British Columbia Rare Bird List: Casual and Accidental Records January 1, 2014: 3rd Edition compiled by Rick Toochin, Jamie Fenneman and Paul Levesque Comments? Contact E-Fauna BC The following is a rare bird list of the casual and accidental bird species that have been recorded within the boundaries of British Columbia. This list should be considered a starting point as there is currently no BC Provincial Records Committee and there is no publications are available that list all of the records in one document. Skin specimens, photographs, tape recordings, and/or adequate field notes document many of these records, and with the introduction of digital cameras to birding in the early 2000s many records in the past 10 years have been photographed; however, field notes remain extremely valuable and, particularly as some of these records are solely substantiated by field notes. In the case of records with no supporting documentation, the records are listed as “hypothetical” and are separated from the better substantiated (“confirmed”) records. In addition, for several species the identification is correct but the origin of the bird may be in question; these species are also considered “hypothetical” here. With the introduction of chat groups in 1999/2000, as well as personal birding blogs in the mid- to late 2000s, there are many more outlets to share and document birds today than in prior years. In many cases, digital photos accompany reported records, rendering the decisions of records committees almost obsolete for many sightings. These committees do play an important function in the review of records, however, as they provide an objective platform to help separate well-documented, and presumably accurate, records from those that are less reliable. This document is intended to provide an unbiased synopsis of all historical and recent rare bird sightings in the province without attempting to take on any of the roles that would normally pertain to a Rare Bird Records Committee. In the interest of providing the most complete and accurate information possible, all observer names have been included for each record, as well as any reference material that provides the information source from which the record has been extracted. Note that, although an attempt has been made to include all reported occurrences of the species in question, it is anticipated that additional sightings have occurred but have been overlooked. Readers are encouraged to pass along any observations that are not included here, or any corrections to the information that has been provided, by contacting e-fauna BC. List on Document of Accidental / Casual Species The following species are considered casual or accidental within the boundaries of the Province of British Columbia. These species are very unusual to the region. To be considered a species of casual occurrence there have been between 20-100 records historically, often occurring at a particular time of year but they normally are reported less than once a year (or are infrequently reported each year as is the case with some deep ocean pelagic species) and in some cases these birds are reported a few times in a ten year period. In the case of an accidental species there is often only a single record or up to 20 records with the occurrences of a species going several decades or much longer before reoccurring. These species are considered extremely unusual in British Columbia and are always in need of documentation. For any casual or accidental species to be put on this list they are considered far out of range and are extremely rare in their occurrence within the boundaries of British Columbia. For the purposes of consistency the first 100 records are listed on this list. If a species has more than 100 Provincial Records then it appears at the end of the list in a separate section. To make this list as complete as possible other records have been included on the list such as birds that are currently subspecies that have occurred as rarities to the Province, birds where the origin is unknown and hypothetical species where the identification might be correct but there is only written field notes that document the record. Any species found on the list should always be documented when encountered, as they are extremely unusual at any time of year in British Columbia. Tropical Kingbirds are annual on the West Coast of Vancouver Island but everywhere else in British Columbia this is considered a very rare bird to find. This bird was found and photographed at Jordan River during the peak period when this species is known to occur the month of October. This Tropical Kingbird was found in Jordan River and photographed on October 19, 2009. Photo © Rick Toochin. 2 The Garganey is an accidental duck species from Asia that occurs very rarely in British Columbia with most records being from the spring migration period. This bird was photographed in the late spring to early summer period at the Iona Island Sewage Ponds in Richmond during the peak time when this species has been encountered in British Columbia. The photograph was taken on June 23, 2000. Photo © Evelyn Whiteside. 3 SPECIES LIST: Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor): [Accidental in British Columbia: Specimen Record] 1.(11) adults September 20, 1905: J. S. Rolns ([5 collected out of 11] specimen: RBCM 1561) Port Alberni (Macoun and Macoun 1909) Taiga Bean Goose (Anser fabalis): [Origin is Questionable for first record: Accidental: Photographed] 1.(1) adult November 13, 2009: Guy Monty, Rich Mooney (photo) Somass Estuary, Port Alberni (Toochin et al. 2013) Hypothetical records: 1.(1) adult April 3, 2005: Guy & Donna Monty : Englishmen River (Toochin and Fenneman 2008)[origin questionable] Emperor Goose (Chen canagica): [Rare but almost annual along Coastal British Columbia: Accidental in the interior: Specimen Records and Photographed] 1.(1) adult male November 20, 1894: (RBCM 1584) Chemanius (Fannin 1895) 2.(1) unknown age December 1912: Kenneth Racey (specimen: UBC 3344) Cape Scott, Vancouver Island (Munro and Cowan 1947) 3.(several unknown ages) 1920’s: fide Margo Hearne: Queen Charlotte City, QCI (M. Hearne Pers. Comm.) 4.(2) adult / immature November, 1922: R.A. Cumming (immature collected: identified by K. Racey) Mouth of Fraser River (Cumming 1926) 5.(2) adults March 18, 1924: R.A. Cumming (collected) off Ladner with flock of Snow Geese (Cumming 1926) 6.(6) unknown age December 1, 1930: (specimen: RBCM 4966) Estevan Point, Vancouver Island (Campbell et al. 1990a) 7.(1) unknown age December 7, 1932: Port Hardy (Campbell et al. 1990a) 8.(1) adult female November 20, 1936: (specimen: RBCM 10237) Masset (Campbell et al. 1990a) 9.(1) adult female April 28, 1940: (specimen RBCM 11340) Masset (Campbell et al. 1990a) 10.(1+) adults winter 1940-1941: Masset (Munro and Cowan 1947) 11.(3) adult January 1, 1942: Tlell (Munro and Cowan 1947) 12.(1) adult January 3, 1942: (specimen: UBC 3345) Masset (Campbell et al. 1990a) 13.(1) adult January 3, 1943: (specimen) Masset (Munro and Cowan 1947) 14.(1) adult female March 26, 1943: (specimen: RBCM 8993) Discovery Island, Victoria (Munro and Cowan 1947) 15.(1) adult April 29, 1943: Masset (Campbell et al. 1990a) 16.(1+) adults winter 1943-44: Masset (Munro and Cowan 1947) 17.(1+) adults winter 1944-45: Masset (Munro and Cowan 1947) 18.(6) adults May 6, 1947: fide Margo Hearne: Masset (M. Hearne Pers. Comm.) 19.(maximum 9) adults February – March, 1948: fide Margo Hearne: Port Clements (M. Hearne Pers. Comm.) 20.(1) adult male November 1956: (specimen: PMNH 71547) Port Hardy (Campbell et al. 1990a) 21.(2) adults March 3, 1965: David Stirling: Clover Point, Victoria (Stirling 1965) 22.(1) adult January 4- April 6, 1968: RWC, KK, mobs (photo: RBCM: 22) White Rock Pier, White Rock, Surrey (Crowell and Nehls 1968a, Campbell 1968) 23.(2) adults February 24, 1968: Chain Islets, Victoria (Campbell et al. 1990a) 24.(2) adults early March, 1968: Chas Guiget: Victoria (Crowell and Nehls 1968a, Campbell et al. 1990a) (same birds as above?) 25.(2) adults March 1968: Campbell River (Stirling 1972, Campbell et al. 1990a) 26.(1) adult March 24- April 6, 1968: GRR, ALG, mobs: Blackie Spit, White Rock *different bird seen at same time (Toochin 2012a) 27.(1) adult January 12-March 16, 1969: REL, WCW, JT, mobs (photo) White Rock Pier, White Rock, Surrey (Crowell and Nehls 1969a, Campbell et al. 1990a) 28.(1) adult February 1- April 12, 1970: DMM, mobs (photo: RCBM: 133) White Rock Pier, White Rock, Surrey (Crowell and Nehls 1970b, Campbell et al. 1990a) 4 29.(1) adult December 26, 1970-February 5, 1971: MAS, mobs (photo: RBCM: 146) White Rock Pier, White Rock, Surrey (Toochin 2012a) 30.(2) unknown ages winter 1970-71: fide Margo Hearne: Masset (M. Hearne Pers. Comm.) 31.(1) adult March 8, 1971: Ralph Fryer: Esquimalt Lagoon (Hooper and Hooper 1971d) 32.(1) adult November 19, 1977-April 10, 1978: (photo: RBCM: 546) Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Ladner (Campbell et al. 1990a) 33.(1) adult February 11-12, 1978: R. Wayne Campbell (RBCM Photo 522) Chain Islets, Victoria (Hunn and Mattocks 1978, Campbell et al. 1990a) 34.(1) adult December 24, 1979: Westbank (Cannings et al. 1987) 35.(1) adult July 21, 1980: Kelowna (Cannings et al. 1987) 36.(3) adults May 8-26, 1982: Cleland Island (Campbell et al. 1990a) 37.(1) adult March 2, 1984: Sandspit (Fix 1984, Campbell et al. 1990a) 38.(1) adult April 19, 1984: P. Griffiths, A. Duffus: Race Rocks, Metchosin (Campbell 1984c, Campbell et al. 1990a) 39.(1) November, 1987 – January 20, 1988: Tex Lyons: Port Hardy (Tweit 1988, Campbell et al. 1990a ) 40.(1) adult Dec 13, 1987 – Feb 16, 1988: Hank Van der Pol, and mobs (RBCM Photo 1197) Esquimalt Lagoon, Victoria (Tweit 1988, Campbell et al.