Hi Phil,
Thanks Phil for all the "hurricane birding" information. Is there a typcial time when these storm-blown birds tend to show up, i.e. as the strom apprioaches, during peak intensity, right after, day(s) after? If it's safe enough, I hope to be checking DC Potomace waters, but having a better idea when if any storm-blown birds might show up will help plan my time.
Thanks again for all the hurricane birding tips!
Jason Berry
Washington, DC
8/26/11, Phil Davis <> wrote:
From: Phil Davis <>
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Tropical Terns
To:
Date: Friday, August 26, 2011, 12:34 PM
Hi again:
Someone asked me about Bridled Terns, so I thought I'd reply to the list ...
The most common displaced seabird during/after hurricanes is probably the Sooty Tern. In fact, they have become so "regular" after hurricanes, the MD/DC Records Committee removed them altogether from the MD review list a number of years ago. So, no documentation is sought, nor needed, for Sooty Terns, at least for the records committee, if seen anywhere in MD. I don't know if eBird will want descriptions on them or not.
Bridled Terns, however, are in review category 4A, meaning they are reviewable by the records committee if seen in places other than coastal Worcester County or over the ocean. So, any inland Bridled Tern is reviewable. It will be important, therefore, in any Bridled Tern report to provide descriptive details and indicate how similar species, specifically the closely related Sooty Tern, were eliminated. So, this would be a good time to bone-up on the similarities and differences between these two tropical tern species.
The elimination of similar species is another important documentation tip, that I should have included in my previous email. This is an important part of a documented report ... how were similar species eliminated from consideration? ... and this question really needs to be applied with macro-vision, considering extralimital species. For example, any local report of a Magnificent Frigatebird, the expected species in our region, really needs to address how the much less likely Greater and even Lesser Frigatebirds were eliminated. There are Continental US records of both species. Without elimination of these other similar species, a submitted Magnificent Frigatebird report could end up being accepted as the more general "Frigatebird, species."
I will try to follow up with a summary of the review criteria for other seabird species that might be expected.
Phil
===================================================
Phil Davis, Secretary
MD/DC Records Committee
2549 Vale Court
Davidsonville, Maryland 21035 USA
301-261-0184
mailto:[log in to unmask]
MD/DCRC Web site: http://www.MDBirds.org/mddcrc/rcindex.html
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