Current status: the Rare Breeding Birds Panel is currently processing records for 2010 with a view to reporting in summer 2012. The deadline for receipt of records for the 2010 breeding season is 31st December 2011. Any county recorder who believes they will not be able to meet this deadline should contact the Panel Secretary as soon as possible.
Future deadlines for receipt of annual data on rare breeding birds: data for a particular year should be submitted to the Panel Secretary by no later than 31st December of the following year.
Data can now be submitted on a formatted excel spreadsheet available via Recording Forms.
The Panel collects data on almost 200 species of rare and scarce breeding birds in the UK; these are listed under Species List. Birdwatchers should submit any breeding records of these species to the County or Regional bird recorder for the area where the breeding record occurred as soon as possible after the breeding season concerned. A list of bird recorders is available at http://www.britishbirds.co.uk/birding-resources/county-recorders-2/. Reporting rare breeding birds in this way keeps local bird recorders informed and allows them to place the record in context with their local situation. Using all the data received for each species for a particular year, bird recorders then submit an annual report to the Panel using special Recording Forms.
Records for each species should wherever possible include totals of breeding pairs in the three categories of confirmed, probable or possible breeding as defined by the European Bird Census Council.
Definitions of the terms confirmed, probable and possible breeding are given here --> RBBP Definitions of Breeding EvidenceObservers may, if they wish, submit records directly to the Panel Secretary, but the normal procedure is to send them in the first instance to the relevant county recorder who will forward them to the Panel.
The Panel has prepared detailed standards to help with the selection and submission of records. These are available as a downloadable pdf document: Recording Standards
A list of species considered by the Panel from the 2010 breeding season onwards is available. Click here. RBBP collects and archives all breeding season records for the rare and scarcer breeding birds of the UK. This includes all species with a UK population of less than 1,500 breeding pairs, and a few species which exceed this figure now but which historically have had lower populations. Most species on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 are included. In addition, the Panel would like to receive any breeding records for the rarer non-native (introduced or escaped) species such as Eagle Owl, some parakeets, rare pheasants and other gamebirds, and the rarer non-native wildfowl such as Black Swan and Eygptian Goose. A list of the principal species for which data are requested is in the Excel spreadsheet (link below), but full details on any other rare breeding species, including those attempting to nest in the UK perhaps for the first time, should also be submitted. Further details on submissions are to be found under the section on Recording Forms.
For more details on the recording of rare non-native species see Recording of Rare Non-natives.
Species are divided into six categories:
- Regular breeding native species. These are species which breed or attempt to breed in the UK in most years, and where the breeding population is typically less than 1,500 breeding pairs. Regular breeding species are further sub-divided into four groups based on the number of breeding pairs (bp) in a typical years: Very Rare (<30bp), Rare (30-300 bp), Scarce (301-1,000 bp) and Less Scarce (>1,000 bp).
- Occasional breeding native species. These are species which have bred in the UK on at least one occasion but at present breeding does not occur regularly.
- Potential breeding native species. These are species which have never bred in the UK, or have not bred in the UK since 1900, but which have shown signs of breeding (e.g. pairs in suitable breeding habitat or a territory being maintained) and for which it is recommended that such presence is recorded.
- Regular breeding non-native species. These are species which are not native breeders in the UK but which breed or attempt to breed in the UK in most years, and where the breeding population is typically less than 1,500 breeding pairs.
- Occasional breeding non-native species. These are species which are not native breeders in the UK which have bred in the UK on at least one occasion but at present breeding does not occur regularly.
- Potential breeding non-native species. These are species which have never bred in the UK, or have not bred in the UK since 1900, but which have shown signs of breeding (e.g. pairs in suitable breeding habitat or a territory being maintained) and for which it is recommended that such presence is recorded.
For almost all species, details of all sites occupied in a county or recording area are requested, including totals of confirmed, probable and possible breeding pairs at each site. The Panel's Standard Form has been designed to collect the requested information. For 24 scarce or less scarce species, if there are less than 10 pairs in the county, a county total of confirmed, probable and possible breeding pairs, plus the number of sites occupied, can be submitted using the Panel's County Total Form. These 24 species are identified within the Species List spreadsheet, Download here.
It is the intention of the Panel to compile a downloadable matrix of species numbers by year. This will allow visitors to this site to gain an overview of the changing populations of the UK's rarest breeding birds. A review of annual coverage by recording area is also planned to provide some perspective on the level of information stored in the RBBP Archive. These are longer term developments which will be added to this website in due course.