Manchester Birder's September 2025 Summary


A strange month, September kept me waiting, then delivered almost all the drift migrants over two days when I was stuck and couldn't go birding!  A month of some real quality birds, and probably the biggest sense of frustration caused by the Big Year target - I had planned to be at 298 or thereabouts by month end, and instead, with almost no absolute certainties left to see, I'm seven species short of 300.  

The Pechora Pipit was by far the best bird of the month, a genuine mainland rare bird, and a really beautiful species to boot.  That thrill of seeing something that is so very far from where it should be, the excitement at staking out a roost site and patience rewarded is such a buzz.  Having failed to see Marsh Sandpiper twice this year so far because the bird had left, and twice because of migraine while driving and mechanical breakdown (the car, not me), it was a relief to finally catch up with the very long staying bird at Musselburgh.  Plagued by the curse of the Marsh Sandpiper, my camera SD card did not survive the encounter... perhaps I need to build up some positive birding karma!

I feel that this year has deepened my appreciation of the local knowledge that serious patch birders have of the seasons and the weather and how that affects the birds that are present.  I've got the timing wrong a couple of times this year, or misread the weather, but that's taught me plenty, and I feel like a better birder than I was a year ago.  Perhaps a low bar, for those who know me well...  September is usually my favourite month as expectations rise and winter birds begin to arrive back on these shores - and above all else I love nothing more than bright, cold days at coastal marshes with huge flocks of wildfowl.  I can feel myself readying for winter, settling in to the cooler weather that will follow the frenetic autumn schedule.  

The 9 year list additions from this month is a fine return, though fewer than I anticipated.  Adding Pechora Pipit, Marsh Sandpiper, Grey Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Siberian Stonechat, White-winged Black Tern, Greenish Warbler, Dotterel, and Sabine's Gull doesn't tell the story of the potential birds that I missed out on through delaying, hesitating, poor organisation and other people's plans changing.  Though now that I read that list back, that really isn't bad for 6 part-days of birding!

Locally, two new additions to the 10km circle to push to an almost respectable 136 not out (compared to 145+ each of the last 4 years) in Manx Shearwater and Ring-necked Duck were fantastic finds by Phil Rhodes, and the RND was within Greater Manchester, slowly building my county list.

The birds that are still missing from my autumn expected list, all passerines, Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Warbler and so on are all still possible across October, but this year for the first time I won't be camped out at Flamborough for the early-middle of the month.  I will be on St Mary's, the week after a predicted strong westerly airflow.  The possibilities are almost endless for the island, and I'm really hoping for an experience that deepens my love of the Scillies.  Having missed out on all the American warblers of September 2023 I have some glaring gaps on my UK list that I'd like to fill.  Is it too much to hope for Blackpoll Warbler?  Black-and-White Warbler?  Red-eyed Vireo?  Am I reaching for Wilson's Snipe?  Over-egging the pudding for Bobolink?  I'd be happy with Serin, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Red-throated or Olive-backed Pipit...  Just looking at the list of sightings in the same week for the last 10 years is mouth-watering and the adrenalin surge less than two weeks out is powerful.  Of course it could be a total washout, but even if it's not great for migration and vagrants, the Scilly Isles are gorgeous in their own right, and having never been to St Agnes or Bryher I'm planning on some exploring whether there are rare birds there or not.  


Highlights

Pechora Pipit, Marsh Sandpiper, Grey Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Siberian Stonechat, White-winged Black Tern, Greenish Warbler, Dotterel, Sabine's Gull

Year List total: 293

New for me in the UK this month: 2 (Pechora Pipit, Marsh Sandpiper)

10k circle total: 136

Birds I missed: No dips, but plenty of birds I couldn't go for!

The Year List:

Brent Goose

Canada Goose

Barnacle Goose

Ross's Goose

Snow Goose

Greylag Goose

Taiga Bean Goose

Pink-footed Goose

Tundra Bean Goose

White-fronted Goose

Lesser White-fronted Goose

Mute Swan

Bewick's Swan

Whooper Swan

Egyptian Goose

Shelduck

Mandarin Duck

Garganey

Blue-winged Teal

Shoveler

Gadwall

Wigeon

American Wigeon

Mallard

Pintail

Teal

Green-winged Teal

Red-crested Pochard

Pochard

Ferruginous Duck

Ring-necked Duck

Tufted Duck

Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Eider

Surf Scoter

Velvet Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Common Scoter

Black Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

Goldeneye

Smew

Goosander

Red-breasted Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Red Grouse

Ptarmigan

Black Grouse

Grey Partridge

Pheasant

Quail

Red-legged Partridge

Nightjar

Swift

Cuckoo

Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon)

Stock Dove

Woodpigeon

Turtle Dove

Collared Dove

Water Rail

Moorhen

Coot

Crane

Little Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Slavonian Grebe

Black-necked Grebe

Stone-curlew

Oystercatcher

Avocet

Grey Plover

Golden Plover

Pacific Golden Plover

Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Lapwing

Grey-headed Lapwing

Eurasian Whimbrel

Curlew

Bar-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Jack Snipe

Woodcock

Snipe

Common Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Redshank

Lesser Yellowlegs

Spotted Redshank

Greenshank

Turnstone

Knot

Ruff

Curlew Sandpiper

Temminck's Stint

Sanderling

Dunlin

Purple Sandpiper

Little Stint

White-rumped Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Collared Pratincole

Little Tern

Black Tern

Arctic Tern

Common Tern

Roseate Tern

Sandwich Tern

Little Gull

Ross's Gull

Kittiwake

Black-headed Gull

Laughing Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Common Gull

Caspian Gull

Herring Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Iceland Gull

Arctic Skua

Pomarine Skua

Great Skua

Puffin

Black Guillemot

Razorbill

Common Guillemot

Red-throated Diver

Great Northern Diver

White-billed Diver

Storm Petrel

Fulmar

Cory's Shearwater

Sooty Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Manx Shearwater

Balearic Shearwater

White Stork

Gannet

Cormorant

Shag

Glossy Ibis

Spoonbill

Bittern

Night-heron

Little Egret

Great White Egret

Cattle Egret

Grey Heron

Osprey

Honey-buzzard

Golden Eagle

Sparrowhawk

Goshawk

Hen Harrier

Marsh Harrier

Red Kite

Black Kite

White-tailed Eagle

Buzzard

Barn Owl

Little Owl

Long-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Tawny Owl

Hoopoe

Kingfisher

Bee-eater

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

Kestrel

Red-footed Falcon

Merlin

Hobby

Peregrine

Ring-necked Parakeet

Great Grey Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

Jay

Magpie

Chough

Jackdaw

Rook

Carrion Crow

Hooded Crow

Raven

Coal Tit

Crested Tit

Marsh Tit

Willow Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Penduline Tit

Bearded Tit

Woodlark

Skylark

Shore Lark

Sand Martin

Swallow

House Martin

Cetti's Warbler

Long-tailed Tit

Wood Warbler

Willow Warbler

Chiffchaff

Great Reed Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Blyth's Reed Warbler

Reed Warbler

Savi's Warbler

Grasshopper Warbler

Blackcap

Garden Warbler

Lesser Whitethroat

Eastern Subalpine Warbler

Whitethroat

Dartford Warbler

Firecrest

Goldcrest

Wren

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

Starling

Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush

Redwing

Blackbird

Fieldfare

Ring Ouzel

Spotted Flycatcher

Robin

Nightingale

Bluethroat

Pied Flycatcher

Black Redstart

Redstart

Whinchat

Stonechat

Wheatear

Dipper

Tree Sparrow

House Sparrow

Dunnock

Yellow Wagtail

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

Tree Pipit

American Pipit

Water Pipit

Rock Pipit

Chaffinch

Brambling

Hawfinch

Bullfinch

Greenfinch

Twite

Linnet

Redpoll

Common Crossbill

European Goldfinch

Siskin

Lapland Bunting

Snow Bunting

Corn Bunting

Yellowhammer

Ortolan Bunting

Cirl Bunting

Reed Bunting

Song Sparrow

Black Stork
Zitting Cisticola
Black-winged Kite
Black-winged Pratincole
Montagu's Harrier
Pechora Pipit
Grey Phalarope
Red-necked Phalarope
White-winged Black Tern
Siberian Stonechat
Marsh Sandpiper
Dotterel
Greenish Warbler
Sabine's Gull


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