Richard,

Time to take a deep breath.   As Bob Mumford pointed out, there is a 
wonderful variety to the birding community, and we should celebrate that fact.   
Everybody can have their own brand of fun and sometimes even help one another in 
the process.   Some of us have spent careers working in the biological sciences 
and are interested in questions such as: 1) How often does a west coast bird 
make its way to the east coast?   2) What path does it follow?   3) What 
extrinsic factors such as weather patterns influence the timing and direction of 
vagrancy?   One of the central tasks of the MD/DC Records Committee is to compile 
as thorough a data base as we can on the distribution of birds, both native 
and vagrant, in Maryland.   The purpose of such a data base is to provide 
future investigators with information that could prove useful in pusuing a 
scientific study that attempts to answer some of the above questions.   The MD/DC 
Records Committee has had one submission of the western subspecies of Nashvile 
Warbler, yet to be reviewed, and I hoped we might be able to document a second.   
 From the observer comments and George's killer photo, I don't think we have 
a second report yet.   But I hope this exchange might get birders to think 
about this subspecies, which otherwise would be easy to overlook.   So we are 
doing what we are supposed to be doing.

New patterns of vagrancy have emerged in recent years, such as the path Cave 
Swallows seem to follow and the weather systems that seem to carry them from 
the southwest to the northeast.   Many western hummingbirds also seem to make 
the same journey, as do Ash-throated Flycatchers.   Why other species don't 
show up with the regularity of these is a mystery.   But the more data we can 
gather, the better our chances of understanding this complex process.   
Biological science can be agonizingly slow and it often depends on meticulous data 
gathering, which is what this exercise is all about.


As to "birds in the bank", I think the ABA requires that you see an 
introduced species after it's population has been determined to be stable and growing.  
 But subspecies that are subsequently split can be counted after the split 
regardless of when you saw them since it is the status, not the population, that 
has changed.   So be optimistic and log those subspecies in the hope that 
they may be split. 

Paul O'Brien
Rockville, Mont. Co., MD
 

    
In a message dated 2/16/06 5:20:49 PM,  writes:


> I don't see what the big deal is, it's still a NASHVILLE WARBLER, which is 
> NOT a new species for Maryland. 
> 
> When its name gets changed to Western Nashville Warbler, then you can submit 
> a photo.
> 
> Seems to me these "records committees" need to do their real job.
> 
> Richard
> 
> Richard L. Wood, Ph. D.
> Computational Chemist
> Cockeysville, MD 21030
> 
> 
>