Records relating to species still under assessment by BBRC/BOU, escapes from captivity and birds of uncertain origin.

This somewhat heterogeneous section records the various species which have been recorded in the county but which for various well-known reasons are not included in the county list because they are not adjudged as being Category A, B or C species.  The list below is almost certainly incomplete as less attention is often given to “unacceptable” records, but these are the records we have from the LBC Database.

The species in this first section are in Category D and E and it is important to record and submit such species as their status may change over time and local records may inform wider national and international data, including updated taxonomic classifications. For example, Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii, has occurred in the county but the records have never been submitted to BBRC. Our feeling is that it is probably best to submit a record of the occurrence of such a species even if the circumstances appear dubious for BBRC scrutiny. This also avoids the record remaining on the LBC file as “Not proven”.

There is one record below still under BBRC/BOU assessment at the time of writing – Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus. This has attracted a wide spectrum of views given the proven origin of this bird from a reintroduction scheme in The Alps rather than one of the indigenous populations across southern Europe. The final verdict is awaited with interest by all British birders.

The non-native species reported below include all which are monitored by the RBBP and one or two others which may soon undergo re-assessment. We urge county birders to report them wherever they encounter them. Some of this group may eventually establish breeding, self-sustaining populations and as such need to be monitored.

Some species may of course be attributed to more than one BBRC category such as Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus, for which there is just one accepted record under Category A of an apparently wild bird (see Systematic List). It has also turned up in circumstances suggestive of captive origin, which would be attributed to Category D. It is also conceivable that reintroduced birds to the Scandinavian breeding population, attributable to Category E, could occur.

Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris

Native to sub-Saharan Africa. Cat E.

Not uncommonly seen in and around farmyards as a privately kept bird, this species is undoubtedly under-recorded. There is a scatter of records in the LBC database from 2003 onwards from several sites, north to south. No breeding records have been received. The species is monitored by the Non-native Breeding Birds Panel which reported two records of breeding in Hertfordshire and Yorkshire in 2014 (Holling et al 2017).

 

Reeve’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii

Asia, north and south China.  Widely kept in captivity, occasionally escape. Reported from Suffolk, West Yorkshire, Norfolk, Gwynedd, Staffordshire and Derbyshire. At least 15 individuals were reported in 2014 from Breckland but there has been no evidence of confirmed breeding anywhere in Britain to date. Cat E*

This species has been reported from four sites, all escapes from captivity. A female was at Gibraltar Point, Apr 1994-Nov 1994; a second was present Sep 1996-Jul 1997, eventually killed by a car. The others were more recent:  a male was photographed at Ruckland in the Wolds in Apr 2011; three were seen at Bonthorpe, Oct 2012; one was at Dunston, Aug 2015.

 

Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus

Native to central China. First released in Britain in 1725, not self-sustaining until 1950s in Breckland. Cat C1E*

There are only three records of this species, the first a male Jul-Dec 1988 at Swineshead. Another was seen in Sep 1996 at Manton Warren and a more recent record was of another male, Jan-Feb 2017 at Stickford. There has never been any evidence of breeding birds in the county. The species is still regularly recorded in several other English counties, but little recent information is available, and the last records of confirmed breeding were from Norfolk and Suffolk in 2011; it is unknown just how self-sustaining any of the British populations now are (Holling et al 2017).

 

Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus  

Native to the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. Cat E*

During the fieldwork for the Bird Atlas 2007-11 there were records from 289 10-km squares across Britain during that period, although not all of these would have been in potential breeding habitat. This species is regularly seen in various parts of the county, most usually free-ranging birds from private collections and the species is regularly offered for sale by private breeders in the county. A ‘feral’ population has been surviving at Nocton Wood since the mid-1980s and have bred ever since. The population has fluctuated and peaked at around 60 birds; more recently, 2015 onwards, there have been around 20 birds. Whether this is a self-sustaining population is unclear.

It is undoubtedly under-reported but may have the capacity to breed in the wild. A similar picture is seen across Britain with suspicions of pockets of breeding birds here and there, but which are going unrecorded or unnoticed (Holling et al 2017).

 

Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor

Native to North and South America, Africa and Asia, it is one of the most widely distributed waterfowl in the world. Usually resident but with limited seasonal movements. Cat E

There have been four records maybe involving just two birds. One was at Boultham Mere in Apr 1996; another was at Frampton Marsh, May-Aug 2010, and presumably the same bird relocated to Alkborough Flats for five days in late Aug 2015, and then moved on to Whisby NR for most of Sep 2015. There have been very few other British records and no evidence that they have ever bred in the wild.

 

Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii

Native to North America, breeding over a wide range of habitats throughout north temperate, subarctic and arctic regions. Cat AE

Four subspecies are recognised, all of which are BBRC taxa. To our knowledge none of the birds which have been recorded in the county have ever been submitted, although none has turned up in circumstances suggestive of vagrancy. The first in Jan 2002 at Freiston Shore was in a Canada Goose B. canadensis flock and recorded as a ‘Lesser Canada’ in the days before the modern reclassification of the whole group had occurred. Another was at Freiston Shore on and off from Feb 2003 to Jan 2004 and presumed to be nominate hutchinsii (Richardson’s Canada Goose). The next at Frampton Marsh in Jan 2013 was thought to be of the subspecies minima (Small Cackling or Ridgway’s Goose). It or another turned up at Gibraltar Point from late Apr 2013 to mid-May 2013 and what may have been the same individual returned to Frampton Marsh on Aug 17th 2013 but was recorded as ‘Lesser’ Canada Goose without qualification. Submissions of lone birds, birds with feral geese and birds on dates or in locations less indicative of vagrancy will be less likely to gain acceptance.

 

Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus

This species bred intermittently in Norway from the 1950s but has never become established. It has also bred in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands. It is unclear whether these populations are self-sustaining. Cat E*

The first record was in Jun 1992 at Gibraltar Point and they have been recorded in most years since. The exact number of individuals involved is hard to assess as they appear to be very mobile. The majority of records refer to single birds often with Greylag Geese A. anser but two together have been recorded in seven years, three in Sep 2000, four in Mar 1996 and Jul 2008, and six in Nov 2001. There have been no reports of breeding attempts. There have been a very few records of breeding elsewhere in Britain but nothing which has led to longer term establishment in any area.

 

Emperor Goose Anser canagicus

Breeds in Arctic regions of western Alaska and northeastern Siberia, winters on ice-free coastal beaches in the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula. Cat E*

At least three records: Feb 14th-17th 1992, Messingham SQ; Jan 13th Kirkby GP; Tattershall Bridge area, Jan 26th 2009. Elsewhere in Britain 15-20 birds have been recorded in Cumbria where a pair first bred on Walney Island in 2001; and one or two pairs nested there subsequently, last in 2010. In the 2009-11 report on non-native breeding birds the population there numbered up to 14 birds (Holling et al 2014).

 

Ross’s Goose Anser rossii

North America. Breeds northern Canada, winters southern USA. Cat ADE*

One record accepted by BBRC into Category A was found Nov 10th, 2002, in the Read’s Island roost (see account in the main Lincolnshire List); it was also seen Norfolk, Cumbria, Northumberland (British Birds 116: 12-25, 2023).

A presumed male escapee was first seen paired with a female Greylag Goose, Sep 2007, at Barton Pits and also seen in ensuing years to Oct 2009. Other records of between one and five individuals, and with no indication of wild vagrancy, have been recorded at Frampton Marsh (2009), Nene Mouth (2013), Donna Nook (2015) and Sutton Bridge (2016).

The origin of most European records of Ross's Geese is uncertain. They are certainly a potential vagrant, but the situation is complicated by escapes from captivity, some of which occasionally breed ferally in Britain. The winter of 2003/2004 saw at least three with flocks of Pink-footed Geese, A. brachyrhynchus, wintering in Norfolk and at least one of these was an escape since it carried a plastic ring. The status of the other two was uncertain. 

Black Swan Cygnus atratus

Native to Australia. Cat E*

Records of this non-native Swan in the county start in 1996, when two were noted at Gibraltar Point in April. There were none in 1997 but since then they have occurred in every year 1998-2019 and at more than 60 sites across the county. These have mostly been of one to three birds but there have been several instances of confirmed breeding with counts of up to eight birds post-breeding. Records supporting breeding in the county have been as follows:  pair with two juveniles, Jul 1999, Fillingham; three adults and four juveniles, Jun 2004, St. Peter’s Pool, Bourne, presumed relocated to Fillingham, Dec 2004; female on nest, Feb 2004, Fillingham; pair with four downy young, Bourne, Mar 2007; adult with three juveniles, Jul 2010, South Ormsby;  three birds, nest-building seen, Mar 2011, Bourne; three adults with four juveniles, Nov 2012, Wellhead, Bourne (derived from adults released in May 2012); adult and two well-grown juveniles (autumn hatched), Bourne, Feb 2013.

Commonly seen in many counties in Britain, Black Swan has been recorded in every month of the year in Lincolnshire and it is the most widely distributed rare non-native breeding bird in Britain with at least probable breeding recorded in 27 counties. By the time of the 2012-14 non-native breeding birds report the five-year average was of 19 breeding pairs across Britain (Holling et al 2011, 2017).

 

Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata

Native to central and South America. Cat E*

This often-maligned species first entered the LBC database in Feb 1995 at Gibraltar Point, although it is likely to have been under-recorded in the past, as it very likely is in the present day. After that date just one to two birds were recorded up to 2005. For unknown reasons a sizeable population was discovered in Lincoln at North Hykeham Jan-Jul 2006 (seven) and then at Brayford Pool (maximum 26, Aug 10th 2006).  This population persisted for several years, maximum counts in parentheses as follows: 2007 (23), 2008 (14), 2009 (11), 2010 (10), 2011 (eight), and 2012 (eight). After 2012 one to three birds were recorded up to 2019. Around 20 other sites have recorded the species, mostly centred on Lincoln, and in every month of the year. No confirmed breeding records were reported. The species has regularly been reported on by Holling et al in the non-native breeding birds reports which shows a five-year average of 10 breeding pairs in Britain up to 2014.

 

Wood Duck Aix sponsa 

Native to North America and Cuba. Cat DE*

Lorand and Atkin (1989) thought that most of the early records were probably escapes from wildfowl collections and that most were not published. The first on record was a pair at Barton Pits in May 1981, and a pair with young were seen at Tallington Lakes in Jun 1981. Since then there have been records in 10 of the years 1992-2019. These have mostly been of male birds with just one to two birds per year although a pair were seen at Belton Golf Club, Grantham in Apr 2019. A well-watched male at Frampton Marsh in 2018 sported a pink plastic ring indicative of captive origin. The five-year mean number of breeding pairs in Britain up to 2014 in Holling et al (2017) was three.

 

Barrow’s Goldeneye Bucephala islandica

Resident Western Palearctic birds breed Iceland; migrant Nearctic birds breed Alaska, Canada, south to northern California. Cat AE

One undated record of two males at Langtoft Pits in summer 1992. Only three British records to date in 1979, 2005 and 2006. The date and circumstances of the Lincolnshire record together with the small but significant risk of escape from captivity don’t suggest wild vagrancy.

 

Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus        

Native to North America. Cat AE

An approachable bird was seen on May 4th-13th 1996, Fishtoft, and wearing a white darvic ring. It was considered to be an escape. As with some other wildfowl whose origins have come under a shadow, there have been a substantial number of similar records of this species in Britain and the species didn’t make it into Category A of the British List until a candidate on North Uist Oct 23rd- Nov 1st 2000 was admitted by the BOURC. Their extensive breeding range stretches throughout wooded areas of the east and Pacific Northwest of North America. The primary winter range includes the south-eastern United States for eastern birds and the Pacific coast north of California for western birds. There have been records from the Azores and there are three accepted records involving four individuals from Ireland, as well as records of apparent vagrants from Iceland and the Canary Islands. The population of the Hooded Merganser in North America has shown a 1,100% increase over the last 40 years (BirdLife International 2020) and this increase arguably seems to be the reason that the number of British records accepted into Category A 2000-2019 stands at 13.

 

Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus          

Widespread in Africa, south-west and south-central Eurasia. Cat DE

Two records assumed to refer to the same individual accepted by BBRC as Category D records: Sep 16th 1990, Witham Mouth; then Sep 21st Oct 5th and 7th 1990, Gibraltar Point (BBRC Report British Birds 89: 529 and 90: 518). A third record of one reportedly from Oct 1991 to Dec 2nd-21st 1991, at Toft Newton Reservoir was not submitted to BBRC as far as is known.

 

Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor   

East and south Africa, rare in west Africa, north-west India and Pakistan. Vagrant north Africa, Iberian peninsula. Cat E

One was seen on Aug 7th 1997, at Read’s Island on the Humber. Considered an escape from captivity.

 

White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus    

Widespread and discontinuous distribution from south-east Europe to Kazakhstan, Africa south of the Sahara and in north-west India. Cat DE

One at the Nene mouth on Aug 16th 2006, also seen in The Netherlands and Germany, was tracked thorough various English counties before finally being taken into care in Northumberland in Oct 2006. (Accepted by BBRC, Category D; British Birds 101: 575.). Interestingly it was accepted as the 9th record for The Netherlands by the Commissie Dwaalgasten Nederlandse Avifauna (CDNA) which adjudicates on rare birds there.

 

Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens          

Native to Africa south of the Sahara. Cat E

One at Chapel St. Leonard’s, Feb 26th 1989 and at Mablethorpe Oct 27th 1990, presumed same, both accepted by BBRC (British Birds 89: 531) as identification proved, but considered an escape from captivity. Also seen in north Norfolk.

 

African Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus

Africa south of the Sahara, also south-eastern Iraq. Feral populations in France, Italy. Cat E

One was at Scopwick in Feb 2002 and another toured the county Apr-Aug 2012 being seen successively at Bassingham, Louth, Spalding, Alkborough Flats and Torksey. Yésou and Clergeau (2005) reviewed the species status in Europe and reported a roost in France of 1,030 birds close to a shopping centre. It has reported that there are now more than 5,000 in France (Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, CABI, Datasheet 2020) and these have caused major problems for other waterbird populations through competition and predation.

 

Eagle Owl Bubo bubo   

Central and southern Europe to northern and central Asia. Not categorised

The first county record was of a bird shot near Stamford in Apr 1879. It was examined by staff at Durham University Museum who said it appeared wild and in good condition after feeding on Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus. In the modern era, the first record was of a bird in the Scunthorpe area in Dec 2002, present on and off until Jan 2004. Others were seen in the grounds of Belton House, Grantham Jan 2003; East Ravendale Jan 2010; Melton Ross, May 2013; Gunthorpe, Dec 2013; Sleaford Feb 2015; and Donna Nook Jun 2015. The ‘modern’ records are most likely escapes from captivity and for this reason the species was removed from the British List by the BOURC in 1996 (Melling, Dudley et al 2008).

Fossil records indicate that Eagle Owls occurred in what is now Britain through most of the Ice Age and possibly just afterwards but why it subsequently disappeared is a mystery. There are certainly birds at large in Britain and two pairs have nested in north-west England 2006-2013. The case for reintroduction of this apex predator has recently been made by MacDonald (2019). Whether any past or future records of lone birds on the (mainly) east coast will ever be accepted as being of wild origin is clearly a moot point.

 

Desert Finch Rhynchostruthus obsoleta 

South-east Turkey, the Middle East, Arabia, into central and eastern Asia. Mainly resident, also partial migrant. Cat E

One record of a female from 1990-Mar 31st 1991, Deeping St Nicholas, regarded as an escape.

 

Saker Falcon Falco cherrug       

Eastern Europe and through Russia and central Asia to central China. Cat DE

One record of an adult, Apr 22nd 1995, Kirkby GP; accepted BBRC as a Category D record (British Birds 92: 607). A review of captive-bred falcons by Fleming et al (2011) reported the following: since registration of birds commenced in 1983, 8,051 Peregrines, F. peregrinus, 4273 ‘other’ falcons, and 11,788 hybrid falcons have been registered in captivity; the most abundant hybrid combination at the time was between Gyr and Saker Falcons (1,843 birds); Lanner, F. biarmicus, and Saker Falcons did not need registering at that time; between 1981-2005 escaped Lanner (71) and Saker (104) Falcons accounted for 97% of escapees. This somewhat gloomy picture is obviously a significant problem for birdwatchers and apart from identifying large falcons in the wild, especially captive-bred hybrids, the numbers escaping from captivity probably precludes there ever being a truly wild and identifiably Saker Falcon in the county.

 

Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria

Native to Indian sub-continent, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and south-east Asia. Cat E*

A small number of records have been reported between 1990-2016 all of them at sites around The Wash from Frampton Marsh to Gibraltar Point, all assumed to be escapes from captivity, especially as Britain’s largest parrot sanctuary at Friskney, Lincolnshire Wildlife Park, has free-flying parrots of several species. There are no breeding records to date. They bred occasionally in Britain 1996-2008 but not 2009-2011 (Holling et al 2014).

 

Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps

Central Asia. Cat DE

Formerly a common cage-bird, there have been several records of adult males in Lincolnshire, the most recent being a singing male at Donna Nook, Jul-Aug 1983. There was an upsurge of British records in the 1950s to 1970s but a sharp downturn after 1982 when an export ban was imposed by the Indian government. In modern times, there have been just three British records from 1999-2005. Before the export ban, this species outnumbered Black-headed Bunting E. melanocephalus by almost 6:1. Since 1998 though Black-headed has outnumbered Red-headed by 10:1. Red-headed Bunting is now rare in captivity and it is rarely bred. It appears to be an abundant and stable species in Kazakhstan where the bulk of its population breeds (Vinicombe 2007).

 

Glossary

Category C
Species that, although introduced, now derive from the resulting self-sustaining populations.

• C1 – Naturalized introduced species - species that have occurred only as a result of introduction, e.g. Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus
• C2 – Naturalized established species – species with established populations resulting from introduction by Man, but which also occur in an apparently natural state, e.g. Greylag Goose Anser anser
• C3 – Naturalized re-established species – species with populations successfully re-established by Man in areas of former occurrence, e.g. Red Kite Milvus milvus.
• C4 – Naturalized feral species – domesticated species with populations established in the wild, e.g. Rock Pigeon (Dove)/Feral Pigeon Columba livia.
• C5 – Vagrant naturalized species – species from established naturalized populations abroad, e.g. possibly some Ruddy Shelducks Tadorna ferruginea occurring in Britain. There are currently no species in category C5.
• C6 – Former naturalized species - species formerly placed in C1 whose naturalized populations are either no longer self-sustaining or are considered extinct, e.g. Lady Amherst’s Pheasant Chrysolophus amherstiae.

Category D
Species that would otherwise appear in Category A except that there is reasonable doubt that they have ever occurred in a natural state. Species placed in Category D only form no part of the British List and are not included in the species totals.

Category E comprises those species that have been recorded as introductions, human-assisted transportees or escapees from captivity, whose breeding populations (if any) are thought not to be self-sustaining.

Category E* comprises those species that have bred in the wild in Britain.

Species listed in Category E form no part of the British List, unless they are also included in Categories A, B or C.