Cape Henlopen & Records Committee

daniel.eberly@gsa.gov
13 Feb 98 13:28:00 (-0500) 

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     I visited Cape Henlopen on Monday.  An adult Peregrine, viewed from 
     the fishing pier, was sitting on a pole on the breakwater; 
     Red-breasted & Brown-headed Nuthatches were at the nature center's 
     feeders; four Ipswich Sparrows, sitting on and walking among the 
     vegetation in the dunes, could be viewed from the beach; Snow buntings 
     were flying around the dunes; and all 3 Scoter species were close to 
     the fishing pier.  Cape Henlopen was not hurt badly by the coastal 
     storm.
     
     At the Montgomery County MOS meeting Thursday night, it was reported 
     that 5 Golden Eagles are being seen at Blackwater--watch along Egypt 
     Road.
     
     I enjoyed the discussion about the Records Committee.  I wish to 
     comment about the situation where the gull was not accepted because it 
     may have arrived at Sandy Point by some form of human transport.  I 
     guess the "Common Gull" could face the same predicament.  Apparently, 
     the Gyrfalcon in Frederick County had a similar problem since it has 
     not been officially accepted (apparently) because: (1) It could have 
     been a hybrid; or (2) it could have been an escaped falconer's bird.  
     Thus, any species with just the remote potential of having lived in 
     capacity, moved by human transport or breed by humans could be 
     generally excluded from acceptance even though there is no foundation 
     that human interference occurred in a specific situation. In the 
     Gyrfalcons case, I am not award of any signs that contradicted that 
     the bird was a wild bird.  It did not have the customary bands or 
     other indications that it was a falconer's birds; it did not act like 
     a bird imprinted on humans; it did not react like a falconer's bird 
     when held; and no information came through the falconer's grapevine 
     that it was an escaped bird.  The bird had the field marks of a 
     Gyrfalcon.  The Frederick County landscape was very similar to the 
     Gyrfalcon's hunting terrain in Pennsylvania-a large, open, flat 
     area-as in the Arctic--and where you would expect to find a wild bird. 
     Shouldn't such identifications be recognized?
     
     Good birding, Dan Eberly

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