Good Advice about Lincolnshire's Rare Breeding Birds by Phil Espin

Having recently taken over the role as Rare Breeding Birds Recorder for Lincolnshire from Steve Keightley, I have taken advice on reporting Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine and Barn Owl records on the Lincolnshire Bird Club forum. All advice is subject to change. If you have any questions or suggestions please contact me direct at philespin@live.co.uk.

Red Kite
Please do not post any Red Kite sightings between March to July from anywhere south and west of Sleaford (or anywhere else if suspected to be breeding), ALL records should be submitted direct to the relevant County Recorder John Badley in South Lincs and John Clarkson in North Lincs. Records of passage birds on the coast, at sites such as at Frampton Marsh, Gibraltar Point or along the Humber Estuary are fine to appear on the forum.

Peregrine
Records for Peregrine except at monitored 'safe' sites such as Lincoln, Grantham and Louth should be sent direct to the county bird recorder. Records of passage birds on the coast, at sites such as at Frampton Marsh and Gibraltar Point are fine to appear on the forum.

Marsh Harrier
Posting records from reserves with wardens such as Frampton RSPB, Gibraltar Point and Far Ings is not a problem. Records away from these sites should be sent direct to the county bird recorder. When posting, please do not pinpoint breeding sites, for examples “males carrying nesting material seen over the Sea Bank Pits”

Barn Owl
For more ‘commoner' Schedule 1 birds such as Barn Owl, there is not a problem reporting sightings, but you still shouldn't mention anything that would pinpoint a breeding site, for example 'seen regularly taking food into the black barn half way down Little Fen Lane' etc...

Little Egret
Please do not publish any records of breeding Little Egrets, at or near Heronries. Records of birds away from possible nesting sites are fine. Please send all breeding records to the relevant county recorder.

Other Species
A list of the scarcer UK breeding species which are monitored by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP) is at this link: http://www.rbbp.org.uk. A number of these species breed in Lincolnshire and reporting their presence is not a problem but please do not pinpoint suspected breeding sites.
Any information on these species should be sent to the county recorder along with any details which might confirm breeding. This advice is subject to change and all updates will be posted on the LBC Forum.

If in doubt, please send records direct to county recorder.

COUNTY RECORDERS CONTACT:

North Lincolnshire: John Clarkson
37 Lee Street, Louth, Lincs LN11 9HJ – recorder_north@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

South Lincolnshire: John Badley
c/o RSPB Lincolnshire Wash Reserves, Roads Farmhouse, Frampton Roads, Frampton,
Boston, Lincs PE20 1AY – recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk