JANUARY
My first birding trip of the year produced a Barnacle Goose, first picked up on Bollington Mill Floodplains on it’s own, it then flew onto the Dunham Moat Pool, where it joined the Canada Goose flock. Present in the Dunham / Rostherne area from November 2012 – January 2013 this un-ringed bird caused some interest & the usual debate about potential origins. Regular wildfowl watching produced the familiar Goldeneye, Teal & Tufted Duck
A big trip to the London area for a UK life tick, a North American Buff-bellied Pipit, showing to 5 yards on the banks of Queen Mother Reservoir. Also around this big expanse of water was a cracking Black-throated Diver, Long-tailed Duck, Sanderling & Green Sandpiper.
A mooch around The London Wetlands Centre saw Bittern, Smew, & Ring-necked Parakeets, while at Hyde Park a quality twitch was on for two Bearded Tit, in a very small area of reedbed. These birds had become media stars and many people were interested in them, even joggers !!
FEBRUARY
Waxwings flooded into Greater Manchester, including my front garden ! A nifty bit of driving scooped a flock of 50 in a local park, and then, the next day I spotted a flock of 90 from my house, and I could then be seen running around the streets with a camera in my hand, sporting CK’s and slippers !! I also spotted 2 on the outskirts of Carrington Moss
On 17th February I was part of a birding team to Middleton, north of Manchester, to get on the Siberian Chiffchaff vibe.
Also on the 17th news broke of a female Ring-necked Duck at Heaton Park Boating Lake. Arriving at dawn the next day, there was no sign of the American visitor, and the day was spent in vain searching other likely spots, Heaton Park Reservoir, Clowes Park Lake, the River Irwell at Cromwell Bridge, Robinson Bridge & The Crescent. Duck totals for the day were 2 Greater Scaup (first-winter male & first-winter female), 6 Pochard, 30 Goldeneye, 4 Teal, 15 Goosander & 51 Tufted Duck.
On Salford Docklands Continental Cormorant was identified for the first time on-site and wader numbers reached 30 Lapwings & 5 Redshank.
Close views of a Water Rail on Altrincham ETW (plus pair of Shoveler, pair of Gadwall & 14 Teal) and 4 Red-legged Partridges on Carrington Moss rounded the month off.
MARCH
A month of hardcore local patchwork with c100 Waxwing, 3 Stonechat, Mediterranean Gull, Woodcock, Great Crested Grebes, Chiffchaff, Fieldfare, Redwing, Teal & c50 Meadow Pipits around the Docklands, 5 Pochard on King George V Pool & drake Eurasian Wigeon at Davyhulme Millenium Nature Reserve.
APRIL
A day trip to mid-Cheshire produced a fairly unlikely combination of birds - a gorgeous Red-breasted Goose doing it’s level best to look wild in a frost covered field at dawn with 3 Greylag Geese, a Red Kite & my first Sand Martin of the year on Redesmere, and, up on Toot Hill, Macclesfield Forest, a male Ring Ouzel hopping around on the frost dusted hillside looking very authentic.
Despite this year being a late Spring, the rest of the month was all about the migrants, on Salford Docklands on 9th 4 Chiffchaffs and, on 10th, the first Sand Martin of the year on the patch. Further migrants were seen in Greater Manchester and Cheshire, Swallow, Wheatear, Common Sandpiper, Willow Warbler, Black-necked Grebes, Pied Flycatcher, Avocets, Garganey & Grasshopper Warbler whilst many birders turned their attentions to looking through the decent numbers of Yellow Wagtails at sites such as Budworth Mere & Carrington Moss.
On the duck scene, in addition to the Garganey at Haydyn's Pool, female Mandarin Bridgewater Canal, the long-staying drake Red-crested Pochard in Lyme Park, and a self-found Common Scoter on Budworth Mere.
MAY
The month began with more Wagtail watching - eventually a male flava Wagtail gave decent views and it’s identity was confirmed as a Channel Wagtail (Blue-headed x Yellow Wagtail hybrid), also a female flava Wagtail caused some interest until it’s identity confirmed as a pale female Yellow Wagtail, oh the joys of Spring ! Also in the Carrington Moss area Hobby, Grey & Red-legged Partridges.
Summer migrant warblers were a Garden Warbler at Jack Lane Nature Reserve, Flixton, and 2 Reed Warblers at Davyhulme Millenium Nature Reserve.
The Salford Docklands remained a focal point, on 7th May a cracking male Reed Bunting @ Pomona Docks, on 11th May the inaugural Salford Docklands Birdwatching Cruise onboard the Princess Katherine, with further coverage producing Lesser Whitethroat, Peregrine, Ringed Plover, quadruple numbers of Swifts, a Spotted Flycatcher & a Garden Warbler.
On 19th, I made a trip to Winsford in Cheshire for some stunning views of a White Stork, although the ring it was sporting suggests that it was one of the ever growing number of free-flying “feral” birds.
On 24th, I took part in the Big Twitch On The Big Ditch, the inaugural Manchester Ship Canal Bird Race, scoring 80 species, including Avocet, Black-necked Grebe, Marsh Harrier, Grasshopper Warbler, Merlin, up to 3 Hobbies & Peregrine in a 17 hour birding marathon at sites such as Moore, Frodsham, Stanlow, Woolston Eyes & Salford Docklands.
A trip to the south of England to witness the Great Crane Project at Slimbridge Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust saw good views of the re-introduced Common Cranes, and some quality waders, Red-necked Phalarope, 5 Avocet and c30 Black-tailed Godwits. Searching for Egrets produced Little Egrets, 2 on River Avon Floodplains and 1 on the River Test at Southampton, but a dip on a Great White Egret at Testwood Lakes.
JUNE
The month began with a singing male Wood Warbler at Anderwood in the New Forest. In Lancashire the singing male Greenish Warbler gave good views at Turton, with 8 Mediterranean Gulls amongst a gull colony. Back in Greater Manchester, a Mediterranean Gull on Rumworth Lodge, a tight knit flock of 18 drake Common Scoters on Diggle Flash, a summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank on Lightshaw Hall Flash & the Egyptian Goose returned on the Summer Solstice to Salford Docklands, where a male Black Redstart was the first record for the site.
JULY
In Greater Manchester 2 Crossbills were spotted flying over Altrincham Golf Course calling, Common Terns and Little Egret appeared on the Manchester Ship Canal at Weaste, a Little Owl on Carrington Moss, Green Sandpiper on Altrincham ETW and Barn Owl at a site in Wigan. A trip to the North-east scored Roseate Tern at Saltholme RSPB Reserve, Nightjar, Goshawk, Turtle Dove & Woodcock in Wykeham Forest, and great views of seabirds on the Farne Islands boat trip, but we managed to dip the Bridled Tern at three different sites !
AUGUST
Tawny Owls at Dunham Park and Timperley, plus further sightings of the Bridgewater Canal Mandarin and the Salford Egyptian Goose
The last 2 days of the month were spent in Cheshire, on 30th at Frodsham Marshes, 3 Curlew Sandpipers, a Whinchat and c700 Black-tailed Godwit (but a dip on the colour-ringed Marbled Duck), and then an out of the blue Yankee mega, a Stilt Sandpiper on Neumann’s Flash, plus Mediterranean Gull & Greenshank.
SEPTEMBER
I couldn’t resist a twitch to Spurn for the very confiding Great Snipe, with a Snow Bunting here making a nice “padder” for the notebook.
Greater Manchester megas came in the form of a drake Lesser Scaup @ Pennington Flash and the 4 Glossy Ibis at Horwich, whilst coverage of local sites produced Mediterranean Gull, Common Snipe & 51 Lapwings on Salford Docklands, and Greenshank, Stonechat, Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, Willow Tit & 250 Lapwings on the Salford Mosses.
OCTOBER
During the penultimate 3 months of 2013 much less time was spent on birding as I increased my support and efforts towards the campaign to stop the fracking of our precious wildlife habitats.
Finding an adult Yellow-legged Gull @ Pennington Flash made up for dipping the first ever confirmed wild Greater Manchester Barnacle Geese, while at Salford Docklands, sightings of Pink-footed Goose & Goldcrest, with flocks of Pink-footed Geese also on the Mosses.
NOVEMBER & DECEMBER
On the Salford Mosses, a Eurasian Wigeon, 3 Teal, and hundreds of Fieldfares and Redwings, while Lancashire offered some superb wildfowl watching, with Whooper Swan at Pilling Marsh, and on the Southport Marshes, Baikal Teal, Ross’s Goose, Long-tailed Duck & Smew.