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Recent reports

01 October 2004 Comments News and comment This summary of unchecked reports covers mid August to mid September 2004. Canvasback Aythya valisineria Private site (Kent), 15th August. Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca Chew Valley Lake (Somerset), 20th August to 1st September. Zino's/Fea's Petrel Pterod...

News and Comment

01 October 2004 Comments News and comment The decline of the Corn Crake Crex crex is a familiar, if depressing, story. Mechanical mowing and the early harvesting of crops, before the end of the breeding season, have had a catastrophic effect on Corn Crakes in Britain and across much of western Eu...

Conservation research news

01 October 2004 Comments News and comment One of the assumptions that scientists often make about territorial birds is that individuals will choose the best breeding sites available. Consequently, when populations are small, every individual occupies a high-quality site but, as populations grow, ...

The Carl Zeiss Award 2004

01 October 2004 Comments Main paper One of the difficulties for the judging panel of the Carl Zeiss Award, for photographs of rarities assessed by the BBRC during the preceding year, is that we have to think of something new to say in our report each year. This year it was easy, in fact it ...

AudouinÕs Gull: new to Britain

01 October 2004 Comments Main paper ABSTRACT A second-summer Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii was found at Dungeness, Kent, on 5th May 2003. It lingered in the area for the remainder of the day, commuting between the shore and nearby pools on the RSPB reserve. It was present again the followi...

Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2002

01 October 2004 Comments Main paper This is the thirtieth annual report of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, which presents details of the status of Britain's rarest breeding birds for the year 2002. The totals are generally set out by county or region, occasionally by country; most actual loc...

Golden-winged Warbler: new to the Western Paleartic

01 November 1992 Comments Main paper On 24th January 1989, Mrs C. Miller noticed a colourful bird feeding in the garden of her house at Larkfield, Kent. Though not a birdwatcher, she realised that it was unusual, and made a drawing of it. Three days later, it reappeared, and Mr Miller man...

Mystery photographs

01 November 1992 Comments Main paper Even with it in silhouette, the majority of readers would surely recognise the dagger-like bill, flat crown with crest, fairly elongated wings and shortish tarsi of last month's mystery bird (plate 254, reproduced here in black-and-white) as a ter...

Monthly marathon

01 November 1992 Comments Other The plummeting raptor (plate 181) was named as: Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus (78%) Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus (8%) Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus (6%), with a few votes each for Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus, Dark Chanting Goshawk Mel...

Identification pitfalls and assessment problems. 14. Crane Grus grus

01 November 1992 Comments Main paper This series, which started in January 1983 (Brit. Birds 76: 26-28), is not intended to cover all facets of the identification of the species concerned, but only the major sources of error likely to mislead the observer in the field or the person attemp...

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