Hello Ohio Birders,
Before I attempt to spell out how we should decide what does/doesn't count
for listing purposes, I want to make clear that each of us should keep
personal lists according to whichever "rules" we as individuals decide to
use. Your time, your hobby, your rules! :-) For scientific purposes, I
follow "the more data the better", so it's best to log everything in my
opinion, including escaped exotic pets, domestic waterfowl, etc.
That said, many of us decide to play the birding game by a more "official"
set of rules. Think of it like playing a backyard volleyball game by rules
you and your friends make up as you go, versus playing by official
International Olympic Volleyball rules. Again, your yard, so you pick the
rules, but there's also nothing wrong with adopting someone else's rules.
So where does one find these "official" birding rules?
Many birders would say (as would I) to follow the American Birding
Association'ss listing rules (e.g.,
http://listing.aba.org/aba-recording-rules/). Just as you might not fully
believe your friend who claims to have detailed knowledge of Olympic
Volleyball rules, and might instead prefer to see a copy of the actual rule
book, you always begin by consulting the "rule book" when it comes to
listing! ;-)
What are the ABA rules, and how do they apply to Trumpeter Swans (or
Ring-necked Pheasants, or collared Trumpeters that were hatched in the
wild, or ... etc.)?
To attempt answering that question, we should be reading the full set of
rules (http://www.aba.org/bigday/rules.pdf) which includes information on
how to interpret them. Here's the short version as far as Ohio Trumpeters
go:
*RULE 3: The bird must have been alive, wild, and unrestrained when
encountered.*
...
*“Wild”* means that the bird’s occurrence at the time and place of
observation is not because it, or *its recent ancestors, has ever been
transported or otherwise assisted by man.*
(i) An otherwise wild bird that voluntarily uses or is attracted to a
feeder, nest box, tape recorder, ship at sea, or other nonnatural device
without being captured is still considered to be wild. Physical contact
between an observer and a bird does not automatically preclude a bird from
being counted, as there are situations where wild birds have learned to eat
from outstretched hands, or have used people as temporary perches.
(ii) A species observed far from its normal range may be counted if in the
observer’s best judgment and knowledge it arrived there unassisted by man.
A wild bird following or riding a ship at sea, without being captured, is
considered to be traveling unassisted by man.
(iii) *Birds descendant from escapes or released birds are considered
“wild” when they are part of a population which meets the ABA definition of
an established introduced population.*
(iv) A bird that is not wild and which later moves unassisted to a new
location or undergoes a natural migration is still not wild.
So are wild-born Trumpeters, whose parents were released in Ohio, "Wild"?
Do our Trumpeters meet the ABA definition of an established introduced
population?
These questions, unfortunately, don't have "ABA official" answers, so to be
on the safe side they probably don't (officially) count. At least if you
want to play the listing game which pretty much goes by ABA rules. Still,
introduced Whooping Crane populations and whether or not they count might
set the precedent here, ignoring the issue of whether or not Trumpeter's
were ever native to
Ohio<http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~insrisg/nature/whan_essay.htm>to
begin with (see ABA RULE
2.b.iii and 2.b.iv <http://listing.aba.org/aba-recording-rules/>), and
accounting for the fact that Trumpeters seem to be doing moderately well
(i.e., reproducing) in the
wild<http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/wild_resourcessubhomepage/ResearchandSurveys/WildlifePopulationStatusLandingPage/TrumpeterSwan/tabid/19329/Default.aspx>
.
The conditions for considering a population established are spelled out on
the ABA Committee on Exotics page (http://aba.org/checklist/exotics.html).
While these deal largely with exotics, here's what they have to say about
introduced populations of "native" North American species:
The CLC has chosen to "grandfather in" the 17 species presently found on
the ABA Checklist that exist in the ABA Area wholly as exotic
populations (*species
with both native and exotic populations, such as the Canada Goose or House
Finch, are considered natives*). The 17 exotics species presently on the
ABA Checklist are the Mute Swan, Chukar, Himalayan Snowcock, Gray
Partridge, Ring-necked Pheasant, Rock Pigeon, Eurasian Collared-Dove,
Spotted Dove, Budgerigar, Monk Parakeet, Green Parakeet, White-winged
Parakeet, Red-crowned Parrot, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Spot-breasted Oriole,
House Sparrow, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow. (The European Starling is a
native vagrant based on a specimen from Shemya Island, Alaska). If a CLC
member or any other birder believes that one or more of these
"grandfathered" species should be removed from the main part of the
Checklist, then data should be gathered and published so that the Committee
can vote on a motion for removal. The CLC readily acknowledges that some
exotics currently on the ABA Checklist do not meet one or more of the above
criteria, and that these species likely would be rejected as established
species should the new criteria be applied to them.
*The CLC hopes to eventually determine the states or provinces in which
establishment has been attained* for each of the 17 exotics that are on the
main list of the ABA Checklist (we cannot determine establishment of a
species on a more local level). The criteria—or more accurately, the lack
of criteria!—used to determine establishment varies among the local records
committees so substantially that the CLC feels it is necessary to produce
its own list based on the above eight criteria.
Very recently, the ABA has revived the "Recording Standards and Ethics
Committee (RSEC)" -- see this very timely blog post for details:
http://blog.aba.org/2013/12/the-return-of-rsec-recording-standards-take-center-stage.html.
The RSEC will be tackling issues like these once they get up and running.
But in the mean time, I'll still be entering Trumpeters into eBird, sending
in their collar numbers to the USGS Banding Lab, and pretending that all
our Ring-necked Pheasants were born wild and "countable" in Ohio. ;-)
Good birding,
-Paul Hurtado
Columbus, OH
On Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 2:11 PM, Steve J. <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Forgive me for not putting my 2 cents in earlier, but I am apparently
> having email issues...things are not showing up until days later for some
> reason.
>
> As the one that posted the sighting of the Trumpeter Swans, if the swans
> are collared, then they are the originals, and I don't count them...but if
> they are not, then they are fair game...That and they are on eBird, so they
> are counted...by me...as far as Ohio Birds is concerned, they have their
> own criteria. However, I am not going to go through my eBird generated
> list to take out things like Trumpeters and HOSPs.
>
> As far as the count goes...as there has been some discussion on that as
> well. I based it on a couple of things. From what I could see through my
> scope, there were no yellow lores, and the bill/lores area of the adults
> were black all the way to the eyes. Their calls were more like sandhill
> cranes which is what I thought they were at first...(I heard them from one
> end of the pond, and drove like a madman to the other hoping for Sandhills
> :-D) and not sounding like (if you will forgive the holiday reference)
> Santa Claus (ho ho ho). They were in clusters of 4 to 5 with usually 2
> adults and 2 or 3 gray-ish yearlings. One pond held 110-120, the other
> right beside it held about 25-30 and we had others around Killdeer that
> were added to the count. There was a grouping of 14 swans that were not
> added to the count because they were overhead and I couldn't determine by
> call or visual...so I left them off the count completely...(but I think
> they were Tundra...I have never seen a group of
> Trumpeters fly in formation that big)
>
> Why were they all together?...Well considering that those were the only
> ponds with open water at Killdeer at the time...the presence of all kinds
> of hunters in the tricounty area, plus any cold footed, hungry, migrants,
> its not impossible that there would be that many locals/migrants in one
> place feeding.
>
> I actually thought that me mentioning that there were SEOWs flying over
> there would get more email in my inbox...:-D. But I'm glad its not.
>
> Happy birding and God bless,
>
> Steve J.
>
>
> Not Right <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >How does one know if they are a migrant or not. I saw one lone one in
> >Wayne County this summer. This discussion and the rules actually has
> >made very little sense to me. I wouldn't count it if it was in a pond
> >at the zoo with its wings clipped. But this was in the wild. That is
> >why I am keeping my list with my own criteria.
> >
> >Kimba J
> >
> >Summit
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >________________________________
> > From: Dan Sanders <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Sent: Monday, December 9, 2013 9:40 PM
> >Subject: [Ohio-birds] Trumpeter Swan 'Listing' Controversy
> >
> >
> >Thanks
> >In response to Bob Lane and all others who have commented...
> >
> >Thanks for this perhaps unique information about checklists, Bob, but
> >the fact remains that this species is not considered to be 'countable',
> >for official listing purposes here in Ohio, at this time. And part of
> >this unique situation is that TRSW is a very 'long-lived' species. Some
> >of the originally-released birds may continue to live for 25 years or
> >more, and will therefore continue to be a part of the criteria for the
> >'established population' formula. This means that approximately 8 years
> >may remain before these originally-released 'stock' birds will no
> >longer be a part of this formula, and before this species will even be
> >considered, by the OBRC, to be an 'established' population here in
> >Ohio, assuming their continued increase in numbers and expansion within
> >the state. I have been asked when I think they will become a
> >'countable' Ohio species, and my response is, 'When they are removed
> >from the Ohio Review List, by our Ohio Bird
> >Records Committee'; the truly governing organization. I don't know of
> >any reputable Ohio 'birder/lister' who includes/reports Trumpeter Swan
> >on their 'Ohio year list', or on their 'Ohio life list', to the ABA.
> >Yes, this species is now 'countable' In Michigan, but they were
> >released at the Seney, MI NWR many, many years before they were
> >first released here in Ohio.
> >
> >Dan Sanders
> >Central Ohio
> >
> >______________________________________________________________________
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>
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> Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
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--
Paul J. Hurtado
Postdoctoral Fellow, The Ohio State University
Mathematical Biosciences Institute, http://mbi.osu.edu/
Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, http://ael.osu.edu/
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Webpage: http://people.mbi.ohio-state.edu/hurtado.10
______________________________________________________________________
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Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php.
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