Please note, many birders are now updating their lists on these pages to adopt the most current taxonomic changes, as of June 2025. These changes mean Common and Arctic Redpoll are no longer countable (now only ‘Redpoll’ is!), as aren’t Hooded Crow and Green-winged Teal, which are now no longer split and countable seperately. Birders wishing to adopt these changes on their own lists should just drop me a line with what they need taking off.
Latest additions:
NEW! Many county listers add a new county tick whilst a few also add an Audenshaw Reservoirs site tick and one a Tameside borough tick. I add a county garden tick. added 21.06.25
NEW! Simon Warford adds an Elton Reservoir site tick. added 11.06.25
NEW! Andy Makin adds a county garden tick. added 10.06.25
Please note that these lists follow strict BOU guidelines and so only include species on the official British List. Species heard only in the county, those not accepted by the County or National Rarities Committee or those not considered to be of wild origins are not included in this table. No full personal lists are preserved, only the totals, which are published in good faith and at the request of the owner of them without being verified other than conforming to the guidelines above.
Lists which have not adopted the current taxonomic changes as of June 2025 (which would mean the removal of Mealy and Arctic Redpoll, Hooded Crow and Green-winged Teal) are denoted by a red * and those which have not also verified themselves as following the above BOU official British List guidelines are denoted by a double red **
Anyone wishing to add or update their own list just needs to drop me, Ian McKerchar, a line.
NAME
SPECIES TOTAL
Pete Berry
264*
Pete's blockers include Manx Shearwater, Leach's Petrel, Ferruginous Duck, Honey Buzzard, Red-footed Falcon, Pomarine Skua, Corncrake, Red-rumped Swallow, Nightingale, Red-backed Shrike, Bonaparte's Gull, Guillemot, Little Bunting and Gannet. His biggest omissions are Bufflehead and Broad-billed Sandpiper.
Andy Makin
262*
Blockers include Leach's Storm-petrel, Pomerine Skua, Blue-winged Teal, Honey Buzzard, Nightingale, Richard's Pipit, River Warbler, Baird's Sandpiper, Arctic Skua, Black Stork, Red-footed Falcon. Misses are Bufflehead and Broad-billed Sandpiper. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Dave Broome
256
Dave has blockers such as Guillemot, Crane, Honey Buzzard, Marsh Warbler and Arctic Skua. His omissions include Broad-billed Sandpiper and Red-footed Falcon. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Rob Adderley
259*
Rob's blockers include perhaps one of the counties biggest, namely White-billed Diver (Audenshaw Reservoirs) and others such as Leach's Petrel, Arctic Skua, Red-rumped Swallow, Red-backed Shrike and Gannet. His omissions include Broad-billed Sandpiper and Red-footed Falcon. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Simon Warford
256
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 Woodchat Shrike, Barnacle Goose (a flock accepted as wild birds), Nightjar (Chat Moss), Red Kite (Lees Hill) and Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir). added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
John Rayner
255*
As a Hazel Grove based birder, John has been birding in the county since 1975 and his best blockers to date include Bufflehead, Corncrake, Baird's Sandpiper, Alpine Swift, Richard's Pipit, Woodchat Shrike and Little Bunting.
Mark Rigby
251*
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, Baird's Sandpiper, Crane, Goshawk and Black-throated Diver. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Dave Ousey
250*
Dave started birding out off Rochdale in 1983 but moved to Whitworth in 2005 and has amased some enviable blockers such as Collared Pratincole, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Corncrake, Fulmar, Red-footed Falcon, Leach's Petrel and Ferruginous Duck. He has though missed Stone Curlew, Desert Wheatear and still needs Gannet.
Brian Fielding
249*
Brian's blockers include Broad-billed and Baird's Sandpiper, Bufflehead and Red-rumped Swallow. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Alan Warford
244*
Alan very sadly passed away in January 2022 but his list included county blockers of Ferruginous Duck, Alpine Swift and Gannet, with omissions including Broad-billed Sandpiper and Desert Wheatear.
Andy Bissit
243**
An irregular twitcher but a regular patch worker, Andy prefers to find his own birds which have included Great Grey Shrike, Spoonbill, Red Kite and Pectoral Sandpiper. His blockers do include Guillemot though.
Sonia Adderley
242*
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 and Gannet (Watergrove Reservoir). added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Ian Campbell
237
added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Simon Hitchen
236*
Simon has blockers of Whiskered Tern, Black-faced Bunting, Canvasback and Collared Pratincole. His work however, has cost him severely and prevented him from getting to see Desert Wheatear or Broad-billed Sandpiper.
Paul Wilson
235
Paul has managed some quality county birds including Temminck's Stint, Great Grey Shrike, Red-rumped Swallow, Pectoral Sandpiper, Little Bittern, Alpine Swift, Surf Scoter and self found White-winged Tern and Bee-eater. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Karen Foulkes
235
Karen's biggest county blockers are Collared Pratincole at Hollingworth Lake, Little Bunting at Adswood Tip, Black-faced Bunting, Whiskered Tern, Blue-winged Teal and Ferruginous Duck at Chorlton Water Park. Worst misses include River Warbler. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Andy Isherwood
234
added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Colin Moran
233*
Colin has some enviable blockers such as Guillemot, Ferruginous Duck, River Warbler, Black-faced Bunting, Red-backed and Woodchat Shrike and Bufflehead. Unfortunately he missed the Desert Wheatear and also the Broad-billed Sandpiper.
John Tromans
231*
John's best county blocker is easily Little Bunting.
Colin Davies
227*
Colin's blockers include no other county listers have not got, those being the enviable Penduline Tit and Purple Heron! Despite only actually living in the county since 2016 though, his many forays from his previous home of St. Helens has seen him catch pop with most of the county's previous megas and multi-observer rarities along with other blockers such as Blue-winged Teal, Ferruginous Duck, Green-winged Teal, Manx Shearwater, Red-rumped Swallow, Stone Curlew and White-winged Black Tern.
Paul Hammond
227*
Paul's county life list includes such blockers as Red-rumped Swallow and Alpine Swift (Audenshaw Reservoirs). added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Tim Wilcox
224*
His blockers include Crane, Pied-billed Grebe, Stone Curlew, Dotterel, Great Grey Shrike and Shore Lark. He has continued to fail to see Snow Bunting and Sandwich Tern though.
Chris Harper
225*
Having seen most of the more recent county rares, his blockers include Ferruginous Duck, Whiskered Tern, Great Skua, Red-throated Pipit, Two-barred Crossbill, Nightjar, Kentish Plover and Little Bittern. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Steve Collins
224*
Steve has managed a few blockers but has also missed Wryneck, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Gannet, Bufflehead and Desert Wheatear. added Surf Scoter on Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Gary Crowder
219*
County blockers and particular goodies include Blue-winged Teal, Canvasback, Woodchat and Great Grey Shrike, River Warbler, Black-faced Bunting, Ring-billed Gull and Water Pipit but his omissions do include Wood Warbler.
Vicky Harper
220*
Vicky 's blockers include Great Skua, Sabine's gull, Siberian Chiffchaff, Nightjar, Kentish Plover, Two-barred Crossbill, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Velvet Scoter and Spoonbill. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Mike Passant
218*
Despite still living in exile, Mike has still managed to connect with most of the rare and scarce recorded in the county over recent years including some impressive blockers considering the considerable distance he has to cover in order to manage them, such as the Pennington Flash Manx Shearwater, Leach's Petrel and Roseate Tern, which along with the Sabine's gull are also the only ones he's ever seen at an inland location in the UK too. His other much sought after county blockers include Ferruginous Duck, Corncrake, Little Bunting and two (yes, two!) Collard Pratincoles. He nevertheless still need a handful of more annually occurring species and has missed quite a few short stayers amongst other rarities.
John Tymon
216**
One of the original Pennington Flash 'moochers' 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.
Craig Higson
210*
Craig's blockers (other than the 'norms') include Spoonbill at Pennington Flash but not surprisingly though, his most painful omission is the 2007 Desert Wheatear which he missed by 15 minutes- ouch!
David Winnard
203*
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 Hawfinch 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!
Barry Hulme
201*
Pennington Flash devotee Barry is rarely to be found away from his second (or perhaps first!) home and unsurprisingly his county list is only four more than his flash list! His best county birds include Desert Wheatear, Red-necked Phalarope and Turtle Dove.
Alan Nuttall
200*
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, Spoonbill and the huge self-found blocker of Collared Pratincole (at Hollingworth Lake).
Keith Rowland
198
Amongst Keith’s best blockers are Crane (Elton 2024), Black-throated Diver (Pennington Flash 1981) and Ferruginous Duck (Chorlton Water Park 1985) added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Neil Calbrade
197*
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) and Red-footed Falcon (Chat Moss) plus most of the usual suspects (River Warbler, Black-faced Bunting, Blue-winged Teal etc).
James Walsh
197*
Current county blockers include Ferruginous Duck, Spoonbill, Woodchat Shrike, Ring-billed Gull, Black-faced Bunting, River Warbler and Water Pipit.
Rob Thorpe
197*
Tony Coatsworth
196*
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 at least some of his birding time in the county.
John Baxter
196**
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 and Marsh Warbler (a huge blocker!), with his omissions including Whiskered Tern, which apparently continues to break his heart!
Nick Isherwood
180*
Rick Hall
175*
Best birds thus far include Pied-billed Grebe, Black-throated Diver, Slavonian Grebe, Great Skua and Snow Bunting. added Surf Scoter at Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
Nick Hilton
172**
Highlights of Nick's county life list are true county blockers of Common Crane (Chat Moss 1983), Ferruginous Duck (Chorlton WP) and Red-backed Shrike (Shaw). He unfortunately missed the Black-faced Bunting though!
Adam Jones
170*
Having started county birding in April 2010 Adam has lots yet too add but is steadily working his way through them!
Brian Fogg
168*
Since starting birding in 2004 Brian has self-found such good county birds as Great White Egret, Avocet and Bittern, all at Elton Reservoir.
Phil Owen
166**
Whilst not a county twitcher, Phil has nevertheless managed several good county birds including Pectoral Sandpiper and Eider.
Neil Southworth
157**
Lancashire birder Neil concentrates mainly on his Chorley area but does venture into Greater Manchester has seen some good county birds with blockers of River Warbler, 'the' bunting, Whiskered Tern and Wryneck.
Jon Bowen
156*
Jon has been birding since 2010 and has amassed some good county birds with all six grebes, Snow Bunting and Ring Ouzel.
Phil Hampson
150*
Whilst Phil has been birding for many years it is only in recent years that he had begun concentrating on county birding and as such there are many missing species from his list, though it does include Black-faced Bunting!
Andrew Huyton
148*
Andrew used to focus his birding on the Calderdale area and also Flamborough (!) but now is a regular patch birder at Hollingworth Lake. His Highlights include, Osprey, Red Kite, Hobby, Caspian and Yellow-legged Gull and the Pennington Flash Black-faced Bunting.
Dean MacDonald
137**
As a long time, but previously rather sporadic birder, Bolton based Dean's best birds includes the Horwich Wryneck, Wigan Flashes Great Grey Shrike and Black Redstart in Gas Street, Bolton town centre in 1975!
Keiron Rigby
126*
Probably the county's youngest genuine avid birder at 7 years old (as of 2012) his excursions with dad Mark (see just a few further up these rankings) have netted him his best birds so far of Garganey, Red-crested Pochard, Common Scoter, Great Northern Diver, Great White Egret, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Black and Arctic Tern, Tree Pipit, Waxing and Snow Bunting.
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Saturday 15th of February 2025 08:21:00 PM
Most of us have a local patch, or perhaps even few which we visit and whether we like to admit it or not, we all keep a list of the species we've seen there (written or otherwise). No matter if you visit regularly or only occasionally, this is your opportunity to have your personal site list published on here, so long as its in Greater Manchester.
Lists confirmed as following the most current taxonomic updates, as of June 2025, are denoted by a black *
SPECIES TOTAL
SITE
NAME
221
Pennington Flash
Ian McKerchar
Birding there 'seriously' and regularly since 1980 (with only sporadic visits before), moving swiftly into almost daily visits through the early 80's to the early 90's until more 'choice' visits in the mid to late 90's: back as a proper regular this millennium. Many blockers, in fact far too many to mention but Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Serin, Red-necked Phalarope, Barn Owl, Snow Bunting, Manx Shearwater, Little Auk, Great Skua, Black-throated Diver, Black-winged Stilt, Barnacle Goose (ringed wild birds), Green-winged Teal, Glossy Ibis, Firecrest, Hawfinch, Red-legged Partridge, Nightingale, Arctic Redpoll (no longer a separate species), Marsh Tit (no...a real one!), Ring Ouzel, Hen Harrier and Ferruginous Duck are some of the best that others may not have managed.
202
Pennington Flash
Andy Makin
198*
Pennington Flash
Barry Hulme
Covering Pennington since 1996 Barry is easily the most regular keen observer there and already has many excellent finds to his name. He has seen most of the recent site 'megas' with the notable exception of Whiskered Tern, although one of his blockers, Fulmar, has only ever been seen there by an extremely small handful of people. His omissions include Spoonbill and Barn Owl.
196*
Pennington Flash
Dave Broome
After covering the site for many years Dave's total includes good site blockers such as Wood Warbler and Marsh Warbler.
194*
Audenshaw Reservoirs
Rob Adderley
One of the longest serving regulars, Rob's highly impressive list includes no less than four species of diver (and yes, that does include White-billed!), Fulmar, two Leach's Petrels, Osprey, Green-winged Teal, two Velvet Scoters, Grey Phalarope, Shorelark, Tree Sparrow, Marsh Harrier, Alpine Swift, Two Ring-billed Gulls, Sabine's Gull, Red-rumped Swallow, Lapland Bunting and an incredible 7 Arctic Skuas!
190
Elton Reservoir
Simon Warford
Simon's main 'patch' has produced many highlights along the way in his many years birding there. The best of them include the two summer plumaged White-winged Black Terns together in 2014, 4 self-found Ospreys, Great Northern Diver (2), White-fronted Geese, Slavonian Grebe, Garganey, Yellow-legged and Iceland Gull, Firecrest (3), Shag, Water Pipit, Bittern, Hen Harrier, Bee-eater, Red Kite (3), Waxwing, Ring Ouzel, Hawfinch, Pied Flycatcher and Black Redstart. He has managed some 25 species of wader including a very memorable flock of 26 Bar-tailed Godwits, Wood Sandpiper (4), Little Stint (2) and Curlew Sandpiper (2), but has still yet to add Spotted Redshank and Avocet. There have been some very painful omissions however, with dare I say it, the Little Bittern perhaps the pick but other easier birds he has yet to add are Red-necked Grebe and Merlin.added Crossbill, 11.06.25
189*
Elton Reservoir
Peter Baron
As Elton's birding 'guru' it's not surprising Peter has accumulated the largest number of species seen there in his 40+ years covering there and his best species include Great Grey Shrike, White-winged Black Tern, Bittern, Arctic Skua (x3!), Great Northern Diver (x2), Red-throated Diver and Great White Egret.
188*
Wigan Flashes
Dave Broome
Undoubtedly this site's 'list champ' and perhaps unlikely to be beaten and his mighty list includes many terrific county birds (see his garden list for the exact details) but one of his favourites doesn't feature in his total, as the Chilean Flamingo on Pearson's Flash in 1993 has wandered from Haigh Zoo.
183*
Pennington Flash
Colin Davies
With site visits ranging back as far as 1981 Colin has amassed some excellent birds for this site including Penduline Tit (!!!), Spoonbill, Ring-billed Gull, Blue-winged Teal, European White-fronted Goose, Green-winged Teal, Red Kite, Leach's Petrel, Manx shearwater, Spotted Crake, Yellow-browed Warbler and Red-legged Partridge.
183
Elton Reservoir
Paul Wilson
Although Paul actually lives inside the Elton Reservoir recording area, he didn't become a birder until 2005 and only began seriously watching the site in 2007 but despite this his good site birds already include Shag, Bittern, Osprey, Mediterranean Gull, Red-necked Grebe, Knot, Brent Goose, Twite, Sanderling, Bee-eater, Wood Warbler, Hen Harrier, Woodcock as well as self-found Waxwing, Curlew Sandpiper and Firecrest in his garden. Paul has also managed to photograph 113 species on his Elton list since 2005 and is most pleased with his collections of Shag and Firecrest images and a close-up shot of a Jack Snipe.
182*
Elton Reservoir
Simon Johnson
Elton has previously been second best to Heaton Park Reservoir for Simon but he has still seen such site rarities and blockers such as Little Bitten, Great Northern Diver, Long-tailed Duck, Curlew Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Bee-eater, Crane, Hen Harrier, Great White Egret, Rose-coloured Starling, Marsh Harrier, Osprey, Wood Warbler, Glaucous Gull, Sabine's Gull, Hawfinch, Snow Bunting, Lapland Bunting and a flock of 45 Barnacle Geese flying over which were accepted as wild by the county rarities committee!
182
Elton Reservoir
Ian Campbell
Having been birding Elton for around 15 years but only seriously for the past 5 (as of 2010), Ian's best patch birds include Brent Goose, Caspian Gull, Merlin, Wood Warbler, Twite, Great Northern Diver, Shag, Red Kite, Curlew Sandpiper, Firecrest, Red-necked Grebe, Bittern and Osprey.
181*
Horwich Moors
Andy Makin
179*
Pennington Flash
Craig Higson
A flash regular for many years now, including a stint working there, Craig has seen the majority of the 'biggies' and his blockers include Arctic Redpoll, Shag, Cattle Egret, Ring-necked Parakeet and Spoonbill, his omissions however make for an altogether more interesting read!
177*
Hollingworth Lake
Simon Hitchen
Hollingworth's very own regular 'patcher' and site report editor has amassed an impressive list over the years with highlights of Collared Pratincole (1983), Great Northern and Red-throated Diver, Red-necked Grebe, Willow Tit, Shag, Osprey, Avocet, Caspian Gull, Slavonian Grebe, Hobby, Mediterranean and Iceland Gulls, Black Redstart, Pied Flycatcher , Little Egret and Hawfinch. However, reduced coverage in the 1990's have cost him dearly, missing Black-throated Diver and, wait for it...Black-winged Stilt (ouch!).
174*
Audenshaw Reservoirs
Paul Hammond
Paul has been birding at Audenshaw for many on and off and has accumulated great site birds such as Sabine's Gull, Spoonbill, Temminck's Stint, Tree Sparrow, Glossy Ibis, Alpine Swift (self-found), Red-rumped Swallow Osprey, Short-eared Owl, Ring-billed Gull and all 5 (commoner!) grebes.
170*
Pennington Flash
Andy Isherwood
His lists includes most of the 'biggies' of the past 10 years, including the Black-faced Bunting which he twitched whilst living in East Yorkshire at the time! Whilst Andy has amassed an impressive list in such a relatively short space of time, there remains a few obvious species which he has yet to catch up with, so there is much more to come.
164*
Audenshaw Reservoirs
Andy Bissitt
A site visitor from the 1980's Andy has a few good site blockers of Pectoral Sandpiper, Red Kite, Great Grey Shrike, no less than there separate Marsh Harriers and remarkably, two records of Spoonbill. Unfortunately he missed the Alpine Swift there, found whilst he was in a meeting with his bank manager!
160*
Abram Flashes
Rob Thorpe
Rob's best site birds so far, besides all being fly-overs, are Little Egret (a flock of 15!), Waxwing, Short-eared Owl, Mediterranean Gull, Garganey, Tree Pipit, Purple Heron, Brant Goose, Ross’s Goose (BOURC accepted Cat A), Wryneck, Crossbill, Yellow-browed Warbler, Hawfinch, Little Gull, Great White Egret, Kittiwake, Avocet, Bittern, Osprey and Merlin.
160*
Heaton Park Reservoir
Simon Johnson
Having only been birding this site since early 2006 Simon has already seen some impressive species, including Leach's Petrel, Lesser Scaup, Caspian Gull, Hobby, Osprey, Black Redstart, Gannet, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Smew, Great Skua, Snow Bunting, Red-rumped Swallow, Grey Phalarope, Red Kite, Bonaparte's Gull, Reed Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Little Egret, Wood Sandpiper, Lapland Bunting, Hen Harrier, Slavonian Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, Sanderling, Rock Pipit and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
155
Audenshaw Reservoirs
Karen Foulkes
Karen's best birds so far are Kentish Plover, Spoonbill, Yellowhammer, Glossy Ibis, Great Skua, Eider, Velvet Scoter and Great White Egret.
155*
Wigan Flashes
Rob Thorpe
154*
Elton Reservoir
Brian Fielding
153*
Pennington Flash
Simon Warford
Simon's best Pennington birds include Black-faced Bunting, Blue-winged Teal, White-winged Black Tern, Hobby, Black-throated Diver, Pectoral Sandpiper, Grey Phalarope, Ring-billed Gull, Spotted Crake and two excellent blockers of Leach's Petrel and Snow Bunting. Has blockers of Spotted Crake, Whiskered Tern, Leach's Petrel, Temminck's Stint, Pectoral Sandpiper and Long-eared Owl.
147*
Pennington Flash
Rob Adderley
When Rob forsakes his own regular patch of Audenshaw, he can often be found at Pennington and his list reflects this with all the usual rarity suspects (Blue-winged Teal, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, White-winged Black and Whiskered Tern and of course Black-faced Bunting) with added blockers of Black-throated Diver, Pectoral Sandpiper, Grey Phalarope and Ring-billed Gull.
142*
Watergrove Reservoir
Steve Atkins
Steve has been seriously covering Watergrove for many years now and has amassed a pretty impressive list for such a 'high altitude' site (in a county respective ☺). He lists his most painful miss as the March 2006 Red Kite seen there, as despite visiting three times that day, none coincided with the brief fly-over of the kite, he has also missed Black-tailed Godwit (December 2006) whilst walking round to the club house there, where another Watergrove regular saw one fly past! Steve admits there are quite afew wader species for him to still 'pick up' but has now breached that 140 species target and has 150 firmly in his sights! His defining moment though and one for which he will remain eternally famous for, is the finding of the Broad-billed Sandpiper there in May 2005, at the time, the first county record but subsequently 'relegated' to the second!
139*
Pennington Flash
Tony Coatsworth
Tony's list for Pennington includes 5 species of Grebe, Black-faced Bunting, Wood Warbler, Whiskered Tern, and Great Northern Diver.
138
Rumworth Lodge
Simon Warford
Simon's highlights for his many years of coverage are probably Temminck's Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Osprey, Merlin, Hobby, Bewick's Swan and Little Stint, his omissions though most notably include Ring-necked Duck.
137*
Elton Reservoir
Brian Fogg
Best site birds are all self-found: - Great White Egret, Avocet and Bittern.
135
Piethorne Reservoirs
Neil Calbrade
Despite 'upping sticks' and moving south in 2001, Neil's 'former patch' has produced one site tick for him since (Grasshopper Warbler in Spring 2007) with his previous site bests of Honey Buzzard, Red Kites (yes, plural, he's had 2 of them!), Black Redstart, Black-tailed Godwit, Kittewake, Hobby, singing Firecrest (always a pleasure!), Waxwing, Short-eared Owl and Smew (2 records).
134*
Pennington Flash
Nick Isherwood
129
Heaton Park Reservoir
Pete Berry
Pete's list includes some very good birds including Honey Buzzard, Lesser Scaup, Ringed-necked Duck, Leach's Petrel, Long-tailed Duck, Slavonian Grebe, Little Egret and both Glaucous and Iceland Gulls.
127*
Abram Flashes
Dave Broome
There are some easy ones for Dave to catch up with yet but for the time being his best site birds are Garganey, Great White Egret, Greenshank and Spotted Redshank.
120*
Wigan Flashes
Craig Higson
118*
Pennington Flash
Steve Collins
Has blockers of Spotted Crake, Whiskered Tern, Leach's Petrel, Temminck's Stint, Pectoral Sandpiper and Long-eared Owl.
115*
Pennington Flash
Brian Fogg
Best site birds so far include Garganey, Black Tern, Shag, Little Gull, Turnstone, Leach's Petrel and Black-necked Grebe.
107*
Highfield Moss
Nick Isherwood
Best birds so far are Short-eared Owl, Red Kite, Whinchat, Grey Plover, Merlin, Ring Ouzel and Hobby.
107*
Ludworth Moor
Andy Bissit
105*
Haigh CP
Tom Morton
104
Salford Quays
James Walsh
103*
Ringley ETW
Simon Johnson
Having only watched the site since early 2006 Simon has recorded no rarities there yet but has added Scaup, Black-necked Grebe, Stonechat, Yellowhammer, Peregrine, Merlin and Pintail.
101*
Chorlton Water Park
Tim Wilcox
Tim's best site birds thus far include Hen Harrier, Black Redstart, Mealy Redpoll, Black-necked Grebe and Smew.
101*
Viridor Wood
Craig Higson
Best birds so far are Hobby, Ring Ouzel, Little Egret, Cetti's Warbler and Short-eared Owl.
99*
Haigh CP
Dave Broome
Although there's nothing too unexpected on Dave's list (as yet), it does include Cetti's warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Mediterranean Gull, Waxwing, Brambling and Tree Sparrow.
97*
Viridor Wood
Rob Thorpe
Best birds so far are Spotted Flycatcher, Cetti's Warbler, Black-tailed Godwit, Short-eared Owl, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat and Goosander.
88
Haigh CP
Jimmy Meadows
Wood Warbler and Tree Pipit are amongst Jimmy's best birds for this site.
89
Abram Flashes
Andy Isherwood
88*
Davyhulme Millennium Park
Nick Hilton
69*
Haigh CP
Andy Isherwood
67*
Brun Clough Reservoir
Mark Rigby
67
Manchester City Centre
Ian McKerchar
Worked in the city centre from 1993 to 2023 with Good city centre species include Dipper, Buzzard, Oystercatcher and Dunlin (both latter night migrants overhead), Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Whitethroat, Bullfinch, Ring-necked Parakeet, Mediterranean Gull, Willow Warbler and Linnet, Lesser Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Tufted Duck and Pochard.
61
Manchester City Centre
Dave Broome
Best birds so far include Dipper, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, Jackdaw, Chiffchaff, Mute Swan and Collared Dove.
50
Manchester City Centre
Steve Suttill
Having worked in the city for years now Steve has amassed a considerable list, including some very good species such as Kingfisher, Goosander, Waxing, Buzzard, Black Redstart and especially Wheatear, a bird which spent a few days in Port Street car park!
43
Manchester City Centre
Simon Johnson
Simon has worked in the city centre since moving to Manchester and his list includes Peregrine, Black Redstart, Waxwing and a dead Woodcock that unfortunately doesn't count!
39
Manchester City Centre
Tony Coatsworth
With plenty more to go at Tony already has good site birds of Peregrine, Black Redstart and Waxwing.
In a little county like ours, should be easy eh? Think again, but feel free to have a go for yourself.
Species must be seen (heard only don't count) during a full year (January 1st to December 31st) on the BTO Official British List and any rarities should be county/national rarities committee accepted where applicable. In the event of two or more birders obtaining a similar total, the birder achieving it earliest in the year claims the higher position. All totals over 170 species are included.
County lister or not, most of us birders surely keep a garden list.
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
LOCATION
FURTHER DETAILS
143
Dave Broome
Scotmans Flash
Admittedly this is his dad's garden but Dave of course did live there for much of his life and the garden does indeed overlook the flash, infact the bottom of the garden is the flash! His list, as you might expect, is sickeningly impressive (but still lacks afew common birds!) and includes excellent county birds such as Slavonian Grebe, Firecrest, Long-tailed Duck, Osprey, a flock of Red-throated Divers, Glaucous, Iceland and Yellow-legged Gulls, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Long and Short-eared Owl, Black Redstart, Yellow-browed Warbler, Water Rail and Grasshopper Warbler. His most painful omission however was a Spoonbill which was actually IN the garden whilst he was away in Scilly in 1990 (the bird was also seen at Carrington Moss the same day). LIST CLOSED
116
Andy Makin
Hindley
Andy's decidedly suburban garden has produced 2 Ospreys, Hen Harrier, Shag, Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon, Spotted Redshank and Bar-tailed Godwit (heard at night), Bean Goose, Merlin, 3 Firecrests and 14 species of wader... added Little Egret, 07.06.25
100
Ian McKerchar
Green Avenue, Astley
Garden with southerly facing open aspect, some mature Oaks, Hawthorn hedgerow and fields at the rear, Astley Moss just over half a mile to the south, resident since 1997. Best birds: Bean Goose (the flock of 5 from Astley Moss 2006), Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Tit, Yellow-browed Warbler (!!!), Green Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit and Greenshank, Tree Pipit, Red Kite, Osprey, Mediterranean Gull, Spoonbill (!!), Little Egret, Red Kite, Grey Partridge, Red-legged Partridge, Waxwing, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail (including one on my roof), Whooper Swan and once regular Barn Owl. added Crossbill, 18.06.25
96
Rob Thorpe
Ashton-in-Makerfield
Despite living in the property since late 2017, it took Rob almost two years to get round to keeping a list, the highlights so far of which have included Little Egret, Osprey, Hobby, Red Kite, Crossbill, Barn Owl, Spotted Flycatcher, Black-tailed Godwit, Mediterranean Gull, Tree Pipit, Greenshank, Marsh Harrier, Whimbrel and Yellow Wagtail.
93
Dave Broome
Tyldesley (Mosley Common border)
Since 2019, best birds so far include Mediterranean Gull, Dunlin, Crossbill, Woodcock, Lesser Whitethroat, Turnstone, Tree Pipit, Back-tailed Godwit, Osprey and a Kingfisher which flew through the garden at point blank range off the adjacent brook.
91
Dave Broome
Ashton-in-Makerfield
Dave's old Garden (not that of his Dad's which lies at the top of this list!) in Ashton-in-Makerfield in which his best birds included Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Waxwing, Woodcock, Coot, Kingfisher (actually in the garden!) and Moorhen. His most spectacular garden visitor however isn't included but nevertheless, the Channel-billed Toucan that graced it, was surely worthy of a mention! LIST CLOSED 2019
89
Jeff Clarke
Walton Road, Sale
Jeff has a medium sized garden with a few large trees in the area, good vision to the south and the Bridgewater Canal about 300 metres away. Having lived there since 1989, Jeff admits to spending a lot of time in the garden (particularly when he should be doing something else!) which has resulted in some enviable birds the best of which are Red-legged Partridge, Fulmar (early 1990's), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Red Kite, Whooper Swan, Little Ringed Plover, Hobby, Merlin and Pintail.
84
Andy Isherwood
Salisbury Way, Astley
South facing garden, overlooked on all sides, has an area of grass and hedgerows with afew established trees. Best birds: Buzzard, Peregrine, Moorhen (flying round at night!), Whimbrel (also at night), Lesser Whitethroat, Whooper Swan, Dunlin, Crossbill, Tufted Duck, Tree Sparrow, Raven and Brambling (although most unusual actually in the garden probably Mallard or Lesser Black-backed Gull!).
82
Simon Johnson
Top floor flat, Whitefield
Simon's 'house' is infact a top floor apartment near Besses of the Barn, Whitefield and so his 'garden' is infact south facing and includes the street below and then out across Manchester! He has lived there since May 2005 and has had remarkable results from visible migration, passage and flyovers, the best of which include Peregrine, Hobby, Goldeneye, Mediterranean Gull, Ring Ouzel (wow!), Waxwing, Crossbill, Hen Harrier, Little Egret, Short-eared Owl, Tree Pipit, Whooper Swan (a flock of 14), Green Sandpiper, Brambling, Wigeon and Reed Bunting, proving just what can be done regardless of where you live and with a little effort.
81
Henry Cook
Hale Barns
Watched since 2002 highlights have been Little Egret, Mealy Redpolls, Wheatear, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Lesser Whitethroat, Tree Sparrow, Woodcock, Red Kite, Teal and Hobby. Unfortunately, despite being seen just a few meters from the boundary of his garden, Waxwing remains a current omission.
80
Peter Berry
Higher Green Lane, Astley
Garden with open aspect, mature trees and field to the rear, Astley moss less than half a mile away. Best birds: Glaucous Gull (x2), Brambling (highest count 15), regular wintering Tree Sparrows (highest count 22), Whimbrel, Mediterranean Gull, Hobby, Woodcock, Lesser Whitethroat, Firecrest and Moorhen.
78
Rob and Sonia Adderley
Lower Bredbury
Moved into the house in October 2003. Best birds: Goosander, Buzzard, Little Egret, Merlin, Great Crested Grebe, Hobby, Peregrine, Short-eared Owl, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Raven, Yellow Wagtail, Waxwing, Brambling, Red Kite, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.
76
Steve Christmas
Swinton
Residing since 1982, Steve's medium sized suburban garden is near a wooded valley and has some impressive species on it's list, not least a Common Rosefinch caught and ringed there! Other notable species have included Common Redpoll (flock of 20), Willow Tit and migrant Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Woodcock, Firecrest, Lesser Whitethroat and Spotted Flycatcher. Flyover 'goodies' have included Crossbill, Tree Pipit, Yellow Wagtail and Common Sandpiper.
76
Andy Bissitt
Sunfield, Romiley
Residing at this address since 1986, despite a relatively small garden, vision all round is very good, with a couple of mature trees with grassy margins with berry trees close by. Best birds: Osprey, Woodcock (a bird regularly used to fly over the roof at dusk during the late 80's), Raven, Merlin (one flew through a neighbours garden one autumn), Whooper Swan, Waxwing (seen from front doorstep Feb. 2006), Lesser Whitethroat and Tree Sparrow (overflying birds when they used to breed nearby).
77
71
Henry Cook
Hale Barns
After five years of (allegedly ☺) casual watching, Henry's highlights have been 2 Mealy Redpolls, Little Egret, Hobby, Cormorant, Mallard (2 in his tiny pond), Teal, Moorhen, Woodcock, Snipe, Stock Dove and Brambling, all pretty impressive stuff although his local Lesser Whitethroats still evade him and his garden list!
60
Karen Foulkes
Dukinfield
With two small ponds, a number of large trees close by and only c400 metres from a river, Karen's best birds seen in the garden so far have been Brambling, Grey Wagtail and Grey Heron.
52
Vaughan Evans
Hale, Trafford
North facing garden in fairly mature suburbia offering good cover, lived in the property since May 2003. Best birds: Brambling, Siskin (with an incredible 60+ in April 2006), Tawny Owl, Bullfinch (maximum count of 7!), Lesser Redpoll and Nuthatch. By far the strangest event was a group of 10 Mallard which landed in the garden in May 2006!
53
Tony Coatsworth
Withington, Manchester
100 foot lawn with mature Scots pine and Black Poplar trees only afew miles from the city centre. Best birds: Grey Heron, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Bullfinch, Siskin and nesting Carrion Crow. Most notable occurrence was a 'fall' of Willow Warblers one Spring during a rain shower, but a record of Harris Hawk must run it a close second!
45
Phil Owen
Wythenshawe
With a few scattered trees and school playing fields at the rear of his house, Phil's list so far includes the particularly excellent garden birds of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Waxwing.
44
Tony Winterbottom
Breightmet, Bolton
A medium sized garden backing onto playing fields with a few large fields and scrub land nearby has played host to Raven, Peregrine, Woodcock and Grey Heron.
22
Tim Wilcox
Moss Side
Mid-terraced, back-to-back housing in Moss side, with little vegetation apart from some overgrown honeysuckle and some half dead 'things in pots'! His nearest tree was cut down he has had some trees planted along his street, his choice being a Mountain Ash which one day he hopes a Waxwing may visit. His best garden visitor to date is Curlew.
The county of Greater Manchester is divided into ten boroughs, each with varying degrees of prime birding habitat. Keeping a borough list is ideal for those birders not wishing to travel too far around the county and instead focus their attention on birding in their more immediate vicinity.
Lists confirmed as following the most current taxonomic changes, as of June 2025, are denoted by a black *
BOLTON BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
205*
Andy Makin
BURY BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
185*
Simon Johnson
Amongst Simon's best borough blockers currently are Bonaparte's Gull, Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Little Egret, Rose-coloured Starling, Grey Phalarope, Leach's Petrel, Red Kite, Caspian Gull, White-winged Black Tern, Red-rumped Swallow, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Purple Sandpiper, Sabine's Gull, Black Redstart, Wood Warbler and Crossbill.
MANCHESTER BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
132*
Sean Sweeney
125
Tim Wilcox
Tim's top borough birds so far are Long-tailed Duck, Greenshank, Smew, Red-breasted Merganser, Black-necked Grebe, Hen Harrier, Hobby and Black Tern.
118*
Phil Owen
118*
Tony Coatsworth
80*
James Walsh
Best birds include Ferruginous Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and Wood Warbler.
OLDHAM BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
158*
Mark Rigby
Best birds include Iceland Gull, Black Redstart, Bar-tailed Godwit, Arctic Tern, Caspian Gull, Greenshank, Common Tern, Ruff, Waxwing, Mealy Redpoll, Turnstone, Hobby, Rock Pipit, Marsh Harrier, Little Egret, Hoopoe, Gannet, Firecrest, Red Kite, Yellow-legged Gull (the first borough record) and Osprey.
138*
Gary Crowder
Highlights and blockers include Yellow-legged and Iceland Gulls, Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Little Egret, Dotterel, Firecrest; Waxwing as well as self-found Red Kite, Rough-legged Buzzard and Caspian Gull.
138*
Kath Butterworth
Kath's best bird is undoubtedly the Rough-legged Buzzard at Delph on the 13th April 1998. Other than this her array of excellent borough birds includes Osprey, Hobby, Black-necked Grebe, Scaup, Ruff, Common Scoter, Mediterranean Gull, Iceland Gull and Common Tern.
116*
James Walsh
Best birds include Great White Egret, Osprey, Red Kite and Caspian Gull
113*
Steve Suttill
Steve's 'borough blockers' include Smew, Red-breasted Merganser, Garganey, Common Scoter, Merlin, Ring Ouzel and Yellowhammer.
ROCHDALE BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
200*
Dave Ousey
Dave's best borough birds include Marsh Harrier, Yellow-legged Gull, Pectoral Sandpiper and of course, Collared Pratincole.
193*
Simon Hitchen
192*
David Winnard
173*
Steve Atkins
Steve's total includes a self-found 2009 Red Kite and Snow Bunting.
154*
Steve Collins
SALFORD BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
158
Dave Broome
Best birds include Garganey, Great Northern Diver, Stone Curlew, Desert Wheatear, Quail.
108*
James Walsh
Best birds so far are Mediterranean Gull, Quail, Marsh Harrier, Green Woodpecker, Green Sandpiper, Willow Tit, Ring-necked Parakeet and Little Gull.
STOCKPORT BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
160*
John Rayner
John's best borough birds include some absolute crackers, with Yellow-browed Warbler, Little Bunting, Richard's Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Firecrest, Quail, Short-eared Owl, Mediterranean Gull, Common Scoter, Black-tailed Godwit, Bewick's Swan, Hawfinch, Red Kite and Ring Ouzel.
118*
Mike Passant
Highlights have been Osprey, both Iceland and Glaucous Gull, Yellow-browed Warbler and Little Bunting, which were all in the 1980's!
117*
Adam Jones
Highlights so far have been the Carr Wood, Bramhall Wood Warbler, Short-eared Owl, Stonechat, Redstart, Great White Egret, Little Egret and Waxwings.
TAMESIDE BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
195
Karen Foulkes
Other than the birds at Audenshaw Reservoirs, Karen likes to find her own birds and her personal favourite self found birds over the years include Nightjar, Black Redstart, Glossy Ibis, Whinchat and Garden Warbler. Karen's best birds so far are Kentish Plover, Yellowhammer, Great Skua, Eider, Spoonbill, Velvet Scoter and Great White Egret. added Surf Scoter on Audenshaw Reservoirs, 20.06.25
TRAFFORD BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
139
Henry Cook
Henry's best borough birds to date are Little Egret, Ring Ouzel, Garganey, Ring-necked Parakeet, Redstart and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
128*
Nick Hilton
Great Grey Shrike (Chorlton Ees) is Nick's best borough blocker but he still has a few omissions such as Waxwing, Hobby and Barn Owl.
108*
Tim Wilcox
Tim's best birds so far for the borough are Merlin, Little Egret and Mediterranean Gull.
WIGAN BOROUGH
SPECIES TOTAL
NAME
COMMENTS
235
Ian McKerchar
Best blockers include Great Grey Shrike, Little Auk, Serin, Blue-winged Teal, Turtle Dove, Great Skua, Goshawk, Hawfinch, Red-footed Falcon, Nightjar, Twite, Lapland Bunting, Black-winged Stilt, Manx Shearwater, Nightingale, Crane, Marsh Tit and many more.
228
Andy Makin
Best blockers include Fulmar, Pomerine Skua, Woodlark, Yellow-browed Warbler, Goshawk, Honey Buzzard, Nightingale, Twite and Crossbill.
223
Dave Broome
Dave's best 'borough blockers' include Arctic Skua, Honey Buzzard, Hawfinch, Turtle Dove, Marsh Warbler, Crane, Crossbill, Twite, Ring Ouzel and Lapland Bunting.
198*
John Tymon
Best birds include Tawny Pipit, Leaches Petrel and Great Grey Shrike.
197*
Craig Higson
195*
Barry Hulme
An overwhelming 99% of Barry's list comprises sightings from Pennington Flash only but his best blockers are Arctic Skua, Fulmar, White-winged Black Tern and Turtle Dove.
191*
Rob Thorpe
Biggest blockers so far are the 2020 Purple Heron, Hawfinch and Ross’s Goose at Lightshaw Hall Flash and Wryneck at Abram Flashes in August 2021.
183*
Jimmy Meadows
Jimmy's 'borough blockers' include Spotted Crake, Ring Ouzel and Great Grey Shrike.
179*
Tom Morton
Best blockers include the superb Scotmans Collared Pratincole, incredible Puffin (!!!), Red Kite and Honey Buzzard.
174*
Nick Isherwood
157*
Mike Passant
Now residing in the north-east (and I don't mean of our county either!), Mike has some decent borough birds but none more so that the Scotmans Flash Collared Pratincole!
156*
Steve Collins
Red-necked and Grey Phalarope, Temminck's Stint, Red-necked Grebe, Spotted Crake and Whiskered Tern are amongst his best county birds.
