584–85, Mitchell, Dominic, editorial comment in response to Mike Buckland (2007) Wilson's on the record, Bradshaw, Colin (2002) From the Rarities Committee's files: Rare seabirds and a record of Herald Petrel, Walker, David and Owen Leyshon (2002) The Dungeness petrel—a response from the observers. Scottish Ornithologists’ Club, Edinburgh. Fall migration can feel a bit slow at times when the winds and weather fail to cooperate, but these bouts of inactivity are frequently punctuated by … south polar/brown) skuas is also unresolved. 48 records between 1958 and 1970 were examined. Late-accepted records and decisions to reject a previously identified record are included. 588–89; BBRC report for 2003, pp. [77] A review of black-headed wagtail records was initiated in 1983. NE Bird Rarities. Manx Bird Photography. A previous paper[77] details four early claims of red-necked stint, none of which were acceptable. Report sightings to: Email nibirds@live.co.uk, Text: 07973 403 146 or 07870 863 782 or Twitter: @nibirds See local bird pics at: www.nibirdpics.blogspot.co.uk Amateur ornithologists who describe themselves as experts are far more likely to mistake common British birds for obscure rarities never seen in the UK NE Bird Rarities; Navigation. The BBRC publishes an annual report in British Birds which includes the essential details of the rarities seen in Britain in the previous year. one established by an Act of Parliament). Mr Hudson said the last UK sighting of the bird was in Essex in 2005. Introduction This is my summary of records of rare birds from the UK in October 2017, this is not aimed at being a comprehensive account of all the rare species in the UK in this month, for such accounts see the Birdguides review of the week or the Rare Bird Alert weekly round-up.I am largely writing this as a personal record of rarity records to aid my knowledge and feed my interest in UK birds. [14] Records of the last eight species had been considered only outside their "normal" British range (e.g. [78] The results were published in 1994 and 1995, and nine previously accepted records were judged to be unsound, due to possible confusion with grey-headed wagtail. 598–99, BBRC report for 1993, p. 543; BBRC report for 1994, p. 530, BBRC report for 2002, pp. BBRC has had particular problems with a number of rare seabirds. [120] Vittery invited the BBRC to reply in public, but this request was declined. A review of black-eared wheatears was conducted in 2002–04, with the aim of assigning individuals to the eastern and western races where possible; this was possible with nine records; both western hispanica and eastern melanoleuca were shown to have occurred. [43] Following these rejections, the Buckinghamshire record, and the remaining record, a breeding pair in Cambridgeshire in 1946, previously accepted as Britain's first, were scrutinised by the BOURC and found to be unacceptable, leading to the removal of moustached warbler from the British list; it has not re-occurred. Tim Healy October 23, 2018 Bird News, Bird Sightings, Birding, Chase, Rarities Leave a Comment When it rains, it pours. Not all of the 1,100 records of species considered to be rarities at that time were assessed, but only those related to species not recorded more than 100 times by 1997, as well as a few records of less rare species under particularly unusual circumstances, which were termed "sore thumbs". Click for a list of species to be submitted to Scottish and Local Record Committees Here is a brief summary of what to do before, during, and after your encounter: 1 2 3. Five of the six were from autumn, whereas the overwhelming majority of records the committee continued to accept are from the spring/summer period. [30] In 1999, the BBRC set up the "RIACT" (Racial Identification Amongst Changing Taxonomy) group to advise on how records of rare subspecies should be treated. A further review, with the same aim, was begun in the late 1990s. These included a claimed white-tailed eagle, which broke into a chicken-run in a garden and stole a chicken, three little crakes, three Eurasian scops owls, the only late December record of tawny pipit, three black-eared wheatears, a record of two White's thrushes together in April, a spring lanceolated warbler, two moustached warblers and a pine grosbeak. The British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC), established in 1959, is the national bird rarities committee for Britain. This section of the report contains painted illustrations and photographs of some of the birds. The full results of this second review were published in 2007;[75] some of the previous racial attributions were withdrawn, but the committee felt able to confidently assign a race for a number of more recent individuals, although it stressed that this could only be done with adult birds (the committee's 2005 report mentions that a further article is in preparation). 596–97; BBRC report for 2004, p. 672, Round, Philip D. (1996) Long-toed Stint in Cornwall: the first record for the Western Palearctic, BBRC report for 1994, pp. We are grateful to have received birthday wishes from a host of other groups and national committees, listed here: Since its foundation in 1993, the Association of European Records and Rarities Committees – AERC has always been able to […], An updated WIP file has details of latest BBRC decisions and submissions (at 02 Aug 2019). A number of additional species of raptor and owl have been recorded in the UK and anything can turn up! Top Answer. The rarity roll-call from 1959 to the present day is long and illustrious, so any shortlist will be highly subjective. A review of spectacled warbler records was initiated in 1984. Bird is a reliable last mile electric scooter rental service. In autumn 1994, Nigel Pepper, a birdwatcher from Essex, claimed to have recorded a hermit thrush in a garden in Chipping Ongar. 589–90; BBRC report for 2003, pp. Grant (1976–86), Peter Lansdown (1986–93), Rob Hume (1993–97) and Colin Bradshaw (1997–2008). [72] This review, the results of which were published in 1989,[73] established a racial identification for a number of adult isabelline shrikes previously accepted to species level. The results of this review were published in 1999: six of the previously accepted records were rejected as not meeting modern identification standards. [6] Although the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee does not regard records from the Isle of Man as contributing towards their British list, BBRC does include records from there in its totals. [37] Its previous secretaries were G. A. Pyman (1959–61), Christopher M. Swaine (1961–63), Denzil D. Harber (1963–66), F. R. Smith (1966–75), J. N. Dymond (1975–77), J. O'Sullivan (1977–78) and Mike Rogers (1978–2006).[36]. [5] A set of criteria for membership has been developed—currently, these are "a widely acknowledged expertise in identification, proven reliability in the field, a track record of high quality submissions of descriptions of scarce and rare birds to county records committees and BBRC, considerable experience of record assessment, the capacity to handle the considerable volume of work involved in assessing upwards of 1,000 records per year and the capacity to work quickly and efficiently". Furthermore, issues were found with the identification of Britain's first western sandpiper, on Fair Isle in 1956,[124] and these led the BOURC to reject this record. The Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club was founded in 1958 and membership is open to all with a beneficial interest in ornithology. [5], Documentation of records, including the members' deliberations, are kept in the committee’s archives, which are deposited with the British Trust for Ornithology. Who first identified it? Species for which descriptions are required by the British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC). Rarity Report Form. The first three field records of Blyth's pipit, including an atypical pale individual on the Isles of Scilly,[99] proved difficult, but following the occurrence of trapped individuals, on Fair Isle in 1993 and Suffolk in 1994, these were accepted. BBRC’s function is to collect, investigate and apply uniform standards to claimed records of rare birds in England, Scotland and Wales, and 'at sea' within the British Economic Zone, which now extends to 200 nautical miles (370 km). Page 2-'British Birds' Rarities issue Books, Magazines, Publications, Video & DVD It assesses claimed sightings of bird species that are rarely seen in Britain, based on descriptions, photographs and video recordings submitted by observers. 95, issue 4, pp 156–⁠165 In many cases, one or more of the following drawbacks applies: the weather conditions are poor, views are distant and brief, and photographic evidence is impossible. [48] Similar points were made by Keith Vinicombe and Mike Pennington in 2001. crested tits outside Scotland, and red kites outside Wales). Records for each taxon are listed by county, followed by comments about its occurrence during the year. A list of BBC audio related to "British Birds Rarities Committee". [36], The committee has stated that it has a desire to be made up of members of "all age ranges and both sexes";[40] however, all BBRC members to date have been male, a fact reflected in the nickname "the ten rare men". Any who disagree? [100] Some records of citrine wagtail[101] and short-toed treecreeper[102] were accepted only after prolonged consideration. Grid reference. [87] It has also been suggested that reviews should be conducted of records of great snipe, as older records show a very different temporal occurrence pattern than more recent birds,[88] the large numbers of gull-billed tern records from the English south coast from the 1960s,[89] and desert wheatears, to establish racial identifications. [43] Of the 126 records reviewed, 37 were rejected as unacceptable. These web pages supplement the Annual Report and also enable birders worldwide to keep abreast with the latest committee news. The British Birds Rarities Committee assesses sightings of rare birds in Britain. Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2007. [67] Following the split of Bonelli's warbler into two species, the committee reviewed all the 121 accepted records, and concluded that 51 were western and two were eastern; for the remainder, not enough evidence was available to make a firm decision. [1] Prior to the establishment of the committee, records were assessed by local bird recording organisations using varying standards. The report typically begins with an introduction, summarising the most significant birds occurring during the year, and discussing any current issues relating to the committee's work. This identification was accepted by the British Ornithologists Union's Records Committee, leading to the addition of this species to the British List. "It is on the critically endangered list." [5] The following 69 individuals[39] have served on BBRC in a records assessment capacity: A number of other individuals have served as the committee's statisticians, museum consultants, archivists and avicultural consultants, or on the Seabirds Advisory Panel or RIACT. [58] This review resulted in the species being removed from the British list; of the three accepted records, one, at Spurn, Yorkshire in 1968, was re-identified as a first-year female subalpine warbler, while descriptions of the other two, at Porthgwarra, Cornwall in October 1969 and on Fair Isle in June 1979, were not considered sufficiently watertight to permit their continued acceptance. 174–75 contains a list of members to the end of 2006, with dates of service; for members retiring/joining since then, see Rarities Committee news, Examples from 2009 are: BB 102(2):105 and 102(5):274-77, Lansdown (1987), p. 489; BBRC report for 2004, p. 628–31. To mark the 50th anniversary of the British Birds Rarities Committee in 2009, BirdGuides in collaboration with British Birds is conducting a poll to find the definitive British rarity event of the past half-century. Rowlands, Adam (2009) Rarities Committee News, Bradshaw, Colin (1999) Rarities Committee Announcements, Announcement: BBRC says goodbye to birders' favourites, Rarities Committee news: night heron, American wigeon and rosy starling to be removed from BBRC list, Rarities Committee news: BBRC dumps black Brant, Summers, R.W. The committee has been criticised for its approach to assessing records where only one observer was present, for not publishing reasons for rejecting the validity of records, and for placing undue weight on descriptive detail when assessing record submissions. World Rarities; World Birding; Bird Ringing/Banding; Wildflowers; Insects; Mammals, Reptiles etc; ID Discussion; UK Blast from the Past; ABC's Conservation Birding; Rare Birds of Asia; Trip Reports; Search