Manchester Birder's May 2025 Summary

May has always been my favourite month of the year in terms of weather, experience, the ability to
be outside for a significant proportion of each day without the energy sapping humidity of July and August.  While not the vagrancy heights of autumn, bird wise it can be exciting, and looking for later migrants has been rewarding this year.  

As well as finally seeing Spotted Sandpiper, the month has had a brilliant combination of scarce UK southern breeding birds and some incredible experiences of rarities.  Seeing Turtle Doves and Firecrest, Dartford Warbler and Bittern followed by views of five(!) Red-footed Falcons amongst dozens of Hobbies is an incredible experience.  The best views I've ever had of Honey Buzzard overhead at Wykeham followed by Balearic Shearwater and Cirl Bunting in Dorset, with an evocative evening seeing the Nightjar back on Manchester breeding grounds has meant it's been a great month of seeing the late migrants.  Quail is the only one of those that I haven't connected with, having heard at least 4 across 3 sites in Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire.  I can only keep trying!  A fast dash on the way home from family holidays in Dorset for the Bluethroat at Slimbridge made up for the hours I spent not seeing one in Yorkshire earlier in the year.

I've struggled to connect with the Dotterel influx this spring, and hope is beginning to fade for 2025, barring an autumn bird.  Lessons about moving quickly to see wildlife must be learned - being late to the party and missing both Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Melodious Warbler on the east coast has denied me the chance to end May having seen 260 species in the UK, and prevented me from a UK lifer in the warbler. 

Having built up such a year list by day 150 of 2025, it would seem a missed opportunity if I didn't aim at the classic Big Year, so a tilt at 300 species is on the cards - but I won't be racing 400 miles for a Glaucous Gull on December 29th if I'm at 299... that just doesn't sound like fun at all, and the list is what it is.  It leaves me hoping for a summer of good birds (like last year with Whiskered Tern, Black-winged Pratincole, Bridled Tern etc) and then a huge autumn.  It feels like I should really have seen 400+ species in the UK at this point, and though these arbitrary numbers are a little strange to me, there's an undeniable attraction to landmark patterns and significance.  It's perhaps a sign that I should put some effort into experiencing the new.

Highlights

The East Anglia Weekend, south coast specialities, Nightjar back in Manchester, Cheshire Hoopoe, Honey Buzzards directly overhead, Bluethroat singing at Slimbridge.

Year List total: 257

New for me in the UK this month: 1 (Spotted Sandpiper)

10k circle total: 128

Birds I missed: Dotterel (again!), Purple Heron, Quail, Little Stint, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Melodious Warbler, Bonaparte's Gull (three I've missed this year!)

The Year List:

Little Gull	Kittiwake	Ross's Gull	Yellow Wagtail	Meadow Pipit
Jack Snipe	Stock Dove	Green-winged Teal	Brent Goose	Black-headed Gull
Woodcock	Woodpigeon	Red-crested Pochard	Canada Goose	Mediterranean Gull
Snipe	Turtle Dove	Pochard	Barnacle Goose	Common Gull
Common Sandpiper	Collared Dove	Ferruginous Duck	Ross's Goose	Caspian Gull
Spotted Sandpiper	Water Rail	Ring-necked Duck	Snow Goose	Herring Gull
Green Sandpiper	Moorhen	Tufted Duck	Greylag Goose	Yellow-legged Gull
Wood Sandpiper	Coot	Scaup	Taiga Bean Goose	Great Black-backed Gull
Redshank	Crane	Eider	Pink-footed Goose	Lesser Black-backed Gull
Spotted Redshank	Little Grebe	Surf Scoter	Tundra Bean Goose	Iceland Gull
Greenshank	Red-necked Grebe	Velvet Scoter	White-fronted Goose	Arctic Skua
Turnstone	Great Crested Grebe	Common Scoter	Lesser White-fronted Goose	Great Skua
Knot	Slavonian Grebe	Black Scoter	Mute Swan	Puffin
Ruff	Black-necked Grebe	Long-tailed Duck	Bewick's Swan	Black Guillemot
Curlew Sandpiper	Stone-curlew	Goldeneye	Whooper Swan	Razorbill
Temminck's Stint	Oystercatcher	Smew	Egyptian Goose	Common Guillemot
Sanderling	Avocet	Goosander	Shelduck	Red-throated Diver
Dunlin	Grey Plover	Red-breasted Merganser	Mandarin Duck	Great Northern Diver
Purple Sandpiper	Golden Plover	Red Grouse	Garganey	White-billed Diver
Pectoral Sandpiper	Ringed Plover	Ptarmigan	Blue-winged Teal	Fulmar
Little Tern	Little Ringed Plover	Black Grouse	Shoveler	Manx Shearwater
Black Tern	Lapwing	Grey Partridge	Gadwall	Balearic Shearwater
Arctic Tern	Grey-headed Lapwing	Pheasant	Wigeon	White Stork
Common Tern	Eurasian Whimbrel	Red-legged Partridge	American Wigeon	Gannet
Roseate Tern	Curlew	Nightjar	Mallard	Cormorant
Sandwich Tern	Bar-tailed Godwit	Swift	Pintail	Shag
Spoonbill	Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	Penduline Tit	Wren	Tree Pipit
Bittern	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Bearded Tit	Nuthatch	American Pipit
Little Egret	Green Woodpecker	Woodlark	Treecreeper	Water Pipit
Great White Egret	Kestrel	Skylark	Starling	Rock Pipit
Cattle Egret	Red-footed Falcon	Shore Lark	Song Thrush	Chaffinch
Grey Heron	Merlin	Sand Martin	Mistle Thrush	Brambling
Osprey	Hobby	Swallow	Redwing	Hawfinch
Honey-buzzard	Peregrine	House Martin	Blackbird	Bullfinch
Golden Eagle	Ring-necked Parakeet	Cetti's Warbler	Fieldfare	Greenfinch
Sparrowhawk	Great Grey Shrike	Long-tailed Tit	Ring Ouzel	Twite
Goshawk	Jay	Wood Warbler	Spotted Flycatcher	Linnet
Hen Harrier	Magpie	Willow Warbler	Robin	Redpoll
Marsh Harrier	Chough	Chiffchaff	Nightingale	Common Crossbill
Red Kite	Jackdaw	Great Reed Warbler	Bluethroat	European Goldfinch
Black Kite	Rook	Sedge Warbler	Pied Flycatcher	Siskin
White-tailed Eagle	Carrion Crow	Reed Warbler	Black Redstart	Lapland Bunting
Buzzard	Hooded Crow	Grasshopper Warbler	Redstart	Snow Bunting
Barn Owl	Raven	Blackcap	Whinchat	Corn Bunting
Little Owl	Coal Tit	Garden Warbler	Stonechat	Yellowhammer
Long-eared Owl	Crested Tit	Lesser Whitethroat	Wheatear	Cirl Bunting
Short-eared Owl	Marsh Tit	Eastern Subalpine Warbler	Dipper	Reed Bunting
Tawny Owl	Willow Tit	Whitethroat	Tree Sparrow	Eastern Yellow Wagtail
Hoopoe	Blue Tit	Dartford Warbler	House Sparrow	Grey Wagtail
Kingfisher	Great Tit	Firecrest	Dunnock	Pied Wagtail
Glossy Ibis	Bee-eater	Goldcrest