2016 Bird Report

Thanks for your response Andrew.

The Bluetail at Gibraltar Point on 12/10/2016 and subsequent days is in the report on page 11, in the Review of the Year, where the fact that it is not yet accepted by BBRC is mentioned. LBC has a policy of not including non-accepted BBRC records (for an obvious reason: lots of rubbish might end up in the report) in the main body of the report, and its inclusion in the Review (along with another acceptance-awaited record, of Black-winged Stilt) was a compromise for a record that seems highly likely to be accepted.

These two records (Bluetail and Stilt) had no details sent to BBRC until very late, along with both records of Broad-billed Sandpiper (which did get accepted in time, while the report was in printer's proof, and thus requiring additional wasted time to deal with them). It is regrettable that observers often do not submit details to BBRC, or to LBRC for county rarities, until prompted months after the event, and typically when their non-acceptance is realised during report production.

If you look at the Work in Progress information on the BBRC website (the currently available one is dated 13/02/2018), you will find that the only BBRC records so far submitted to BBRC for 2017 are for Western Swamphen in January (accepted) and Mandt's Black Guillemot in December (in circulation). Were these really the only BBRC taxa to occur in Lincolnshire in 2017? I doubt it, and would suggest that whoever saw the other ones should urgently make the slight effort required to submit details.

Andrew

Some records almost invariably slip through the net in county bird reports - it’s an occupational hazard.
Not ideal but at least things can be rectified in the addendum of the report for the following year.
Overall, I agree with Russelll. I think the 2016 report is excellent - possibly the best ever thanks to the wealth of species-content, the quality of the pictures and the variety of the feature articles.
I didn’t realise the extent of impressive work being done by Garry Steele to encourage barn owls to nest in county churches.
Ian Macalpine-Leny’s initiative for the inclusion of an index has paid off, and James Siddle’s introductory review of the year has provided a springboard to the rest of the report.
As for Neil Smith’s cover pic. That creature’s head? Surely proof of the world’s first record of a swift/ bat/cat/dog hybrid.

Collected the report last night, another excellent example.

I noticed only two reports of Red Flanked Bluetail in 2016 yet there was a third bird at Gibraltar Point in October.

Does anybody know why this bird has not appeared in the report? Has it been submitted to BBRC?

thanks

Russell