Rare Breeding Birds

Records of rare breeding birds in the county should be kept confidential and submitted directly to the County Bird Recorder (cdbaggott@gmail.com). A list of species which may fall into this category can be found here (pdf).

When and where to send your records

In order that your records can appear in the LROS newsletter, please email them no later than the 6th of the following month. E-mail the saved worksheet to Brian Moore at  brian1806.bm@googlemail.com (please remember to mention any additional sites you have used during the month).

Problems or queries

If you encounter any problems with LROSRecorder, please contact Brian Moore by e-mail as above.

All records submitted to LROS, in any form, are made available to the Leicestershire and Rutland Environmental Records Centre for use in applications such as planning and environmental decision-making, education, research and other public benefit uses. Please take a few moments to read this short piece on how your records are used and what details are kept on the LRERC database (pdf).

Record Slips

Whilst we encourage everyone to use the electronic recording process, we recognise that not everyone will want to do so, and we will continue to accept records on the traditional record slips. These are self-explanatory, but please write clearly (especially your name, including any middle initials if you have them). If a record involves more than one species, please fill out a slip for each relevant species. The preferred way to submit your records is to send them, at the end of each month, to Andy Howes, 13 New Forest Close, Wigston, Leicester LE18 2RW, to arrive by the 6th of the following month. Further supplies of record slips can also be obtained from Andy Howes (please include a stamped addressed envelope) or click here to download a printable page of record slips (Excel file).

Rarity Report Forms

A separate Rarity Report Form is required for certain species or under certain circumstances. If you find a species on the list below, you will be required to describe the bird so that the Records Committee can check the record.

The reason that the Society, in line with all other local bird clubs and the national British Birds Rarities Committee, requires descriptions of unusual species is so that they can be verified as correctly identified, and thus ensure the quality of our official records.

It is essential to document the occurrence of rarer species as fully as possible for the use of future birders. In some cases, a genuine mistake may have been made, but please don’t worry if any of your records are not accepted; everyone, even the supposed experts, will make a mistake from time to time.

The form asks you to describe the circumstances in which you saw the bird, but the greater part should describe as accurately as possible the size, shape and plumage of the bird, and any distinctive actions, calls, or song.

You can download a printable Rarity Report Form (Word file) here, or send for further copies from the County Recorder cdbaggott@gmail.com.

Rarities

Species for which a description is always required:

‘British Birds’ rarities;

Any County first;

Migrants more than a week earlier or later than the previous extreme dates;

Bean Goose, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Eider, Velvet Scoter, Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Red-throated Diver, Black-throated Diver, Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Storm Petrel, Leach’s Petrel, Night-heron, Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Honey-buzzard, Black Kite, White-tailed Eagle, Hen Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier, Goshawk, Rough-legged Buzzard, Golden Eagle, Spotted Crake, Corncrake, Stone-curlew, Black-winged Stilt, American Golden Plover, Dotterel, Temminck’s Stint, Purple Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, all phalaropes, Arctic Skua, Pomarine Skua, Long-tailed Skua, all auks, White-winged Black Tern, Roseate Tern, Sabine’s Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Alpine Swift, Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Wryneck, Red-footed Falcon, Golden Oriole, all shrikes, Shore Lark, Red-rumped Swallow, Greenish Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Rose-coloured Starling, Dipper, Red-spotted Bluethroat, Red-flanked Bluetail, Citrine Wagtail, Richard’s Pipit, Water Pipit, Common Rosefinch, Twite, Common Redpoll, Lapland Bunting, Cirl Bunting.

Plus any subspecies not regularly occurring in the County.

Species for which a description is normally required only if the bird is seen and reported by less than three separate observers:

White-fronted Goose (flight-only views), Brent Goose, Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser (except males in full plumage), Great Northern Diver, White Stork, Gannet, Shag, Cattle Egret, Spoonbill, Crane, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Little Stint (winter and spring records only), Great Skua, Little Tern (autumn records only), Sandwich Tern, Caspian Gull, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Turtle Dove, Long-eared Owl (flight-only views), Nightjar, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Merlin, Firecrest, Bearded Tit, Woodlark, Wood Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Black Redstart, Hawfinch, Snow Bunting, Corn Bunting.

These lists are reviewed and updated as necessary – please check the Records Committee News page for announcements. Records Committee reserves the right to request a description for any species if it considers it necessary. This list is subject to continual review as the Records Committee considers appropriate.