Rarity Alerts

When I first started birding, the only way to find out about unusual or rare birds was by word of mouth, the grapevine. A few places, such as in North Norfolk, UK, there were ways in which birders could pass on information about rare bird sightings. A famous cafe in the tiny hamlet of Cley-next-the-sea, had a notebook and a telephone line and people would ring in their rarities, or to find out ‘what was about’. Back then, most of us just went birding on spec to a place where we hoped to find new or unusual birds. And if we saw other birders, we would ask them “what’s about?”

Those days have long gone, as have the days of pagers, where rare bird alert lines would send you information to a pager. I believe they still operate, but since mobile phones became not just a luxury, but an everyday item for everyone, rare bird alerts are now generally sent direct to your mobile phone, either through an app or One of the messaging programs like WhatsApp or Messenger. I think that, in some places one can still phone in to listen to a recorded message of rarities.

In fact, the ways in which one can find out about unusual birds close to you is now myriad. There are phone lines, there are apps for your phone, there are alerts to your phone, and there are a lot of small local groups who use on WhatsApp or other messaging services to share information about local sightings.

The rare Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita – ©Dubi Shapiro

Some operate on a slightly larger countywide area. For example, in my home county of Kent in the UK, the Kent Ornithological Society has an area of its website where you can access the latest sightings over the last few days. Others operate on a regional or nationwide basis.

The biggest innovation of all has been eBird. This system can be accessed from anywhere and about anywhere, and people record all their sightings for particular sites. Amongst these, of course, there will sometimes be rarities, and it’s possible, therefore, to access a very small area, such as a nature reserve or birding hotspot and see what has been seen there of late. The latter is not, of course, always easy if you’re just a rarity hunter. And most of the bird lines that still exist in one form or another access eBird and pick out from the lists of all the birds seen any rarities which might appeal to Twitchers.

Because these methods of finding out about rare birds have changed so much and continue to change, it’s not possible to keep up with them all. I list below a few national, regional and local websites etc., as examples. These days birders need to do research for their own area or where they are visiting to see what is available in terms of rare bird alerts. Good luck guys.