|
Dr Steve Christmas has complied the ringing report for Greater Manchester from 2011 to 2025.
Complete with a downloadable excel file of the complete data, head to the ‘articles’ page and then ‘miscellaneous’ to browse these excellent documents and the fascinating information within.
0 Comments
 Some may recall and even have seen the May 2015 Red-throated Pipit on Ludworth Moor, found by John Rayner.
A monumental county find, its story has never really been told, until now! Lost in the depths of my computer I recently came across its account and there is never a bad time to reminisce about such a glorious county rarity. So, enjoy. Head to the ‘articles’ and then ‘rarity accounts’ pages. As of 1st January 2026, Bonaparte’s Gull has been removed from the British Birds Rarities Committee’s list of species considered and as such any future records within Greater Manchester will now be assessed by its County Rarities Committee.
There remains only once accepted record of Bonaparte’s Gull in the county, at Heaton Park Reservoir on 26th January 2019 and we look forward to the next record with eager anticipation, though hopefully it will hang around enough for more than two people to see it this time! Ian  As of November 1st, 2025 Great White Egret will no longer be recognised as a Greater Manchester county rarity and has been removed from the County Rarity List. Full details of the decision and some analysis of past records can be found in the document below. 
Whilst there's no real such thing as a mid-summer birding lull anymore, not even in our county, there certainly isn't on this website as mid-July brings you two excellent birding articles to read while you enjoy the sun and start of return migration. Firstly, Rob Adderley writes about the sensational Surf Scoter he found on Audenshaw Reservoirs in June 2025 which can be found on the 'Articles' page and then 'Rarity Accounts'. And then, sit back and relax to Chris and Vicky Harper's fantastic and lavishly illustrated trip report about their visit to Costa Rica in February/March 2025 in the South America section of the 'Trip Reports' page.
 Like buses, another fantastic trip report comes in quick succession, this time from South Africa courtesy of Chris and Vicky Harper.
Head over to the Africa section of the Trip Reports page to have a read and enjoy!  Feel like you're in the fabulous birding destination of Ghana, if only in John Rayner's wonderful and fully illustrated trip report on the Africa section of the Trip Reports page.
March 2025 Ross’s Goose, the long-distance North American migrant, was added to Category A of the British List back in 2021 with a record in Lancashire and North Merseyside during the winters of 1970/71 and 1973/74 but recently a review was undertaken by BBRC of all records since then and that found many more individuals acceptable. This included one record for Greater Manchester and as such, Ross’s Goose is now formally accepted onto the County List. The accepted record is as follows:
Ross’s Goose (Bird J), 2008 Greater Manchester, Abram Flashes, 3CY+, 7th November (Rob Thorpe) The 2023 BTO Manchester Region Review has now been added to the 'miscellaneous' section of the Articles page.
It is with great pleasure I can confirm that a pair of Marsh Harriers successfully fledged three young at the Wigan Flashes Local Nature Reserve during August 2023. This is the first ever breeding record of the species in Greater Manchester and is testament to the years of work carried out by the Lancashire Wildlife Trust in their management of the site and in particular its reedbeds. My thanks to Andy Makin for his vigilance in monitoring the birds and providing important data which has been entered into the county database and passed on to the Greater Manchester Ecology Unit. Below: juvenile Marsh Harriers at the Wigan Flashes LNR, August 2023. Both photos courtesy of Martin Loftus   Below: adult male Marsh Harrier drops prey to one of its young at the Wigan Flashes LNR, August 2023. Photo courtesy of Martin Loftus  Below: juvenile Marsh Harrier at the Wigan Flashes LNR, August 2023. Videos courtesy of Andy Makin
|
||||||
|
|
Birds, birders and birding in Greater Manchester and way beyond...
|