Welcome.13/01/2008 recent additions: 2007 British year-list winners; UK400 and BUBO lists; & information moved around. Key points are underlined for scanning purposes. Further information not on this page can be found via the left-hand button "More Information". All links work although some may look odd.

This website will show that Lee G R Evans' (LGRE) since the late 1970's has been fabricating bird list records with specific examples. His claimed month, year and life-lists totals conflict with his self appointed role (as ‘judge, jury and executioner’ his words) as the sole arbiter of UK400 lists where he makes prejudicial decisions that favour himself. Often this results in Evans being able to claim the number one list ranking when really the record belongs to someone else.

There needs to be an independent, honest, unbiased panel to vet and hold birder’s lists who themselves are not actively pursuing a high year or life list to prevent conflicts of interest. This site also covers Evans non-listing "extraordinary" e.g. health; car accidents and mileage; financial fraud by pretending to be bankrupt and not logged with the data protection authority. This website was started because Evans was and still claims to be the all time highest UK year-list record holder when the record really belongs to Adrian Webb (who is not a relative to Steve Webb) set in 2000. The motives of this website is the same as Les Holliwell's email that hopefully it helps towards cleaning up twitching/listing.

All material on this website has been vetted by birders and to their knowledge as being correct and honest account regarding LGRE. We would very much welcome the opportunity to go to court to uphold the accuracy of this website and further information. A website is only libellous if it is untrue. If you spot an inaccuracy then please contact steve.a.webb@talk21.com so that the matter can be looked into as we wish this website to be as accurate as possible. All information sent in will be treated in strict confidence and not re-sent to anyone or put on this website unless requested.

Les Holliwell sent a 6000 word email to the UKBirdnet email group (before this website existed about Evans) on how Evans regularly fabricates bird information to ensure he ends up as the number one year-lister. Les did a substantial amount of birding with Evans and so knows how Evans operates first-hand. Les felt Evans cheating was a "disgrace and dishonourable". This email puts this website into context and covers important aspects not mentioned elsewhere which can be found by clicking on the "Les Holliwell email" button (and if that does not work then click on:  http://www.webbsteve.freeserve.co.uk/newpage17.htm instead).

Page Index: British 2007 Year-list    LGRE grubbed off London List Website   Other Excessive County Rankings   Health Claims   Bankruptcy Claims   Listing Claims   Car and Accident Claims   Car Theft & Associated Claims   Bird Cheating Examples   British 2006 Year-list    Adrian Webb Saga   Evans found claims   UK400 and BUBU lists    300 totals list claims   Inconsistent Scilly Isle dates    How long has LGRE been birding   Western Palearctic list   Evans Threatening Behaviour   Data Protection   Other Examples  

British 2007 Year-list: As LGRE has taken his 2007 British year list off Surfbirds birders might find it difficult to determine who won last year. Congratulations to the top 2 winners Malc Curtin (367 UK400 and 351 BOU) and Jason Atkinson (364 UK400 and 350 BOU). These are also recognised as the winners on the UK400 website.

Unlike most years LGRE has accepted his rival lists as they stand probably because the very large gap of approximately of 15 birds between Malc’s list and Evans claimed list meant even Evans could not use previous tactics to attain a claimed number 1. Tactics used in the past have been: banning the lister totally from the UK400 Club; adding birds on to his list that he has not seen; adding plastic birds to his list; disqualifying birds seen on rivals lists; and splitting new birds especially near the end of the year when rivals have no chance of getting them back. As Evans does not give a full detailed bird list throughout the year it means that he can claim at the end of the year extra birds like LS Woodpecker to boost his list regardless of whether or not previously seen and added into his totals. Another ploy has been to add splits to his list but conveniently forget to add any splits on his rivals list. Normally this alleged cheating by Evans rivals is not based on fact but is maliciously invented to undermine the credibility and denigrate the character of anyone who challenges his position. As Evans can be so convincing, other birders take what he says as "gospel" and it goes around the grapevine as fact. Many birders have traced the source of a rumour back to Evans.

Alternatively perhaps LGRE has not attacked these lists due to his Jan 2008 annoucement on his website of "Lee's 40th year in British birding" and says "Surely time for LGRE to finally hang up his bins!" but these types of comments have been made before." Note he has claimed to have been birding 40 years some time ago - see How long has LGRE been birding

LGRE grubbed off London List Website: In November 2006 Evans yet again claimed a record that rightfully belonged to someone else, the London list. On the London Birders Website Evans claimed to have seen 3 more birds than Andrew Moon the undisputed number 1 top lister for London even though Andrew has been London listing longer than Evans. The totals were: 1 - Lee Evans 295, 2 - Andrew Moon 292, 3 - Peter Naylor 290, 4 - Paul Whiteman - 288, 5 - Phil Vines - 282, 6 - Steve Conner 277 as shown in this file.

In a self-interview in June 2001 (see below) Evans claimed he was number 5 for London. That means in just 5 to 6 years he is claiming to have gained around 14 to 17 new birds (based on the current rankings totals i.e. 295 - 281 = 14, 295 - 278 = 17) to become number 1. This is a monumental feat especially as much of his time is spent UK listing and being abroad. Once again we challenge Evans to publish his note books to prove his claims. As of mid-Nov. 2006 Evans London list totals were grubbed off - see http://editthis.info/londonbirders/LondonListers with Andrew Moon now at the correct place of number 1.

Other Excessive County Rankings: There are other counties where Evans has also claimed an "excessive" high-ranking and he is not shown on the county website. For example, Evans claimed he was number 3 for Kent but he is not shown in the rankings on the Kent Ornithological Society website http://www.kentos.org.uk even though he belongs to their email group. Over time various public emails have been sent by birders querying his Kent claim.

In his self-interview (June 2001 via the "more information" button) Evans claimed "I am in the top 15 in the following county listings (Norfolk No12, Suffolk No 8, Cambs No 4, Beds No 6, Bucks No 3, Kent No 3, Yorkshire No 11, Hants No 7, Dorset No 12, Cornwall No 5, Scilly No 4, London No 5, Northants No 11, Essex No 13, Gloucs No 6, Devon No 10, Lincs No 15 and Sussex No 12)." Several of these county totals are false. It is clear that Evans goes through published county records to base his fabricated lists on. This results in claiming some birds that were never twitchable because information did not get out until the bird had gone and some birds were also incorrectly identified at the time, etc.

Health Claims: On April 13th 2004 on the UK400 club email group Evans wrote "Firstly let me apologise for the lack of responses in recent weeks. Unfortunately, I have been suffering again from malaria problems and have been too ill to answer the Emails. I am also suffering badly from a brain tumour which is seriously affecting my sight and speech and causing me ongoing migraine (I am too frightened to have it removed as the sight in my only remaining eye may well be affected by the operation)". Back to the index.

Bankruptcy Claims: Evans claims to be bankrupt which is not true so birders have the legal right to get money back from Evans. Evans owes many birders for a lack of books, journals, magazines and bird tour trips that at the individual level run from small amounts to several hundreds pounds. Some of these debts go back to the early 1990's. A number of birders have lost significant amounts of money on bird tours e.g. paying for Evans flights, etc and not getting their money back. Note that Evans is not covered by ABTA.

Evans claims to have made bankrupt e.g. on 17/2/2006 on Surfbirds stated "my bankruptcy petition at Aylesbury County Court in 2002" and "declared my bankruptcy petition with losses of £109,172.00." However bankruptcy can checked in number of ways, e.g.:

1. Check the UK register database at http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/eiir/ which covers all courts.
2. Alternately check via the Insolvency St. Albans Office (which covers Aylesbury) at http://www.insolvency-service.co.uk/office2.asp?office=st%20albans which gives their email address (StAlbans.OR@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk)
3. Contact the Insolvency Office e.g. telephone number (01727 832233) which covers all courts.
4. Contact Aylesbury County Court on 01296 393498.

The Registry Trust Ltd (i.e. http://www.registry-trust.org.uk) was also contacted which provided (at a cost of £4.50) a detailed list of county court judgements on Evans. Checking the above and other sources it shows that Evans has not been made bankrupt at any court.

Perhaps it was an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) which is a legally binding arrangement the purpose of which is to enable an individual or trader to reach a compromise with his creditors and avoid the consequences of bankruptcy. For more information on an IVA see http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk. If this happened then it would be between the banks, card people and debtors for them to get their money back. As birders were not involved in any IVA then it did not cover the debt Evans owes birders and so Evans is still liable for birders debts.

Evans on 17/2/2006 on Surfbirds stated "As a gesture of goodwill I offered anybody with outstanding orders complimentary membership of my UK400Clubonline website (currently worth £25.00) and about 200 persons took me up on it." If this is true then there are a lot of birders who are owed money. Many birders wanted what they were promised especially as the Evans website was not a good substitute (their words). Also some birders were not even offered the website. Back to the index.

Listing Claims: Over the years Evans has strung many scores of birds. Many high listers and year-listers have noted Evans stringing from personal experience but new birders are not always aware of what Evans is really like. Steve Webb who is high in the UK life-list rankings and well above Evans total has had first-hand experience of Evans string since 1979 when Evans came on the national twitching scene.

When the UK400 Club makes a decision on a rival lister’s list, this is not a committee decision but a decision made solely by Evans. Frequently, Evans abuses his self-appointed role as ‘judge, jury and executioner’ making prejudicial decisions that favour his lists but will not hold up his own list for public scrutiny. To our knowledge Evans has NEVER published any claimed record with dates, locations and witnesses. At the start of each year Evans puts his "claimed" sightings under "Diary Notes" on his website but these normally do not go beyond April before the spring migration season really gets going.

The current all time highest UK year-list record is held by Adrian Webb in 2000. Evans in November 2002 claimed he had beaten Adrian's record with 384 birds with 8 splits and W-H Duck claimed retrospectively on his 1996 list of 375 birds. Evans still refuses to publish his claimed all-time year-list record of 1996 giving dates, rough time of day and any witnesses (so the record can be checked). Adrian's 2000 list and Evans' 1996 list plus Evans inaccurate and fictitious information on Adrian is discussed below in the Adrian Webb Saga.

Evans stated in the 2001 Self Interview article "Steve Webb held the record for several years before I set a new one in the early eighties". Evans has claimed the year-list record every year since except for 1985 (Paul Sampson), 2000 (Adrian Webb) and 2007 (Malc Curtin). However, the reality is very different indeed, as Steve Webb and others believe, it is considerably less than 20 plus especially when one considers that he was working full-time for Vauxhall’s until 1986/7.

Many birders have won the year-list record since the early eighties - here are some recent examples where Evans has claimed number one when it belonged to: Richard Bonser, Anthony Brydges, Adrian Webb – 1997, Mark Marshall, Sean Brown, Bob Walthew. There is also a long list of probable/possible winners but as Evans has never published a year-list with dates, locations and witnesses it is difficult to determine the real situation. Evans for a long time claimed to be the Western Palearctic record holder when it belonged to Ron Johns. Back to the index.

Car and Accident Claims: An authoritative book called "A Bird in the Bush – A Social History of Birdwatching" in 2004 by Stephen Moss sums up Evans accurately some of which is quoted here: Evans "has claimed to have driven 3.8 million miles in search of birds   – which works out at well over 400 miles every day of the year for 25 years! He also became paranoid about a rival year lister, rubbishing him on his website, which ended up with Evans almost being sued for libel. He has claimed to have driven at a record 142.3 miles per hour on the way to secure a tick, and to have been involved in at least 11 major car crashes which have resulted in several fatalities." All these claims by Evans are as usual fictitious. Actually Evans was not doing big mileage in the early eighties so it works at around 500 miles per day for 20 years. Even assuming it was over 25 years that would amount to over 150,000 miles every year.

The Telegraph newspaper Feb 1987 stated on the A90 between Perth and Aberdeen, that Evans covered "117 miles in 46 minutes" (that is an average of 153 mph). "For breaking the British record, he was banned for 10 years. It was commuted to 18 months on appeal." On the one hand Evans claims huge annual mileage but also claims in a Birdwatch magazine interview (Nov. 2001) that he was disqualified from driving four times which would surely curtail the amount of mileage but he still managed to claim to be the year-list record holder for many years.

In recent years Birdwatch magazine has produced articles of 2 to 3 pages on Evans (e.g. Feb. 2001, Nov. 2001, March 2003). In the Nov. 2001 article Evans claimed that 11 people have died in Evans car accidents – "it’s just part of the birding game; when you’ve been in as many accidents as I have, you don’t worry about it". Those who are close to Evans say there is no evidence of anyone losing their lives. Evans sometimes claims to have been driving the car when he lost his eye and he killed one of the passengers. Actually Evans was a front passenger and (thankfully) no one was killed.

There are numerous published sources of Evans mileage, e.g.: 100,000 miles every year; "Who’s Who In Ornithology" in 1997 stated Evans had covered 1.45 million miles; 90,000 miles a year; 74,316 miles in 1996; 80,000 miles a year; 47,151 miles in 2000; 45-60,000 miles per year. Adrian Webb who has probably travelled further than anyone else doing a year-list only achieved around 80,000 miles and he went for everything, unlike Evans. So take your pick from 45,000 to 200,000 miles a year and take into account that Evans also had a ‘normal’ job until 1986/7, and since then has been a market trader 2 days per week, plus leading birding trips abroad and doing DJ roadshows. Probably a mileage of around 45,000 to 65,000 per annum is more reasonable, depending on what birds turned up for that year. Like anything that Evans claims its’ always larger than life! Back to the index.

Car Theft & Associated Claims: This covers Evans "inconsistent" stories (e.g. amounts, costs, etc) and things that seem odd regarding the "theft" of his Cavalier car and associated areas. Quite a number of things in this story are known to be untrue so how much of it is true? In Birdwatch 2001 Evans stated "I lost £26,000 through that theft. I’d just taken delivery of my new book Rare Birds of Norfolk, and it was also the day I had to get my magazine out, so I was down the Post Office in Little Chalfont". "I put my magazines in a sack and was carrying it to the Post Office counter when 2 yobboes jumped in the car and sped off the boot still up. … it had absolutely everything of mine in it, including a laptop computer with new big book on it – nine years’ work! There were telescopes – an unopened Nikon and an Optolyth made specially for me – 2 pairs of Leica binoculars, cameras…but the biggest problem was that I lost the whole stock of a new book (Rare Birds of Norfolk) - £60,000 (sic) worth which I had to pay for in 90 days. It was all burnt."

Lee said he did not get insurance for the theft as he was deemed negligent for having left his keys in the vehicle.."They drove my car into a sign called The Lee, which has got a picture of a little Firecrest on a wooden plinth next to it, and they stoked underneath the vehicle with my books and set fire to it. The place identified the car from the engine number and from the remains of my books flying around in the wind". Evans website in March 2000 stated "the theft of all my work involved with it" (Annotated Checklist to Britain & Ireland)" in June 1998…. Since the theft of my vehicle and an uninsured loss of £26,00 on 10^th June 1998. …. My business has been insolvent since July 1999"…"The publications will eventually come but not as fast as I would like".

Evans on 17/2/2006 on Surfbirds stated "The Rare Birds book that you ordered from me pre-1997 was part and parcel of my bankruptcy petition at Aylesbury County Court in 2002. As a result of a car theft from outside Little Chalfont Post Office in 1998 I lost everything. Inside the car - a white Vauxhall Cavalier GSi - were three telescopes (two brand new and boxed), two pairs of Leica binoculars, cameras, much birding paraphanelia including a stock of books, a laptop containing the original and only surviving data disc of the book you mentioned and a complete stock of 'Rare Birds in Norfolk' that I had just picked up from the printers in Ipswich. All of this was stolen with the car and apart from the books, used to stoke the fire that destroyed the remaining shell of the car, nothing was ever retrieved. Unfortunately, because the keys were inside the vehicle when it was stolen, the insurance company refused to pay out and in total I lost in the region of £36,000. After the theft, I tried to carry on in business but the mounting bills spiralled out of control and I had to cease the printing of my UK400 Club magazine 'Rare Birds'. After two years of trying to keep afloat, I had to accept that I was failing and declared my bankruptcy petition with losses of £109,172.00.

The Rare Birds book you mention had to be started from scratch all over again and after three years, I managed to finish the manuscript. As I am a bankrupt, I am unable to get any finance of any kind for at least seven years so publishing books other than on my own printer is out of the question. To publish the book in hardback form will cost in the region of £15,000 for a print run of just 1,000." Evans also stated elsewhere by email in Feb. 2006 a figure of £107,000 instead of £109,172. Back to the index.

Bird Cheating Examples: Example 1: Lundy Ruppell’s Warbler, June 1979. The way to see this bird was by joining the Devon Bird Club’s annual trip on the 9th (Sunday) on the Oldenburg – Evans claims to have been on that boat. In those days the number of listers was not high, so it was obvious who was on the trip. Evans was not on the boat because the car he was in had broken down en route. If Evans had seen the Lundy bird, why did he bother to see the next one on Whalsay in 1990? Evans until recently would rarely go to the Shetlands for year-list birds – presumably it was too expensive. Sometimes Evans will tell a different story about the Lundy warbler: that, instead of being on the Oldenburg, he travelled on a small boat. He will even give a list of birders he went with. However, when you ask these birders about what happened, they will say that Evans was not with them and, anyway, they did not see the bird. It has been noticed that when Evans has been found out and he is tackled about it, he will invent more stories to cover his tracks. Evans will change his story if that suits the situation.

When claiming rare birds that he did not actually see, Evans often gives a huge amount of detail, including names of birders he claims he saw at the bird. However on many occasions birders have talked to these so-called witnesses, only to find out that Evans was not with them. Sometimes Evans will tell these stories with great conviction and any birder not knowing the truth could easily conclude that Evans really did see the bird in question. It is as if this mantra of pretending to have seen the bird has been repeated so many times that Evans seems comes to believe he really did see the bird himself and cannot tell fiction from reality - a sign of a pathological liar.

Example 2: 1984 Shetland Needle-tailed Swift when Evans was spotted elsewhere the day he claimed to have seen it. When the 1988 Needle-tailed turned up (this time in Orkney) along with what was thought at the time to be a new species for Britain, the Pallas’s Rosefinch, Evans decided to go for the Needle-tailed and not for the Rosefinch first!! Evans frequently gets caught out by claiming to have seen a bird on a particular date when he has been spotted elsewhere claiming to be in two places at once, at opposite ends of the country - but even Evans excelled himself on one occasion when he claimed to be in Norfolk, the South-West and Yorkshire at the same time. Often he would be caught out when he was on his mobile claiming he was either driving for a bird or watching a bird when suddenly a market trader would shout something out.

Example 3: Grey-headed Gull in 1991. One of the reasons Evans sometimes quizzes birders so heavily about a particular bird sighting is so that he can pretend he saw it himself. Steve Webb was grilled by Evans about a Grey-headed Gull in 1991. Steve described in detail the location, the icy weather conditions, what the bird was doing, plumage details and how it was flushed by a helicopter. Within the week, Evans then claimed the same bird, giving the same details that had been given to him, to other birders.

Example 4: Evans 1997 Isle of May Lesser Grey Shrike. Although the bird was there for more than one day, it was not twitchable. This was because it was in a Puffin breeding colony so it was decided not to let the news out (as stated in a Scottish bird report), even to mainland Scottish birders, until the bird was gone.

Example 5: Evans claims to be the number one UK400 lister for 2004 at 360 which was the same figure as Richard Bonser.  Under UK400 rules if two birders achieve the same figure then it is done on who got to that number first. However it is beyond any doubt that Evans is claiming for 2004 (like other years) birds that he has not seen (i.e. at least 5 birds) plus a duff Red-breasted Goose. So Richard Bonser is the real number one year-list record holder for 2004. The RBG was with the feral Barnacle goose flock in Lancashire & North Merseyside and this bird is not countable on the UK400 life list tabulations. Richard Bonser published his 2004 list giving details of each major bird (i.e. date, location and a real witness) at: http://www.freewebs.com/richbonser/2004yearlist.htm

Evans refuses to publish his 2004 year-list giving any details stating by email that to produce a detailed list like Bonser’s would be "far too time consuming" and that he has "much more important things to be getting on with". As it would only take a day at most to produce such a list it shows that Evans (like for other years) is too frightened to publish and so expose his fabrications for all to see.

Evans for various reasons claimed he could not produce his 2005 year-list with dates, locations and witnesses. What does Evans have to hide? Evans stated by email in 2006 "I am not personally able to keep my Diary Notes updated on a day-to-day basis, it is difficult for me to verify my claims quickly. However I had started to detail all of my witnesses as well but other birders (Steve Lister et al) have complained. If birders are not prepared to trust or believe me, and I prepare all of the listings and also issue out any commendations, certificates, etc on behalf of the UK400 Club, then there is no point to comparative listing in Britain." Yet Evans has also stated "I take great pride in my bird recording, note-taking and documentation of rare bird sightings".

Example 6: Jan 2002 all-time record January list. Les Holliwell knew that Evans would be cheating so he kept his January total secret from Evans for as long as he could. This did the trick because Evans started claiming huge totals that were just not supportable. He started claiming verbally to many birders that he saw 222 birds at the end of January but he did not publish any material to support this claim at the time. Then Evans sent an email on the 24th of May stating an even larger figure of 224 "Evans recorded a total of 224 species in January 2002 which far exceeds the claim made by Les Holliwell. All but one of these birds was witnessed by respected birders .... and include over 400 of the keenest British birders. The full list complete with witnesses will be published in Evans's diaries on the UK400 Club website (when time permits)." Evans later in the year published a detailed January list giving what birds he claimed and when. Much of this list is fictitious where it is known that he did not see many of the birds. It claimed a figure not of 222 or 224 but 221. Also this list shows that many of the birds were not seen with anyone else, which contradicts his earlier email message. This Evans list can be seen via the "Evans Jan List" via the Original website button. This is typical of Evans, in that he cannot even give consistent fabrications. Les Holliwell’s list of 217 is still the all-time January current record. Back to the index.

British 2006 Year-list: Surfbirds on 29/12/06 showed Ian Robinson at 352 (BOU) and Evans at 340 however Evans had not updated his totals since November. Then on 9/01/07 Evans claimed 354 (which included at the time an undisclosed number of Irish birds) with Ian still on 352. How could Evans gain an extra 14 birds in under 2 months at a quiet time of the year for new birds? This would not be the first time where Evans has suddenly claimed a big increase that is not supportable by reality.

However Evans claimed Surfbirds totals do not stack up with his claimed UK400 totals. The UK400 website on 7/11/06 gave Evans 348. At the end of 2006 the UK400 website claimed Evans was on 355. So over a similar period of time Evans claimed an increase of 14 birds on Surfbirds but only 7 birds on the UK400 website. This is odd because the UK400 rules recognise more countable birds than the BOU rules so Evans UK400 year-list should have shown around 14 or more birds and not just 7!! Back to the index.

Adrian Webb Saga: In the Channel 4 TV programme ‘Bird Detectives’ in November 2000 Evans called Adrian Webb a liar over an Ivory Gull incident, all because Adrian did not take a video of it. If Adrian wanted to string, he could have so easily strung Little Auk which he never did see that year. Why string a high profile bird like Ivory Gull and not string Little Auk that would be easy string on the east coast. However Adrian did have witnesses for the Ivory Gull and also the sighting has been accepted in the Outer Hebrides Bird Report 2000. So Evans rejected Adrian’s Ivory Gull record (remember Evans is also the arbiter of everyone else’s records!) when there was no proof whatsoever that Adrian was cheating. Just because Adrian found the Ivory Gull in a new location should not be an issue, especially as he had local witnesses. Even the Suffolk Ivory Gull in its long stay at Aldeburgh went missing for a day. Adrian had more video evidence than anyone else doing a year-list.

Evans’s Rare Bird article on Adrian’s 2000 list is a mixture of fact and fiction. On the surface Evans listing articles on other birders seem factual but often they are inaccurate with fictitious information. For example, this article states that Adrian lives in Hornchurch; is 25 years of age; had £15,000 to spend on his 2000 year-list; and counted on his 2000 list Siberian, Meadow and Chestnut Buntings. Every one of these points are not true. The article ends up knocking Adrian's record down from 383 to 378 with no real justification. Birds that Evans claims verbally, or in writing, that Adrian Webb misidentified have been investigated and the accusations proved to be groundless The way Evans dealt with Adrian Webb is typical of how he has dealt with other rivals in the past (too many to list them all).

More on what Evans said about Adrian Webb can be seen at http://www.webbsteve.freeserve.co.uk/newpage7.htm. On this editorial page we have spotted at least 40 fabrications/almost certain fabrications on different topics.

Evans in November 2002 claimed he had beaten Adrian's record with 384 birds with 8 splits and W-H Duck claimed retrospectively on his 1996 list of 375 birds. Interestingly it was only in the Evans 1996 year-list to our knowledge that he has given some details of scare migrants. Hence in normal years Evans has had plenty of scope to string scarce birds of the Common Rosefinch calibre of bird (thinking no one will notice these). This 1996 list is published in Rare Birds (3:1, dated March 2001) where Evans claimed his all-time year list, however this just consisted of a list of 375 UK400 species birds with no details of when and where Evans saw these birds. But what an impressive 1996 Evans year-list totals e.g. 5 Purple Heron, 68 Wood Sandpiper, 41 Yellow-browed Warbler, 24 Wryneck, 6 Red-rumped Swallow - how much of this is real? What are these extra 8 splits that Evans claims to have seen in that year? The other ploy that Evans used was to add splits to his list but conveniently forget to add any splits on Adrian Webb's record!

Evans needs to publish his 1996 year list giving dates including the approximate time of day he saw each bird, and locations including real witnesses. In that way other birders can check out his claims. This should not be difficult for a person who, according to his editorial, keeps "meticulous notes on all of the birds that I see and record even every Song Thrush and Lesser Black-backed Gull". In particular birds such as Red-throated Pipit, Aquatic Warbler, and Black Kite, which along with other birds many birders believe Evans did NOT see. It is also known that Evans has a habit of stringing birds of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker calibre of bird, which can sometimes be difficult to see in a year. How much of this list if fictitious? The Evans 1996 list can be found via "More Information" and "Evans 1996 List" buttons. Back to the index.

Evans found claims: Evans website Nov 2000 editorial claimed: "He prides himself on his birding ability and has been instrumental in identifying or first finding at least the following: 12 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, .., several Black Kites and Red-footed Falcons, …, 5 Yellow-billed Cuckoos, …, at least 5 Red-eyed Vireos,… The full claimed list can be seen via "More information" & "Evans Editorial" buttons. Evans claimed in June 2001 – 7 months later a different set of numbers (i.e. via "More information" & "Evans Self-Interview" buttons) of "Since 1970, I have personally found or been involved in the finding of 216 rare vagrant or scarce migrant birds to Britain, including Wilson's Petrel (13),.., Yellow-billed Cuckoo (4), …, Red-eyed Vireo (3), …"

These 2 lists do not tally e.g. the number of Wilson’s Storm Petrels: from Nov 2000 to June 2001 risen by 1 (when there would not have been any more Wilson’s to find), Yellow-billed Cuckoo reduced by 1; Red-eyed Vireo reduced by 2. Also it is known that some of these claimed birds Evans was not in the first group of finders anyway but further down the chain.

The 5 Yellow-billed Cuckoo Evans claimed, as far as birders are aware only 2 of these have his initials in BBRC Reports. He also claimed 1 from southern Ireland but still that only makes 3. How can the rest be accounted for? Perhaps these are unconfirmed records!! Evans says that he no longer submits records to BBRC. His editorial claims "the latest BBRC report compared to my 2000 report is only 57% complete – that is one hell of a lot of records missing. However, BBRC would no doubt argue that the missing records are all unauthenticated." Back to the index.

UK400 and BUBO lists: Evans’ recent UK400 emails claim how the UK400 listing system is superior to the BUBO (http://www.bubo.org/listing/) listing website. Lets look at the situation. Evans states "The UK400 Club lists are submitted by individuals and then carefully vetted by at least 5 independent referees. Any queries/mistakes are then followed up with the individual concerned." Would Evans like to share with everyone who all these independent referees are? Evans states "The UK400 Club database has 833 individual lists ( UK & Ireland combined) on file and this allows for a direct comparison as to who has seen what. It is the most comprehensive and accurate of its kind."

In the past various fictitious lists have been submitted to the UK400 with fictitious names (& not by anyone associated with this website) and these have been placed by Evans on the UK400 website and/or UK400 Rare Bird magazine. Evans over time increases these list totals along with many other lists by guesswork. For example two fictitious lists were Mike Hunt & Jenny Tailor. It is suggested that these names are read very quickly!!. For example, different Rare Birds had Mike Hunt on 428, 434, 438, etc and Jenny Tailor 412, 417, 421, etc.

Many of the UK400 list totals are estimates/guesses and the number of these guessed lists is very much larger than the lists marked with an asterisk to denote an estimated list. A recent UK400 email stated "it is difficult to see how you (Evans) can keep track of 833 listers (not to mention year and county lists)." Evans assumes that long-staying birds are seen by keen listers so if that lister is abroad,etc their list still gets increased because Evans cannot keep tabs on such a large and growing number of listers.

Many of the UK400 world list totals are guesses by Evans and are inaccurate, sometimes woefully so. They are given the illusion of accuracy because each total is given a very precise figure. Evans regularly copies the world list from Surfbirds as a starting point for the UK400 rankings. He then guesses much of the rest and usually these guesses are under by many hundreds and sometimes by thousands. E.g., Evans’ world list dated 30th August 2006 has Dave Pitman’s list on exactly 4,000 when in fact it is over 7,000 birds!!

Evans is keeping list information on birders without their permission and has not informed the Data Protection Authority that he has personal data on birders which is often inaccurate. Evans has blatantly ignored many requests from birders (including Ron Johns) to withdraw their names and totals from his website because it is often false/inaccurate, etc.

Here is some of the recent email information from the UK400 group: "if we are to compare lists then they must be transparent. This is exactly where Bubo is strong and the UK400 club system is weak. If the UK400 club was to publish lists in full then I would agree that it 'allows for a direct comparison as to who has seen what' as LGRE claims. It does no such thing for its members at the minute, it only allows LGRE and his panel to do so. Such a lack of transparency is also exactly why there is the tedious annual mudslinging match at the end of each year-listing competition. If everything was published and transparent, everyone would gain. So why is this not done? Perhaps you could enlighten us Lee?? In theory, I think the UK400 club is a good idea, in practice it isn't managed in an objective, unbiased and transparent way, which seems to me to defeat the entire purpose of the club…Pathological stringers tend to be well-known to those who really care anyway."

"The lists held by the UK400 club are out of bounds even for evaluation by the observers themselves - to me that seems unlikely to foster greater openness and communication between birders." "you are right, transparency is the key to an honest listing website and i shall be sticking to Bubo Listing as my choice".

Evans states: "There is virtually nobody (myself and Chris Heard excluded) in the Top 40 UK400 Club listings that wish their actual Life Lists displayed for all and sundry to see or discuss at liberty." This is not true as there are many birders who would like to see detailed lists including the first date when a bird were seen. One of the reasons Evans does not publish this level of detail is because it would show that he has been claiming birds he has not seen.

BUBO clearly has the potential of being more accurate than UK400 lists because the lister can maintain their list themselves. Most listers would be too frightened to put on a bird they did not see because the high chance of being found out.  Of course there will be a small minority that are pathological stringers who claim birds they did not see but as already mentioned these are well-known to those who really care anyway. Also it has been commented by some big listers that if Evans does not like you he marks your UK400 total down but marks it up if he likes you!!

Many of Evans claims are as usual not based on fact. For example Evans claimed regarding the BUBO website "there were a surprising number of observers claiming Grey Catbird on a day that it had departed (the 6th)." Here is a response from a UK400 email member: "i checked out the number of birders who have seen Grey Catbird on Bubo Listing using the blocker facility. There are just four observers claiming this species, just TWO of them claiming it on the 5th Oct 2001. This is hardly a surprising amount of listers as you claimed in your email. I personally think Bubo Listing is a superb site". We too have looked at the BUBO website and came to the same conclusion that there were very few, we found 5 listers, 3 with the date of the 5th and two with no date!

Evans accepts the 4th and 5th dates but not the 6th even though the BOURC and BBRC accepted it for the 6th. Another response to Evans was: "I cannot understand how LGRE/UK400 club can say the bird was definitely not present. How can the UK400 club pointedly tell someone that they didn't see something?? How on earth have you proven a negative like this?? It certainly does not imply the impartial and unbiased attitude that the UK400 club supposedly represents." Back to the index.

300 totals list claims: Evans has claimed he started year listing in different years (i.e. 1977, 1978, 1979) when he first obtained over 300 species. However none of these claims are true!! The "Who’s Who In Ornithology" (published 1997) has a section on Evans written by Evans, stating that he has "achieved over 300 species in Britain annually since 1977". Evans contradicts the above year on his June 2001 UK400 webpage (via "More information" & "Evans Self-Interview" buttons) where he wrote "I became obsessed in year-listing in 1978 – recording over 300 species for the first time – and continued to do so until the present day."

The "MEET LEE GR EVANS" June 2001 article (via "More information" & "Meet Lee GR Evans" buttons) claims "By 1978 I was totally hooked, and chasing every rarity that I could. Unfortunately that year, I had a very serious road accident, and lost my eye and spent many months in hospital including Christmas 1978, when most birders were busy enjoying the first Greater Sandplover".…"Following recovery from my accident, I then became obsessed with listing and from 1979 onwards, I concentrated on year-listing and building up my British Life List."

In 1976 Paul Flint obtained 304 species which remained the record until 1979 when Steve Webb obtained 313 and then 329 in 1980. In 1979 Steve Webb was fully aware of who his close rivals were and Evans was not one of them. Evans did not achieve over 300 in 1977, 1978 or 1979 by UK400 (1970’s or 1997) counting rules. Many of the UK400 splits were difficult or impossible to identify in the field in the late 1970s given then the lack of identification information or were simply unknown about (e.g. Siberian and Iberian Chiffchaff). Back to the index.

Inconsistent Scilly Isle dates: "From: <LGREUK400@aol.com> To: <UK400club@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 3:39 PM Subject: [UK400Club] Legendary Twitching Female sadly loses her battle to live …St Agnes on the Isles of Scilly was her true love and it was here that I first met her (Enid Stanford) in October 1974 - she put me on to one of my first ever Yellow-browed Warblers." A very good authority who was on the Scillies in 1974 states that Evans who would have been 14 at the time was not there. Evans current website states: "My first real interest in rarities started in 1974, when several of us would cycle to Norfolk and Suffolk for species such as Tawny Pipit, Black-eared Wheatear and Lesser Grey Shrike, and by 1976, the highlight of my year would be staying with Brian Mellow and Pete Maker in West Cornwall….. My twitching career began with a vengeance in 1977, following two enjoyable holidays on the Scillies in late October 1975 and 1976." Evans Dec 2000 website stated: "His fascination with Scilly began in 1974, when a spring visit revealed such mouthwatering vagrants as White Stork and Desert Wheatear. Then in 1975, Barry Nightingale, Baz Harding and Arthur Livett introduced him to autumn birding on St Agnes, and not one October since then has been missed." Often when Evans retells an incident the events change! Back to the index.

How long has LGRE been birding: This topic may seem trivial to most points made on this page but it shows that Evans information is not to be trusted as being an accurate account. The December 2006 UK400 website stated about Evans: "I was born in Luton in October 1960 and become interested in birds at the age of eight. .... My uncle Tony lent me his pair of old binoculars in 1968 and took me with him on his visits to John O’Gaunt’s Golf Club at Sandy, Bedfordshire. It was on the golf course that I saw my first Green Woodpecker." This conflicts with an email sent by Evans to the Herts group: "Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 06:38:09 EST From: LGREUK400@aol.com Subject: Re: Re: Goshawk ......I have been in active birding in Britain for over 40 years" which means Evans been birding from at least the age of 4!! This 40 year claim conflicts with his recent 40 year claim. Back to the index.

Western Palearctic list: Several years ago Evans claimed he was the WP number one life lister e.g. in the 2001 Evans Self-interview said "my Western Palearctic life list total is 733 (UK400 Club listings) (No.1)". However at that time the record belonged to Ron Johns. Evans on the UK400 website was and perhaps still is (as we do not have access to the UK400 website) claiming to be the record holder when it belongs to Chris Bell who is well ahead of Evans as netfugl shows. Evans netfugl list does not give any details when and where his birds were seen unlike Chris’s list. Also there are suspicions by many that some of Evans netfugl claims are untrue. Back to the index.

Evans Threatening Behaviour: Steve Webb has received death threats and other threats by email, telephone and in person from Evans. As death threats is a criminal offence the matter has been reported to the police. Evans has also contacted Steve Webb’s employers making untrue accusations including that this website was created by Steve using company property and time. Instead of making threats Evans is welcome to take Steve Webb to court over the content of this website. Back to the index.

Data Protection: Evans is keeping information on birders without their permission and has not informed the Data Protection Authority that he has personnel data on birders and often it is inaccurate. Evans has blatantly ignored many requests from birders (including Ron Johns) to withdraw their names and estimated totals from his website because its often false/inaccurate, etc.

Evans claims to have a scoring system he uses to assess and grade their birding skills. Evans is the sole arbiter of this process. He stated in Birdwatch Nov. 2001 on these 8,640 (this figure varies tremendously by Evans) keen birders "all on my computer – everyone who’s recognised as some form of interested birder is on there. Say you find a SPP at Rainham Marshes, I want to know that a) you exist and are definitely in that area and b) you are capable of making that decision." Evans also stated in Birdwatch Feb 2001 that "It is necessary to make notes and keep tabs on every birder in Britain … and each birder is coded by his abilities and strengths." Lee’s computer database reportedly lists 1,360 observers as of above average ability, while 39 have "reached the top of their hobby."

By law Evans should inform the Data Protection Authority that he is keeping personal data on birders and that he is a DPA data controller. However Evans has not informed the DPA that he is keeping data on birders otherwise he would be found in the national DPA database of data controllers at http://www.esd.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/esd/search.asp Search the Data Protection Register by typing in Evans HP6 6QL postcode or Evans name.

Note what Evans stated on the UK400Club email group on the 28^th Feb, 2006: "I do comply with the Data Protection Act and if you speak to them you will find that they have visited me and have corresponded with me on several occasions. I have nothing to hide as I do not use any information that I have for any purpose other than my own and knowing what birds an individual has or has not seen is neither here nor there. A total number of birds that an individual has seen is a fact and if I haven't received a direct communication from them confirming that fact and I wish to asterisk it by saying just that then it is up to me. As for observer reliability, information on previous mistakes/fabrications are recorded so that future information regarding rare birds can be correctly assimilated and utilised." It is known that Evans has supplied a bird information company the stringing/capability rating per birder as decided by Evans! Back to the index.

Other examples: "More information" area has further examples of Evans string. Further examples of Evans string can be obtained by speaking privately to a high year-lister or life-lister who have been on the scene several years (and thereby have gained first-hand experience of Evans’s) - ask them for their opinions. This website could give scores of full-proof examples of Evans cheating but that would mean mentioning birders names and most birders understandably do not want to suffer persecution and invented "mud" from Evans for telling the truth.

Everything on this webpage is believed to be correct and true. If you spot an inaccuracy or would like to make a private comment then please contact steve.a.webb@talk21.com Any information sent will be treated in the strictest confidence. Thank you.

Perhaps someone wishing to claim a UK record should publish on the www their current species list with the names of witnesses on a regular basis throughout the year on the BUBO listing website. This topic was discussed in detail under "Future Listing" via the "More information" button. Back to the index.

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Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds  UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb. Birds UK400 Club  - the truth about Lee Evans (Lee G R Evans) on this page - written by Steve Webb.

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