[mou] which is more likely...

[Richard Wood]

Is there ANYTHING that one can do when they report something that will guarantee that they won't get yelled at or criticized?

I know about Solitaires, I saw many of them in Utah.    I also know that a few Gray Jays have been seen in the Twin Cities.  If one looks on the reported maps of this season on moumn.org, Gray Jays have been reported further south than have Solitaires.  Also, when one gets not much more than a glancing look, it's not possible to ask a bird for a DNA sample.  Thus, a report that would be acceptable to the local BRC is not possible (not that I would EVER submit a report to ANY BRC ever again, it's a waste of time).

Now, if I had totally disregarded ranges, like years ago, when I tried to turn a life House Sparrow into a Harris's Sparrow, I would have gotten ripped apart.

Good grief.

Richard
 
Richard L. Wood, Ph. D.
Hastings, MN
rwoodphd at yahoo.com

----- Original Message ----
From: Laura Erickson <bluejay at lauraerickson.com>
To: mou-net at moumn.org; mnbird at lists.mnbird.net
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 9:54:36 AM
Subject: Re: [mou] which is more likely...


Townsend's Solitaires often eat fruit in winter, so if the tree was a
mountain ash or crab apple tree, the solitaire would be the more
likely.  Solitaires are thrushes, shaped like robins though they often
sit more vertically than robins usually do.  As far as I know, this is
not an invasion year for Gray Jays, making it highly unlikely that one
would appear as far south as Hastings.  Gray Jays are plump, their
fluffiness and proportions giving the sense of a chickadee on
steroids.

I'm not on the MOU Records Committee, but if I were, I would NEVER
accept a report of any rarity based on one species being "more likely"
than another based on expected range.  An acceptable documentation of
a rare bird requires noticing head and wing markings, overall shape,
posture, behavior, and what kind of habitat it's in.  Even for my
personal list, I've never felt comfortable counting anything based on
probabilities rather than carefully seeing the important field marks.
I'd want to actually see those cool wing markings on a solitaire
before counting it--otherwise it's just a name and number rather than
a lovely and memorable close encounter.  Of course, that may be part
of why my personal list isn't nearly as long as experts who take in
field marks much more quickly than I do.  ;-)

Laura Erickson
Duluth


On Dec 19, 2007 8:15 AM, Richard Wood <rwoodphd at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> On Sunday, December 9th, I saw a grayish bird with a short black bill
 in a
> tree in our back yard.  This bird was robin sized, and when I went to
 get my
> binocs on him, he flew.
>
> I have been leaning toward calling it either a Gray Jay or a
 Townsend's
> Solitaire, though I'm not sure which would be more likely to be seen
 here in
> Hastings.  I see from this year's sightings maps, that Townsend's
 Solitaire
> has been seen farther north, so I am leaning town the Jay.  I know it
 wasn't
> the Shrike I saw yesterday, as it lacked a mask (unless it was the
 Lone
> Ranger off duty...).
>
> I'd like to know what everyone thinks.
>
> Good birding,
> Richard
>  Richard L. Wood, Ph. D.
> Hastings, MN
> rwoodphd at yahoo.com
>
>
>  ________________________________
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-- 
Laura Erickson
For the love, understanding, and protection of birds
www.lauraerickson.com



There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds.
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of
nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after
the winter.

            --Rachel Carson







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