[wisb] Re: Guidelines for Totals
- From: Rowan Stamm <rowan.stamm@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:18:30 -0600
Replying to what Peter said. You can usually determine if game birds are wild
or stocked by thinking about where you are and how they fly. For example I was
walking in the woods surrounding my house and I flushed three Bobwhites as far
as I know no one is releasing Bobwhites in my yard or near here but if you were
at Brooklyn Wildlife Center and you flushed a male Pheasant it is almost surely
a stocked bird. If, on the other hand you flush a female pheasant it is almost
surely a wild bird because they don't release female pheasants. I definitely
agree with you about Chukar I don't think I would ever count one if it was in
WI. Another good way to tell stocked and wild pheasants apart is stocked birds
have shorter stiffer tails and wild bird have long streaming tail. You also
usually won't see stocked Pheasants from January- October because they can't
make it in the wild.
Rowan Stamm
On Feb 12, 2013, at 9:50 AM, "Peter A. Fissel" <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Where it gets particularly dicey is game birds that are commonly raised
> and released, but that also have small "wild" populations. Bobwhite are
> especially problematic. I'm always really reluctant to count them on
> the list I submit to WSO, except in those few cases where I've had one
> flush right away. I'd count a Gray Partridge out in a field without
> hesitation, but not a Chukar or Guinea Fowl. Pheasants - who knows? I
> usually see enough each year, including some behaving in what I would
> consider a "wild" manner, that I count them. (A group of them standing
> by the side of the road and not moving as I drive by, which I've had
> several times on CBCs, it not what I would consider "wild" behavior. On
> the other hand, I've had male Ruffed Grouse refuse to yield the road
> more than once, but I'm not aware of anyone releasing those...)
>
> I'm just imagining that couple that Bob mentioned having Flamingos on
> their Wisconsin state list - the Vilas Zoo in Madison has those, as well
> as several other South American species in the tropical aviary. Maybe
> I'll start counting Peacocks from now on...
>
> Peter Fisse
> Madison WI
>
> On 2/12/2013 7:31 AM, rcd2@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>> Tom Schultz's question reminded me of an elderly couple I once met when
>> birding in
>> Arizona. This couple, when they traveled to a state, would visit whatever
>> zoos
>> were available much as field birders would visit sewage treatment plants in
>> various states. They would then keep note of all the bird species held
>> captive
>> there. In this way they had some of the largest state lists of anyone in
>> many
>> states. They explained that this was valid as they had truly seen each of
>> these
>> birds within the borders of each of those states. This is one of the more
>> extreme cases I have witnessed.
>>
>> I would say, for Wisconsin totals, that they should meet the criterion
>> that
>> the ABA sets. By these rules, Whooping Cranes at this time would not be
>> countable. Also exotic released birds should not be counted. Thus one would
>> not count a European Goldfinch at their feeder [though it would be
>> appreciated
>> if they are reported to the WSO as they are now likely reproducing and we
>> would
>> like to keep track of what is happening with them]. Subspecies should not be
>> included [though I would keep track of what subspecies one has seen as these
>> might later become species and thus become countable]. Also keep track of
>> ABA's
>> lumping and dividing -and set your totals by what the ABA has decided in
>> these
>> cases. Hybrids should not be included. As for rare bird finds that have
>> been
>> rejected by the WSO, I would leave that up to the individual and how strongly
>> they feel they wrote a poor documentation.
>>
>> The ABA is the American Birding Association.
>>
>> -- Bob Domagalski, St. Nazianz
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