Obviouslsy if you live next door to Pennington Flash or Wigan Flashes you have an advantage so maybe if you do you should try it by walking only!
My Dad and I decided to do our NYD list by "walking only" this year. We walked approximately 12miles (according to Google Earth), covering such birding hotspots as the old Sewage works in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Viridor Wood, Dover Lock, Wigan Flashes (which actually really is a birding hotspot, well for GM it is!), and the Three Sisters. We only managed to see a rather disappointing 59 species (plus another 3 heard-only, including that ever-elusive wigan Cetti's Warbler!), but it was still an enjoyable day out, and we fully intend to beat that list next New Year!
Maybe next year we could run a kind of Carbon Offsetting scheme for the GM NYD lists. Where for every mile you travel by car, you deduct one species from your total (just an idea ).
Until this NY Day's 66 with my mate Tony Darby by car my previous Mcr best was 57 by public transport and on foot on a March day in 2004 visiting first Platt Fields on the way to the bus stop on Wilmslow Rd. then Fletcher Moss/Millgate Fields by bus then bus to Chorlton WP, walk to Sale WP then through Priory Woods to Dane Road tram stop down to Timperley tram stop then along Sinderland Brook (no longer possible due to building work) and out round Carrington Moss until dark then back to Rusholme on the 42 bus. Standing about waiting for buses and trams uses up a hell of a lot of time plus the extra walking involved is pretty tiring but of course the slower you go the more you see! Now I'm an avid bike rider and do much of my birding on my own by bike I'll give it a go. Obviouslsy if you live next door to Pennington Flash or Wigan Flashes you have an advantage so maybe if you do you should try it by walking only!
geoff birding by bike, reminds me of a book, yes that its BIRDING BY BIKE THE HAMPSHIRE BIG YEAR 2005 by SIMON WOOLLEY, Now there a quest for someone Simon Woolley had a mission in 2005 to find 200 species in hampshire without using motorised transport, cracking read for the dark nights and makes you dust off the cobwebs in your shed get your bike and give it a go. wonder how many bikes you could see in GM just using a bike
congrats to the warfords a splendid effort a well planned nyd08
i,m still compiling the wigan flash (combined list)and will post it as soon as i,ve done it.
my total for nyd08 is 56,I opted for a hike from abram to crankwood and back down past lightshaw /dover basin back home for brunch then a circiut of horrock,s to mop up a few stragglers.after starting at first light and ending at 14.00 I was pleasantly surprised at my own total, the highlights buzzard and pink footed at dover,shoveler,goldeneye and wigeon on the back pool of horrock,s just as my legs had had enough a nice suprise of siskin,greenfinch and goldfinch all feeding at the bottom of my road.
Well what a NYD, I was well kn***ered after the two young whipper snappers dragged me round various sites in GM. My obervations are :-
What an under estimated site Clifton Country Park is. Woodland is probably best in North Manchester, River good with Dipper & Goosander, Marina also with plenty of Gadwall plus Wigeon.
Wigan Flashes came up trumps with everything we expected plus more meaning we didnt need to go to Pennington F. WF is now the most improved site in GM.
We perhaps should have done Astley Moss a bit earlier in the day as birds seem to go to roost earlier than we expected.
A bit surreal wandering round Horwich Moors in the dark looking for Red Grouse.
Thanks for all the assistance from everybody (too many too mention).
Nice to meet Brian & Jimmy at Pearsons + Dave Thacker & Hammy at Astley. Thanks to Dave for trying to get us Buzzard and Barn Owl.
Thanks to Simon and Paul for finding most of the Birds while I'm trying to keep up !
Respect to Mr Mckercher for his previous effort of 81 on his own.
81 is a cracking total for the day. Its just a pity that the Tree sparrows flew off about 30 minutes before you turned up and the Barn owl and Buzzards didn`t turn up. At the same time we were all at the feeding area Andy Isherwood was on the other side of Astley moss on Moss lane and had Merlin, Barn and Little owl. Thats birding for you. Best of luck next year.
I think we're getting near to the maximum REALISTICALLY achieveable total for a NYD list. 90 might be possible but all those birds will have to 'play ball' and as you know, that rarely happens. While there might be several that could and should have made their way onto the list, there are others that, especially come next year, probably won't occur again. Another county birder covered only 3 sites (and that really only involved 2) and achieved a very respectable total, add birds he should have seen from areas he didn't cover and it still probably only comes to the same 'just over 80' figure (full details on the website).
Either way it was a splendid effort by the 'Heaford Crew', but proves that 3 pairs of eyes aren't necessarily better than 1
Oh the plan was good Warfy did us proud with a detailed route of what to see and by when, prior to NYD we had Peregrine and Raven nailed down, plus a number of other goodies. Alas we failed to pay homage to the birds Gods, and it became obvious that someone had made a sacifice to the gods to thwart are day mist rain and FOG stopped us seeing the quarry never mind the birds, alas still bagging grouse on the misty moors is an experience. As for the long -tailed duck scoping it from the road saved us time and off to the new mega site for GM Clifton country park, oh yes what a place treecreeper and nuthatch within seconds and as for the star well warfys efforts to land us WOODCOCK will go down in history ( you had to be there a priceless show of fieldcraft in action) then to pull dipper was just brillant. Wigan flashes, cettis and whooper was a bonus but no stopping warfy as he pulled out brambling and water rail at the feeding station then again another sacifice was made by someone to the birding gods and it all came to a grinding halt we were ahead on schedule we had loads of common birds yet to see but no, the gods were not happy with us. How can you fail to see tree sparrow and barn owl on Astley moss How did we forget to get green sand at hope carr we drove past it, HO HUM never mind:
We had an excellent day all down to planning and hard work plus a 5.30 start on new years day it was fun we had bad luck we should have has an easy extra 9 species that were available on the day, that would have put us on 90. so yes a great foundation set for another birding year looking forward to 2008 lets see what it brings good luck to all GM birders whatever you are looking for as always KEEP BIRDING.
Just about completed our epic County New Years Day list in one piece, well i did but Paul fell over and slid down a banking on his back and got caked in mud near the mast road, Horwich-sorry paul but it was funny. Despite one or two terrible misses, some bad luck, and really bad fog and drizzle at our high altitude site causing us to dip on 2 guarenteed species, we managed a respectable 81. Despite having seen 76 species by 1.30pm we somehow only managed a further 5 species before dark. How we missed the Rindle Road Tree Sparrows i will never know. Also missed Kingfisher, Buzzard, Skylark, Corn Bunt and Sparrowhawk, well Paul saw a Spag in Astley but me and my dad missed it. Despite being at the Astley Barn Owl from 3.15-4pm we missed that too only to be told by dog walkers that it often flies right next to them and then finally a mad dash to Pennington for the Iceland Gull failed also due to being almost completely dark. I think with better weather and abit more time on the mosses 85 is definately possible.
List of species placed in order seen on the day (seen by all 3 of us).
did a new y day list around wigan flashes with a brief visit to mesnes and got a total of 50 species seen and heard which is 10 more than i got last year
Thanks for the encouragement guys, think we will need a fair bit of luck to get 80+ species, i have been working hard on our plan of action that will include some of the main sites and some not so well known sites. Certain species like the Golden Plovers in Bolton have been annoying me as they only seem to appear late morning onwards. Usual story too many sites and not enough daylight hours. As Paul said its just for fun and to try something different. Updates on anything good tomorrow to my mobile please,Happy New Year to all and Good birding for 2008.
one and all,i,m forsaking the reported redneck grebe(would be a lifer) but i don,t mind a flutter now and again , and hope it hangs around till i can see it,i.ll to stick to my nyd08 plan of enjoying the day on my local patch and see what turns up,green w/p smew the list is endless,but the still should be ignored as in r/d y dk if you find it.
Cheers the plan is simple get up early go out birding all day come home with a nice new list for 2008 As we always say it just for fun, but we are hoping to see a blooming lot keep birding And happy new year to all GM Birders made some good freinds in 2007 hope to meet some more in 2008. Happy New Year to Mr Mckerchar and thanks for a great web-site done yourself proud.
"to all interesed, my self and jimmy meadows will be combing the vast waters of the wigan flashes on new years day and will combine our results over a pie and pint somewhere int middle of the flashes"........
Have you got a still stashed away, brewing up moonshine in Bryn Marsh??
Nice dry run today, and with weather forecast new years day is looking like a good day for birding So good luck to all in the coming year, hope we all have fun and find some new birds. keep birding.
ps,Mr Mckerchar your web-site is safe and sound and i trust you will do us proud keeping it all in good order for the forthcoming future years
As you can see from the Clifton report My mate warfy seems to have done half the work suppose its down to me to find the other 50 species roll on new years day I say Will bring the coffee and sandwiches
Sorry Simon, would love to help with tea and biscuits on the first day of your yearlist (oops meant New Year's Day list) but Robert and I are planning an escapade out of the county for the day.
The river at Newbank Garden Centre, Dobcross, Uppermill area is a good site for Dipper. They do very nice cake and coffee there too, not that you'll be having time for that!
to one and all,i,ve just reread this thread and feel it,s only fair to clear a few things up,I didn,t know every man and his dog went out 'listing' on nyd,so before you all cry foul, me and jimmy and anyone else who want's to join in will obviously have our OWN list for nyd and i,ll proudly put mine on the website, I was more interested in how many speices were present on the flashes as a whole so no rushing around, just a combined list of stuff to see,and if you,ve a mind for it cetti,s and a bittern in one spot,if carlsberg did birding
New years day falls on the wrong day for me - I have my son on Tuesdays, so, at most i'll manage an hour at Elton Res. I'll be lucky if i hit 40 species!
41 with Firecrest Paul
Well getting closer to New Years Day and Ive been checking a few Dipper sites, cause what a nice bird to get on our NYD list, but can I find a reliable winter Dipper, other than me, can I hell. Barrow Bridge - No, Leverhulme/D Lever(usually never fail) - No, Burrs CP -No, Bury Bridge -No, Seven Acres -No, Moses Gate - No. Not a Dipper in sight where have they all gone thats what I want to know.
New years day falls on the wrong day for me - I have my son on Tuesdays, so, at most i'll manage an hour at Elton Res. I'll be lucky if i hit 40 species!
Ian McKerchar wrote: Anyway, will a joint effort be fair? Shouldn't you recieve a 'handicap' for having more pairs of eyes/ears (other than dragging Paul around with you ), shouldn't it be a personal list?
very much a handicap for me with Paul and my Dad slowing me down!
as I see it three people seeing the same birds constitutes three separte lists, so will will all have news years day lists I have not missed a new years day in alot of years( 30 years now) god that some good birding. and it all depends on the weather either way go out have fun and enjoy 2008. keep birding.
Rules, rules, what rules As long as YOU see all the birds YOU are counting on YOUR New Years Day list then you're alright, or are we going for a joint effort? If so I shall amass a small army of observers and crush you and your 'little party' into dust` In actual fact I shall be finishing my night shift at 9am on New Years Day so you are very unlikely to see me out, although I might get around the mosses or Hope Carr and see what I can help you out with. I must admit that I was very lucky with some great birds knocking about the county on my 81 species year and absolute all or nothing attitude which involved only one meal all day, so that won't be happening again
Anyway, will a joint effort be fair? Shouldn't you recieve a 'handicap' for having more pairs of eyes/ears (other than dragging Paul around with you ), shouldn't it be a personal list?
As already mentioned and just to confirm myself, Warford senior and Paul Heaton will be attempting to beat Mr McKerchar's County New Years Day list record of 81 set in 2005.
Its about time some other names appeared in the day listing section! The main aim is to have a good days birding and a laugh and to see how good Ians total was. And no its not the start of my year list so dont suggest it
No changing the rules Mr McKerchar as theres 3 of us
So i urge you all to get loads and loads of nice sightings up on the forum between now and then
3 Siskins at the old A-i-M sewage works when I did the TTV on Saturday, also Yellowhammer and Grey Partridge on the path up to the B5207 past the manure heap at the farm - always a good place for them...
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
Me and the Old Man are planning to kick start our 2008 Ashton-in-Makerfield Area list with a walk from our house (in Ashton), through the old Sewage Works, through Viridor Wood, Abram Flashes, along the canal to Wigan Flashes and then through the Three Sisters back to Ashton. Probably won't be anything spectacular, but you never know... May well bump into the Wigan Flashes gang (and maybe even the WF Bittern ) on our travels
paul and all i,ve only ever had one good sighting of the wigan flashes bittern,:heard him a few times though and we seem to learning where he,s most likley to be,i,ll have text ready to send to all sundry if he turns up on NYD08.
Trains permitting I'll be at Stoke / Hull (I was brought up in Macclesfield so it was a choice of Man City or Stoke - I went for the Blues, a lot of my mates went for the Potters)
many ornithologists keep yearly list of birds they see.We brothers began this business early.Moreover, once christopher and I had started our 'fraternal partnership' ( not that we ever either called it that or thought of it in such high-falutin' terms) we always tried to begin with a good list on 1st January.
And so begins H.G ALEXANDER book SEVENTY YEARS OF BIRDWATCHING, he began his new years day list in 1905, in 1967 he was still at it and had BROWN THRASHER as a Jan 1st bird.
I began in1976 and have never missed a new years day since from 30 birds recorded then to 94 in 1997 its always been a favourite day of mine. This year (with the warfords dad and son) I will be doing a county new years day, and now we will rely on geoff to pin the BIttern down for us .Any other Gm birders who want to help us out send me a pm and i will keep in touch keep birding stay happy.
I do believe you won't be alone chaps as the 'partnership' (read into that what you want, snoring indeed...) of Warfy (junior) and Heaton will be embarking on a big county new years day list. My best efforts are on the website for all to see and being probably the only birder to seriously attempt it, are the current records but they are there for the taking and no mistake, so give it your best effort and I'd urge anyone who is able to, to give it a go, it's only one short day and can be great fun. Spare a thought though for us less fortunate folks who have to work on New Years Day though, all togther now...awww
to all interesed, my self and jimmy meadows will be combing the vast waters of the wigan flashes(still hoping to recruit a couple of other wigganers)on new years day and will combine our results over a pie and pint somewhere int middle of the flashes,to establish a list of birds present. we think a target of 60/ 70 is possible 80+ would be a very good day indeed,obliging.bittern and the returning smew(i,ve had a postcard) so gloves off??anyone else going out on NYD08.
who saw most of them
as the old Sewage works in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Viridor Wood, Dover Lock, Wigan Flashes (which actually really is a birding hotspot, well for GM it is!), and the Three Sisters.
).
, we managed a respectable 81. Despite having seen 76 species by 1.30pm we somehow only managed a further 5 species before dark. How we missed the Rindle Road Tree Sparrows i will never know. Also missed Kingfisher, Buzzard, Skylark, Corn Bunt and Sparrowhawk, well Paul saw a Spag in Astley but me and my dad missed it
the list is endless,but the still
should be ignored as in r/d y dk if you find it.
jimmy
