On the basis of Ken’s thoughtful observation that this individual’s behavior - traveling with an active flock of migrants - supports it also being a wild migrant, and to ensure that this record is noted as perhaps the first such instance here, I’m going to add it to the Cayuga Lake Basin First Records List.
- - Dave Nutter > On Dec 30, 2022, at 7:45 PM, Kenneth V. Rosenberg <k...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Just to stir the pot on this one, I’ll point out that (1) Red-crested Pochard > is a migratory species in Europe and a regular vagrant to Great Britain, (2) > This past couple of months we have seen a large influx of European vagrants > in northeastern North America (N. Lapwings, an immature Common Shelduck, even > a Eurasian Blackbird), and (3) I remember in the 1960s when Tufted Ducks in > the U.S. were thought to be escapes (before there were enough records to > establish a pattern of natural occurrence). > > I would speculate that the chances of a female Red-crested Pochard in a flock > of wild and highly mobile Redhead being an “escape” from captivity is close > to zero. > > Ken > > Ken Rosenberg (he/him/his) > Applied Conservation Scientist, Retired > Cornell Lab of Ornithology > k...@cornell.edu > Cell: 607-342-4594 > > > From: bounce-127060114-3493...@list.cornell.edu > <bounce-127060114-3493...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Kevin J. McGowan > <k...@cornell.edu> > Date: Friday, December 30, 2022 at 5:56 PM > To: Dave Nutter <nutter.d...@mac.com>, Laura Stenzler <l...@cornell.edu> > Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> > Subject: RE: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Pochard? > > The identity of the bird on Cayuga Lake is unquestioned; it was a female > Red-crested Pochard. It’s a subtle, but diagnostic ID (congrats to Nick Sly > for picking it out and identifying it). However, there are no accepted > records of this species as being wild in North America. It does not appear on > the AOS or ABA checklists for North American Birds. > > Kevin > From: bounce-127060071-3493...@list.cornell.edu > <bounce-127060071-3493...@list.cornell.edu> On Behalf Of Dave Nutter > Sent: Friday, December 30, 2022 3:50 PM > To: Laura Stenzler <l...@cornell.edu> > Cc: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> > Subject: Re:[cayugabirds-l] Pochard? > > Hi Laura & All, > > If you look at the eBird range map for Red-crested Pochard, it’s pink across > most of Europe and Asia, meaning it’s native there. In the UK, however, it’s > yellow, meaning the species is introduced. In the US, there are only a few > scattered yellow rectangles, and if you click the option to “exclude escapes” > then the US goes blank, but the UK stays solid yellow. In other words, the > introduced Red-crested Pochards have become a naturalized self-sustaining > population, but in the US there’s no reason to believe the few isolated birds > arrived here on their own or are self-sustaining. Male Red-crested Pochards > are quite showy, so it’s a popular bird among fanciers, and that’s the > presumed source. As far as eBird is concerned, seeing this species in the US > gets treated the same as the pet Budgie that you saw fly out of your > neighbor’s window and added to your yard list. It doesn’t show up on rare > bird alerts. Perhaps because the East Shore sightings are so new, as of this > afternoon they did not even cause a yellow rectangle to appear. I had to > engage the “show points sooner” option, and zoom way in for these reports to > show up. I don’t know whether or how they get reviewed, but a bunch of us are > recorded as seeing it. > > For comparison, there are more rectangles in the US for Tufted Duck, and they > are all pink, so they are assumed to have arrived from the Old World on their > own. > > Ring-necked Pheasant is definitely not native, and we know a local source of > them is the DEC Game Farm, either as escapes or deliberate releases, yet the > yellow eBird map does not change - at least when zoomed out - when the > “exclude escapes” option is engaged. > > Northern Bobwhite is native to the US, and in NYS some of the eBird > rectangles are pink (native) and some are yellow (escaped/introduced). All > the yellow rectangles go blank when the “exclude escapes” option is engaged. > > European Goldfinch has many rectangles, all yellow, in the US, and most > disappear when “exclude escapes” is engaged. But there are self-sustaining > populations in NYC, from Chicago north through eastern WI, and in Detroit & > Ann Arbor. > > > - - Dave Nutter > > On Dec 29, 2022, at 3:51 PM, Laura Stenzler <l...@cornell.edu> wrote: > > Hi David, > Was that red crested pochard ever confirmed? > > Laura > > Laura Stenzler > l...@cornell.edu > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- > -- > Cayugabirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics > Rules and Information > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave > Archives: > The Mail Archive > Surfbirds > BirdingOnThe.Net > Please submit your observations to eBird! > -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
