[mou] accidental? You've got to be kidding (long)
Wildchough@aol.com
Wildchough@aol.com
Tue, 17 Feb 2004 23:08:34 EST
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I think this Minnesota rarities committee has been locked up in a Koochiching
cabin way too long this winter. Let the suns shine in men and women!! To
call a King Rail "accidental" is to treat records of this species like some of
the truly accidental records that dot the annals of the birding world, great
records like a Slender-billed Curlew in New York or a Skua in North Dakota or a
Manx Shearwater on a lawn in Michigan. Accidental means not likely to occur
again, an "accident" of nature. The great Ontario birder Alan Wormington says
there is no such thing as "accidental." History will repeat itself eventually.
A record of King Rail in Minnesota which breeds in Wisconsin, breeds in
Iowa, may breed in South Dakota and definitely breeds in Nebraska is hardly an
"accident." For crying outloud like a nocturnal petrel, this is a rail folks!
Rails can populate the most remote islands in the far reaches of the world's
oceans so for a King Rail to appear again in Minnesota is hardly accidental.
How does a bird go from breeding in the state within the past 2 or 3 decades to
accidental? Did it suddenly change its nature? So it's gotten rarer but the
continued possibilities of future records is relatively high. And then
there's the detectability issue. How many birders in this state ever get out of
their SUVs and walk more than 200 yards from the car? How many boat, canoe,
kayak records have birders turned in recently? Almost none. Does anyone go out
and walk through marshes, as any thorough check of the big Mississippi marsh
south of LaCrescent been made by boat recently? Have the marshes of Lac qui
Parle been checked other than a brief drive down the roads that lead through the
refuge. Have tapes been played regularly in the early morning and evening? Is
the aged BBS birding population even capable of hearing a distant "bup, bup?"
And there's the gyr demoted to casual. Let's see 20 records in Illinois in
the past 35 years. Did all these birds just fly around Minnesota. How many
folks sit at Grand Portage for 2 months doing a real hawklookout, who birds
Koochiching and Kittson and Lake of the Woods on a regular basis? Who checks the
chicken flocks regularly in western MN? South Dakota gets multiple gyrs
every year and most of these records are 200 miles south of Minnesota's Canadian
border. Certainly there are gyrs in Minnesota every year. What good does it
do the list to periodically downgrade a species every decade or so and then put
it back on the regular list when a series of records demands it? Why not
calm down, admit that species like Red-throated Loons, jaegers, gyrs, and many
other boreal/arctic species are cyclic and go with the flow rather than trying
to pigeonhole these birds which still are "regular" over a period of, say 50-60
years or more. Not every invasion occurs every 2 years or even every 10
years in boreal ecosystems. We have much to learn of northern invasions and it
makes no sense to change their status just to make work for the records
committee although it does keep this records committee out of the woods and out of our
hair for extended periods and I guess that's good. I feel better now. We'll
make Bobwhite comments later! Bob Russell, Dakota County, proud home to at
least 2 records committee members.
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<HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><HTML><FONT SIZE=3D2 PTSIZE=3D10 FAMILY=
=3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0">I think this Minnesota rarities com=
mittee has been locked up in a Koochiching cabin way too long this winter.&n=
bsp; Let the suns shine in men and women!! To call a King Rail "accidental"=20=
is to treat records of this species like some of the truly accidental record=
s that dot the annals of the birding world, great records like a Slender-bil=
led Curlew in New York or a Skua in North Dakota or a Manx Shearwater on a l=
awn in Michigan. Accidental means not likely to occur again, an "accid=
ent" of nature. The great Ontario birder Alan Wormington says there is=
no such thing as "accidental." History will repeat itself eventually.=
A record of King Rail in Minnesota which breeds in Wisconsin, breeds=20=
in Iowa, may breed in South Dakota and definitely breeds in Nebraska is hard=
ly an "accident." For crying outloud like a nocturnal petrel, this is=20=
a rail folks! Rails can populate the most remote islands in the far re=
aches of the world's oceans so for a King Rail to appear again in Minnesota=20=
is hardly accidental. How does a bird go from breeding in the state wi=
thin the past 2 or 3 decades to accidental? Did it suddenly change its=
nature? So it's gotten rarer but the continued possibilities of futur=
e records is relatively high. And then there's the detectability issue=
. How many birders in this state ever get out of their SUVs and walk m=
ore than 200 yards from the car? How many boat, canoe, kayak records h=
ave birders turned in recently? Almost none. Does anyone go out and wa=
lk through marshes, as any thorough check of the big Mississippi marsh south=
of LaCrescent been made by boat recently? Have the marshes of Lac qui=
Parle been checked other than a brief drive down the roads that lead throug=
h the refuge. Have tapes been played regularly in the early morning an=
d evening? Is the aged BBS birding population even capable of hearing=20=
a distant "bup, bup?" And there's the gyr demoted to casual. Let=
's see 20 records in Illinois in the past 35 years. Did all these bird=
s just fly around Minnesota. How many folks sit at Grand Portage for 2=
months doing a real hawklookout, who birds Koochiching and Kittson and Lake=
of the Woods on a regular basis? Who checks the chicken flocks regula=
rly in western MN? South Dakota gets multiple gyrs every year and most=
of these records are 200 miles south of Minnesota's Canadian border. =20=
Certainly there are gyrs in Minnesota every year. What good does it do=
the list to periodically downgrade a species every decade or so and then pu=
t it back on the regular list when a series of records demands it? Why=
not calm down, admit that species like Red-throated Loons, jaegers, gyrs, a=
nd many other boreal/arctic species are cyclic and go with the flow rather t=
han trying to pigeonhole these birds which still are "regular" over a period=
of, say 50-60 years or more. Not every invasion occurs every 2 years=20=
or even every 10 years in boreal ecosystems. We have much to learn of=20=
northern invasions and it makes no sense to change their status just to make=
work for the records committee although it does keep this records committee=
out of the woods and out of our hair for extended periods and I guess that'=
s good. I feel better now. We'll make Bobwhite comments later!&n=
bsp; Bob Russell, Dakota County, proud home to at least 2 records committee=20=
members.</FONT></HTML>
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