Tim Wilcox wrote: Simon There was still a Yellow Wagtail at Altrincham ETW last Saturday and Grasshopper Warbler on Stretford Ees Wed. When I first got round to making a GM list after 8 years birding with no wheels, largely pre-internet birding and no twitching it stood on 150. I started in seriously in 2008 and my 200th was Little Stint at Penny in 2014. Best of all is if you find your own GM ticks. I'm hoping to get that fly-over Red Kite still...
Hi Tim,
Well I'm on 151 after Monday. I'll be off looking for things on Saturday with luck. I have found a few alright birds myself, nothing earth-shattering, but Woodcock, Merlin, Garden Warbler and Whooper Swan were self-found (I was with Steve Burke for the Merlin, but we both saw it at the same time).Nothing in Rob Adderley's league though! I wonder what that felt like on Monday morning?
Jennifer Owen in The Ecology of a Garden 15 year study (Cambridge Uni. Press) records 15 years of cataloguing of the wildlife in ONE UK garden. Dr Owen discovered no fewer than 529 species of Ichneumon Wasps of which 15 were new to Britain and a staggering 4 were new to science. In total 1757 species of animal and 422 species of plant were recorded in her garden. There was a sequel Wildlife of a Garden: A Thirty-year Study when the total was 2673 species since 1972. Now that's counting. She is an expert though.
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-- Edited by Ian Boote on Tuesday 26th of April 2016 10:59:40 PM
I suppose the absolute holy grail here is finding a species new to science. Some years ago I met the keeper of zoology at Carlisle Museum and Art Gallery who had found a brand new species of tiny fly on the north Lancs coast!
That's a really impressive total Dave. A group in Leicestershire, that's a group not one, found 5022, so your life list shows what, and how much, is available in GMC a much smaller county. I agree the numbers are secondary to discovering what a site has to offer (local Patches) , finding the unique (sea plants in Prestwich), finding s new field to study (False Scorpions Astley Moss) or seeking a particular species like mountain hare. I'm Currently approaching personnel 2000 for GM (including inverts always photographed) with an added Kentish Plover today.
I have cracked 150 now for my GM list, in just over 3 years. The last 2 species I added were absolute beauties too, Bittern and Barn Owl. I really enjoy the challenge of adding birds to my county list, and 200 is the next target, and no illusions that it will be pretty hard work now. The Bittern was a real moment as it was a lifer as well as GM tick, what a superb species, and I got a real good look at it too.
One thing that I do feel conscious of is that some of the guys on here will have spent a long time and some shoe leather adding birds to their list, before the Manchester Birding site made it possible to bash around the county ticking things fairly easily. So I hope nobody thinks I am patting myself on the back too hard.
I haven't seen that many of the rare ones, just the Little Bittern at Elton, the Two-barred Crossbill at Binn Green and the Sabine's Gull and Hoopoe last year really. I have managed some of the tricky ones, like Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Flycatcher and Long-eared Owl. One of my favourite sites has been Adswood Tip, I ticked Snipe, Jack Snipe and Woodcock there, a nice trio at one location. I never made it to Watergrove for the Marsh Tit, and I missed the Rough-legged Buzzards at Featherbed Moss too, both major blunders in hindsight. Most outrageous luck was turning up at my sister's house in Stockport and finding a flock of 10 Waxwings feeding in her front garden. This was in the spring of 2013 when they had been about in numbers all winter. Not seen one since!
I have a few more fairly soft ones to go for, like Yellow Wagtail, Mediterranean Gull, Grasshopper Warbler, Garganey. It looks a bit tough after that though.
Hopefully we'll get a few posts on this thread, I love a yarn about lists
Simon There was still a Yellow Wagtail at Altrincham ETW last Saturday and Grasshopper Warbler on Stretford Ees Wed. When I first got round to making a GM list after 8 years birding with no wheels, largely pre-internet birding and no twitching it stood on 150. I started in seriously in 2008 and my 200th was Little Stint at Penny in 2014. Best of all is if you find your own GM ticks. I'm hoping to get that fly-over Red Kite still...
When you say 150 species James do you mean of anything? . The GM1000 club (there is no such club, but there are definitely members of it) was set up for those that have seen 1000 species in a single calendar year in GM (though it excluded micro moths, most invertebrates, lichens, mosses etc etc) . Just to give people an idea of what is achievable for listing all flora and fauna in GM, my current GM life list is around 2,632. My year list was 1,016. Henry Cook and I did 500 species of plant in 1 day and my local patch has had 512 species of fungi. Birding is great but it's easier to enjoy much more when you are looking at everything, in my humble opinion. Just keeping getting out there and enjoying whatever you want to see, count or just look at for the sheer pleasure nature has to offer!
Dave
I have cracked 150 now for my GM list, in just over 3 years. The last 2 species I added were absolute beauties too, Bittern and Barn Owl. I really enjoy the challenge of adding birds to my county list, and 200 is the next target, and no illusions that it will be pretty hard work now. The Bittern was a real moment as it was a lifer as well as GM tick, what a superb species, and I got a real good look at it too.
One thing that I do feel conscious of is that some of the guys on here will have spent a long time and some shoe leather adding birds to their list, before the Manchester Birding site made it possible to bash around the county ticking things fairly easily. So I hope nobody thinks I am patting myself on the back too hard.
I haven't seen that many of the rare ones, just the Little Bittern at Elton, the Two-barred Crossbill at Binn Green and the Sabine's Gull and Hoopoe last year really. I have managed some of the tricky ones, like Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Flycatcher and Long-eared Owl. One of my favourite sites has been Adswood Tip, I ticked Snipe, Jack Snipe and Woodcock there, a nice trio at one location. I never made it to Watergrove for the Marsh Tit, and I missed the Rough-legged Buzzards at Featherbed Moss too, both major blunders in hindsight. Most outrageous luck was turning up at my sister's house in Stockport and finding a flock of 10 Waxwings feeding in her front garden. This was in the spring of 2013 when they had been about in numbers all winter. Not seen one since!
I have a few more fairly soft ones to go for, like Yellow Wagtail, Mediterranean Gull, Grasshopper Warbler, Garganey. It looks a bit tough after that though.
Hopefully we'll get a few posts on this thread, I love a yarn about lists
Cheers Paul, I've been lucky recently finding old notebooks from birding all over the world, including my original YOC notebooks and notes from Greater Manchester in the 1990's, more than 30 years worth of notes, enough for a few books - as I'm now approaching 40 I think it is time to spread the knowledge
On thread, is there anyone else out there who has made the great leap to 150 Greater Manchester species ? I can hear the rustling of notes and the ticking of boxes from here to Rochdale
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Hi James as Paul says some cracking birds on that list, i am personally on 182 for GM at present, this only covers the past 9 years since i got back into birding and like Paul i know i have seen birds that are not on my list but have no record of them, due to changes in personal circumstances and work shift patterns the 200 club may well be beyond me as most of my birding is now restricted to walking my dogs on my local patch, although i am quite fortunate to have Bickershaw rucks as my local patch as it boasts a few decent water areas, grasslands, marshy spots and wooded areas, so i do get a bit of everything from time to time, i think 150 in GM is a decent number and i agree it is a worthy target. 100 for the Salford docklands sounds a very good record record and well worthy of the elite classification. keep enjoying it James that's the main thing. All the best Bernard
James ..... thats a blooming good foundation Water Pipit and Bewick swan are two birds I know I have seen in GM but sadly I have lost a number of notebooks, so have no records of them.
I find it hard to believe that you cannot make it to the 200 !!
But I the idea of a 150 club is excellent I wish you all the best.
Keep Birding.
ps post-ironic, self sardonic, post modern humour was noted
I should have put low-lister in inverted commas, my use of the phrase was post-ironic, self-sardonic, post modern humour
In all honesty, I thought there should be a thread for people who have made it to 150 in Greater Manchester, not just 200
I've just been looking at some of my notes from back in the day (1990's) in Greater Manchester
Black-faced Bunting at Pennington, River Warbler Wigan Flashes, Ferruginous Duck at Chorlton Water Park, Ring-billed Gull at Pennington Flash (in the car park!), Water Pipit at Broad Ees Dole/Hope Carr, Waxwing in Hulme, Red-necked Grebes Pennington Flash/Shell Pond, Garganey Shell Pond, drake Smew Pennington Flash, Pectoral Sandpiper Ringley, Glaucous Gull Audenshaw, Black Redstart on an estate in Bolton (thanks to the residents who invited birders for viewing, tea & biscuits!), Woodchat Shrike oop north in the county, and the Cinnamon Teal at Elton Reservoir are all in the classic pages of my notebook
Happy Daze
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Big respect to the GM200 Club, however, I thought it might be fun to set up a thread for us low-listers who have made it to 150
I found it very enjoyable getting to 150 in Greater Manchester, and managed to join the Salford 100 Club AND the Salford Docklands 100 Club (both very elite clubs!) along the way
Who else has made it to 150 in Greater Manchester ?
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Mancunian Birder https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com Visit my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtWoAs4geYL9An0l6w_XgIg
. The GM1000 club (there is no such club, but there are definitely members of it) was set up for those that have seen 1000 species in a single calendar year in GM (though it excluded micro moths, most invertebrates, lichens, mosses etc etc) . Just to give people an idea of what is achievable for listing all flora and fauna in GM, my current GM life list is around 2,632. My year list was 1,016. Henry Cook and I did 500 species of plant in 1 day and my local patch has had 512 species of fungi. Birding is great but it's easier to enjoy much more when you are looking at everything, in my humble opinion. Just keeping getting out there and enjoying whatever you want to see, count or just look at for the sheer pleasure nature has to offer!
Dave