal about 300 metres away. Having lived there since 1989, Jeff admits to spending a lot of time in the garden (particularly when he should be doing something else!) which has resulted in some enviable birds the best of which are Red-legged Partridge, Fulmar (early 1990's), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Red Kite, Whooper Swan, Little Ringed Plover, Hobby, Merlin and Pintail.

Garden with southerly facing open aspect, some mature Oaks, Hawthorn hedgerow and fields at the rear, Astley Moss just over half a mile to the south, resident at this address for 9 years. Best birds: Bean Goose (the flock of 5 from Astley Moss 2006), Buzzard, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Tit, Green Sandpiper and Greenshank (11 species of wader in total), Goosander, Hobby, Grey Partridge, Red-legged Partridge, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail, Whooper Swan and regular Barn Owl.

Residing at this address since 1986, despite a relatively small garden, vision all round is very good, with a couple of mature trees with grassy margins with berry trees close by. Best birds: Woodcock (a bird regularly used to fly over the roof at dusk during the late 80's), Raven, Merlin (one flew through a neighbours garden one autumn), Waxwing (seen from front doorstep Feb. 2006), Lesser Whitethroat and Tree Sparrow (overflying birds when they used to breed nearby). added Whooper Swan, 15.11.08

75- Steve Christmas, Swinton.

Residing since 1982, Steve's medium sized suburban garden is near a wooded valley and has some impressive species on it's list, not least a Common Rosefinch caught and ringed there! Other notable species have included Common Redpoll (flock of 20), Willow Tit and migrant Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Woodcock, Lesser Whitethroat and Spotted Flycatcher. Flyover 'goodies' have included Crossbill, Tree Pipit, Yellow Wagtail and Common Sandpiper.

Moved into the house in October 2003. Best birds: Goosander, Buzzard, Merlin, Great Crested Grebe, Hobby, Peregrine, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Raven, Yellow Wagtail, Waxwing, Brambling, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.

Garden with open aspect, mature trees and field to the rear, Astley moss less than half a mile away. Best birds: Glaucous Gull (x2), Brambling (highest count 15), regular wintering Tree Sparrows (highest count 22), Whimbrel, Hobby, Woodcock, Lesser Whitethroat, Firecrest and Moorhen.

South facing garden, overlooked on all sides, has an area of grass and hedgerows with afew established trees. Best birds: Buzzard, Peregrine, Moorhen (flying round at night!), Whimbrel (also at night), Lesser Whitethroat, Whooper Swan, Tree Sparrow, Raven and Brambling (although most unusual actually in the garden probably Mallard or Lesser Black-backed Gull!).

Dave's own Garden (not that of his Dad's which lies at the top of this list!) is in Ashton-in-Makerfield and his best birds to date include Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Kingfisher (actually in the garden!), Moorhen and best of all, Yellow-browed Warbler. His most spectacular garden visitor however isn't included but nevertheless, the Channel-billed Toucan that graced it, was surely worthy of a mention!

Simon's 'house' is infact a top floor apartment near Besses of the Barn, Whitefield and so his 'garden' is infact south facing and includes the street below and then out across Manchester! He has lived there since May 2005 and has had remarkable results from visible migration, passage and flyovers, the best of which include Peregrine, Hobby, Ring Ouzel (wow!), Tree Pipit, Whooper Swan (a flock of 14), Green Sandpiper, Brambling, Wigeon and Reed Bunting, proving just what can be done regardless of where you live and with a little effort. added Waxwing, 15.11.08

After five years of (allegedly ☺) casual watching, Henry's highlights have been 2 Mealy Redpolls, Cormorant, Mallard (2 in his tiny pond), Teal, Moorhen, Woodcock, Snipe, Stock Dove and Brambling, all pretty impressive stuff although his local Lesser Whitethroats still evade him and his garden list!

North facing garden in fairly mature suburbia offering good cover, lived in the property since May 2003. Best birds: Brambling, Siskin (with an incredible 60+ in April 2006), Tawny Owl, Bullfinch (maximum count of 7!), Lesser Redpoll and Nuthatch. By far the strangest event was a group of 10 Mallard which landed in the garden in May 2006!

With a 30ft garden complete with mature Grey Alder, backing onto farmers paddock and then onto Holden Clough, Andrew's garden list undoubtedly has potential and has already recorded a regular pair of Nuthatches and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (lucky sod!).

49- Geoff Hargreaves, Platt Bridge, Wigan.

Geoff's suburban garden consists of a lawn, a few shrubs and 6 adjoining garden with conifers and mixed habitat but it's location just half a mile puts Geoff at the advantage of sighting some more unusual garden species and has already achieved good results with Buzzard, Oystercatcher, Common Tern, Ring-necked Parakeet and Yellowhammer.

100 foot lawn with mature Scots pine and Black Poplar trees only afew miles from the city centre, resident at this address for 12 years. Best birds: Grey Heron, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Bullfinch, Siskin and nesting Carrion Crow. Most notable occurrence was a 'fall' of Willow Warblers one Spring during a rain shower, but a record of Harris Hawk must run it a close second!

Mid-terraced, paved back yard with flower bed, potted plants, plenty of weeds (!) and playing fields to the rear. Ian's rather tongue-in-cheek total does however include Grey Wagtail and a one-legged Wren! I get the impression Ian may not spend much time in his back yard!!!!

Mid-terraced, back-to-back housing in Moss side, with little vegetation apart from some overgrown honeysuckle and some half dead 'things in pots'! His nearest tree was cut down he has had some trees planted along his street, his choice being a Mountain Ash which one day he hopes a Waxwing may visit. His best garden visitor to date is Grey Wagtail.