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VOLUME 26 NUMBER 2 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 2 ONTARIO AUGUST 2008 ONTARIO AUGUST 2008 BIRDS BIRDS JOURNAL OF THE ONTARIO FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS JOURNAL OF THE ONTARIO FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS VOLUME 26 NUMBER 2 AUGUST 2008 OONNTT ARIOARIO PAGES 81– 144 BIRDSBIRDS Articles 82 Ontario Bird Records Committee Report for 2007 By Ian M. Richards 108 First Documentation of Black Scoter Breeding in Ontario By Kenneth F. Abraham, Donald M. Filliter and Donald A. Sutherland 119 Wind Turbines and Birds By Ross D. James 136 A colour-banded Great Egret from Ontario sighted in the Azores Islands By D.V. Chip Weseloh and Dave Moore In Memoriam 127 Donald H. Baldwin, (1934-200 7) By Gregor G. Beck 130 Marshall H. Field, (1919-2007) By Winifred Wake Nikon Photo Quiz 140 By Glenn Coady Cover Illustration: Black Scoter ( Melanitta nigra ) Barry Kent MacKay ISSN 0822-3890 Publications Mail Agreement No. 40046348 82 Ontario Bird Records Committee Report for 2007 Ian M. Richards Introduction and vocalizations, cannot be determined The Ontario Bird Records Committee from photographic evidence alone. As (OBRC) evaluates documentation it such, we urge observers to submit writ - receives of any record of a species or rec - ten reports with their images submitted ognizable form that is on the Review List to OBRC. For those submitting photos for Ontario (see www.ofo.ca). In addi - to the Ontario Field Ornithologists tion, it reviews documentation relat ing (OF O) web site, please send the same to new species, new subspecies, and new photos, along with written documenta - breeding species for the prov ince. This tion, directly to the OBRC Secretary. 26th annual report details the results of That being said, the OBRC reserves the the adjudication of 161 records by the right to use, as evidence, photographs OBRC during 2007, of which 123 that have been posted on the OFO web - (76%) were accepted. site. Guidance regarding the documenta - A total of 157 observers submitted tion of rare birds can be found on the documentation for review by the 2007 OBRC page of the OFO website (www. Committee. Written reports were often ofo.ca/obrc/guide lines.php). accompanied by photographs (mostly The members of the 2007 Commit - digital images, but also a few prints), as tee were Margaret J. C. Bain (Chair), well as field notes and sketches. As noted William J. Crins, Glenn Coady, Robert in recent years, the trend toward submis - Z. Dobos, Jean Iron, Colin D. Jones, sion of only photographic evidence, with Mark K. Peck (also serving as Royal Ont - little or no supporting written evidence, ario Museum (ROM) liaison), Ian M. is an ongoing problem. This makes it Rich ards (non-voting Secretary), and much more difficult for the Committee Alan Wormington (non-voting Assistant to compile dates of occurrence. In addi - to the Secretary) (Figure 1). tion, many details and circumstances One new species, Black Swift ( Cyp se - associated with an observation, such as loides niger) , was added to the provincial behaviour, comparisons to nearby birds list, bringin g the tota l to 480 species. ONTARIO BIRDS AUGUST 2008 83 Figure 1. Ontario Bird Records Committee for 2007. Left to right , Mark Peck, Glenn Coady, Jean Iron, Rob Dobos, Margaret Bain, Bill Crins, Ian Richards, Colin Jones. Photo: Alan Wormington. Northern Ontario had its first accepted number of birds, sex, plumage, and loca - record of Eurasian Collared-Dove ( Stre p - tion are provided when known. Place topelia decaocto ). Black Scoter ( Mela nitta names in italics refer to a county, regional nigra ) was added as a new breeding municipality or district in Ontario; they species in Ontario. Also added to the also appear in colour. The plumage ter - breeding list for Ontario was Trumpeter minology used here follows that of Swan ( Cygnus buccinator ) since the intro - Humphrey and Parkes (1959). For a duced population is now considered to be detailed explanation of plumage and established and self-sustaining, based on moult terminology, see Pittaway (2000). evidence published by Moser (2006) and The names of all contributors of docu - Lumsden (2007, 2008). These two addi - mentation are listed, while those contrib - tions bring the number of breeding birds utors who are known to be the discoverers in Ontario to a total of 291 species. of the bird are also underlined. Addition - al discoverers of the bird are also listed (if Listing of Records known), even if they did not submit doc - In the following species accounts, the umentation. The OBRC file number is total number of accepted records is indi - shown in parentheses at the end of each cated by a single number in parentheses. record. Accepted records are arranged taxonomi - The Committee attempts to verify cally by their English and scientific names documented information prior to the following the Seventh Edition of the acceptance and publication of a record, American Ornithologists’ Union Check- but occasionally inaccuracies will occur. list of North American Birds (AOU Anyone with pertinent information that 1998) and subsequent supplements would correct or strengthen a published (42nd to 48th; see www.aou.org/ check - record, such as dates of occurrence, list/index. php3). Dates of occur rence, number o f birds, plumages, location, VOLUME 26 NUMBER 2 84 discoverers, etc., is urged to communi - dominica ) as a recognized form for which cate this to the Secretary. In addition, the OBRC requests documentation of all there may be dates quoted in other sightings. sources that differ from those listed by the OBRC — these discrepancies are cor - Acknowledgements rected whenever possible. The OBRC appreciates the efforts of the All records that were not accepted numerous observers who took the time to because of uncertain identification or submit documentation of their observations of questionable origin are listed separately. rare birds for consideration by the 2007 Com - mittee. We also thank the following people Contributors of all “not accepted” who assisted the Committee in acquiring reports receive a letter from the Chairper - additional data and other material evidence son explaining the reasons for the deci - that supplemented the information submitted sion, along with copies of the comments directly by observers and Committee mem - written by voting members. bers, or by providing expert opinions on These reports, as well as documenta - evidence submitted to the Committee: Ken - neth F. Abraham, Jean Claude Bermond, Jon tion for all accepted records, are kept on L. Dunn, Carolle Eady, Lisa Eddy, David H. permanent file at the ROM. A “not Elder, Nicholas G. Escott, Manson Fleguel, accep ted” report can be reconsidered by Michel Gosselin, Kevin C.R. Kerr, Keith Lee, the OBRC if new evidence, in the form Paul E. Lehman, Stuart A. Mackenzie, Blake A. of additional documentation, is submit - Mann, Ronald J. Pittaway, Gordon Pringle, Brian D. Ratcliff, Ron Ridout, Kayo J. Roy, ted to the Committee for review. Diane Salter, Louise Schmidt, Ted Schmidt, Research ers and other interested individ - Emily Slavik, Roy B.H. Smith, Donald A. uals are welcome to examine any of the Sutherland, Ronald G. Tozer, Alice Van filed reports at the ROM, by appoint - Zoeren, John M. Woodcock, and Doug ment only. Please contact Mark K. Peck, Woods. Department of Natural History, Royal Ontbirds continues to be a useful source of information pertaining to rare birds that Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, appear in the province; this listserve of the Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C6 (e-mail: Ontario Field Ornithologists is moderated by [email protected] or telephone 416- Mark H. Cranford. In addition, the photo - 586-5523). graphic pages on the OFO website, main - tained in 2007 by Carol M. Horner, provide an excellent source of documentation for rarities. Changes to the Review List These sources of information make the Secre - In addition to Black Swift (new to south - tary’s job of securing documentation much ern Ontario) and Eurasian Collared- more efficient. During 2007, Alan Worming - Dove (new to northern Ontario), the ton, in his role as Assistant to the Secretary, provided valuable assistance in tracking down only change to the Review List is the documentation for reports. I also wish to thank addition of “Yellow-lored” Yellow- the members of the 2007 Committee for their throat ed Warbler ( Dendroica dominica support and assistance during the year. ONTARIO BIRDS AUGUST 2008 85 ACCEPTED RECORDS Ross’s Goose Chen rossii South Only Before 2007 (54 ) 2006 one juvenal or first basic, white morph, 17 October – 6 November, Kingston, Frontenac (Peg Hauschildt, found by Bruce E. Ripley; 2007-111) – photos on file. one definitive basic, white morph, 12 November, Elmstead, Essex (Robert A. Horvath ; 2007-071) – photos on file. 2005 one definitive basic, white morph, 23 October – 20 November, Ottawa, Ottawa (Robert A. Bracken, Christina Lewis, found by Gerard Phillips; 2007-041). Mute Swan Cygnus olor North Only (10) 2006 one definitive basic, June (exact date unknown) to circa 6 November, Oxdrift (June to September) and Dryden (6 October to circa 6 November), Kenora (Owen Vaughn; 2007-141) – photos on file. 2004 one definitive basic, 16 July, Attawapiskat River mouth, Kenora (Kenneth F. Abraham , also found by Carrie Sadowski, Derek Potter, Sarah Hagey; 2007-002). 1996 one definitive basic, 6 August, Black Currant River mouth, Kenora (Kenneth F. Abraham , also found by Brian Arquilla; 2007-001). Details on the 1996 and 2004 Kenora records were published by Abraham and Ross (2005) in Ontario Birds . Garganey Anas querquedula (4) 2006 one alternate, male, 5 May, Whitby and Oshawa, Durham (David B. Worthington, Glenn Coady, found by W. Dennis Barry; 2007-031). With waterfowl species such as this, questions often arise regarding their origin. However, the Committee concluded that this record fit the previous pattern of accepted Garganey records in Ontario and northeast - ern North America: the bird was migrating with Blue-winged Teal in May, and only stayed for a brief peri - od.