The Lincolnshire Bird Club

The Lincs Bird Club cares passionately about all the birds breeding in our County. It is sad to report that some rare breeding species are still targeted by egg collectors etc who routinely check sites such as this for information. Therefore there may be occasions when we have to act to protect a vulnerable species/site if we have experience or intelligence to suggest that a post could put succesful breeding at risk. If we remove a post in relation to breeding bird information we will contact the person responsible for the post to explain the reasoning behind our actions. We sincerely hope you understand and approve of this policy.

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, Kittle Egret, Montagu's Harrier, Mediterannean Gull 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Please do not publish any records of breeding Little Egrets, at or near Heronries.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.

Montagu's Harrier, Mediterranean Gull and 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 generally is not a problem but please do not pinpoint suspected breeding sites. You should suspect breeding whenever you see a bird holding territory (present for more than 1 week) from March to end of July or if a pair of birds is present away from a usual migration site.

If you see a potentially rare breeding bird that has not been previously reported and it is on a wardened nature reserve, please inform the warden and check with him first before posting any details on this site or through other media.

Any information on all rare breeding 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

Lincolnshire Bird Club Rare Breeding Bird Panel Representative: Phil Espin
philespin@live.co.uk