Birds in Manchester
Our list for Manchester has 185 bird species recorded regularly there: 84 residents, 35 summer visitors, 25 winter visitors, 28 passage migrants and 13 scarce visitors
The list comes from 686,000 birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.
- Species on our list
- 185
- In October
- 118
- Common
- 79
- Busiest month
- Apr
What's special about Manchester
vs EnglandThe birds recorded far more often here than across England, as a share of all bird records. These are the ones Manchester is worth visiting for.
Willow Tit11×Resident · 0.31% of records here, 0.03% across England
Common Merganser4.4×Winter visitor · 0.68% of records here, 0.15% across England
Bullfinch2.9×Resident · 1.0% of records here, 0.36% across England
Dipper2.9×Resident · 0.10% of records here, 0.03% across England
Greater Scaup2.6×Passage migrant · 0.07% of records here, 0.03% across England
Eurasian Nuthatch2.6×Resident · 1.2% of records here, 0.46% across England
Rose-ringed Parakeet2.6×Resident · 1.1% of records here, 0.42% across England
Grey Wagtail2.5×Resident · 1.0% of records here, 0.40% across England
This month: October
GBIF · OctMost likely
Share of all bird records in Manchester in October, 2019–2024. “Arriving now” are the birds whose share rises most from last month. Each month links to that month’s page.
Near you this week
The birds most likely around your town or postcode right now, from the same records, for a square about 9 km across.
The bird calendar for Manchester
Month by monthWhen each bird is around, through the year. The darker the square, the closer that month is to the bird’s busiest. Filter by summer or winter visitors to see the seasons turn over.
| Bird | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodpigeon | ||||||||||||
| Magpie | ||||||||||||
| Blackbird | ||||||||||||
| Blue Tit | ||||||||||||
| Carrion Crow | ||||||||||||
| European Robin | ||||||||||||
| European Goldfinch | ||||||||||||
| Great Tit | ||||||||||||
| Eurasian Wren | ||||||||||||
| Black-headed Gull | ||||||||||||
| Rock Dove | ||||||||||||
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | ||||||||||||
| Mallard | ||||||||||||
| Jackdaw | ||||||||||||
| Dunnock | ||||||||||||
| Long-tailed Tit | ||||||||||||
| Common Starling | ||||||||||||
| Canada Goose | ||||||||||||
| House Sparrow | ||||||||||||
| Chaffinch | ||||||||||||
| Moorhen | ||||||||||||
| Song Thrush | ||||||||||||
| Chiffchaff | ||||||||||||
| European Herring Gull | ||||||||||||
| Coot | ||||||||||||
| Grey Heron | ||||||||||||
| Greenfinch | ||||||||||||
| Great Cormorant | ||||||||||||
| Coal Tit | ||||||||||||
| Mute Swan |
The year in Manchester
Records by month| January | 68,142 |
|---|---|
| February | 52,534 |
| March | 76,382 |
| April | 87,436 |
| May | 71,272 |
| June | 49,076 |
| July | 45,257 |
| August | 44,862 |
| September | 45,930 |
| October | 49,054 |
| November | 50,007 |
| December | 46,324 |
April has the most records (87,000). Records follow birdwatchers as well as birds: a busy month means more people out looking, as well as more birds passing through.
By family
12 of 26How common
More of England
- Birds in Norfolk253 species
- Birds in Cornwall247 species
- Birds in Kent244 species
- Birds in East Riding of Yorkshire243 species
All 185 birds, A to Z
- Arctic Tern
- Avocet
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Barn Owl
- Barn Swallow
- Barnacle Goose
- Black Redstart
- Black Tern
- Black-headed Gull
- Black-necked Grebe
- Black-tailed Godwit
- Blackbird
- Blackcap
- Blue Tit
- Bohemian Waxwing
- Brambling
- Bullfinch
- Buzzard
- Canada Goose
- Carrion Crow
- Cetti's Warbler
- Chaffinch
- Chiffchaff
- Coal Tit
Show all 185 birds
- Common Gull
- Common Kingfisher
- Common Merganser
- Common Pheasant
- Common Quail
- Common Raven
- Common Redpoll
- Common Redstart
- Common Reed-warbler
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Scoter
- Common Shelduck
- Common Snipe
- Common Starling
- Common Swift
- Common Tern
- Coot
- Corn Bunting
- Cuckoo
- Curlew
- Dipper
- Dunlin
- Dunnock
- Egyptian Goose
- Eurasian Bittern
- Eurasian Collared Dove
- Eurasian Jay
- Eurasian Nuthatch
- Eurasian Oystercatcher
- Eurasian Siskin
- Eurasian Skylark
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- Eurasian Teal
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- Eurasian Wigeon
- Eurasian Woodcock
- Eurasian Wren
- European Goldfinch
- European Green Woodpecker
- European Herring Gull
- European Pied Flycatcher
- European Robin
- Fieldfare
- Firecrest
- Gadwall
- Garden Warbler
- Garganey
- Goldcrest
- Golden Plover
- Goldeneye
- Grasshopper Warbler
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Great Cormorant
- Great Crested Grebe
- Great Spotted Woodpecker
- Great Tit
- Great White Egret
- Greater Scaup
- Green Sandpiper
- Greenfinch
- Greenshank
- Grey Heron
- Grey Partridge
- Grey Plover
- Grey Wagtail
- Greylag Goose
- Hawfinch
- Hen Harrier
- Hobby
- House Martin
- House Sparrow
- Iceland Gull
- Jack Snipe
- Jackdaw
- Kestrel
- Kittiwake
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Linnet
- Little Egret
- Little Grebe
- Little Gull
- Little Owl
- Little Ringed Plover
- Little Stint
- Little Tern
- Long-tailed Tit
- Magpie
- Mallard
- Mandarin Duck
- Meadow Pipit
- Mediterranean Gull
- Merlin
- Mistle Thrush
- Moorhen
- Muscovy Duck
- Mute Swan
- Nightjar
- Northern Lapwing
- Northern Pintail
- Northern Shoveler
- Osprey
- Pectoral Sandpiper
- Peregrine Falcon
- Pied Wagtail
- Pink-footed Goose
- Pochard
- Red Crossbill
- Red Grouse
- Red Kite
- Red Knot
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Red-legged Partridge
- Redshank
- Redwing
- Reed Bunting
- Ring Ouzel
- Ringed Plover
- Rock Dove
- Rock Pipit
- Rook
- Rose-ringed Parakeet
- Ruddy Duck
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Ruff
- Sand Martin
- Sanderling
- Sandwich Tern
- Sedge Warbler
- Short-eared Owl
- Smew
- Song Thrush
- Sparrowhawk
- Spotted Flycatcher
- Spotted Redshank
- Stock Dove
- Stonechat
- Swan Goose
- Tawny Owl
- Tree Pipit
- Treecreeper
- Tufted Duck
- Twite
- Water Pipit
- Water Rail
- Western Marsh-harrier
- Wheatear
- Whimbrel
- Whinchat
- Whitethroat
- Whooper Swan
- Willow Tit
- Willow Warbler
- Wood Duck
- Wood Sandpiper
- Wood Warbler
- Woodpigeon
- Yellow Wagtail
- Yellow-legged Gull
- Yellowhammer
Questions
4What birds is Manchester known for?
Compared with the rest of England, Manchester stands out for Willow Tit, Common Merganser, Bullfinch and Dipper. Each is recorded at least 2.8 times as often here as across England, as a share of all bird records (2019–2024).
How many birds are on Birdfact's list for Manchester?
185 species, each recorded regularly in Manchester (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 84 residents, 35 summer visitors, 25 winter visitors, 28 passage migrants and 13 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in Manchester, and rarer vagrants are not listed.
What birds can I see in Manchester in October?
118 species on our list for Manchester are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Magpie, Woodpigeon, European Robin, Carrion Crow and Blue Tit.
What are the most common birds in Manchester?
Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in Manchester are Magpie, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, European Robin and Blackbird.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made













