[you can now have a few "lie ins" and attend all those weddings you enjoy going to with peace of mind!]

What lie ins and weddings you sarcastic git but thanks very much Rob for your help and assistance along the way and that extra push when I needed it most.

Can understand why the few that have attempted the GM year list have vowed never again. But come on lads and gals Mr McKerchar's total is there to be beaten and anyone brave enough to try will have Ian's full support. However it does take over and as Rob pointed, sarcastically, weddings do get in the way.

Many thanks to all that have helped along the way and stood for hours watching reedbeds or clumps of vegetation with me in hopes of the latest target.

As for photographing birds in GM, Paul, started off with YL Gull (LBB Gull and BH Gull in shot), Golden Plover and record shot of LT Duck on New year's Day. Would have been more if Pennington wasn't like Blackpool front and I could gain access to Bunting hide.

Hats off to Ian with this website. Through it there have been quite a few friendships formed, information shared and knowledge gained by all. Hopefully will get to know a few more that regularly use this site at the next major find of one of its contributors.

Now I need to catch up with 8 months of Notes as the next few weeks unfold.

Thanks to all

paul,well done that man,a super effort and always with a smile on your face,

cheers geoff

-- Edited by Geoff Hargreaves at 21:12, 2008-01-02

Well done pal from me and Sonia.......you can now have a few "lie ins" and attend all those weddings you enjoy going to with peace of mind!

Paulh wrote:

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PS. Whats the record for most number of species photographed in GM

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I'll get started sorting mine out. I have 199 different species so far, and many of these should be GM birds, taken in GM.

yep sorry paul your achievement was fantastic as someone said doing a year list really screws you up, really enjoyed our talks a bryn marsh while watching reeds and reeds,
now get back to that promise of taking pictures of all the GM birds.
well done but dont forget to keep birding

PS. Whats the record for most number of species photographed in GM

I take my hat off to you as well Paul, great achievement and well done.
Steve

In all the excitement caused by the NYD lists, the conclusion of Paul Hammond`s 2007 County Yearlist seems to have gone unnoticed.............until now !

Well done Paul on reaching the fantastic total of 172. CONGRATULATIONS.

I picked up a few county lifers this year whilst out with Paul, and we saw some good birds together.

Hats off to you pal !

The best advice I can give is don't get drawn in by Mr and Mrs Adderley's constant suggestions that doing a yearlist is a really good idea. It's neither big nor clever. Manchester yearlisting screws you up!

Well done Paul! And good luck Warfy (you lunatic!)

PS there's no shame in "doing a McKinney". It takes guts and courage to admit that 7 weeks into the year you're going insane from trying to find a Firecrest at Astley Green. And as for that invisible Merlin...

Cheers Andrew. As for Audi Im there majority of Saturdays from first light and quite a few Sundays but don't stay for as long on the latter.

congrats Paul 170 in a year wow, i dont know how you have done it with a full time job and maybe this is why ive bnot seen you at audy latley. again well done see you soon

Andrew

well done paul, it takes a lot of effort to get 170 species in a year as i well know! as for anyone breaking the 180 i think would require a massive effort, almost birding full time for the year. good luck to whoever trys next.

If you should go for a year list though Simon, remember a few things:

1. Don't do a 'Woosey'. That is to pretend you're not really year listing but go for everything you can and then make you're mind up at some point whether it's worth it or not (he's probably still got a secret list right now, one or two short of the magical 180).

2. Don't do a 'McKinney'. That is to openly admit you're year listing then give up after a short period of time when you suddenly realise that year listing in our small county is harder work or more boring than you originally thought, most likely a mix of the two! (and things were going so well Tom )

3. Year listing can seriously damage your health. Rob Adderley, placid, mild mannered, last of the true gentlemen turns into manic, frantic, desperate year lister, who's obsession culminated in preventing his year list suffering wife (, don't know who was worse half the time) from having her Christmas dinner by dragging her to Elton Resr to look for a Brent Goose which he knew was never going to stay. Now almost fully reabilitated Rob can circumnavigate the M60 without the need for 'medication' and can maintain a conversation without persistant reference to "ooh, I'm getting close to your total", "what were you on by the end of (insert month here)?", "I'm on my 4th circuit of the M60, anything else turned up?" and "but just 'cos it's leucistic doesn't mean it's not wild and anyway it passed the 'bread test' so it's on".

4. It is, what ever you may think before hand, extremely competitive (rumours of Paul Hammond actually living at Audenshaw reservoirs until the end of the year are currently unconfirmed) to the point that if anyone should beat my record they should be very careful not to unexpectedly 'breakdown' in their car on the level crossing at Rindle Road and meet an untimely demise whereupon their total will no longer stand (new rule ).

No luck with Lesser Pecker. The only place I have seen them was Worsley woods but no luck last two years. Know they have been sighted at Poise brook where I've been this morning and Etherow CP where I was told earlier on in the year one was sighted.

As for Bittern, pure luck, connected on my first ever visit to Wigan Flashes 2 or 3 years ago. Never repeated since.

Audi in a short while for the roost. A nice Glaucous, Bonaparte's or Ring-Billed Gull will do nicely.....I wish

A little birdy or two told me both you and Paul Heaton were entering into the spirit of things and Year Listing in 2008

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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is gm county year listing getting easier? .

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On saying that though, certain county species considered easy in previous years are much more difficult nowadays, take a look at Tree Pipit this year alone! I suppose it's all swings and roundabouts but one thing is for sure, 170 in a year takes more effort than you might give credit for and Paul, along with all others who have broken this barrier (see the list on the website) deserve concratulations. I do strongly believe that 180 is achieveable though, so who will be the first to crack it?

hammy wrote:

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Off now to find Lesser Pecker and the mega Mr Adderley says I should have found because I've been off four days already

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Make sure you give me a tinkle when you track down a Lesser Pecker, my next target bird after Bittern

The vicious rumours where started by mr Woosey, right trouble maker! Or perhaps its true

-- Edited by warfy at 13:30, 2007-11-16

Congratulations Paul, reaching 170 in mid November is really good effort in a year thats been so poor for waders.
I'd like to refute the idea that Simon is doing a GM year list in 2008. I think its vicious rumours spread by persons unknown. He is NOT doing a year list in 2008.

Thanks for all the support you guys have given me. Year listing isn't for the faint hearted. Missed a couple of good birds due to family commitments ie Glaucous gull and Gannet, some to work commitments ie Red-Necked Phalarope, Lapland Bunting, Yellow-Browed Warbler

I think Ian is spot on that he, through the forum, has created a band of birding brothers who are out to help one another therefore making the task easier. I don't even think Ian, when he started the website, realised what a cracking site he was nurturing.

Good luck to you Simon next year because you'll need it and us of course. You're birding skills will get you far but you will still need quite a bit of luck and weather conditions.

Btw my 170th bird was a Jack Snipe at Bickershaw Ruck

Off now to find Lesser Pecker and the mega Mr Adderley says I should have found because I've been off four days already

Here's to Ian and the forum members

Now where's them Waxwings. What competitive streak

as a side note and not taking anything away from paul's effort this year nor warfy's next, is gm county year listing getting easier? This year especially, with the blossoming of this forum, has seen the dispersal of information througout the county reach levels never before imagined let alone anywhere near achieved, i missed atleast 4 good species in 2002 that i could have had the opportunity to see simply because we didnt know they were there until records were sent in for the county report the following year! Of course, no amount of info ensures birds will stay put or just what will occur so some things will never change.

me, worried! 5:30am at audenshaw resrs most mornings combined with his efforts elsewhere would combine to ensure paul had deserved it should he beat me and good on him but when considering his total remember that, like those hardy yearlisters since my effort, i too missed plenty of species and with better fortune could easily have achieved 185. Atleast paul can now appreciate what a competative county year list entails, much like warfy will next year!

I assume the pecker you refer to is not a Lesser Pecker as I think Mr H still needs that for the year!

As you very well know, Mr Adderley, I did a `McKinney` long before Tom did himself. In fact, I bottled it before the year began.
I can`t do it next year either because Mr Warford (jnr) has jumped in and claimed the title of `Official Yearlister`..............Hats off to him I say !

Keep yer pecker up Paul ; nearly there !

good effort Paul just think with Leaches, L Auk and a better year for waders mr Mckerchar would be a worried man, what was the 170th today by the way.

All quiet from mr woosey maybe hes locked his spare set of car keys in his car too

Congratulations to Paul Hammond today on seeing his 170th species in the County this year, keep going mate the end is in sight. No doubt possibly one or two County Yearlisters from years goneby are now anxiously checking their rearview mirrors as Paul's hand hovers over his right indicator switch. No news either way yet from that other "secret" yearlister Mr Woosey, but rumours are circulating that his yearlist is the birding eqivalent to 3 arrows in the treble twenty space on a dartboard!