Just thought I'd throw out here (and not sure why this hasn't been posted
yet) that most, if not all, of these Black-bellied Whistling Ducks are
banded with color zip ties, meaning they are almost certainly from a
waterfowl collection and are released/escaped. None of the birds have USGS
metal bands, which is what state and federal agencies use for banding wild
birds (and states in the SE are banding them, by the way). This zip tie
marking is typical of waterfowl collectors.
A little google effort and I found info on how states are banding
whistlers. States are putting on USGS metal bands on one leg and a color
band with a 3 letter/number combo on the other leg, not zip ties.
So not to be a buzz kill, but these birds are probably not countable (if
that is of concern to you). I think more info will be forthcoming on the
banding efforts, but if you wanted to chase these for a tick......I'd just
wait until birds return to the Pits this spring and get a pile of other
goodies in the MS River corridor!
Don't kill the messenger, just sharing pertinent info. :)
Cheers,
Scott Somershoe
Littleton CO
On Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 4:24 PM, Carole Gobert <cpgobert@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A new hotspot has been created to accommodate the many checklists being
sent in by people going to see the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks found two
days ago in Sevier County. I have made this a stakeout hotspot. It is
called stakeout Black-bellied Whistling Duck (2016). Please use the
hotspot when entering a checklist from this location whether or not you
actually find the ducks. The great advantage to having hotspots is to
allow easy exploration of the data for the site. You will still be able
to look at bar charts, etc. showing just your own observations there but
you (and others) will also be able to see the larger picture.
If you have already entered a checklist at the location and wish to have
it included in the hotspot, simply open your checklist and click on "Edit
Location" at the top right. Then choose Nearby Location to locate the
hotspot which will show on the map as a large red radio button. Click on
the red button and the name will pop up. click on Continue once you have
found the right hotspot and the location of your checklist will be changed
to the hotspot.
Thank you for your cooperation and good birding! I hope lots of you get
to see these rare visitors.
Carole Gobert
eBird Hotspot Administrator for Tennessee
