On 11 February 2007, Bob Inglis wrote
'I am confused over the confirmation status of the alleged juvenile American
Golden Plover (pluvialis dominica) observed by Colin Rogers at Dry Creek
Saltfields, 15 km north of Adelaide on 20 th November 2006.
A photo of this bird has been used on the cover of the February 2007 edition of
The Bird Observer.
The associated caption on Page 2 states: "A juvenile American Golden Plover
Pluvialis dominica, subject to BARC review, was first observed by Colin Rogers
at Dry Creek Saltfields, 15 km north of Adelaide on 20 November 2007.". It then
goes on to state: "Detailed field notes and photographs were invaluable in
confirming its identification.". Even allowing for a degree of ambiguity
between the two statements, the obvious meaning is that there has been
confirmation of the identification.
The same two statements are repeated on Page 21 of that publication, however,
the following statement is also made on page 21: "The Adelaide American Golden
Plover has been extensively photographed which should assist BARC in making a
decision.".
So, has the identification of this bird as an American Golden Plover been
confirmed or not?
Please note: I am making no judgement on the identification of the bird in
question.
>From what I understand about this particular species (even accepting that
>there is such a species and there seems to be a strong case that there is) it
>would not be within my capabilities to make an identification one way or the
>other from the few photos of this bird that I have seen. I am quite happy to
>accept the judgement of people with a reasonable amount of experience with
>American Golden Plovers.
My query is purely from the point of view of accuracy in reporting'.
The note on page 846-2 of The Bird Observer re the cover picture of a Juvenile
American Golden Plover is a condensed version of the note on page 846-21. The
sentence "Detailed field notes and photographs of the juvenile bird were
invaluable in confirming its identification" referred to the sighting of a
juvenile American Golden Plover by Dion Hobcroft at Byron Bay, NSW on 8
November 1994, a BARC accepted record, as per the note on page 846-21. This
fact was omitted in the cover note, and unfortunately without the full text,
the cover note is incorrect.
My understanding is that BARC has not received a submission on the Dry Creek
Saltfields American Golden Plover to date.
Bill Ramsay
Unusual Sightings Co-ordinator
Bird Observers Club of Australia
==============================www.birding-aus.org
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