A problem with this... the general community standard for counting birds on one's personal lists is "when in doubt leave it out," though that may not always be stated so explicitly. On ID questions we don't presume the claimed ID is correct in the absence of any supporting data, only declining the record if definitive proof of a mis-ID is provided. We go quite the other way: claimed sightings of rarities without acceptable evidence to support them are declined, even if the ID seems "plausible." I was told directly by the TN-BRC in reference to the Trumpeter Swans that the burden was to prove that the species was countable, not that it was not. True, that was a case of whether or not to consider a reintroduction established, not a question of possible escapee origin, but the effect is the same: To add a new species to a list requires sufficient positive evidence, not just a lack of negative evidence.
Regardless, I'll likely make a try to see the crane on the way to Atlanta for the holiday! The Whooping Cranes aren't countable either, but that doesn't change what they are.
Bill Pulliam Hohenwald TN
On Dec 14, 2011, at 3:50 PM, Chris Sloan wrote:I disagree that these things must remain in limbo. Let's keep in mind that determination of whether a bird is added to the ABA checklist, and thus "countable," is not oriented towards any scientific end. It's oriented towards the recreational side of birding and towards encouraging eco-tourism. In light of that, in my opinion, the burden of proof should lie with those who claim the bird is not wild. For a species like this crane, where there is a very plausible set of facts that could account for its wild origin, as well as other records and other species with analagous vagrancy patterns from the same region of the world, we should presume it to be wild until other facts arise to suggest that hypothesis should be re-examined. To my mind, this record is no less unlikely than Limpkin (2 TN records) or Ivory Gull (one) or Variegated Flycatcher (one)..That said, I agree that the bird is spectacular and worth seeing, regardless of countability.Chris Sloan Nashville, TN http://www.chrissloanphotography.comOn Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 3:43 PM, Bill Pulliam <littlezz@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: These sorts of things often have to remain in limbo until a pattern of vagrancy either is or is not established in the future (over many decades, sometimes). This would make the third record in North America. Three things to remember: (a) Leg bands can be lost, (b) cranes are long-lived, so some of those 2001 escapees (three in Idaho I believe) could still be out there, and (c) any wild bird can conceivably turn up anywhere at any time. This is especially true of long-distance migrants like cranes. It is possible to imagine an overshoot or lost juvenile winding up in Siberia and then crossing over to North America. It would still have a long way to go, though, before it met up with the Hiwassee cranes even on their nesting grounds!Countability aside, the bird is the bird and is just as beautiful no matter how it got to Tennessee.Bill Pulliam Hohenwald TNOn Dec 14, 2011, at 10:35 AM, Chris Sloan wrote:Scott is tied up but has looked at the pics and forwarded them to me. It's definitely a Hooded Crane. This will be an interesting debate as to its origins. There is only one previous report from the ABA area, of one in Carey, Idaho in April 2010. So far as I can tell, ABA checklist committee has not acted on it and I cannot tell what, if anything, Idaho was done. Captive birds are typically leg banded and the Idaho bird was not. There is also some chance that this bird at Hiwassee is the same bird.Chris Sloan Nashville, TN http://www.chrissloanphotography.comOn Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 10:14 AM, Charles Murray <dro_1945@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Yesterday, Marie Sutton and Phyllis Deal from Lexington, KY spotted a strange crane at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge from the gazebo in Meigs Co. I arrived on the scene and called Jen Davis, ICF crane tracker. She arrived, took some digiscope photos and took the following notes on the 'mystery bird.'Crane Description:Smaller than a Sandhill. A shorter beak than the Canadian Sandhills on the HWR. Makes a higher pitched call, and is not the same sound. Black body with long tertial feathers. White Neck. Red cap. Black around the eyes.Jen contacted Bryant Tarr, crane curator at ICF. He believes the crane is a hooded crane. Jen has sent this description and some photos to Scott Somershoe.Charles Murray Birchwood, TN
