Proceedings of the Minnesota

Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee

Kim R. Eckert, MOURC Chairman

T he following records were voted

on January – July 2002 and found to

be Acceptable.

• White-faced Ibis (eight individuals

reported), 17 April 2002, near Rochester,

Olmsted County (record #2002-32, vote

6–1: three individuals accepted as White-

faced, and the other five accepted as

Plegadis, sp.).

Although these ibis were seen by

many observers, only one of them pro-

vided documentation. While it is like-

ly all eight birds were White-faced, the

lone description received refers to “white

around the eyes” on only three of the in-

dividuals. Accordingly, only these could

be accepted as White-faced Ibis, with

the other five accepted as unidentified

Plegadis ibis.

• White-faced Ibis, 23 April 2002,

Mott Lake, Waseca County (record

#2002-33, vote 7–0).

• White-faced Ibis, 5 May 2002,

Thielke Lake, Big Stone County (record

#2002-34, vote 7–0).

The descriptions provided with this

and the previous record (2002-33) in-

clude mention of red eyes and facial

skin along with white visible around the

back of the eyes.

• White-faced Ibis (five individuals),

10 May – 2 June 2002, Southwick/Slay-

ton Wildlife Management Areas, Murray

County (record #2002-16, vote 7–0).

All five individuals are described as

having “distinct white feathering com-

pletely surrounding reddish facial skin.”

• Plegadis ibis, 28 September 2001,

near Hawley, Clay County (record #2002-

06, vote 6–1).

Because of the difficulty in separat-

ing White-faced from Glossy Ibis in late

summer and fall, most ibis records then

will eventually be accepted and filed as

unidentified Plegadis ibis.

• Brant, 10 April 2002, near Coon

Creek Wildlife Management Area, Lyon

County (record #2002-17, vote 7–0, The

Loon 74:179–180).

This individual was an adult of the At-

lantic race hrota; most previous Brant re-

cords in Minnesota have also been of this

same race. The documentation includes

field notes and sketches made at the time

of the observation along with some mar-

ginally identifiable photos.

• King Eider, 7–20 May 2002, Duluth,

St. Louis County (record #2002-18, vote

7–0, The Loon 74:180–181).

The documentation of this female,

which was eventually seen by many ob-

servers, includes field notes and sketches

made at the time of the observation. This

is only the second documented spring re-

cord of this species in Minnesota.

• Mississippi Kite, 26 April 2002, Gold-

en Valley / Minnetonka, Hennepin Coun-

ty (record #2002-19, vote 5–2).

• Mississippi Kite, 27 May 2002, West-

ern Township, Otter Tail County (record

#2002-35, vote 5–2).

Those in the minority not accepting

this and the previous record (2002-19)

were concerned that several details were

unclear or missing in the documentations

— i.e., whether or not optics were used,

light conditions, distance from the birds,

and duration of the observations.

• Mississippi Kite, 9 June 2002, Golden

Valley, Hennepin County (record #2002-

38, vote 7–0).

This was an adult with the diagnostic

white patch visible on the upper surface

of the secondaries. It is possible that this

and the other four Twin Cities records in-

cluded in this article (2002-19, 36, 37, and

Fall 2002

161