rare – Other Services

Red Kite Photo Credit: Amy Lewis

Five decades of finding the UK’s rarest breeding birds

Post published:3 April 2023
Post category:Research

The Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP) was founded 50 years ago this month. It uses data, mostly collected by volunteers, to track the fortunes of around 100 of the UK's rarest breeding species, including Golden Eagle, Crane and Turtle Dove. The Panel's work informs a wide range of conservation and monitoring work, including the reintroduction of Red Kite and White-tailed Eagle, and assessments of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Areas.

Rare sighting of Elegant Tern

Post published:25 August 2021
Post category:Nature Notes

An Elegant Tern (Thalasseus elegans) has been spotted amongst a committee of Sandwich Terns (Sterna sandvicensis) on the Sefton Coast this month.

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Local naturalist discovers rare insect in St Helen’s

Post published:27 July 2021
Post category:Nature Notes

Local naturalist, Dave Owen, discovered a Giant Lacewing (Osmylus fulvicephalus) at Sankey Valley Country Park. This locally rare species has only been sighted once in St.Helens, back in 1988 at the Goyt woodland, Carr Mill about a mile and a half north of Sankey Valley Country Park. Hopefully more of these very impressive insects can be recorded in our area and we can begin to learn more about their distribution!

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A rare fungus find: Daisy Earthstar (Geastrum floriforme) by Anthony Carter

Post published:11 February 2021
Post category:Nature Notes

This species first appeared in Liverpool at Springwood Crematorium in October 2019, a single fruitbody under some Cupressus leylandii near the access road. There are only 38 previous UK records on the national database. A rarity in this area, the only previous record for the North West was in 1953 at Blundellsands. This was also the first UK record.

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