can you beleive the rspb website on sightings on there reserves (1 Viewer)

Hi is just me or do the rspb inflate there sightings just to get more visiters,after several visits to my local one rainham i am convinced that is the case spent a day there today not alot about no sign of beaded tits to windy we were told .yet on arriving checked website there was a impresive collection of raptors ,beaded tits ,ect all turned up as we left story of my life at rainaham :-C

foxydave said:

Hi is just me or do the rspb inflate there sightings just to get more visiters,after several visits to my local one rainham i am convinced that is the case spent a day there today not alot about no sign of beaded tits to windy we were told .yet on arriving checked website there was a impresive collection of raptors ,beaded tits ,ect all turned up as we left story of my life at rainaham :-C

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i was at rainham last year looking for the serin spent at least an hour and a half looking during that time several, at least 30 people, came and went away disappointed when we found them sometimes persistence pays off
beardies can be difficult especially when it's windy no doubt one day you will be walking down a path in a reedbed and you will find yourself surrounded by a big flock of the little beauties as has happened to me a couple of times
as for your original question i guess they rely on visitors to tell them what they've seen and no doubt a lot of the sightings are flyovers or short stayers and like you say i don't suppose it hurts visitor numbers

foxydave said:

Hi is just me or do the rspb inflate there sightings just to get more visiters,after several visits to my local one rainham i am convinced that is the case spent a day there today not alot about no sign of beaded tits to windy we were told .yet on arriving checked website there was a impresive collection of raptors ,beaded tits ,ect all turned up as we left story of my life at rainaham :-C

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I've only ever visited Rainham, Dunge and Elmley with any regularity. At these sites at least I've never felt that the sightings were unreliable. Beardies can be difficult, on a reserve near to me I have only failed to see them on 2 or 3 visits though I've a friend who has never managed to get on them there! Right place and right time methinks.

I think any visitor to the reserves can add to the list of sightings so there is always the chance of some mis-id's and many 'sightings' may be 'hearings' of more elusive birds.

For latest sightings at Raijnham you could alwats check out the ELBF (http://www.elbf.co.uk/index.shtml).

Perry

Alot of the 'recent reports' pages on the RSPB website are not daily reports. They are usually a summery of the previous week or two. So this might explain your sightings not corresponding to the websites report??

The website reports and the reports at the visitor centre are often the accumulation of multiple observers and not just one person which would account for the list being lengthy. It is unlikely any one given birder would have been responsible for all of the sightings.

Places such as Rainham will often have a lot of visitors each day and each one of them will likely have seen something no else did.

Hi Guys you right i only put thread on after talking to some people who had come a long way to see if anyone else thought the same .as a member of the rspb some 30years i support all there eforts and i love rainaham. cheers dave