The Rare Breeding Birds Panel

It’s nearly March, spring is springing, and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel has emerged from hibernation again to encourage you to get out recording rare breeding birds #UKbirding #ornithology

It looks like sunshine and showers for most of the UK this weekend, so why not get out looking for Woodlarks, Goshawks, Long-eared Owls, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and other early breeding species?

It’s nearly March, spring is springing, and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel has emerged from hibernation again to encourage you to get out recording rare breeding birds #UKbirding #ornithology

Little Egret Population Estimates Visit the post for more.

New blog from BTO Senior Research Ecologist Ian Woodward for @ukrbbp.bsky.social delves into a new method for estimating breeding populations of Little Egrets. It discovered they were higher than previously thought – likely exceeding 2,000 pairs in the UK! #Ornithology

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Little Egret Population Estimates Producing population estimates for Little Egret A paper in the January 2026 issue of British Birds has described a new approach to estimating the breeding population of Little Egrets in the UK, ...

BLOG: Ian Woodward, senior research ecologist at @btobirds.bsky.social, describes how combining data from the RBBP and the BTO’s Heronries Census has improved our knowledge on the UK’s Little Egret population, as in new @britishbirds.bsky.social paper #birds #ornithology rbbp.org.uk/2026/01/30/l...

@jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @birdsinwales.bsky.social @britishbirds.bsky.social @birdtrack.bsky.social

Little Egret Population Estimates Producing population estimates for Little Egret A paper in the January 2026 issue of British Birds has described a new approach to estimating the breeding population of Little Egrets in the UK, ...

BLOG: Ian Woodward, senior research ecologist at @btobirds.bsky.social, describes how combining data from the RBBP and the BTO’s Heronries Census has improved our knowledge on the UK’s Little Egret population, as in new @britishbirds.bsky.social paper #birds #ornithology rbbp.org.uk/2026/01/30/l...

A Little Egret in flight showing its white plumage, black bill and legs, and yellow feet. Wording below reads: New Study. Producing breeding population estimates to monitor Little Egret trends. BTO logo is top right of the image.

1/🧵 New BTO-led research sheds light on the number and range of Little Egrets with population estimates higher than previously thought – likely exceeding 2,000 pairs in the UK! 🙌 #Ornithology @britishbirds.bsky.social

📖 www.bto.org/little-egret...

Great to see RBBP data being used in work led by @btobirds.bsky.social that improves our knowledge on the status of Little Egrets in the UK… there are more than we thought!

A Roseate Tern perches on a rock, showing its dark bill, silvery-grey upperparts and rosy-washed breast. Image credit bottom right reads Roseate Tern by Sam Langlois / BTO.

4/Roseate Tern numbers fell from 154 pairs in 2022 to 118 in 2023 following deaths of 90 adults from bird flu in the 2022 breeding season. Although breeding numbers were lower than prior to bird flu, there are signs of hope with 2024 representing the second most successful breeding season on record.

A Slavonian Grebe on water showing its black cheeks, yellow tufts on the side of its head and red eye. Image credit bottom right reads Slavonian Grebe by Edmund Fellowes / BTO.

3/ However, there’s also some concerning news from the report. In northern Scotland, numbers of Slavonian Grebes fell to just 16 pairs, the lowest total since the @ukrbbp.bsky.social began reporting in 1973.

A White-tailed Eagle flies through a blue sky, showing its brown plumage, white tail and yellow beak. Image credit bottom right reads White-tailed Eagle by Sarah Kelman / BTO.

2/A pair of Temminck’s Stint laid four eggs in 2023 but sadly the nest was washed out by rising water levels.

The report also revealed 15 species reached record totals in 2023! This included White-tailed Eagle, with 160 pairs in the UK, and Marsh Harrier, which reached 500 pairs for the first time.

A Hoopoe perches on fallen tree trunk showing its orange crest, down-curved bill, and black, white and sandy brown plumage. Image credit bottom right reads Hoopoe by Edmund Fellowes / BTO.

1/🧵 Two bird species bred in the UK in 2023 for the first time since the 1990s!

The latest report by @ukrbbp.bsky.social published in @britishbirds.bsky.social confirmed a pair of Hoopoes raised three young from a nest in Leicestershire and Rutland. #Ornithology

A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the trunk of a tree. A grey box to the left features the words: New study. Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. ww.bto.org/LSWBioacoustics. BTO logo is top left of the image. Image credit bottom left reads: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker © Denja1 from Getty Images via Canva.com.

1/ A new study from @lesserspotnet.bsky.social & BTO in @britishbirds.bsky.social looks at how passive acoustic monitoring is an effective way of surveying Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ➡️ www.bto.org/LSWBioacoust...

#bioacoustics #ornithology @simongillings.bsky.social @hosbirding.bsky.social

Our paper in December's @britishbirds.bsky.social describes success in using sound recording for detecting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. We found Lesser Spots still present in woodlands where they have not been seen/heard for years. This is very exciting www.woodpecker-network.org.uk/index.php/ne...

Indeed ☹️

Most other species near our 2,000 pr threshold are concentrated into relatively few breeding sites (e.g. Med Gull), or have a significant annual monitoring effort (e.g. Peregrine). These make data collation, often of a high % of the pop, comparatively easy. This certainly isn’t true for Willow Tit

There was a good case, yes, but with a population nearly three times our threshold, we felt that this was too much mission creep, especially given our limited resources. Hopefully repeated national surveys will track the population, and more effectively than our data collation could.

Reviewing the RBBP species list Reviewing the RBBP species list Mediterranean Gull, Mark Eaton The RBBP collects data and reports upon all native species with UK breeding populations of fewer than 2,000 pairs. In addition, s...

NEW BLOG - the RBBP reviews what species we should collect data on regularly. Here’s an explanation of what we consider when species are removed, and why Avocet and Mediterranean Gull are staying on our list, for now rbbp.org.uk/2025/11/25/r...

@jncc.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social @birdtrack.bsky.social

Reviewing the RBBP species list Reviewing the RBBP species list Mediterranean Gull, Mark Eaton The RBBP collects data and reports upon all native species with UK breeding populations of fewer than 2,000 pairs. In addition, s...

NEW BLOG - the RBBP reviews what species we should collect data on regularly. Here’s an explanation of what we consider when species are removed, and why Avocet and Mediterranean Gull are staying on our list, for now rbbp.org.uk/2025/11/25/r...

Thank you, Ian! We're really going to miss you on the panel - your broad knowledge of birds and habitats, questioning mind and great company have made you a wonderful person to work with.

Dr Ian Francis, posing with the RBBP’s parting gift of a print of a Crested Tit by Chris Rose.

After 25 years on the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, Dr Ian Francis stepped down last week. Ian has made an amazing contribution to the RBBP’s work, and he will be missed hugely. However, we hope this will give him more time to find rare breeding birds in Northeast Scotland and elsewhere!

Patrick Stirling-Aird

We are saddened to hear of the death of Patrick Stirling-Aird, who for many decades was a leading light in the monitoring and conservation of raptors. It was a honour to work with Patrick on the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme; we will miss him immensely. raptormonitoring.org/about-the-sr...

Eight members of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel watching a Ring-necked Duck at Druridge Bay Country Park

The Rare Breeding Birds Panel hard at work during their annual in-person meeting, at Druridge Bay Country Park, Northumberland, today.

Graph of numbers of breeding pairs on Osprey reported since 1973 in the UK and its four countries

Osprey chick on the nest

Raptor recovery… Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, White-tailed Eagle and Osprey have all increased substantially over recent decades. Ospreys have colonised new counties at the rate of one a year, including Co. Fermanagh in 2023, the first breeding on the island of Ireland in 200 yrs #ukbirding #ornithology

A summary table of 2023 RBBP stats, giving population estimates and trends for these raptors and all rare breeding bird species, can be found at rbbp.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Graph of numbers of breeding pairs on Osprey reported since 1973 in the UK and its four countries

Osprey chick on the nest

Raptor recovery… Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, White-tailed Eagle and Osprey have all increased substantially over recent decades. Ospreys have colonised new counties at the rate of one a year, including Co. Fermanagh in 2023, the first breeding on the island of Ireland in 200 yrs #ukbirding #ornithology

RBBP report: Hoopoe and Temminck's Stint breed in UK for first time in 30 years The latest Rare Breeding Birds Panel report has revealed that, in 2023, Hoopoe and Temminck's Stint bred in the UK for the first time since the 1990s, alongside record totals for several expanding species. On the other hand, other rare breeders continued to decline.

The most recent report from the Rare Breeding Birds Panel celebrates the return of two long-absent breeding species and record totals for others, though some birds continue to decline:

The new RBBP report shows that some northern species are struggling. Numbers of Slavonian Grebes fell to just 16 pairs in 2023, the lowest total we have ever reported. There were only six pairs of Redwings, and no breeding Fieldfares at all. Read more at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... #UKbirding