Total of 52 birds species miss out on place in rarities list after expert panel deems identifications 'not proven '

                                                              

Great Snipe - the marsh-loving species as depicted in John Gould's The Birds of Great Britain (1873)

FOUR  Lincolnshire 'sightings' are among the 52  records deemed  'not proven'  after having been  submitted by hopeful birders to a committee of British Birds journal for possible inclusion in the 2025 Rarities List.

They are: 

* Kentish Plover: Wolla Bank, May 21.

* Great Snipe:  Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe dunes, April 22.

* Audouin’s Gull: Whisby Nature Park, Lincoln,  June 14. 

* Booted Eagle: Manby Wetlands, April 30. 

The other 'non-proven' inclusions - from locations around Britain -  are detailed in a report compiled by Paul R. French, Andrew Holden and others for the recently-published November edition of British Birds.

Because they are designated 'not proven' does not mean that the identifications were wrong - just that the evidence was insufficient to warrant official recognition.