In light of modern knowledge of vagrancy in this species, perhaps these old records should be resurrected and sent to NYSARC for review?
Paul Sweet Collection Manager, Department of Ornithology American Museum of Natural History Central Park West at 79th Street New York, NY 10024, USA T: 212 769 5780, C: 718 757 5941 From: bounce-128239119-11471...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-128239119-11471...@list.cornell.edu> On Behalf Of Shaibal Mitra Sent: Monday, June 3, 2024 8:34 AM To: NYSBIRDS (NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu) <NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] American Flamingos in New York State EXTERNAL SENDER Thanks to Zach for reminding me of this more recent report. Please add to the list another one as well, from Long Island ornithologist Peg Hart, who found an American Flamingo at her home in Bellport as a child! That this one has managed to remain overlooked is in part a consequence of Manny Levine's overly "rigorous" editorial approach in Bull's Birds (1998), in which even Bull's "Hypothetical" category was purged. Peg worked with me in the late 90s when I was running the field station at Fire Island Lighthouse, so this story must have come up at some point and thus my faulty memory is probably also partly to blame. 11 Nov 1978, Bellport (Peat Hole), Suffolk County Peg Hart, pers. comm. and The Advance (archives): “I grew up in a house next to the Peat Hole in Bellport; my mom still lives there. One day in the, I was playing in the yard and looked up to see a beautiful flamingo standing in the shallow water, near the sluiceway to the bay. I was 11 and ran excitedly to tell my dad who came out to see for himself. Dad called Art Cooley and much excitement ensued! Our yard was very lively that week and while many photographs were taken, we would be hard pressed to locate one.” The Kingbird 29: 57-58; Barbara J. Spencer “The origin and status of an American Flamingo in good plumage, found in Bellport Nov. 11 and seen frequently in the Bellport-Brookhaven area for two weeks, is unknown. Three late fall occurrences in Canada (1969, 1973, 1977) have been thought to have been storm-related vagrants by some.” ________________________________ From: zach schwartz-weinstein <zac...@gmail.com<mailto:zac...@gmail.com>> Sent: Sunday, June 2, 2024 6:02 PM To: Shaibal Mitra <shaibal.mi...@csi.cuny.edu<mailto:shaibal.mi...@csi.cuny.edu>> Cc: NYSBIRDS (NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu<mailto:NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu>) <NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu<mailto:NYSBIRDS-L@cornell.edu>> Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] American Flamingos in New York State * This email originates from a sender outside of CUNY. Verify the sender before replying or clicking on links and attachments. * It may be worth adding to these the report from October 1 of last year of a bird flying up the Hudson in northern Ulster county: https://ebird.org/checklist/S151204238. Many region 8 birders staked out various spots among the river, but did not relocate a flamingo. Zach Schwartz-Weinstein 203 500 7774 On Sun, Jun 2, 2024 at 2:59 PM Shaibal Mitra <shaibal.mi...@csi.cuny.edu<mailto:shaibal.mi...@csi.cuny.edu>> wrote: In the excitement over the potential addition of American Flamingo to the New York State Checklist, people have been curious about prior records. As far as I am aware, there have been four prior occurrences of American Flamingo. All of these were doubted as natural vagrants at the time, but no evidence of captive origin is cited in any of the cases (except for "faded plumage" in one case), and what is known of the dates and locations of their occurrences actually appear consistent with natural vagrancy. In particular, the records from 1964 and 1965 occurred during a period of multiple occurrences in nearby Massachusetts and elsewhere. about 1915, Speonk, Suffolk County Birds of the New York Area, p. 471; John Bull “shot by duck hunters… mounted specimen still in Westhampton.” Described by Leroy Wilcox as “in bright plumage” and was considered by Bull to have “possibly wandered north or was hurricane borne, but of this we cannot be certain.” 3 Oct 1931, Shinnecock Bay, Suffolk County Birds of the New York Area, p. 471; John Bull collected by Leroy Wilcox, who described it as “somewhat faded" and regarded by Bull as "presumably escaped from captivity.” 14 Nov 1964, Hudson River shore near Coxsackie, Greene County The Kingbird 15: 49, 1965; Peter P. Wickham “the bird was able to fly and was seen by numerous observers in this vicinity until it was captured Nov 25 and turned over (alive) to the Delmar Game Farm; it seems probable that this bird is non-feral, although its origin has not been dtermined with certainty.” The Kingbird 16: 60-61, 1966; Thomas H. Davis and Fred Heath 2 Sep 1965, Mecox Bay; 9 Sep-16 Oct, Shinnecock Inlet, Suffolk County “probably an escape.” Shai Mitra Bay Shore -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> ABA<http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> ABA<http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- (copy & paste any URL below, then modify any text "_DOT_" to a period ".") 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