Hello All, The review standards for eBird have been posted to the eBird help pages in the form of the eBird reviewer instruction document. It can be accessed by going here
http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1822748-ebird-review-standards This document has a very good explanation of the policy that eBird reviewers are to follow in regard to the review of exotics/released species. If this interests you, please read it. When it comes to how I submit escaped/released birds, I do record certain species that have an uncertain status of some sort (Mute Swan and the impending great Chukar release along the front range would be examples). However, all of these records are invalidated as the eBird review instructions guide. Good birding, Sean Walters Loveland, CO > On Feb 17, 2015, at 8:26 AM, Tom Wilberding <[email protected]> wrote: > > Nick, thanks so much! > > It’s a rather complicated situation. Should eBird allow only posts that > conform to ABA listing rules? I don’t know, but in the case of a tough call > like this Northern Bobwhite, I would like eBird to err on the inclusive side, > so the data is out there for each of us to examine and judge for ourselves. > > Here is another factor in considering this interesting “cover-bird”. (I was > going to write “cover-girl” but that is another analysis.) Since naturally > occurring Northern Bobwhite generally do not move more than a mile from where > hatched: is there a game bird collector within a mile radius of the East > Boulder Rec Center? Paula Hansley emailed me yesterday that there is such an > address. From a lister’s point of view, it would be helpful if all such game > bird collectors were required to post their address online, like convicted > sex criminals. (:-) Hey, just kidding!) But in the absence of that data, I > think a lister has to research the natural range of the bird, observe the > bird’s behavior (is it shy or does it seem accustomed to humans?) then use > his or her own judgment whether to count the bird. eBird is one good source > of information about status and distribution, but not the only one, and I > would not rely on just one source. Again, this is all from one lister’s point > of view. I don’t presume to speak for more knowledgeable field ornithologists > and their broader point of view. > > Tom Wilberding > Boulder > > >> On Monday, February 16, 2015 at 9:51:48 AM UTC-7, Tom Wilberding wrote: >> Hello, birders, >> >> If you’re interested in ABA listing, read on; the rest of you are excused. >> :-) However, even if you are not a lister, the listing game does expose you >> to more serious field ornithology--namely status and distribution. So you >> non-listers are welcome to eavesdrop here. >> >> The recent cover of Colorado Field Ornithologists’ quarterly magazine >> Colorado Birds shows Peter Burke’s beautiful photo at the East Boulder Rec >> Center of a Northern Bobwhite, “of questionable provenance.” (Didn’t get the >> magazine? Join CFO: click here.) >> >> If I had been lucky enough to see that bird, would I count it? >> >> ABA rule 3. says: “The bird must have been alive, wild, and unrestrained >> when encountered.” So was this Northern Bobwhite “wild?” More excerpted from >> the ABA: “Wild” means that the bird’s occurrence at the time and place of >> observation is not because it, or its recent ancestors, has ever been >> transported or otherwise assisted by man for reasons other than for >> rehabilitation purposes. A species observed far from its normal range may be >> counted if, in the observer’s best judgment and knowledge, it arrived there >> unassisted by man. A bird that is not wild and which later moves unassisted >> to a new location or undergoes a natural migration is still not wild. For >> the complete ABA recording rules, click here. >> >> Why would anyone question whether this Northern Bobwhite were wild? Well, >> many companies sell game birds, to shoot them like self-propelled skeet, or >> to train hunting dogs with them, or just to keep in your collection. From >> this company you can buy Northern Bobwhite birds, chicks and eggs, and many >> other upland game birds, not to mention swans and flamingos. Click here. >> Another online source click here. (A pair of Spruce Grouse for $749?) >> >> Colorado wildlife law “generally prohibits the importation, live possession, >> sale, barter, trade, or purchase of any species of wildlife native to >> Colorado, except that up to 25 live ring-necked pheasants, Gambel's quail, >> scaled quail, bobwhite quail, chukar, grey partridge or mallard ducks may be >> possessed for up to twenty-five (25) days without a license. Such wildlife >> shall be accompanied by a receipt showing that the wildlife have been >> lawfully acquired, to include the source and the purchase or acquisition >> date. These birds may only be hunted on the day of release and the number of >> birds taken cannot exceed the number of birds released. All released birds >> not taken by hunting on the day of release shall become property of the >> state. All hunting must occur on private property. No birds held under the >> authority of this section may be released and hunted during any season >> established for that species.” >> >> So what is the normal distribution of naturally occurring Northern Bobwhite >> in Colorado? Bob & Bob (Colorado Birds © 1992) on page 96 mentions it is a >> year-round resident on the eastern plains, primarily west to Morgan and >> Pueblo counties. Habitat is primarily lowland riparian forests, but also >> occurs in smaller numbers in adjacent agricultural areas and sandsage >> grasslands. Their range map shows the eastern quarter of Boulder county >> shaded for Northern Bobwhite. This wonderful book is, as I type, available >> used at Amazon for 49¢ plus shipping: click here. >> >> The Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas I, 1998, shows on page 155 Northern >> Bobwhite in similar range as Bob & Bob, except no sightings in Boulder >> County. It also mentions that this species is the least mobile of all upland >> game birds, usually not moving more than a mile from where it hatched. To >> download all 657 pages of The Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas I: click here. at >> link bottom center of page.(Atlas II will be available soon.) >> >> eBird shows a few scattered sightings of Northern Bobwhite in Boulder County >> in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2013: click here. (And in location box type in >> “Boulder, CO” then zoom out a little.) >> >> Thus, it seems East Boulder Rec Center could be on the edge of Northern >> Bobwhite’s natural territory. Also, there seems to be no doubt that some >> commercially raised Northern Bobwhite that escaped or were released are out >> there, and should not be counted. The problem is that they are impossible to >> distinguish from wild birds. So you use range. Back to Peter’s Northern >> Bobwhite: to count or not to count. It’s a tough call but I think I would >> count it. You? I don’t think you should. :-) >> >> More seriously, I asked Steve Mlodinow about this situation, and he >> observed, as a field ornithologist, “…a game bird in a people-full place, >> out-of-habitat, that allows its photo to be easily taken has very little >> chance of being of wild provenance.” >> >> The same advice for other game birds: check Bob & Bob, Atlas I, and eBird >> for the species’ natural range, and go from there. A Chukar in Weld County? >> I would not count it; too far from its Bob & Bob range in western Colorado, >> probably escaped from a game ranch like this one: click here. >> >> But wait, not so fast. Get a load of this: click here. Colorado Parks and >> Wildlife is releasing hundreds of Chukars near Fort Collins to establish a >> population for the benefit of northern front range hunters. >> >> Hunters and birders are allies for the conservation of certain bird species. >> But allies like gardeners and botanists, or the United States and France, >> uneasy at times, with different languages. Should Colorado habitat be >> peppered with exotic birds for the benefit of hunters? Well, that’s been >> going on a long time all over the world, and probably will continue, and >> will continue to be debated. >> >> Good birding and listing, >> Tom Wilberding >> Boulder >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/10fc421a-4e2b-4ead-892c-9f9f5219ab4e%40googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/3C380288-C207-4FA1-A070-132BB328EA44%40gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
