Re: The DC Pacific Loon
Norm Saunders (osprey@ARI.Net)
Tue, 2 Jun 1998 04:41:00 -0500
Hiya, Dona! Congrats on a "two-lifer" weekend (I'm assuming the Pacific Loon
was a life bird for you as well). Fran and I had this same conversation years
back when a Lewis's Woodpecker showed up down in Luckett's Virginia for a
winter and attracted enormous numbers of birders to watch it over a period of
several months. It almost seems improbable, doesn't it, that a bird could get so
screwed up as to find itself this far away from it's home territory?
I would think the relative "tameness" of this bird is an issue that's going to have
to be addressed very carefully by the records committee when they evaluate
whether or not this is an acceptable sighting. They can be in total agreement
on the identification of a species yet still reject the sighting as a valid addition to
the area's list of bird sightings if they feel that its provenance is questionable.
At the same time, as I've heard Chan Robbins say innumerable times, "Birds
have wings and they use them" so one must expect strange, out-of-range birds
from time to time. I just wish it had floated downriver a ways....into Maryland
waters! In any event, it will be interesting to hear the conclusions of the MD/DC
Records Committee on this bird.
Best,
Norm
===============
Norm Saunders
Colesville, MD
osprey@ari.net