The official British List is maintained by the British Ornithological Union (BOU) who list all wild birds in Great Britain: England, Scotland & Wales. The list is managed by the British Ornithological Union Records Committee (BOURC), who accept records onto the British List as previously agreed on for identification & acceptability onto the British List by the British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC). Whilst taxonomic ranking follow that of the International Ornithological Union (IOU), the BOU does not split the Subalpine Warbler complex.
Notes:
- An ‘Orange-billed’ Tern species was found off New Quay, Ceredigion in August of 2015. Despite being photographed, identification to down species level was not possible. No description was submitted to the BBRC. An image of the unidentified Thalasseus tern can be found in the Rarities Gallery.
- Black-winged Stilt (H. himantopus) is featured as a rarity in this list, due to the bird(s) observed before the species was dropped as a British Rarity by the BBRC in January of 2017.
- Arctic Warbler (P. borealis) is featured as a rarity in this list, due to the bird(s) being observed before the species was dropped as a British rarity by the BBRC in January 2019.
- An adult Ivory Gull (P. eburnea) was observed at Stevenson Point, Ayrshire on the 11th of February 2019. Due to the bird being in care and observed upon its release, the bird was not in a fully wild state, illegible for the list below.
- Colour code: Common, Scarce, Rare & MEGA.
- Self finds indicated by an *.
Total: 332
Brant Goose
- Branta b. bernicla (Dark-bellied)
- Branta b. hrota (Pale-bellied)
Red-breasted Goose: (1) RSPB Marshside, Lancashire (05.01.17)
Canada Goose
- Branta c. interior (Todd’s): 1
Barnacle Goose
Snow Goose: (1) Nateby, Lancashire
(1) Neston Marsh, Cheshire
Greylag Goose
Taiga Bean Goose: (6) YWT Spurn, East Yorkshire*
Pink-footed Goose
Tundra Bean Goose: (7) YWT Spurn, East Yorkshire*
Greater White-fronted Goose:
- Anser a. albifrons (Euroepan)
- Anser a. flavirostris (Greenland)
Mute Swan
Tundra Swan
- Cygnus c. bewickii (Bewick’s)
Whooper Swan
Egyptian Goose
Common Shelduck
Mandarin Duck
Garganey
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon: (1) RSPB Marshside, Lancashire
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Eurasian Wigeon
Red-crested Pochard
Common Pochard
Ferruginous Duck: (1) WWT Washington, Co. Durham
Ring-necked Duck: (1) RSPB Conwy, Conwy
(1) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire
Tufted Duck
Lesser Scaup: (1; 1st for county) Mynydd Mechell, Anglesey (12.12.18)
Greater Scaup
King Eider: (1; 47th for county) Ythan, Aberdeen (26.06.16)
(1; 1st for county) Ynylas, Ceredigion (12.07.17)
Common Eider
Surf Scoter: (1) Hoylake, Cheshire
Velvet Scoter
White-winged Scoter: (1; 3rd for Britain)
- Melanitta d. deglandi (American) Blackdog, Aberdeenshire (26.06.16)
Common Scoter
Black Scoter: (1; 7th for Britain) Goswick, Northumberland (26.01.17)
Long-tailed Duck
Common Goldeneye
Smew
Hooded Merganser: (1; 11th for Britain) Lerwick, Shetland (30.08.18)
Goosander
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Black Grouse
Willow Ptarmigan
Red-legged Partridge
Grey Partridge
Common Quail
Common Pheasant
Golden Pheasant
Red-throated Diver
Black-throated Diver
Pacific Diver: (1; 7th for Britain) Druridge Bay CP, Northumberland (26.01.17)
Great Northern Diver
European Storm-petrel
Leach’s Storm-petrel: (67; c10*) New Brighton, Cheshire
(1) Seacombe, Cheshire*
(1) Hilbre Island, Cheshire*
(1) Hoylake, Cheshire*
Northern Fulmar
Cory’s Shearwater: (1) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd
Sooty Shearwater
Great Shearwater: (1) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd*
Manx Shearwater
Balearic Shearwater: (8) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd*
Little Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe: (1; 44th for Britain) RSPB Leighton Moss, Lancashire (26.04.15)
Great crested Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Slavonian Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
White Stork: (1) Puddington, Cheshire
Glossy Ibis: (2) RSPB Marshside, Lancashire
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian Bittern
Little Bittern: (1; 22nd for county) RSPB Old Moor, Yorkshire (05.06.17)
Green Heron: (1; 9th for Britain) Nerberth, Pembrokshire (03.05.18)
Western Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Purple Heron: (1) RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk
Great Egret
Little Egret
Norther Gannet
Brown Booby: 1 (2nd for Britain) Lizard, Cornwall (07.09.2019)
European Shag
Great Cormorant
- Phalacrocorax c. carbo (Atlantic)
- Phalacrocorax c. sinensis (Continental)
Western Osprey
European Honey-buzzard: (2) Undisclosed, Gwynedd*
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Northern Goshawk
Western Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Pallid Harrier: (1; 2nd for county) Dunsbridge, Lancashire (03.05.17)
(1; 1st for county) Neston, Cheshire (01.10.17)
Montague’s Harrier: (2) RSPB Blacktoft Sands, West Yorkshire
Red Kite
Rough-legged Buzzard: (1) Machynlleth, Powys*
Common Buzzard
Little Bustard: (1; 19th for county) Mickeltown, Yorkshire (10.08.2019)
Water Rail
Corn Crake: (1) Hale, Cheshire
Spotted Crake: (1) CWT Red Rocks, Cheshire
(1) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire
Western Swamphen: (1; 1st for Britain) RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk (03.08.16)
Common Moorhen
Eurasian Coot
Common Crane: (7) RSPB Lakenheath, Suffolk
Eurasian Stone-curlew
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Black-winged Silt: (2; 3rd and 4th for county) WWT Martin Mere, Lancashire (05.06.04)
Pied Avocet
Northern Lapwing
Euroepan Golden Plover
Grey Plover
Common Ringed Plover
- Charadrius h. hiaticula (European)
- Charadrius h. psammodromas (Arctic)
- Charadrius h. tundrae (Tundra)
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover: (1) Audenshaw Reservoir, Gtr Manchester
Eurasian Dotterel
Whimbrel
Eurasian Curlew
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
- Limosa l. limosa (Continental)
- Limosa l. islandica (Icelandic)
Ruddy Turnstone
Great Knot: (1; 5th for Britain) Scolt Head Island NR, Norfolk (20.06.17)
Red Knot
Ruff
Curlew Sandpiper
Sanderling
Temmick’s Stint: (1) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire
Dunlin
- Calidris a. alpina (Siberian)
- Calidris a. schinzii (European)
- Calidris a. arctica (Greenland)
Purple Sandpiper
Baird’s Sandpiper: (1; 9th for county) White Holme Reservoir, Yorkshire (15.09.17)
Little Stint
White-rumped Sandpiper: (1) RSPB Blacktoft Sands, West Yorkshire
Buff-breasted Sandpiper: (1) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire
Pectoral Sandpiper: (4) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire
Long-tailed Dowitcher: (1; 14th for county) Banks Marsh, Lancashire (10.10.17)
(1; 15th for county) RSPB Marshside, Lancashire (21.10.17)
Eurasian Woodcock
Jack Snipe
Common Snipe
- Gallinago g. faeroeensis (Faerones)
- Gallinago g. gallinago (Continental)
Terek Sandpiper: (1; 3rd for county) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire 09.07.19
Red-necked Phalarope: (3) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire
(1) Frodsham Marsh, Cheshire
Red Phalarope: (1) Seacombe, Cheshire*
(1) West Kirby, Cheshire
(1) Liverpool Bay Pelagic*
(1) New Brighton, Cheshire
Common Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper: (1; 5th for county) Belvide Reservoir, Staffordshire (17.05.17)
(1; 5th for county) Marske-by-the-Sea, Cleveland (12.10.18)
(1; 5th for county) Jarrow, Co. Durham (22.10.18)
Green Sandpiper
Common Redshank
Wood Sandpiper
Spotted Redshank
Common Greenshank
Black-legged Kittiwake
Sabine’s Gull: (1) Hilbre College, Cheshire*
(1) Pennington Flash, Gtr. Manchester
(8; 2*) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd
(1) Porth Colmon, Gwynedd*
Black-headed Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull: (1; 7th for county) Hoylake, Cheshire (14.08.18)
Little Gull
Laughing Gull: (1; 5th for county) New Brighton, Cheshire (21.02.15)
Mediterranean Gull
Common Gull
Ring-billed Gull: (1) RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Cheshire*
Great Black-backed Gull
Glaucous Gull
Iceland Gull
- Larus g. glauoides (Iceland)
European Herring Gull
- Larus a. argenteus (British)
- Larus a. argentatus (Scandinavian)
Caspian Gull
Yellow-legged Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Larus f. graellsii (Western)
- Larus f. intermidius (Scandinavian): (1) Hoylake, Cheshire*
(1) Birkenhead Docks, Cheshire*
Gull-billed Tern: (2; 7th & 8th for county) Hanson Quarry, Northumberland (22.10.18)
Sandwich Tern
Elegant Tern: (1; 1st for Britain) Pagham Harbour, Sussex (14.06.17)
Little Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Whiskered Tern: (2; 10th & 11th for county) Elton Hall Flash, Cheshire (07.05.16)
Great Skua
Pomarine Skua
Arctic Skua
Long-tailed Skua: (1) New Brighton, Cheshire
Little Auk: (1) Hilbre Island, Cheshire*
Common Guillemot
Razorbill
Black Guillemot
Atlantic Puffin
Rock Dove
Stock Dove
Common Woodpigeon
European Turtle Dove
Eurasian Collared Dove
Common Cuckoo
Western Barn Owl
Snowy Owl: (1; 1st for county) Amlwch, Angelsey (15.06.18)
Tawny Owl
Little Owl
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
European Nightjar
Common Swift
Little Swift: (1; 30th for Britain) Hartlepool Headland (Cleveland 12.11.18)
Common Kingfisher
European Bee-eater: (3) Brampton, Cumbria
(1) Haltwhistle, Northumberland
Eurasian Hoopoe: (1) New Brighton, Cheshire
Eurasian Wryneck: (5; 1*) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
European Green Woodpecker
Common Kestrel
Red-footed Falcon: (1) Chatterly Whitfield, Staffordshire
Merlin
Eurasian Hobby
Peregrine Falcon
Ring-necked Parakeet
Red-backed Shrike: (1) Moels, Cheshire
Isabelline Shrike: (1; 1st for county) Holyhead, Anglesey (16.10.17)
Great Grey Shrike: (1) Little Woolden Moss, Gtr Manchester
(1) Frodsham Marsh, Cheshire
Eurasian Jay
European Magpie
Red-billed Chough
Western Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Hooded Crow
Northern Raven
Bohemian Waxwing
Coal Tit
Marsh Tit
Willow Tit
Eurasian Blue Tit
Great Tit
Bearded Reedling
Woodlark
Eurasian Skylark
Horned Lark
- Eremophila a. alpestris (Horned): (1; 1st for Britain) Staines Reservoir, Surrey 10/20/18
- Eremophila a. flava (Shore): (1) Hartlepool, Cleveland
(1) YWT Spurn Point, East Yorkshire
European Sand Martin
Barn Swallow
Common House Martin
Long-tailed Tit
Cetti’s Warbler
Willow Warbler
Common Chiffchaff
- Phylloscopus c. tristis (Siberian): (2) Burton Marsh, Cheshire
(3*) Bidston Moss NR, Cheshire (1) Leasowe, Cheshire - Phylloscopus c. collybita (European)
- Phyllosopus c. abietinus (Scandinavian)
Iberian Chiffchaff: (1; 2nd for county) Kesall, Cheshire (01.06.17)
(1; 3rd for county) Thurstaston, Cheshire (02.05.18)
(1; 4th for county) CWT Red Rocks, Cheshire (23.05.18)
Wood Warbler
Dusky Warbler: (4) YWT Spurn Point, East Yorkshire
Radde’s Warbler: (1) YWT Spurn Point, East Yorkshire
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler: (1) Heswall, Cheshire
(1*) Easington, East Yorkshire
(2) YWT Spurn Point, East Yorkshire
(1) Flamborough, East Yorkshire
Yellow-browed Warbler
Arctic Warbler: (1; 19th for county) RSPB Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire (08.10.16)
(1; 216th for county) Fair Isle, Shetland (16.10.18)
Sedge Warbler
Eurasian Reed Warbler
Blyth’s Reed Warbler: (1) Hope Carr NR, Gtr. Manchester
Marsh Warbler: (1) Haverton Hill, Cleveland
(1) Bowsfield Marsh, Cleveland
(1) Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey
(2) Fair Isle, Shetland
Booted Warbler: (1; 1st for county) Great Orme, Conwy (04.10.16)
Melodious Warbler: (3) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd
Icterine Warbler: (1; 1*) RSPB Ynys Hir, Ceredigion
(4) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd
Common Grasshopper Warbler
Savi’s Warbler: (1; 85th for county) RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk (10.05.17)
Blackcap
Garden Warbler
Barred Warbler: (6; 1*) Fair Isle, Shetland
Lesser Whitethroat
Common Whitethroat
Dartford Warbler
Subalpine Warbler: (1)
- Sylvia c. cantillans (Western) – CWT Red Rocks, Cheshire
Common Firecrest
Goldcrest
Eurasian Wren
- Troglodytes t. troglodytes (European)
- Troglodytes t. indigenus (British)
- Troglodytes t. zetlandicus (Shetland)
- Troglodytes t. fridariensis (Fair Isle)
Tree Nuthatch
Eurasian Treecreeper
Common Starling
- Sturnus v. vulgaris (European)
- Sturnus v. zetlandicus (Shetland)
Rosy Starling: (1) Annan, Dumfries and Galloway’s
Ring Ouzel
Common Blackbird
Black-throated Thrush: (1; 1st for county) St Asaph, Denbighshire (22.12.16)
Dusky Thrush: (1; 13th for Britain) Beely, Derbyshire (11.12.16)
Fieldfare
Redwing
- Turdus i. iliacus (Scandinavian)
- Turdus i. coburni (Icelandic)
Song Thrush
- Turdus p. philomelos (Continental)
- Turdus p. clarkie (British)
Mistle Thrush
Spotted Flycatcher
European Robin
- Erithacus r. rubecula (Continental)
- Erithacus r. melophilus (British)
Bluethroat: (1) RSPB Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire
European Pied Flycatcher
Red-breasted Flycatcher: (1) Hartlepool, Cleveland*
Black Redstart
- Phoenicurus o.ochruros (Eastern): (1; 12th for Britain) Skinningrove, Cleveland (15.01.17)
- Phoenicurus o. gibraltariensis (European)
Common Redstart
Common Rock Thrush: (1; 31st for Britain) Abergavanny, Gwent (25.10.17)
Blue Rock Thrush: (1; 6th for Britain) Stow-on-the-World, Gloucestershire (31.12.16)
Whinchat
European Stonechat
- Saxicola r. hibernans (British)
Northern Wheatear
- Oenanthe o. oenanthe (Northern)
- Oenanthe o. leucorhoa (Greenland)
Desert Wheatear: (1; 4th for county) Fairhevan, Lancashire (19.11.16)
Black-eared Wheatear: (1; 3rd for county) Fulke Hall, Lancashire (01.09.19)
- Oenanthe. h. melanoleuca (Eastern): (1; 17th for Britain) Fluke Hall, Lancashire (01.09.19)
Pied Wheatear: (1; 1st for county) Meols, Cheshire (07.11.18)
White-throated Dipper
House Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Siberian Accentor: (1; 2nd for Britain) Easington, East Yorkshire (15.10.16)
Dunnock
Western Yellow Wagtail
- Motacilla f. flava (Blue-headed)
- Motacilla f. iberiae (Iberian): (1; 2nd for Britain) Leasowe Lighthouse, Cheshire (28.04.2019)
- Motacilla f. flavissima (Yellow-crowned)
- Motacilla f. flava X flavissima (Channel)
- Motacilla f. feldegg (Black-headed): (1; 22nd for Britain) RSPB Leighton Moss, Lancashire (16.04.18)
Eastern Yellow Wagtail: (1; 8th for Britain) Cemlyn Bay, Angelsey 26.09.19
Citrine Wagtail: (1) Morfa Madryn, Gwynedd
Grey Wagtail
White Wagtail
- Motacilla a. yarrelli (Pied)
- Motacilla a. alba (White)
Richard’s Pipit: (1) Bidston Moss NR, Cheshire*
(1) CWT Red Rocks, Cheshire
Meadow Pipit
- Anthus p. pratensis (Eurasian)
- Anthus p. whistleri (Hebridean)
Tree Pipit
Olive-backed Pipit: (1) Easington, East Yorkshire
Buff-bellied Pipit:
- Anthus r. rubescens (American): (1; 42nd for Britain) Burton Marsh, Cheshire (21.12.13)
Water Pipit
Rock Pipit
- Anthus p. petrosus (British)
- Anthus p. littoralis (Scandinavian)
Common Chaffinch
Brambling
Hawfinch
Eurasian Bullfinch
Common Rosefinch: (1) Fair Isle, Shetland*
European Greenfinch
Twite
Linnet
Mealy Redpoll
Lesser Redpoll
Parrot Crossbill
Common Crossbill
European Goldfinch
Eurasian Siskin
Corn Bunting
Yellowhammer
Pine Bunting: (1; 1st for county) SWT Venus Pool, Shropshire (04.01.17)
Ortolan Bunting: (1) Bardsey Island, Gwynedd
Little Bunting: (1) YWT Spurn, East Yorkshire
Common Reed Bunting
Lapland Bunting
Snow Bunting
- Plectrophenax n. insulae (Iceland)
- Plectrophenax n. nivalis (Scandinavian)
Elliot Montieth 