Dave Raw has been doing some detailed investigations into a cluster of rare bird sightings from the mid-nineteenth century, which occurred in, or related to some observers of, the Bishop Auckland area. A duo of ‘collector and shooter’, appear to have been responsible for a number of interesting older records of birds that were then of considerable rarity. There are a number of fascinating aspects to David’s research, not least his interrogation of old census details to examine how the employment of the two men involved, changed through time, and how this change in terms of social standing and professional activity, might serve to heighten suspicion about some of their sightings, and the origin of these, as oppose to damping it down.
... posted by Keith Bowey
