The County Records Committee (CRC) meets about five times per year and assesses records of rare and scarce species seen in the county which have been supported by written descriptions (together with any photographs and sound recordings available). They also review all other bird records for inclusion in the annual county bird report Birds in Northumbria, maintain the entries in the County Bird List and occasionally discuss taxonomic and nomenclature decisions made at national level by the BOURC.  Members of the CRC (with the exception of the chairman) serve for a period of four years and retire by strict rotation.

The CRC adheres to an agreed set of Policy & Procedures in an attempt to give some uniformity and fairness to record assessment for all observers sightings. A copy of this document is available here

Species for which descriptive notes are required

The following three lists detail the species that are considered by the CRC for publication in Birds in Northumbria   : -

Category A - species for which full written details are required, preferably on a rare bird record form (or that format followed) available here as a download or from the County Recorder

Category B - species for which brief written details are required

Category C - subspecies for which written details are required

Category A - Full notes

All species and subspecies considered by the British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC). The list of full species currently dealt with by the BBRC is available at this link
Any species or subspecies removed from the BBRC list after publication of these notes
Any species or subspecies not previously recorded in the County
Any record for which the CRC have asked for full details
The species below  : -

Egyptian Goose

American Wigeon

Ring-necked Duck

Ferruginous Duck

Surf Scoter

White-billed Diver

Cory’s Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Balearic Shearwater

Wilson’s Petrel

Night Heron

Cattle Egret

Great White Egret

Purple Heron

Honey Buzzard

Black Kite

White-tailed Eagle

Montagu’s Harrier

Rough-legged Buzzard

Hobby

Red-footed Falcon

Spotted Crake

Corncrake

Common Crane

Stone Curlew

Kentish Plover

American Golden Plover

Temminck’s Stint

White-rumped Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Red-necked Phalarope

Grey Phalarope

Sabine’s Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Yellow-legged Gull (all races)

Caspian Gull

White-winged Black Tern

Alpine Swift

Bee-eater

Short-toed Lark

Woodlark

Red-rumped Swallow

Richard’s Pipit

Tawny Pipit

Red-throated Pipit

Water Pipit

Nightingale

Aquatic Warbler

Marsh Warbler

Subalpine Warbler

Greenish Warbler

Radde’s Warbler

Dusky Warbler

Crested Tit

Woodchat Shrike

Chough

Rose-coloured Starling

Serin

Arctic Redpoll

Parrot Crossbill

Ortolan Bunting

Rustic Bunting

Little Bunting

Category B - Brief notes

Bean Goose (all races)

Snow Goose

Ruddy Shelduck

Green-winged Teal

Leach’s Petrel

Goshawk (coastal records only)

Dotterel

Long-tailed Skua (juvs only)

Black Guillemot (away from Farne Islands & Holy Island)

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Bluethroat (autumn only)

Icterine Warbler

Barred Warbler

Pallas’s Warbler (inland & spring birds only)

Yellow-browed Warbler (inland & spring birds only)

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Bearded Tit

Golden Oriole

Great Grey Shrike

Common Rosefinch

Corn Bunting

Category C - Subspecies - notes as appropriate to confirm identification

‘Continental’ Cormorant

P.c.sinensis

Lesser Black-backed Gull

L.f.intermedius & L.f.fuscus

Herring Gull other than L.a.argenteus & L.a.argentatus

Kumlien’s Gull L.g.kumlieni

‘Northern’ Great Spotted Woodpecker

D.m.major

‘Scandinavian’ Rock Pipit

A.p.littoralis

Yellow Wagtail  other than M.f.flava & M.f.flavissima

White Wagtail

M.a.alba (autumn only)

‘Black-bellied’ Dipper

C.c.cinclus

‘White-spotted’ Bluethroat

L.s.cyanecula

Lesser Whitethroat  (all races except S.c.curruca)

Chiffchaff other than P.c.collybita

‘Northern’ Willow Warbler

P.t.acredula

‘Northern’ Treecreeper

C.f.familiaris

Jackdaw other than C.m.spermologus

‘Northern’ Bullfinch

P.p.pyrrhula

An interesting report on rare sub species or races is available at this link.

There is more information and guidance about submitting and documenting your bird records on the RECORDING page