LOUISIANA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE

Transcription

1 LOUISIANA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE REPORT FORM This form is intended as a convenience in reporting observations of species on the Louisiana Bird Records Committee (LBRC) Review List. The LBRC recommends the use of this form or a similar format when submitting records for review to assure that all pertinent information is accounted for. Attach additional pages or files as necessary. Please print or type for hard copy. For electronic copy, be sure to save this file to your computer before entering text. Attach field notes, drawings, photographs, or tape recordings, if available. Include all photos for more obscurely marked species. When completed (if hard copy), mail to Secretary, Louisiana Bird Records Committee, c/o Museum of Natural Science, 119 Foster Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA , or electronic copy as an attachment to Paul Edward Conover at <zoiseaux@lusfiber.net>. 1. English and Scientific names: Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) 2. Number of individuals, sexes, ages, general plumage (e.g., 2 in alternate plumage): 1 individual, dark morph, must have been adult by dark tail band, sex unknown but probably not black enough to be male, tentatively call it female but I *not* sure. 3. Parish: Vermillion Specific Locality: Flying over the parking lot at Pine Island Duck Club at the terminus of Pine Island Rd N, W. Y all can go and look for it, but it s all private property out there, and they have guns. Below is a map of the approximate flight path (yellow), relative to our position of observation (red).

2 4. Date(s) when observed: 14 January Note that my ebird log has the date as 15 January. I pulled out my phone to log it on 14 January, but saw that it was a new record for the parish. I then honestly elected not to log it because I did not want to spend my time fighting to have the observation accepted. I changed my mind the next morning; it s a cool sighting, and I was sure of what I saw, so why not? But I couldn t figure out how to back-date the record in ebird. Sorry. 5. Time(s) of day when observed: Around 16:40, give or take 10 minutes. 6. Reporting observer and city/state address Reporting observer: Professor Kevin M. Ringelman City: Baton Rouge State: Louisiana 7. Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird(s): Dr. James K. Ringelman, Menoken, North Dakota 8. Other observers who independently identified the bird(s): Catrina Terry, Baton Rouge, Louisiana also saw a weird hawk, but it was too dark at that time to definitively identify it as a Rough-legged. 9. Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light): We were sitting on the porch of the hunting lodge facing almost directly south. The hawk flew from across the road (habitat: cattle pasture) on a northerly heading (habitat: oak chenier) and passed overhead just due east of our position. The sun, therefore, was low on the horizon and almost directly behind the bird when we first saw it. As it approached however, the bird was *not* horribly backlit, and distinctive field markings were clearly visible. We were not able to track the flight of the hawk after it flew over the lodge. 10. Optical equipment (type, power, condition): 11. Distance to bird(s): yds at closest approach 12. Duration of observation: seconds 13. Habitat: At first view, the bird was flying over well-grazed cattle pasture. Marsh habitat begins a

3 few hundred yards south of our first observation. The hawk flew overhead and left our field of view in oak chenier habitat. 14. Behavior of bird / circumstances of observation (flying, feeding, resting; include and stress habits used in identification; relate events surrounding observation): The hawk flew over our heads, casually flapping; it was in no hurry. By all accounts, it was a regular pre-dusk movement. 15. Description (include only what was actually seen, not what "should" have been seen; include if possible: total length/relative size compared to other familiar species; body bulk, shape, proportions; bill, eye, leg, and plumage characteristics. Stress features that separate it from similar species, or for species that are known to hybridize frequently, stress features that help eliminate possible hybrids): Narrative of encounter Seconds 1-3: Oh cool, a hawk, probably that Red-tailed Hawk that was hanging out on the property last year. Seconds 3-6: Huh. Definitely not a Red-tailed, and too dark for a Red-shouldered. Tail and size is all wrong for a Cooper s or Sharpie, what IS this? Seconds 6-20 or 30: [Period of focused observation] Really distinct dark tail band, deep brown underwing coverts, and really distinctive black tips on the primaries. Seconds : [Calls up Merlin ID app]. Huh, nothing coming up for my location, I guess I ll browse all hawks. Oh, there we go, it was a dark morph Rough-legged. Cool! [Opens ebird, prepares to log sighting]. Uh oh, it s got a full red circle by it, Van is never gonna believe me. [Sees that it s a parish record]. Oh man, I really don t want to fight this battle today. [Turns off phone, sits back down]. Description [underside view only] About the size of a Mottled Duck (ducks are my best frame of reference). The first thing I noticed was the tail, which struck me as fairly short for a hawk, and definitely not reddish (which was what I was expecting). As the hawk got closer, I could clearly see a distinct dark band on the distal ~1.5 inches of the underside of all rectrices, with little or no brown transition onto the light colored proximal part of the rectrices. Lesser underwing coverts appeared dark chocolate brown, but light conditions were not good enough to call them black vs. brown. Greater underwing coverts were light-colored with a moderate amount of dark splotching, which was less pronounced at the distal part of the wing. This really emphasized the dark tips of the primaries. I focused my observation on wing and tail characteristics, and have nothing to report about the legs or head. My overall impression was that this was a pretty stocky hawk. 16. Voice: 17. Similar species (include how they were eliminated by your observation): It was not Red-tailed Hawk dark band on tail clearly evident on the hawk I saw

4 Red-shouldered Hawk Underwing coverts very dark Cooper s/sharp-shinned Hawk Much too big, tail too short Northern Harrier Tail too short, too big Any sort of vulture, eagle, kite, falcon, or osprey Don t be ridiculous Harris s Hawk No broad white tip on tail, greater underwing coverts were light Zone-tailed Hawk Greater underwing coverts were light Broad-winged Hawk Sort of a similar coloration pattern, but much too big Swainson s Hawk Greater underwing coverts were light 18. Photographs or tape recordings obtained? (by whom? attached?): 19. Previous experience with this species: Statement of qualifications I received formal training in bird identification as an undergraduate taking Ornithology at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY (where I received an A). I also took Ornithology as a Ph.D. student at the University of California Davis, where I received an A+. I then went on to teach both lecture and lab sections for two years at UC Davis, where bird identification, including Rough-legged Hawks, was the primary instructional goal. I completed my Ph.D. in Ecology with an Area of Concentration in Avian Ecology. I currently teach junior-level RNR 3018 (Ecology and Management of Southeastern Wildlife) at Louisiana State University, which is a catch-all field-based course in Ornithology, Herpetology, and Mammology (because our students can t reliably enroll in those courses in other departments). It is literally my job to teach future wildlife professionals how to identify birds, and I ve been doing it for nearly a decade. I am an active member of professional ornithological societies, including the American Ornithologist s Union, Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Association of Field Ornithologists. I have seen Rough-legged Hawks in California, North Dakota, and possibly Colorado, but all of them have been light-colored morphs. I don t keep a life list or any records of birds I have seen, but I can distinctly recall seeing an individual of this species sitting in a harvested agriculture field about 5 miles north of Davis, CA when I was on a field trip with my students. The second observer, Dr. James K. Ringelman also has a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology and has seen dozens of Rough-legged Hawks over the course of his career. 20. Identification aids: (list books, illustrations, other birders, etc. used in identification): a. at time of observation: Effectively at the time of observation (*immediately* after), I used the Merlin bird ID app and Google image searches to identify the hawk. b. after observation: I used the Sibley Guide to Birds (2 nd edition), National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (6 th edition), and Birds of North America (online).

5 21. This description is written from: notes made during the observation. Are notes attached? notes made after the observation. At what date? X memory X study of images 22. Are you positive of your identification? If not, explain: Absolutely. I wouldn t spend an hour and a half writing this report if I wasn t. 23. Date: 16 January 2019 Time: 10: May the LBRC have permission to display in whole or in part this report and accompanying photos on the LOS-LBRC website and LBRC Facebook page? _Go for it If yes, may we include your name with the report? _As long as random birders don t call me to challenge the observation