That's sad news. It was always a pleasure bumping into Alan and having a chat while we both walked around the mosslands over the years. My sincere condolences to his family.
It is with great sadness that county birder Alan Rowley passed away on 26th April 2018 after a long fight with cancer.
Alan was a regular poster on this forum, mainly from the Astley Moss area which was his favoured site where he also undertaking survey work there. Though he found many good birds, many will remember Alan from the Bufflehead he found at Astley Moss East Pools in 2004.
Alan's funeral is on Wednesday 8th May at St. Marks, Worsley.
Below are Alan's own words in his biography from this forum.
My first involvement with birding and conservation work was back in 68 at the tender age of 12. I would now describe myself as a 'roaming patcher'. I use this term because I study areas close to home but being a caravanner, this can be anywhere. When in my bricks and mortar dwelling, I spend time on Astley/Irlam Moss and land either side of Mort Lane in Tyldesley. I took early retirement from Salford Council, where I had responsibility for most of the greenspaces in the Borough. I'm an active member of the BTO and was a ringer during the late 80's and 90's with the Leigh Ringing Group. I'm also a member of the RSPB, WWT, LWT and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. My other favourite patches are Dumfries and Galloway in the Winter; North Norfolk Spring and Autumn;
