Louise Bacon, Paul French and the Rarities Committee

Chair’s introduction

This is the 65th annual report of the British Birds Rarities Committee. Yet again, new species continue to be added to the British List and, in this report, we publish the first British record of Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis, Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus and Sulphur-bellied Warbler Phylloscopus griseolus. The last species in that quite remarkable list was on few rarity-hunter’s radars until the discovery of one in Denmark in 2016. An all-too-brief appearance by a singing male on Lundy in June 2021 confirmed the species’ vagrancy potential to Britain but left many birders still needing the species for their lists. More cooperative was Britain’s first Kelp Gull, whichspent ten days in the vicinity of Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, in early August. Britain’s first Least Bitternwas found in October, moribund; a perhaps not totally unexpected state of affairs given that other Western Palearctic records have been found in a similar state.

Some other high-profile records lingered a little longer than hoped for with BBRC before being passed to BOURC. Records of Stejneger’s Scoter Melanitta stejnegeri, Soft-plumaged Petrel Pterodroma mollis, Trindade Petrel P.arminjoniana, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus (the first modern-day record) and Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps currently in circulation with BOURC. In addition, the record of ‘Lesser Short-toed Lark’ at Portland Bill, Dorset, in May 1992 remains in circulation to ascertain if the bird can be identified as Asian Short-toed Lark Alaudala cheleensis, Mediterranean Short-toed Lark A. rufescens or Turkestan Short-toed Lark A. heinei.