The bird information services

Apart from a brief interlude, Linda and I have owned an RBA pager for over thirty years: it's been an invaluable tool in helping us both to life lists that remain impressive even when compared to those who, unlike us, are still prepared to drop everything for an American warbler on a remote island!

RBA, like the other similar outfits, relies upon its subscribers to send in sightings and, if possible, photographs of rare or unusual birds: this I have done for many years (although, not having a mobile phone, this tends to happen via my PC when I'm back home!)

When Linda and I visited Arundel this week we were pleased to come across a flock of fifteen Cattle Egrets right by the road. I'm well aware that the species is nowhere near as rare as when I drove from Nancy's to Hykeham in Lincolnshire to see my first: I've seen flocks of ten or more on many occasions - but they are still good birds to see and remain scarce in many parts of the UK. Accordingly, I reported the very confiding Arundel flock to RBA, providing a couple of photos of these and of two nearby Great White Egrets.

I was a little surprised that neither species appeared on the pager nor the RBA online map - even though I'd reset both to 'Sussex'. I decided to e-mail them to find out why: the reply was:

Dear David

Thank you very much for your email. As species such as Cattle Egrets have become much more common now in some parts of the country than they used to be it becomes more difficult to provide a balanced line on how we report them.

Best wishes

I replied, saying that although Cattle Egrets are not as rare as they once were, they would still be of great interest to birders visiting from regions where that wasn't the case. I reminded RBA that they did report some Spoonbills flying past Selsey, as well as a Little Stint at Shoreham: neither of these are exactly difficult birds to connect with!

I reckon RBA needs to rethink its approach: I am certain that birders who take their pagers on holiday or consult the online RBA map assume they'll receive news of semi-rarities like Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Great Egret and Cattle Egret in the area they're visiting: not all  sunscribers are hard-core twitchers!