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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.
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 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
A pair of Bee-eaters have bred at an undisclosed site in Greater Manchester but unfortunately on 20th July, it appears the birds abandoned and departed the area, possibly due to predation or some form of internal collapse of the nest burrow.
The birds first appeared in mid-June and quickly began breeding activity at a location which simply did not lend itself to large scale viewing, which would likely have caused disturbance to the birds. Discussions immediately took place with the most senior members of the RSPB Investigations Team who have dealt with all previous Bee-eater nesting attempts in the UK and under their expert guidance the news was supressed for the birds’ welfare. Further discussions and daytime nest watching and protection took place by a small but incredibly diligent team of local observers. It is believed that the first chick(s) likely hatched around the 13th July and with that, The Head of RSPB Investigations had intended to attend the site with the local observation team on Saturday 22nd July with a view to plan and potentially implement some form of public viewing once it was believed all the chicks had hatched and were near to fledging, in order to reduce the potential for any disturbance. Unfortunately, it seems luck was not on our, or more importantly, the Bee-eaters’ side. The site will remain confidential in the hope the birds may return next year and will get to a point where viewing may be permissible, but I would like to assure all observers that all possibilities for large-scale viewing prior to this point were considered but the birds’ welfare simply had to come first. Cheers, Ian With the ever increasing number of bird recording systems available to birders these days, this article by Assistant County Bird Recorder for Greater Manchester Steve Atkins, explains how to record the breeding birds you see so they can provide very important information which can be utilised in various conservation and ecological programs and why Greater Manchester's own recording system SWIFT provides the best platform for use in our county. 
 THE GREATER MANCHESTER COUNTY BIRD REPORT IS BACK
Well, kind of… Let’s cut to the chase, the Greater Manchester County Bird report is now 10 years out of date, however its catch up concept is alive and kicking but ultimately, will depend pretty much entirely upon your help to come to fruition. So, we are looking for those to join us in the exciting concept of designing and writing something innovative, an opportunity to be part of the complete process and bring it to life. A concept of two completely new style reports spanning five years each which gives us the opportunity to compare the annual data and to write and represent it in a fresh and engaging manner. There are opportunities for all skills and experience, from section and species writers to photographic editors, data analysts and proof-readers. If you have something to offer, even if that’s only currently enthusiasm, passion, and desire, then please get in touch for more details and let’s make it happen! We’d love to hear from you. Ian Ian McKerchar County Bird Recorder, Greater Manchester [email protected] Greater Manchester County Rarities Committee seeks expressions of interest for new members15/10/2022 With the current Greater Manchester County Rarities Committee members having served for a considerable amount of time now, we are seeking expressions of interest from potential new members to serve on its five-member committee.
Whilst the committee’s workload is reasonably low and in these days of digital photography much of that is made up of well photographed birds, we still encounter many challenges which ensure our work is varied and interesting, preserving the quality and standard of records within the county database which go on to be employed in important County and National commissions. Term of service is expected to be five years and our work is conducted mainly via email with the occasional informal get together as and when required. The following are considered desirable attributes for potential members:
Anyone interested should send a short (or long if you prefer!) birding biography of themselves via email and are also very welcome to contact me by any means to discuss anything to do with working within the committee or any other queries they may have. Ian [email protected] |
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Birds, birders and birding in Greater Manchester and way beyond...
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