The Lincolnshire Bird Club wishes to protect rare birds breeding in our county and its sad we have to repeat this on our website 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 any Lincolnshire Bird Club platform. All advice is subject to change. If you have any doubts about posting, questions or suggestions please contact me direct at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 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
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South Lincolnshire: Phil Hyde
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Lincolnshire Bird Club Rare Breeding Bird Panel Representative: Phil Espin
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