The Lincolnshire Bird Club

The Lincolnshire Bird Club wishes to protect rare birds breeding in our county. Some breeding species are still targeted by egg collectors, poisoners and shooters who may check sites such as this for information. Sadly some breeding birds are also plagued by birders playing taped calls to them and over intrusive photographers, who don't always put the interests of the bird first. 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 successful breeding at risk. We therefore urge caution whenever you post information about rare breeding species in the county and ask that you follow the guidelines below.

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.

We have particular concerns about the reporting of Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, Bittern, Little Egret, Montagu's Harrier, Black necked Grebe, Mediterannean Gull, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Barn Owl records on the Lincolnshire Bird Club forum. All advice is subject to change. If you have any doubts about posting, questions or suggestions please contact me direct at pmjespin@gmail.com. If in doubt about posting please contact me first. We do not want to lose your valuable records so if you don't post, please send them direct to the County Recorders whose contact details are below.

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 Phil Hyde 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, Boston and Louth should be sent direct to the county bird recorder as soon as possible after the sighting to enable the prospects of breeding to be evaluated. Records of passage birds on the coast, are fine to appear on the forum.

Marsh Harrier
Posting records from reserves with full time 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, Black necked Grebe, Mediterranean Gull, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 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.



COUNTY RECORDERS CONTACT:

North Lincolnshire: John Clarkson
recorder_north@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

South Lincolnshire: Phil Hyde
recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

Lincolnshire Bird Club Rare Breeding Bird Panel Representative: Phil Espin
pmjespin@gmail.com

Of late up to 5 photographers have been observed playing recordings of Bearded Tits for up to 3 hours at a time at Alkborough.
This is insane, is in breach of the wildlife and countryside act and in direct contravention of the conservation of a Schedule 1 species in the breeding season. It is illegal to intentionally disturb this species or any other Schedule 1 with hefty fines for those responsible but why do these people not realise what they are doing? The birds are feeding young in cold, inclement weather where brood survival is dependent upon regular feeding and if the adults are being drawn to respond to a territorial threat then they are not feeding their brood for extensive periods.
If anyone sees people undertaking this illegal activity please video or photograph the offenders and report them to the police or RSPB investigations department with details of time and location.
The urge to obtain a photograph at all cost is becoming a blight on many breeding birds and social media is channelling these people to ever more vulnerable sites.

PATHETIC…

In a local context, ‘tape-luring’ I know has been used to achieve photographs of Nightingale at Whisby NR this spring, thankfully not whilst I have been present. Although not Schedule 1 these are the last eight territory holding males in the county and extremely vulnerable to say the least, there has been more than one occasion when I have had to ask a photographer that had left the path and was encroaching on the vegetation in very close proximity to a presumed nest site to "stand back"….

In my opinion a hefty ‘smack’ on the nose would be in order (comments welcome) for disturbing Schedule 1 birds for the sake of a photograph, though I am not advocating that response!… The least that should be done certainly is reporting those responsible to the appropriate authority with as much detail and evidence as is possible, as you intimate Graham.

Regards,

Ben

Apparently there were photographers 'tape luring' the kingfishers, a schedule 1 species, in Ness Hide, Far Ings today

A very well written message Phil , and Grahams observations are a a sad reflection on the attitude of some photographers
Some photographers are also a problem when taking images of flowers as I have witnessed trampling and "gardening"
of plants at Rimac (over several years), in order to take an image of a scarce species of flower, and this now includes the use of the
latest smart phones ! such is the quality of the digital images these now have, and the many people who now have them
and it seems the increased frequency of such actions .
Last autumn I witnessed several photographers in Portugal crossing a low fence from a pathway to gain close access to roosting birds on a lake margin and on each occasion causing considerable disturbance to a variety of bird species.
Possibly some images of offenders posted on social media may have an impact ?.

regards John