Hi Dave, et al.

First, Carolina Chickadee is on the MD/DC Records Committee review 
list, if seen west of Washington County (as of 1999).

Second, Black-capped Chickadee has never been a reviewable species in 
Maryland or DC since, in irruptive, or "flight years," the species 
can be locally common. Our Maryland baseline, Stewart and Robbins 
(1958) describes the species as "rare or irregular (fairly common in 
flight years) ... in the Piedmont, Upper Chesapeake, Western Shore, 
and Eastern Shore ..."

There are lots of specimens in the Smithsonian that attest to its 
presence in these regions during various years, so it's irruptive 
"pattern of vagrancy" in the state is well-established. Documenting 
seasonal reports, within the state, on a year-to-year basis, is 
probably best left to the Maryland Birdlife and North American Birds 
regional editors rather than the MD/DCRC.

As a side note, consider the challenges of documenting a Black-capped 
Chickadee and separating it from a Carolina in the Piedmont or the 
Coastal Plain. Besides banding measurements, anything short of very 
thorough and comparative written descriptions or excellent photo 
documentation would probably be needed to present a compelling case 
for separation from Carolina Chickadee due to the overlap of key 
characteristics!

Even though Black-capped Chickadee is not reviewable and the MD/DCRC 
does not solicit documentation, I would still encourage field birders 
to follow Dave's lead and indeed document such sightings and provide 
this information to our regional editors.

Hope this helps ....

Phil



At 12:35 03/21/2008, David Mozurkewich wrote:

>Experience with Black-capped Chickadees for most Maryland birders is
>primarily from our western counties.  The combination of expecting an
>out-of-range Black-capped Chickadee to be more similar to Carolina than
>it actually is and a lack of appreciation for how much less common they
>become as one heads south and east probably results in a number of
>mis-identifications.  It's a pity the records committee doesn't request
>documentation for Black-capped Chickadees in this part of the state.  It
>would encourage documentation and help determine their true distribution
>in Maryland.

===================================================
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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