Looking For and Reporting Rare Breeding Birds

Spring is upon us and birds are starting to nest and its worth keeping in mind the following guidance about rare breeding birds. The Rare Breeding Bird Panel collate all details of rare breeding birds in Lincolnshire through Lincolnshire Bird Club and Phil Espin assists Phil Hyde the Lincolnshire County Recorder for this purpose. He can be contacted on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. All breeding records are welcome and any expressed wish for confidentiality will be respected.

1.       If you suspect a bird species is breeding please do not approach the nest site, you may cause the birds to abandon or expose the nest and the eggs/young to predators. It is usually possible to confirm breeding without getting anywhere near the nest. 
2.       Photography of rare bird nests is illegal without a specific permit which are rightly difficult to obtain. So please don’t disturb breeding birds to get a photo of either the nest or the birds. You could be committing a criminal offence.
3.       Please keep in mind that formal surveys this year of Turtle Doves and Breeding Waders of Wet Meadows do not mean you should try to find nests of these birds.
4.       Respect sanctuary areas on nature reserves. They are there to give birds a chance to breed in peace and quiet without disturbance.
5.       If you do find a rare breeding bird in the breeding season i.e between now and the end of July think carefully about who you share news with and whether you need to share the information widely on social media. Species breeding on protected wardened nature reserves are much safer than those in the general countryside. For instance, Black-necked Grebes nesting at RSPB Frampton Marsh ok, anywhere else, exercise extreme caution. If you do put something on social media keep the location as general and non-specific as possible.

Never give a precise location for a nest. If you have any doubts, don’t share until you’ve discussed the situation with a local reserve manager or give Phil Espin a call on 07966325380.6.       Keep in mind that bird news information services like Birdguides and Rare Bird Alert can access data put into Birdtrack and ebird in real time. The record can thereby become public knowledge without you realising it. If you wish to avoid this eventuality, you must mark the record as sensitive when you enter it and you will need to check out how your record system does this.