The pair which attempted to breed at Crompton Lodges, Moses Gate CP, last year (which included the one seen at Elton in the freeze-up) are the first to breed "in the wild" in GM. There are other pairs in GM which breed but the adults are not free-flying, (in private gardens etc) which Dawn Balmer has specified as the important criterium when deciding to include them.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
I had a small flock of Guineafowl in my Atlas Tetrad last year - they seem to be free roaming and roost in a wood, feeding in fields during the day.
It comes up as red on the online entry as a rare or scare species but as Sid says the BTO are reviewing all non-native species and they will presumably revise C1, D and E status in due course
Thanks all. I did put them on my BirdTrack submission and got a red pen response, which sent my mind wondering if they were actually tickable or not? I suspected they wouldn't be, but then that got me thinking about the mandarins and egyptian goose at Etherow!
OK, so you can't tick them - but you can (and should) enter them as Atlas Roving Records. If it is established that they are a sustainable population then you might be able to tick them!
I suspect that the species meets the criteria for inclusion on the British list, but that the powers that be just don't want to include them!
Unfortunately (or fortunately which ever way you look at it) they don't and the 'powers that be' engage a very careful and considered approach on such matters.
A pair turned up at Elton this year - during the big freeze in winter. We saw several with cygnets at Fairburn last year (or the year before). There must be many around the country. I suspect that the species meets the criteria for inclusion on the British list, but that the powers that be just don't want to include them!
Ding - 5 hours later the penny just dropped - when you asked about the status of the Black Swan you almost certainly meant has it been accepted on British lists. Well having done a trawl of the web, which I guess you also did, it looks still to be classed as non-native. I notice from one web site that the BTO is currently undertaking work sponsored by Defra to understand fully the extent of non-native species that are at large in the UK to increase public awareness and this study is requesting info on Black Swans. Hope that helps but I'm sure one of our more knowledgeable forum members will put us on the right path.
Speaking of paths I must beat one to Neumans or is it still Haydns to have a look at them so I can put them on my year list
