MANCHESTER BIRDING COUNTY LIFE LISTS

These county life lists assume birders have collected the most recent county rarities through the mid to late 90's up to the present date, unless otherwise stated in their omissions.

Please note that these lists follow strict BOU guidelines and so exclude Ruddy Shelduck, Greater Flamingo and any other species not on the official British List. Barnacle Goose is NOT acceptable (unless you can prove it's truly wild, this is due to their current status in north-west England) but Feral Pigeon is under cat.C (I know, I know...flying rats!). Species heard only in the county, those not accepted by the County or National Rarities Committee or those not considered not to be of wild origins are not acceptable to be included on these lists on this page .

* = list verified as following the above guidelines.

244*- Pete Berry

By far and away the top county lister, Pete has amassed some impressive species in the county over some 25 years, including such blockers as Manx Shearwater (Carrington, in the back of an RSPCA van!), Leach's Petrel (Pennington Flash), Ferruginous Duck (Chorlton Water Park), Eider (Castleshaw Reservoirs), Honey Buzzard (Heaton Park Reservoir), Red-footed Falcon (Chat Moss and Burnt Edge), Pomarine Skua (Pennington Flash), Common Crane (Sale Water Park), Corncrake (Chorlton Meadows), Nightjar (Chorlton Meadows/Chat Moss), Red-rumped Swallow (Denton), Nightingale (Pennington Flash), Red-backed Shrike (Shaw), Guillemot (Sale Water Park), Yellow-browed Warbler (Ladybrook Valley), Little Bunting (Adswood Tip) and Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir). He is currently more often than not to be found at his second home in Dumfries and Galloway (or birding somewhere in South America), which has recently cost him dearly with Bufflehead and Broad-billed Sandpiper glaring omissions from his list and Hawfinch and Red Kite county birds which continue to evade him. added Caspian Gull, which he saw in the county years ago but has only just this minute come from the dark ages to realise it's been split into a full species. Stay away from them hills Pete! 09.11.08

233*- Judith Smith

County Bird Recorder since 1992, Judith has managed to see virtually all the usual suspects of recent rarities over the years and has  seen difficult county species such as Manx Shearwater, Velvet Scoter, Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Bufflehead, Dotterel, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Arctic Skua, Little Auk (and not a dead one either!), Richards Pipit and Hawfinch. Her omissions however include Osprey (which continues to elude her) and like so many others, Red Kite!

233*- Rob Adderley

Rob is an Audenshaw Reservoirs regular (and husband to Sonia, see below) and has been birding in the county since about 1977 (as a school kid!) amassing some enviable birds indeed. Blockers include perhaps one of the counties biggest, namely White-billed Diver (Audenshaw Reservoirs, to read the account of this incredible record click here) and others such as Sabine's Gull (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Leach's Petrel (Audenshaw Reservoir), Eider (Castleshaw Reservoirs), Red Kite (Brushes Valley), Arctic Skua (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Red-rumped Swallow (Denton), Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Red-backed Shrike (Shaw), Hawfinch (near Godley Reservoir), Yellow-browed Warbler (Hollingworth) and Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir). His omissions include Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red-footed Falcon and a Bonxie at Audenshaw he missed by a couple of minutes and which still apparently hurts to mention!

225*- Dave Broome

Another county 'old timer' (for a youngish chap!), Dave has blockers such as Guillemot, Honey Buzzard, Lapland Bunting, Yellow-browed Warbler (Scotsman Flash) and Arctic Skua but still has afew much easier birds yet to catch up with. His omissions include Broad-billed Sandpiper and Red-footed Falcon on the mosses which he puts down to a combination of being away for most of it's stay and incompetence on his own part!

220*- Simon Warford

Darcy Lever (Bolton) based birder Simon has amassed a very respectable total given some of the omissions on his list, a point he clearly aims to put right but Desert Wheatear, Bufflehead, Broad-billed Sandpiper are all 'serious' omissions that may be doubtful to re-occur. As well as the 'usual suspects' of past county rarities he also has blockers of Dotterel (Two Lads Hill), Woodchat Shrike, Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Nightjar (Chat Moss), Red Kite (Lees Hill) and Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir).

215*- Paul Heaton

A long time county birder, Paul has no other excuse other than laziness (☺) for his omissions and (relatively few) glaring gaps which include Great Grey Shrike plus a few of the more recently available county rarities. His best birds include Honey Buzzard, Manx Shearwater (a very good county blocker indeed), Canvasback, Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), River Warbler, Black-faced Bunting and Desert Wheatear although his current favourite is a split between Snow Bunting and Dotterel (the latter of which was self-found!).

215*- Alan Warford

Father of Simon (see a couple of positions above), Alan's list is similar in content, not surprising considering they do a lot of birding together and includes all the 'usual' county blockers with also Leach's Petrel and Ring-billed Gull (Pennington Flash), Nightjar (Croxdens), Ferruginous Duck (Chorlton Water Park), Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Red Kite (Lees Hill), Dotterel (2 Lads) and Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir). He still has afew 'easier' omissions yet to catch up with but Broad-billed Sandpiper and Desert Wheatear whilst omissions, certainly don't fall into that easier category!

210- John Tymon

One of the original Pennington Flash 'moochers' and dedicated patch worker, as a certified 'non'-twitcher John's list is surprising considering a huge proportion is made up from sightings at Pennington Flash only! His biggest blocker is Tawny Pipit at Pennington (found by John and fellow 'moocher' Paul Brown), with afew others all at Pennington of Temminck's Stint (that he found in the late 70's), Leach's Petrel, Ring-billed Gull, Pectoral Sandpiper (another Tymon/Brown find), Osprey feeding in Rammies and finding the first ever Pied Flycatcher for Pennington!

209- Andy Bissitt

Pretty much a non-twitcher but a regular patch worker, Andy prefers to find his own birds which have included 2 Firecrests, 4 Ospreys, 3 Marsh Harriers, Great Grey Shrike, Spoonbill, Red Kite and Pectoral Sandpiper, although his list has recently 'un-blocked' omissions  such as Wryneck, Desert Wheatear and Shag to name but afew. His blockers include Leach's Petrel, Guillemot and Spotted Crake.

205*- Sonia Adderley

Wife of Rob (see above), Sonia has many of the 'usual suspects' on her list, including Whiskered and White-winged Black Tern, Temminck's Stint (Audenshaw 2006), Pectoral Sandpiper, Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Bufflehead, Red Kite (Lees Hill), Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir) and one huge 'blocker' in the shape of Sabine's Gull (Audenshaw Reservoirs). There are plenty of omissions on Sonia's list (so much more still to add!) including Snow Bunting due mainly to the fact that until 2006, she couldn't face going to Audenshaw Reservoirs!

202*- Brian Fielding

Having only started birding in the year 2000, Brian has been very active since then and has amassed a very reasonable county list, especially for such a short period of time. He has added all the recent county rarities, including Broad-billed Sandpiper, Bufflehead and Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir), with Ring-necked Duck (Rumworth), Temminck's Stint (Audenshaw) and Spotted Redshank (Abram Flashes) all added this year, but undoubtedly has afew 'easier' county birds yet to see, so I doubt this list will remain static for too long!

201*- Ian Woosey

Having only started birding at the end of 2002, Ian has made a concerted effort to get his county list up to scratch and his best birds include Desert Wheatear, Lesser Scaup, Green-winged Teal, Brent Goose, Alpine Swift, Fulmar, Cattle and Great White Egret and he has blockers of Gannet, Lapland Bunting and Caspian Gull but his highlight was finding 3 Avocets at the Wigan Flashes, the first ever record for that site.

200*- Mark Rigby

As an Oldham based birder, Mark has caught up with most of the manageable county species and has seen most of the recent county 'biggies' (including the Desert Wheatear) and has reasonable blockers of Velvet Scoter, Great Grey Shrike, Firecrest and Black-throated Diver.

200*- Paul Hammond

Paul's county life list includes such blockers as Temmincks Stint, Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Hobby and Iceland Gull, not to mention the 'big gripper', Sabine's Gull (Audenshaw Reservoirs).

200*- John Rayner

As a Hazel Grove based birder, John has been birding in the county since 1975 and over those years has managed plenty of the available county rarities but unfortunately has overlooked plenty more! Having only recently counted up his county list from verifiable records within his notebooks there remain some relatively easy species yet to add (and possibly a few 'armchair ticks' in those archives) but his best blockers to date include Bufflehead, Velvet Scoter, Corncrake, Alpine Swift, Richard's Pipit, Yellow-browed Warbler, Woodchat Shrike and Little Bunting.

198*- David Winnard

Rochdale stalwart Dave, despite having never twitched much outside of the Rochdale area still has more than afew enviable blockers on his list, such as a self found Red Kite at Watergrove Reservoir, Hawfinch and Black-throated Diver with more recent ventures into the county adding Grey and Red-necked Phalaropes and Whiskered Tern. His only real miss though was the Watergrove Broad-billed Sandpiper which occurred whilst he was at work!

197*- Alan Nuttall

Despite Alan's more regular patch of Whiteholme Reservoir being rather disappointingly classed as not in Greater Manchester, he still has an enviable list which includes amongst other excellent birds, Leach's Petrel and the huge self-found blocker of Collared Pratincole (at Hollingworth Lake).

196- John Baxter

Another long serving county birder and Pennington sufferer (visiting there 250 occasions in 1987 alone!), although John still just about lives in the county, his work is in Merseyside and now so is much of his birding. Highlights at Pennington include the site's first ever Mediterranean Gull and Treecreeper, whilst his county blockers include Little Auk, Blue-winged Teal, Marsh Warbler (a huge blocker!) and Osprey all at Pennington, with his omissions including Whiskered Tern, which apparently continues to break his heart!

195- Neil Calbrade

Despite having lived in Norfolk for the past few years, Neil was a very active Manchester birder and his local patch of the Piethorne Valley regularly turned up the goods with Honey Buzzard, Red Kite, Mealy Redpoll and Firecrest all self-found there. His other county blockers include Red-backed Shrike (Shaw), Leach's Petrel (Pennington Flash), Red-footed Falcon (Chat Moss), Eider (Castleshaw Reservoir), Great White Egret (Dover Basin) and most of the usual suspects (River Warbler, Black-faced Bunting, Blue-winged Teal etc).

191*- Andy Isherwood

Despite only living in the county for afew years, having migrated from East Yorkshire, Andy maintains a reasonable county list, particularly considering 170 of these have been at Pennington Flash, Hope Carr or in the Astley area! There are of course, many common county birds yet to make their way onto his list and a concerted effort to catch up with these would certainly boost his total considerably.

190*- Simon Hitchen

Hollingworth Lake regular Simon, despite having never paid much attention to county listing (until now!), has seen county blockers of Whiskered Tern, Black-faced Bunting, Canvasback, Wryneck, Grey Phalarope (at Pennington Flash) and most enviably of all, Collared Pratincole (Hollingworth Lake, 1983), a species which it seems no other county listers have managed! His work however, has cost him severely and prevented him from getting to see Desert Wheatear, Broad-billed Sandpiper and Gannet and there still remains one or two relatively easy county species he has yet to catch up with.

187*- Craig Higson

With over 95% of his list made up from the Wigan area alone, Craig has afew expectable omissions but atleast he has all the Pennington Flash 'usual suspects' of rarities from the past years and his list will undoubtedly benefit with a little more effort venturing out into the east of the county. His blockers (other than the 'norms') are Shag, Spoonbill and Avocet all at Pennington Flash, whilst a Raven seen there is an outstanding site tick, not surprisingly though, his most painful omission is the 2007 Desert Wheatear which he missed by 15 minutes- ouch!

184*- Steve Collins

Rochdale birder Steve only really started birding in 2003 but was lucky enough to be at Pennington Flash during the stay of the Whiskered Tern in 2002, saw the Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs) and has since also managed a rather sought after county blocker with a Red Kite at Watergrove Reservoir! He does though, have serious omissions which will take some catching up with the Wryneck at Horwich which he was a day too late to see, Broad-billed Sandpiper when he was at a cup final match at Cardiff, Gannet at Watergrove when he was leading a coach trip to Bempton Cliffs, to see Gannets (!), Great Northern Diver which he puts down to laziness and Bufflehead and Desert Wheatear which he was unfortunately stuck at work for.

178- Jimmy Meadows

A long-time county birder, Jimmy is a regular and dedicated patch worker who isn't unaccustomed to the odd county twitch!

175- Iain Johnson

Aside from the usual recent rarities, Iain has seen some very desirable county birds with amongst his blockers, Velvet Scoter (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Black-throated Diver (Castleshaw Reservoirs) and Purple Sandpiper (Audenshaw Reservoirs).

166- Simon Johnson

Moving to the county from the Bradford area, having only had his own local patch for the past few years and not being generally able to twitch county birds (through lack of transport) has hindered progression with his county list although he does have Leach's Petrel (Heaton Park Reservoir), Lesser Scaup, Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs), Nightjar and Pectoral Sandpiper (seen at Pennington before he, Simon not the Pec., moved to the county). He is though, missing several terribly easy county birds which should be 'mopped up' with great haste!

162- Rob Thorpe

Despite having been birding from an early age Rob has been 'getting back into birding' over from around 2002 and although he has several relatively easy omissions that should see his ranking rise rapidly he still has managed Osprey (that some eminent county listers still need) and atleast didn't miss the Black-faced Bunting.

156*- Tim Wilcox

Despite not having regular access to a car, meaning most of Tim's county birding is done by bike and bus, his total does include Great Northern Diver, 5 species of Grebe, Common Redpoll, Long-tailed Duck and Ring Ouzel amongst some good birds.

156*- Geoff Hargreaves

Having done some serious catching up recently, Geoff still has many more to come but his efforts so far have been very commendable and he has been rewarded with great county birds of Great Northern Diver, Marsh Harrier and Glaucous Gull to spur him on. Keep it up Geoff...nobodies ranking is safe!

150- Tony Coatsworth

Despite spending most of his time over the past few years contributing to the CAWOS bird atlas survey, part of Tony's 'square' is in Greater Manchester which has enabled him to spend atleast some of his birding time in the county.

142- Mike Passant

Although now residing in County Durham, ex-county birder Mike's county escapades have lead him to see some very sought after birds, including Ferruginous Duck, Velvet Scoter, Yellow-browed Warbler, Corncrake, Little Bunting and Collared Pratincoles. Did you notice it? What, I hear you ask? The 's' at the end of Collared Pratincoles, yes, Mike has seen both county records of this species and that's just being plain greedy ☺

127- Dean MacDonald

As a long time, but previously rather sporadic birder, Bolton based Dean has once again caught the 'bug' and sets to increase his total somewhat in the future which already includes the Horwich Wryneck, Wigan Flashes Great Grey Shrike and Black Redstart in Gas Street, Bolton town centre in 1975!

107- Andrew Newall

Andrew only started birding late last year but has already added one or two good birds and has plenty more to come!

76- Henry Cook

Being away at University has meant Henry has only been able to go birding in the county during his holidays or around his home of the Hale Barns area, but fully intends to rapidly improve his current total, especially once he has passed his driving test.