The Committee currently consists of seven regular members and three alternates. One of the seven regular members serves as Chairperson; this person has no term limit and is subject to selection by and approval of the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union (“MOU”) Board of Directors in the same way as other MOU committee Chairpersons.
Each of the other six regular members can serve a maximum of six consecutive calendar years. After this six-year period, the member must be off the Committee for at least one year before being eligible again for membership as either a regular or alternate member.
Each of the three alternate members can serve a maximum of three consecutive calendar years. The responsibilities of alternate members are outlined below.
When a regular member’s position is vacated, either by expiration of his/her term or by resignation, the vacancy can be filled either by a current or former alternate member or by a former regular member who has been off the Committee for at least one year. A vacancy in an alternate member’s position can be filled by someone who has either never served on the Committee or has not been a member for at least one year.
If a vacancy occurs by resignation of a regular member before that member has served the maximum six-year period, that member’s replacement will be selected by the Committee Chairperson and will serve only for the balance of that six-year period.
If a vacancy occurs by resignation of an alternate member, that member’s replacement will be selected by the Committee Chairperson and will serve for the balance of that member’s one-year period. At the expiration of the balance of the one-year period, such replacement alternate shall be immediately eligible to continue as an alternate member and serve a maximum of three additional one-year terms.
The names of potential nominees to fill other vacancies must be received no later than the Committee’s December meeting. Any current or former member may nominate a candidate for membership. After determining, by agreement, which of these nominees is interested and qualified, the full Committee (all ten members) votes first for new regular member(s). The number of votes each member casts equals the number of vacancies. The person(s) receiving the most votes is/are selected, with any ties broken by the Chairperson. The same voting procedure then takes place if there are alternate positions to fill.
All documented records of Casual and Accidental species and potential first state records are voted on, unless a majority of the Committee votes not to do so. Regular species significantly out-of-range or out-of-season also may be circulated for a vote at the discretion of the Chairperson. Undocumented reports of Casuals, Accidentals, and unusual Regular species are considered Not Accepted.
Except in the case of potential first state records and AS records (see below), seven members vote either “Accepted” or “Not Accepted” for each record; i.e., whether or not the documentation supports the observer’s identification.
Before a record is sent out to the Committee for a vote, the Chairperson may solicit comments on the record from persons with expertise on the species involved. These comments are then included with the documentation for consideration by the Committee.
A record is considered Accepted or Not Accepted or Recirculated (held for discussion and a second vote) according to its status and the number of votes for acceptance:
| Casual and Regular species: | ||
| Accepted | vote 7-0, 6-1, or 5-2 | |
| Recirculated | vote 4-3 | |
| Not Accepted | vote 3-4, 2-5, 1-6, or 0-7 | |
| Accidental (A) species: | ||
| Accepted | vote 7-0 or 6-1 | |
| Recirculated | vote 5-2 or 4-3 | |
| Not Accepted | vote 3-4, 2-5, 1-6, or 0-7 | |
| Accidental (AS) species and potential first state records: | ||
| Accepted | vote 10-0 or 9-1 | |
| Recirculated | vote 8–2, 7–3, 6–4, or 5–5 | |
| Not Accepted | vote 4–6, 3–7, 2–8, 1–9, or 0–10 | |
A Recirculated record is held for discussion at the next meeting of the Committee, a second vote on the record is then taken, and it is considered Accepted or Not Accepted according to the following:
| Casual and Regular species: | ||
| Accepted | vote 7-0, 6-1, or 5-2 | |
| Not Accepted | vote 4-3, 3-4, 2-5, 1-6, or 0-7 | |
| Accidental (A) species: | ||
| Accepted | vote 7-0 or 6-1 | |
| Not Accepted | vote 5-2, 4-3, 3-4, 2-5, 1-6, or 0-7 | |
| Accidental (AS) species and potential first state records: | ||
| Accepted | vote 10-0 or 9-1 | |
| Not Accepted | vote 8–2, 7–3, 6–4, 5–5, 4–6, 3–7, 2–8, 1–9, or 0–10 | |
For a potential first state record and for all records of Accidental (AS) species, the documentation is held for discussion at the next meeting of the Committee and then voted on. The three alternate members also vote on such records, and the vote for acceptance must be 10–0 or 9–1 for the record to be Accepted; if the vote is 8–2 or less for acceptance, the record is either Recirculated or Not Accepted as outlined above.
The seven regular Committee members vote on each record unless a member was involved in the original discovery of the bird(s) being voted on. With such a record, that regular member does not vote and is replaced by one of the alternate members in rotation. For potential first state records and for AS records, if one or more members were involved in the original discovery of the bird(s) being voted on, the Chairperson appoints the appropriate number of former members to vote on the record. For any other record where there is an insufficient number of regular and alternate members to vote because such members were involved in the original discovery of the bird(s) under consideration, the Chairperson appoints the appropriate number of former members to vote on the record.
Generally, the circulation and voting of records takes place electronically or by e-mail.
On records of a species for which there may be reasonable uncertainty as to its origin or wildness, or uncertainty as to its natural occurrence and arrival in the state, the following procedure is followed:
1) The documentation for the record is first voted on as usual; if the identification is found to be Accepted, the record is then held for further consideration if, by consensus of the Committee, there is reasonable uncertainty as to the bird’s origin and wildness, or uncertainty as to its natural occurrence or arrival in the state.
A record is not held for consideration of its origin if its identification is voted on and found to be Not Accepted. Documentation for a bird which, by consensus, is considered to be of obviously captive origin — e.g., a Bar-headed Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, Chukar, etc. — is not voted on and is automatically considered Not Accepted.
2) Appropriate research is then undertaken and evidence is collected relative to the bird’s origin or natural occurrence.
3) At the Committee’s next meeting, the evidence is then discussed and a vote is taken on the bird’s wildness or arrival. In lieu of a meeting, the Chairperson may call for an online discussion and an online vote. The three alternate members vote on such records, for a total of 10 votes, with a simple majority vote (6–4 or higher) determining the status. There are three possible ways to vote:
Such votes generally only involve Accidental species. However, Regulars or Casuals could also be voted on in the same way, and such records of uncertain origin or arrival could be filed as RO or CO.
A quorum at a Committee meeting is defined as 2/3 of its total membership: i.e., with ten members, the quorum is seven. If there is a quorum, all votes on proposed changes in policy or procedure require approval by a majority of the members present.
In lieu of an actual meeting, the Chairperson may circulate matters by e-mail for purposes of online voting where all ten members are required for a vote. The Chairperson may call for an online discussion prior to online voting.
In addition to questions of origin and potential first state records, the three alternate members, after a discussion at a meeting, vote in the following situations with a simple majority vote of all ten members deciding the issue:
After voting on a record is completed, the Chairperson informs the primary observer who documented the record of the Committee’s decision.
The Committee’s votes only determine which records are Accepted for inclusion in the MOU’s permanent file and official record of Minnesota birds. These votes are not intended to determine what observers include on their personal, unpublished lists.
A summary of all records voted on by the Committee is published semi-annually in The Loon, journal of the MOU. These records are placed in the MOU’s archives of Minnesota birds, which is located in the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, 10 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455.