The Rare Breeding Birds Panel

@ukrbbp.bsky.social

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We encourage and support the recording of rare breeding birds in the UK, collate data in order to report annually on their numbers, trends and distribution, and maintain a secure archive to support conservation and research on these species.

Female Wigeon with young in Northeast Scotland, taken by ex-RBBP member Ian Francis
RBBP Secretary Mark Eaton giving a brief overview of breeding evidence codes that should be included with records of rare breeding birds
RBBP Secretary Mark Eaton with some ideas on what rare breeding birds to look for in April
Met office map showing the weather forecast for the UK for 14th March.
A male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in a Kentish wood
Dr Ian Francis, posing with the RBBP’s parting gift of a print of a Crested Tit by Chris Rose.
Patrick Stirling-Aird
Eight members of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel watching a Ring-necked Duck at Druridge Bay Country Park
Graph of numbers of breeding pairs on Osprey reported since 1973 in the UK and its four countries
The RBBP trend for Slavonian Grebe, 1973-2023, animated from 1990 onwards showing the decline in numbers. With a video backdrop of a feeding grebe.
The RBBP’s newest member, Jenny Weston
A clip of a feeding Spoonbill, overlaid with a animated graph showing the UK population trend since 2010
Male Red-spotted Bluethroat
Graph of Temminck's Stint breeding occurrences, showing small but regular numbers in the 1970s, with confirmed breeding in 14 years between 1976 and 1997, then a long gap before confirmed breeding in 2023
Five Hoopoes - the pair that bred in Leicestershire in 2023 with their three fledged young
Black-necked Grebe range map, 1973-2023
American Black Tern, by Mark Eaton
Peregrine chicks, by Ian Francis
Turtle Dove, by Ben Andrews, RSPB Images
Slavonian Grebe, by Richard Tyler
Wood Sandpiper, by Andy Williams
Mediterranean Gull, by Mark Eaton
Black-necked Grebe, by Richard Tyler
Great White Egret, by Ron MacDonald
Marsh Harrier, by Ron MacDonald
Yellow-legged Gulls, by Mark Eaton
Temminck's Stint
Hoopoe, by Ron MacDonald
The cover of the November 2025 issue of British Birds, with a Little Ringed Plover sheltering its chicks
A mocked-up T-shirt with four RBBP talk dates on
The cover of British Birds, November 2024, with a Glossy Ibis illustration
The 2024 Orkney Bird Report, with a photo of a male Red-backed Shrike
Breeding evidence codes for confirming breeding in birds
Mark Eaton, Secretary of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, talking about how birders staying in the UK for spring and summer holidays can make a really valuable contribution towards rare breeding bird monitoring, particularly in the north and west of the country where there are fewer local birders and hence gaps in coverage
A Ruddy Shelduck
A pit of Wigeon in the Durham uplands, a valuable probable breeding record
A brood of Goldeneyes taking a rest on a raft
A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers at an estuary breeding site in northern England
A drake Garganey
A pair of Shoveler minding their brood of young ducklings
RBBP Secretary Mark Eaton talking about the importance of reporting Shoveler, Wigeon and Pochard
A female Shoveler, the focus of attention for five drakes at a wetland in Northumberland this week. She appeared to be paired with one, so that’s a ‘probable breeding’ record.
RBBP Secretary Mark Eaton with three pointers to ensure your birding, and the bird records you make, are as useful as possible to help the work of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel. 1) be alert to the possibility that RBBP species, if in breeding habitat in the breeding season, might be breeding! 2) please don’t assume - even at well-visited birdwatching sites - that someone else will have submitted a record. Do it yourself! 3) remember to include full details, including site details (pinpoint locations for territories or nests can be added easily in BirdTrack or eBird), numbers, sexes and breeding evidence.
Video of a feeding Little Ringed Plover with some tips about recording them
RBBP Secretary Mark Eaton with some thoughts on looking for Little Ringed Plovers
RBBP Secretary Mark Eaton with a few words of encouragement on recording rare breeding birds this spring and summer
Laptop screen with a PowerPoint presentation on rare breeding birds