[Steve Waite]

Could someone please tell me whether Cattle Egret is still a BB rarity? I seem to recall it was taken off a year or two back?

[robinm]

Here is the list http://www.bbrc.org.uk/currentrarespecies.htm

Cattle Egret is still on.

[Gilliard's Honeyeater]

Originally Posted by Steve Waite

Could someone please tell me whether Cattle Egret is still a BB rarity? I seem to recall it was taken off a year or two back?

Steve,
These are the comings (and mostly goings) of BB rarities since 1982

>1982
Cory’s Shearwater
Purple Heron
White Stork
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Richard’s Pipit
Tawny Pipit
Savi’s Warbler
Aquatic Warbler
Serin
Scarlet Rosefinch

>1988
Crane
Ring-billed Gull

>1991
Little Egret
Surf Scoter
Bee-eater
Pallas’s Warbler
Woodchat Shrike

1991>
Green-winged Teal

>1994
Ring-necked Duck
Short-toed Lark
Little Bunting

1999>
Savi’s Warbler
Ferruginous Duck

>1999
‘Kumliens’ Gull
White-tailed Eagle

>2000
Caspian Gull

>2002
American Wigeon
Night Heron
Rose-coloured Starling

>06/05
Black Brant

>2006
Wilson’s Petrel
Ferruginous Duck
Great White Egret
Black Kite
Red-footed Falcon
American Golden Plover
White-rumped Sandpiper
White-winged Black Tern
Alpine Swift
Red-throated Pipit
Red-rumped Swallow
Sub-alpine Warbler
Radde’s Warbler
Dusky Warbler
Greenish Warbler
Rustic Bunting
Arctic Redpoll

GH

[Steve Waite]

Thanks all, must be next in line though....

Steve

[MSA]

Spooky, we had a chat about this a couple of days ago, trying to decide why GWE was removed and not Cattle Egret.

[AlexC]

Can someone explain to a confused somebody across the pond what denotes a BB rarity (and what BB stands for)?

[MSA]

Originally Posted by AlexC

Can someone explain to a confused somebody across the pond what denotes a BB rarity (and what BB stands for)?

http://www.bbrc.org.uk/constitution.htm

If it's on their list, notes are needed.

Think your equivalent's the ABA?

[marklhawkes]

Originally Posted by MSA

Spooky, we had a chat about this a couple of days ago, trying to decide why GWE was removed and not Cattle Egret.

Because Great White Egret has (upto end of 2005) been recorded 272 times, as opposed to Cattle Egrets 123 records. Also, GWE has been recorded in increasing numbers during the last 10 years, whilst Cattle Egret numbers have not shown such a dramatic increase (if any). I have just been thumbing through a few copies of British Birds looking for the exact qualifications used to "drop" those recent species, but can't quite lay my hands on it. One of the reasons (from memory) was that the species has been recorded <70 times in the last ten years.

[Mike Pennington]

Mark,

Speaking from memory and not officially, I think that the last group were the first taken off according to a strict set of criteria which were, again from memory, over 300 records and 100 in the last 10 years.

[marklhawkes]

Originally Posted by Mike Pennington

Mark,

Speaking from memory and not officially, I think that the last group were the first taken off according to a strict set of criteria which were, again from memory, over 300 records and 100 in the last 10 years.

Mike, do you mean

300 records or 100 in the last ten years

or

300 records and 100 in the last 10 years

Because GWE (plus Radde's etc) don't have over 300 records?

Edit:

See here for press release. I still can't find the criteria though:
http://www.bbrc.org.uk/120106.htm

[Mike Pennington]

Told you it was from memory!

So I went and checked my facts (BB 99: 52)

'For all the species involved there have been more than 200 records in
total and 100 or more in the last ten years,'

[marklhawkes]

Snap! I just found it too, also listed in BB 98:629

[Steve Waite]

Originally Posted by Mike Pennington

'For all the species involved there have been more than 200 records in
total and 100 or more in the last ten years,'

Cattle Egret must be at that status by now?

[Farnboro John]

Originally Posted by Steve Waite

Cattle Egret must be at that status by now?

It might not, for every year like this where there is a multi-bird influx there are two or three years with only two or three birds.

A hundred in ten years is actually quite a high bar, and quite right too.

John

[marklhawkes]

Originally Posted by Steve Waite

Cattle Egret must be at that status by now?

As I posted above, only 123 records of Cattle Egret by the end of 2005 (latest BB rarities report is out soon, so that will probably add a few more), but still short of the 200 criteria, and 100 in ten years.

Strange to think, that Cattle Egret is still "rare" enough to require a BB description, but if you find a Wilson's Petrel, just pop a description off to the local county recorder!

[MSA]

It'll be interesting to see what happens when they start breeding here, surely only a matter of a year or so?

[marklhawkes]

Originally Posted by MSA

It'll be interesting to see what happens when they start breeding here, surely only a matter of a year or so?

Is it? Why? They have been a regular, but rare visitor, prone to occasional influxes, for many years now, and have yet to establish as a breeding species. Little Egrets were wintering in their 100's (probably 1000's) before they became an established breeder.

[Frenchy]

And going the other way (and repeating what has been said on another thread), it must be about time that Tawny Pipit was reinstated to BBRC status. They seem to be getting rarer every year, although i have no stats to hand.

[Harry Hussey]

Originally Posted by Frenchy

And going the other way (and repeating what has been said on another thread), it must be about time that Tawny Pipit was reinstated to BBRC status. They seem to be getting rarer every year, although i have no stats to hand.

Though, oddly enough, we have had possibly almost as many Tawnies as Richard's here in Ireland in the last 7-8 years, though this may have more to do with the latter being quite rare rather than the former being 'common'. The fact that there have been a few 'twitchable' Tawnies also gives the impression that they are commoner than they actually are, the vast majority of recent Richard's putting in very brief 'you had to be there' type appearances...I've only seen ONE, as against three Tawnies!
Harry