On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
ten Lapwings leaping, nine Egrets hunting,
eight Kingfishers fishing, seven Swans a swimming,
six Owls-a-hooting, five Peregrines, four Willow Tits,
three Red Grouse, two Turtle Doves
and a Grey Partridge flying free
On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
nine Egrets hunting, eight Kingfishers fishing,
seven Swans a swimming, six Owls-a-hooting,
five Peregrines, four Willow Tits, three Red Grouse,
two Turtle Dove and a Grey Partridge flying free
The Greater Manchester Birding City Region (GMBCR) Project have selected the Little Egret to represent the Bury borough on the basis that Elton Reservoir is the premier site in the city region to see this species. On 27th December 2020 a birder reported an estimated a possible TEN present in the Elton Reservoir area via the manchesterbirding.com internet forum.
LINKS
https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/the-little-gem-of-the-perfect-ten/
The Little Gem Of The Perfect Ten
Egrets fly in to save the Greater Manchester greenbelt
Rare birds highlight the importance of greenbelt land in Greater Manchester
On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
eight Kingfishers fishing, seven Swans a swimming,
six Owls-a-hooting, five Peregrines, four Willow Tits,
three Red Grouse, two Turtle Doves
and a Grey Partridge flying free
“… hear the splashing of the Kingfisher…”
Pink Floyd “Grantchester Meadows”
The Greater Manchester Birding City Region (GMBCR) Project have selected the Kingfisher to represent the Bolton borough based on the Kingfisher Trail that runs through the borough connecting top wildlife sites such as Moses Gate Country Park and Leverhulme Park.
The Kingfisher is one of “The Perfect Ten” bird species, ten birds selected to represent each of the ten boroughs – the concept is similar to the designation of official “state birds” in the USA. “The Perfect Ten” works on a number of different levels – to stimulate civic pride and interest in the environment, and also for potential marketing and Natural Capital purposes such as Ecotourism.
LINKS
https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com/2020/05/19/the-kingfisher-the-jewel-of-the-bolton-borough/
The Kingfisher – the jewel of the Bolton borough
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/17538282.special-report-plans-create-urban-greenheart/
The Bolton News – Plans to create “Urban Greenheart”
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/new-kingfisher-trail-star-one-9239350
New Kingfisher Trail to star one of Britain’s best loved birds
On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
seven Swans a swimming, six Owls-a-hooting,
five Peregrines, four Willow Tits, three Red Grouse,
two Turtle Doves and a Grey Partridge flying free
The Greater Manchester Birding City Region (GMBCR) Project have selected the Mute Swan to represent the Salford borough as part of “The Perfect Ten” bird species.
The Mute Swan looks like it could be the first bird of “The Perfect Ten” to be officially approved at Council level as there is talk of a motion being put forward at Salford Council to this effect early in 2021, thanks to Councillor Lewis Nelson, the Salford Wildlife Champion and the Salford people’s grassroots support.
LINKS
Mute Swan selected to represent the Salford borough
Grassroots support growing for the Mute Swan to be named the official bird of the Salford borough
On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
six Owls-a-hooting, five Peregrines,
four Willow Tits, three Red Grouse,
two Turtle Doves and a Grey Partridge flying free
The Greater Manchester Birding City Region (GMBCR) Project have selected the Tawny Owl to represent the Oldham borough based on the following criteria – the heritage value and long-term association of the owl to the Oldham borough, and due to the fact that it is the most widespread of the owls present. Seeing any Owl usually involves good luck, knowledge and fieldcraft, but the Tawny Owl is the owl that you are most likely to see, or hear, in the Oldham borough.
Daisy Nook Country Park and Tandle Hill Country Park are good sites to connect with this species, but they can frequent any park or garden in the borough, it’s just a matter of knowing where to look and/or being in the right place at the right time.
The GMBCR Project have created a term, OWLs – standing for Oldham Wildlife Locations – for listing the best places to look for wildlife in the borough. Oldham could potentially independently start to designate it’s own sites of wildlife importance using this acronym system, contributing towards the Council’s ambitions to be the greenest borough in Greater Manchester.
LINKS
https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com/2020/04/22/owls-oldham-wildlife-locations/
OWLs – Oldham Wildlife Locations
https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/news/18060443.tawny-owl-puts-bird-man-james-walsh-oldham-100-club/
The Oldham Times – Tawny Owl puts James Walsh in the Oldham 100 Club
https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com/2020/05/19/tawny-owl-the-superstar-bird-of-the-oldham-borough/
Tawny Owl – the superstar bird of the Oldham borough
On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
five Peregrines,
four Willow Tits, three Red Grouse, two Turtle Doves
and a Grey Partridge flying free
The Greater Manchester Birding City Region Project suggest that the Natural Capital value of Peregrine Falcons is vastly under-estimated in Greater Manchester, particularly in regards to Ecotourism – how much could Peregrine Falcons bring in to the city region economy if managed appropriately in a sensitive and constructive manner ?
Do Greater Manchester’s Natural Capital estimates include what Peregrines do for our economy ? In terms of tourism and natural pest control ? Do we have any estimates on what the potential economic benefits could be in the future ? Especially in regards to Peregrine Falcons being natural Feral Pigeon population regulators.
Peregrine Falcon photos thanks to Steve Burke
LINKS
Peregrine Falcon chosen to represent the Rochdale borough
On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
four Willow Tits, three Red Grouse, two Turtle Doves
and a Grey Partridge flying free
The Willow Tit represents the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, 2021-2030, and the bid for Wigan to become Greater Manchester’s first NNR – National Nature Reserve.
The Willow Tit is the superstar bird of Greater Manchester, and, specifically, the Wigan borough. Salford and Trafford are also very important boroughs for this species. Greater Manchester is a stronghold for this unique, habitat specialist on an international scale.
The Willow Tit (Poecile montanus) shares the same genus, Poecile, as seven species of the, perhaps, slightly more glamourous sounding Chickadee in North America. In the USA, the Chickadee is the official state bird for Massachussets and Maine. Disco music fans might have heard the Chickadee namechecked in the Jackson Five’s “Rockin’ Robin”…
LINKS
GMBCR Project look ahead with 2020 Vision to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
The Willow Tit – the superstar bird of the Wigan borough
GMBCR Project support Wigan National Nature Reserve
https://www.startribune.com/bird-names-can-tell-you-a-lot-about-them/416133204/
Star Tribune – Chickadee article
On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
three Red Grouse, two Turtle Doves
and a Grey Partridge flying free
On the third day of Christmas, “The Perfect Ten” bird species start to show in the GMBCR Project’s alternative “Twelve Days of Christmas” carol…
We have started up on the moorlands with the famous Red Grouse representing Tameside. This is a very hardy bird of the uplands that manages to survive in the harshest winter conditions. The Red Grouse connects the Celtic Isles of Britain and Ireland as it can be found in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Red Grouse has the potential to be the official national bird of the UK.
The Red Grouse is perhaps not a bird that most people would associate with a city region. However, we are lucky in Greater Manchester to have some amazing upland and moorland habitats on Tameside and in the Oldham, Rochdale, Bury and Bolton boroughs. The best sites to look for Red Grouse in Greater Manchester are Stalybridge Country Park (Tameside), Dove Stones RSPB Reserve (Oldham) and Winter Hill / Horwich Moors (Bolton).
Dove Stones RSPB Reserve, Oldham, Greater Manchester
LINKS
Keep The Red Grouse Flying – James Walsh
https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com/2020/05/19/tamesides-famous-grouse/
Tameside’s Famous Grouse
Priscilla, the female Hooded Merganser, Christchurch Park, Suffolk, March 2020 (Photo: @SwallowBirding)
James Walsh, aka The Mancunian Birder dons his “Duck Detective” hat and takes a festive look at the flamboyant Hooded Merganser…
Elvis, the drake Hooded Merganser, Alderman East Canal, Suffolk, November 2020 (photo: @RyanPDeal)
Elvis, the drake Hooded Merganser, in Suffolk seems to be having a lonesome “Blue Christmas” on the wild west side of Ipswich, at Alderman Park along the Alderman East Canal, as it seems that Priscilla may have moved up the coast…
Photo of Elvis showing the bird’s yellowish plastic leg ring (photo: Carly Welsh)
This isn’t an American trilogy – neither of these birds has experienced the Kentucky rain! Elvis has a yellow(ish) ring that suggests that he is an escape / release from a collection / zoo. Ipswich Council placed Priscilla, the female Hooded Merganser, on the Wilderness Pond in Christchurch Park on Valentine’s Day 2020.
However, on Boxing Day, Saturday 26th December 2020 a female Hooded Merganser was on Staverton Pools – this time the girl has stayed for more than just a day and she is still present for a 3rd day and making the national rare bird headlines… suspicious minds suspect that this bird might be Priscilla… perhaps wandering due to getting no attention from Elvis ?!
Elvis, the drake Hooded Merganser, and his groupie entourage! (Photos: ESBR_Essex)
Elvis seems to be a bit of a hound dog – chasing around the local Mallards – and who knows who his latest flame is ? Could Elvis and Priscilla patch it up ?
The Suffolk birding scene’s most intriguing soap opera started when Elvis first arrived in the county in 2018 on the Blyth Estuary. Elvis, now in his 3rd year in the county, made the Ipswich Star and national bird headlines when he was found waddling around a cosmetics shop in the ghetto of Ipswich…
To add to the confusion a female Hooded Merganser, sporting a green ring was present at Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, 31st October – 1st November 2020…
A COMPLEX PICTURE
The Hooded Mergansers status in the UK is becoming ever more complex this century with perhaps more genuine vagrants arriving from North America and increasing numbers of escaped / released birds at large.
The importance of full documentation is key – many of the wandering escaped / released birds show very obvious signs of previously being in captivity, such as plastic leg rings.
WILD HOODED MERGANSERS IN EAST ANGLIA
There are three records of potentially wild Hooded Mergansers in East Anglia, all from the same area of North Norfolk coast.
Female, Titchwell / Holme, 2nd – 15th June 1990
Female, Holme / Titchwell, 25th January to 10th April 1997 (photo: @Vaasetter)
A drake flew west past Titchwell on 17th September 2019 and presumably the same was on the nature reserve on 12th October 2019.
It would be great if there was a little less conversation and a little more action from the relevant birding authorities on the acceptance of these records…
LINKS
http://craigshawsbirdingblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/christmas-day-and-boxing-day.html?m=1
Female Hooded Merganser, Staverton near Boyton, Suffolk, 26th November 2020
https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/hooded-merganser-christchurch-park-ipswich-2872764
Ipswich Star – Rare bird has found it’s own McDonalds in Christchurch Park
How the Hooded Merganser sparked a love of birds
https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/valentines-day-love-duck-2875800
Ipswich Star – Valentine’s Day Love Duck
https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com/2015/05/24/hug-a-hoody/
Mancunian Birder – Hug A Hoody
https://mancunianbirder.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/all-good-in-the-hood/
Mancunian Birder – All Good In The Hood
On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me,
two Turtle Doves,
and a Grey Partridge flying free
A long-term aim of the Friends of Carrington Moss and all the conservation groups responsible for the Greater Manchester mosslands could be the return of the Turtle Dove as a breeding species. Dave Steel would be able to provide a personal overview of this species on the mosslands and the Greater Manchester Local Records Centre (GMLRC) have the full record set of this species.
The Turtle Dove is now a very rare bird in Greater Manchester. Sightings are not annual and it is now extinct as a breeding species. Very occasionally Turtle Doves do over-winter in North-west England – recently one was present around Pilling Lane on The Fylde in Lancashire, so if anyone managed to find two Turtle Doves, or even just one Turtle Dove, during the 12 days wild (25th December 2020 – 5th January 2021) it would be a highly significant ornithological event. It’s a real needle in a haystack, however, if you are attempting to find a Turtle Dove during the winter in Greater Manchester, it is probably best to try farmland and mossland areas, especially in Salford and Trafford, and in particular, check the flocks of Collared Doves around farm houses and buildings.
If you are lucky enough to find a Turtle Dove, you would then need to check whether it is a Turtle Dove or a mega rare Rufous Turtle Dove…
SELECTED TURTLE DOVE RECORDS FROM GREATER MANCHESTER BIRD REPORTS
1974
Records in May and June from Staleybrushes and Stalybridge (Tameside), Chat Moss (Salford) and Astley (Wigan).
1977
The first back at the breeding grounds on Chat Moss (Salford) was seen on the 24th April. The other breeding area was Carrington Moss. One, Audenshaw, 27th May, 1 Chorlton Meadows, 28th May.
1981
No change in breeding status. Earliest sighting was at Audenshaw on 15th May, the latest sighting was at Chorlton Meadows on 27th August.
1984
There was little information relevant to the species current breeding status. Two at Audenshaw on 10th May, 3 at Astley on 22nd September, 1 at Audenshaw on 5th October.
1991
One over Whelley (West) on 25th April was described as the “earliest since 1977”, but unfortunately it was the only one! Two on Carrington Moss on 28th May and two at Shell Pond during June. The only other record was of one at Audenshaw on 22nd September. It is more or less certain that isolated sightings represent passage birds. Two pairs bred just over the county border at Rixton Moss, Risley, Cheshire.
1997
Decreasing, scarce, summer visitor & passage migrant
A bird at Low Hall, 1st May, two at Ringley, 21st May. This species seems doomed to extinction in this county soon.
2001
Scarce summer visitor, extinct as a breeding bird.
Red List.
For the third year running there was just one record, a bird on Vicars Hall Lane, Boothstown / Worsley Moss at 0800 hours, August 5th. There has been no breeding in the county since 1993.
2002
Scarce summer visitor, extinct as a breeding bird. Red List.
One Rumworth Lodge, May 22nd, 2 Vicars Hall Lane, Boothstown, June 3rd, 1 near Pennington Flash, September 8th. The only 2001 record was also at Boothstown, Vicars Hall Lane, on August 5th.
This species hasn’t bred in the county since 1993.
2004
No records
2005
No records
2007
First record since 2002; status reduced to that of rare summer visitor.
In 2006 one spent 10 days in a garden in Carrington Lane, Ashton-on-Mersey, consorting with Collared Doves. Photos confirmed the identity (C. Roberts).
2009
No records.
2010
Rare summer visitor.
BoCC Red List (BDp1, BDp2, SPEC and UK BAP species)
One was at Pendlebury Lane, Haigh on May 31st (I. Woosey et al). This now genuinely rare county bird was enjoyed by many county birders and was a highlight of the spring, being only the 6th county record in the past 10 years and the first to be truly twitchable!
The last confirmed breeding in the county (which in itself was an isolated breeding occurrence) was in 1993 and it is now 34 years since the species’ heyday in 1976 when 12+ pairs bred in the county and the largest August flock involved 20 birds.
Greater Manchester Birding City Region Project
social media schedule for the
“Twelve Days of Wild Christmas”
Follow on Twitter: @MancunianBirder
| Date | Day | Species |
| Friday 25/12 | 1 | Grey Partridge |
| Saturday 26/12 | 2 | Turtle Dove |
| Sunday 27/12 | 3 | Red Grouse (Tameside) |
| Monday 28/12 | 4 | Willow Tit (Wigan) |
| Tuesday 29/12 | 5 | Peregrine (Rochdale) |
| Wednesday 30/12 | 6 | Tawny Owl (Oldham) |
| Thursday 31/12 | 7 | Mute Swan (Salford) |
| Friday 01/01 | 8 | Kingfisher (Bolton) |
| Saturday 02/01 | 9 | Little Egret (Bury) |
| Sunday 03/01 | 10 | Northern Lapwing (Trafford) |
| Monday 04/01 | 11 | Rose-ringed Parakeet (Manchester) |
| Tuesday 05/01 | 12 | Mandarin (Stockport) |
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/12dayswild
Lancashire Wildlife Trust – Sign up for 12 days wild
