Hi Frank,
Chances are this was a data entry error. On 1/9/2001 a Whooper Swan was
reported at Schoolhouse Pond and it stayed almost through March of the same
year. Fast forward 12 years later and now Jim Stasz is entering his
observations of the swan into eBird. Jim can correct me if I'm wrong, but I
think his observation from 02/26/2001 was mistakenly entered as 02/26/2013
- an easy mistake if you've ever done historical data entry - which set off
the rare bird alerts. When you submit a checklist online, you'll get an
error if you choose ab observation date in the future, so I'm not sure how
this happened, unless the sighting was imported on a spreadsheet, or eBird
simply glitched.
The 2001 Whooper Swan was not accepted by the MD/DCRC on the grounds, I
think, that it was a hybrid. I imagine there was also serious questions at
to its origin, given that it's a Eurasian species, a swan, and at
Schoolhouse Pond, a hotbed for released waterfowl. In any case, there are
no present day Whooping Swan reports in eBird right now.
Rob Ostrowski
Silver Spring, MD
On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 10:22 PM, Sherman Suter <ssuter...> wrote:
> The "continuing" swan in Upper Marlboro would most likely be the Mute that
> Thomas Ostrowski reported 2 Feb.
>
> Sherman Suter
> Port Republic
>
> >>> Leslie Starr 02/25/13 9:05 PM >>>
> Not only that, it was observed tomorrow.
>
> Leslie Starr
> Baltimore
>
>
> On Feb 25, 2013, at 9:02 PM, Frank Fogarty wrote:
>
> > I just saw an ebird alert for a Whooper Swan at Schoolhouse Pond that
> said "continuing." Anyone know anything about this bird? I'm assuming it's
> a captive bird that was released/escaped?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > Frank Fogarty
> > College Park
> >
>
>
> --
> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
> To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on
> the web at http://www.mdbirding.com
> Posts can be sent to the group by sending an email to
> <mdbirding...>
>
>
>
--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on the web at http://www.mdbirding.com
Posts can be sent to the group by sending an email to <mdbirding...>
|