Report of the Alabama Bird Records Committee
2002-2004
Lawrence F. Gardella
The Alabama Bird
Records Committee (ABRC) was created to validate documentation of unusual birds
in Alabama using a method that allows the records to be more universally
accepted and scientifically valuable. A committee of seven experienced Alabama Ornithological Society (AOS) members
reviews reports of species that generally have fewer than 20 accepted records
for the state. Records for species on
the ABRC review list, which currently includes approximately 90 species, are
voted on by all committee members. If
the first vote is indecisive, the committee members vote a second time. Vote totals with no more than one “not
accepted” vote result in the record being accepted. Totals with four or more “not accepted” votes
result in the record not being accepted. Records without decisions following two votes are reviewed and voted
upon a final time at the annual meeting of the ABRC.
Seventeen
records from nine observers were evaluated between 2002 and 2004 (Table
1). During this evaluation period, three
species were added to the Alabama state list: MacGillivray's Warbler, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Spotted
Towhee. As of this writing the
AOS-recognized state bird list stands at 425. Of these, two are considered extinct (Passenger Pigeon and Carolina Parakeet)
and three extirpated from Alabama (Common Raven, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and
Bachman’s Warbler). Fourteen
species are included in the hypothetical category due to the absence of a
photograph or specimen or written documentation of visual by at least three experienced observers.
______________________________________________________________________________________
2002
RECORDS COMMITTEE EVALUATIONS
(17 records reviewed from
9 different observers)
|
Record No.
|
Species
|
Date
|
County
|
How Noted1
|
Decision2
|
AL Status3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
02-01
|
Cory's Shearwater
|
6/30/01
|
Baldwin - pelagic
|
|
A
|
14
|
|
02-02
|
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
|
8/18/01
|
Baldwin - pelagic
|
|
A
|
19
|
|
02-03
|
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel
|
8/18/01
|
Baldwin- pelagic
|
|
A
|
6
|
|
02-04
|
Red-billed Tropicbird
|
8/18/01
|
Baldwin - pelagic
|
|
A
|
2
|
|
02-05
|
White-faced Ibis
|
7/14/01
|
Mobile
|
|
A
|
11
|
|
02-06
|
White-faced Ibis
|
10/11/01
|
Mobile
|
|
A
|
12
|
|
02-07
|
Willow Flycatcher
|
9/7/01
|
Jefferson
|
|
A
|
16
|
|
02-08
|
Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher
|
9/15/01
|
Baldwin
|
P & B
|
A
|
3
|
|
02-09
|
Couch's/Tropical Kingbird
|
9/22/01
|
Mobile
|
|
A
|
3
|
|
02-10
|
Cave Swallow
|
4/22/01
|
Mobile
|
|
A
|
15
|
|
02-11
|
Sprague's Pipit
|
11/11/01
|
Baldwin
|
P
|
A
|
17
|
|
02-12
|
MacGillivray's Warbler
|
9/13/00
|
Baldwin
|
P & B
|
A
|
1
|
|
02-13
|
Spotted Towhee
|
4/18/01
|
Jefferson
|
|
A
|
1
|
|
02-14
|
Spotted Towhee
|
12/18/58
|
Wilcox
|
|
NI
|
--
|
|
02-15
|
Spotted Towhee
|
11/21/93
|
Limestone
|
|
NI
|
--
|
|
02-16
|
Chestnut-collared Longspur
|
11/16/01
|
Baldwin
|
P
|
A
|
1
|
|
02-17
|
Shiny Cowbird
|
4/22/01
|
Mobile
|
|
A
|
20
|
1Blank – visual; P – photograph; B – banded; V- video
2A – accepted; NI – not accepted due to identification
questions; NO – not accepted due to origin questions;
Pending
- under review by committee
3Number of accepted Alabama records (H - hypothetical)
pelagic – Gulf of Mexico
waters out to 200 nautical miles from Mobile and/or Baldwin Counties
Lawrence F. Gardella, 3549 Audubon Road, Montgomery, AL 36111.
