This bird is not a Fairfax bird. He is an Alexandria bird, just like our
Governor.
He resides now and has since sighted in Alexandria. Cameron Run Regional
Park is not in Fairfax County.
Henry Brooks
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve and Heather Rottenborn <rottenborn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <Gl1je1@xxxxxxx>; <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2002 10:01 AM
Subject: [va-bird] Re: RFI: Barnacle Goose legitimacy
certain
In a message dated 2/3/02 7:16:50 AM Central Standard Time, Gl1je1@xxxxxxx
writes:
I don't want to sound like a stick in the mud here, and I'm game for a
drive to Va., but how has it been determined that this bird is not an
escapee?
Gary,
Although I'm a member of the Virginia Avian Records Committee (VARCOM), my
reply is intended to convey my opinion alone and does not represent an
official view of VARCOM.
In the case of this Barnacle Goose, there is no way to establish for
whether or not it is an escapee or a naturally occurring individual. Justthose
because it's not banded, its toes all seem to be intact, and it shows no
abnormal feather wear does not mean that it's naturally occurring. Many
obvious escapees I've seen in North America (e.g., free-flying African
finches, flamingos, and Black Swans in California) have similarly shown no
signs of prior captivity, yet the probability of natural occurrence in
cases was nil.waterfowl
Barnacle Geese are not too rare in captive waterfowl collections. I don't
know how many are kept in captivity on the East Coast, but in a brief
perusal of the web I found several sites (those I found were in Tennessee,
Kentucky, and Oklahoma, though I didn't do a thorough search) for
farms selling Barnacle Geese for $125 each. Not all captive waterfowl are(e.g.,
pinioned, banded, or clipped, and I'm sure that some of these geese escape
from time to time.
On the other hand, Barnacle Goose is a legitimate candidate for natural
vagrancy to Virginia, and I have no doubt that some of the birds seen in
North America, particularly on the East Coast in winter, are naturally
occurring birds from Greenland. I've heard second- and third-hand reports
of Barnacle Geese in several northeastern states this winter, and perhaps
there has been a genuine influx of naturally occurring Barnacle Geese into
the East Coast of North America this winter. If this could be proven
if a Barnacle Goose banded in Greenland last summer were to be found inNew
England this winter), this would lend more credence to the naturalto
occurrence argument for the Fairfax bird.
For records committees, the question of whether or not to accept an
individual Barnacle Goose as being a naturally occurring bird comes down
probability. What is the probability that it is a naturally occurringbird
vs. an escapee that is not banded or toe-clipped? Unfortunately, we don'tthis
have enough data on either side of the argument to make more than a guess.
More conservative/cautious VARCOM members would probably vote to accept
bird in Category 3, meaning that the identification has been establishedand
that the bird could possibly be naturally occurring but that it may alsobe
an escapee. In the absence of other information, either suggesting thatit
is a naturally occurring bird or an escapee, this is how I would probablyfree-flying
vote on this particular record. Other members may vote to accept it as a
naturally occurring bird, so I don't know what VARCOM as a whole would
decide on this record.
Regardless of the origin of this bird or the arguments for or against its
natural occurrence, two things are most important to keep in mind. First,
it's a great-looking bird, one that doesn't show up in a "wild",
condition in the state very often, one that a lot of birders would like toand
see, and one that has obviously brought a lot of Virginia (and DC, MD, and
WV) birders closer through communication about it. I'd like to see it,
I'd urge anyone who wants to see it, photograph it, and count it onwhatever
list they keep to do so regardless of its origin and regardless of whatoccurring
VARCOM eventually says about it.
Second, it is important for people who see the bird to document this
occurrence through written descriptions, photographs, and video and to
submit this documentation to VARCOM. The most important, yet often
overlooked, function of VARCOM is to archive documentation of the state's
avifauna for future reference. In the case of species such as Barnacle
Geese, in which the bird could be either an escapee or a naturally
individual, the Committee's archival role is much more important thanoccurring
deciding whether or not the bird should be accepted as a naturally
individual. Decades from now, records committees may look back on thethe
documentation of the Fairfax bird as important in helping to establish a
pattern of natural vagrancy by Barnacle Geese. Please, if you see this
bird, submit a written description to VARCOM, and if you have photos of
bird, please submit those as well.email to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
Cheers,
Steve Rottenborn
Dale City, VA
rottenborn@xxxxxxxxxxxx
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
