[mou] Spring 2004 documentation

[Peder Svingen]

The Spring 2004 migration was memorable in many respects and
included an incredible array of rarities. Since seasonal reports from
observers are now due, this would be a good time to remind birders of
those reports of unusual species which still need to be documented.
Most of these were posted on the mou-net listserve. While birders are
certainly free to include anything they wish on their personal and
unpublished lists, sightings of Accidental, Casual and rare-Regular
species can only be published by the MOU and included in its archives
of bird records when accompanied by documentation.

If you were an observer of any of the reports listed below and are
interested in providing documentation, the MOU would appreciate your
assistance. Also, documentation is requested for any occurrence of
an Accidental, Casual or rare-Regular species not listed below, or for
any species in an unusual location or at an unexpected date. Please
contact me if you have questions about whether or not details are
needed. A few of the reports listed below were accompanied by a partial
description, but additional documentation is still needed for the
following:

Fulvous Whistling-Duck (2) at Lewiston, Winona County, 18 April;
Eurasian Wigeon at Lewiston, Winona County, 30 (?) March;
Clark's Grebe at Lake Osakis, Douglas County, 27 April;
Brown Pelican at Lake Bella, Worthington County, 16 April;
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at Austin, Mower County, 11 May;
Ferruginous Hawk in Mehurin Township, LQP County, 24 April;
Ferruginous Hawk near Butterfield, Watonwan County, 29 May;
Gyrfalcon near Milaca, Mille Lacs County, 9 March;
Black-necked Stilts (2) at Rice Lake, Faribault County, 26 May;
Arctic Tern at Duluth, St. Louis County, 24 May;
Eurasian Collared-Dove (4) at Milan, Chippewa County, 4 April;
Eurasian Collared-Dove (1) near Buffalo, Wright County, 14 April;
Eurasian Collared-Doves (2+) at Lynd, Lyon County, 14 April+;
Eurasian Collared-Doves (nesting) at Russell, Lyon County, 5 May+;
Rock Wren at Split Rock Creek S.P., Pipestone County, 2_3 May;
Sprague's Pipit at Red Rock Prairie, Cottonwood County, 30 April;
Worm-eating Warbler at Big Stone NWR, Lac Qui Parle County, 7 May;
Hooded Warbler north of Minneota, Lyon County, 13 May;
Summer Tanager at Hok-si-la Park, Goodhue County, 7 May;
Summer Tanager near New Ulm, Brown County, 11 May;
Summer Tanager at Wood Lake, Hennepin County, 14_15 May;
Summer Tanager at Grand Portage, Cook County, 15 May;
Summer Tanager (adult male) at Murphy-Hanrehan, Scott County, 15+ May;
Summer Tanager near Perham, Otter Tail County, 15_16 May;
Summer Tanager at Lebanon Hills Regional Park, Dakota County, 16 May;
Summer Tanager  (first-spring male) at Murphy-Hanrehan, Scott County, 18
May;
Summer Tanager at Shakopee, Scott County, 22 May;
Summer Tanager at Medicine Lake, Hennepin County, 25 May;
Western Tanager at Collinwood Park, Wright County, 7 May;
Lark Bunting near Centerville, Anoka County, 6 May;
Lark Bunting near Marshall, Lyon County, 18 May;
Great-tailed Grackle (male) in Murray County, 8 March;
Great-tailed Grackles in Jackson County, 13 March (1) and 27_30 March (4
or 5);
Great-tailed Grackle (pair) at Hills, Rock County, dates?

There are 3 ways to provide documentation:

1) By e-mail or regular U.S. mail, please send as complete a description
as possible of the bird, any field notes or photographs which were
taken, a comparison of this bird with similar species, your
experience with this and similar species, whether or not you knew it
was unusual, if and when field guides were used or needed to identify
the bird, the light conditions, distance involved, how long the bird
was seen, and the optics used.

Or (2) by e-mail or regular mail, send me your mailing address, and I
will send you an MOU documentation form which outlines the requested
information for you to fill in.

Or (3) you can download this form from the MOU's website, <mou.mn.org>.

Again, seeing a rare bird and adding it to your personal list is
certainly enjoyable in its own right, but when your sighting is also
documented and sent in to the MOU it also serves as an important
contribution to our knowledge of Minnesota bird distribution. If you
have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. On behalf of
the MOU, thanks in advance for your help and your contribution to
Minnesota ornithology!

-- 
Peder H. Svingen - psvingen@d.umn.edu - Duluth, MN
Chair, MOU Records Committee
2602 E 4th St, Duluth, MN 55812