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Vultures, Gannets, Waxwings, and Committees



Hi C-birders,

A little each on several things:

Thanks to everyone who has actually seen waxwings in the Peidmont 
already. Guess I'm just not hanging out by the right fruit trees yet.

Second, when I posted a request a few weeks ago from a biologist to watch 
for vultures which he had tagged, someone pointed out that he forgot to 
specify which species of vulture he had tagged. Apparently, both:

On Mon, 15 Nov 1999, John S Humphrey wrote:
>
> Hello Josh,
>
> We tagged both black and turkey vultures however the majority were 
> black.  Thanks for your assistance.
>
> John S Humphrey
> Wildlife Biologist
> USDA/APHIS/WS/National Wildlife
>     Research Center - FL Field Station

Third, Steve Schultz mentioned that the Northern Gannets migrating past 
Fort Fisher were mostly juveniles with few adults. I noticed precisely 
the same pattern during the 1998 spring NAMC, counting from Cape Point. I 
saw hundreds of Gannets, but only two adults the entire day. I suspect 
that either (a) the adults stay further north and only youngsters come 
this far south, or (b) the adults migrate earlier than the young birds 
do. On early spring (March) whale-watches off Massachusetts, we see more 
adults than young, but this could support either hypothesis.

Lastly, but most importantly, Simon Thompson brings up the NC Records 
Committee's web-site. I notice that the official NC Bird List is 
available as a .pdf file from there. I suggested a while ago, and others 
agreed, that both birders and the committee would have easier lives if 
there was an official list somewhere of exactly which bird sightings did 
and did not require documentation to be sent to the NCRC. Obviously, any 
species not listed, or listed as "provisional" (17 species), "unresolved" 
(4 species), "to be voted on" (4 species), or "lacking published details" 
(6 species) all require documentation. Presumably all species with 3 or 
fewer accepted records also require documentation. All of these 
categories are clearly marked on the checklist. Is that a complete list? 
Or are there other species which require reporting to the Committee which 
are not marked? If so, could the list be altered to show these species, 
perhaps putting an asterisk before the name of every species for which 
reports are required?

The SC state bird list is not yet posted here, but there is an 
announcement that it is being developed and will appear soon.

Thanks, and good birding,

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/