canberrabirds

Winterbirds rationale

To: <>
Subject: Winterbirds rationale
From: "Philip Veerman" <>
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:03:16 +1000
Curious. It is immediately obvious from the GBS Report that the Grey Fantail is not a species of low numbers here in winter and certainly not "sharply lower numbers, in the Winter period". What can be said is that it has higher numbers from February to Autumn.
 
So I agree with Geoffrey's list.
 
Philip
 
 
-----Original Message-----From: Geoffrey Dabb [ Sent: Tuesday, 22 June 2010 11:16 AM
To:    Subject: [canberrabirds] Winterbirds rationale

Some people have raised with me the basis of this exercise, and suggested that other species might have been included such as Grey Fantail and Tree Martin.  Of course they could have been, and the selection had an arbitrary element.  The idea was that a restricted list was more likely to attract reports.  Perhaps an expanded list (say 15 species) could be used for a similar exercise next year.  (I must say I am seeing quite a lot of G Fantails, and this species would be reported more, I think, than the BFCS.)  I would be interested in suggestions as to what additional 5 species could most usefully be added.  The criterion is that the species should have been historically recorded, but in a pattern of sharply lower numbers, in the Winter period.

 

The list was selected on that basis, and on the basis that the selected species are often regarded as ‘ migrants’ with any late-Winter/early Spring sighting being reported as a ‘return’.  The exercise is intended to throw more light on movements underlying  the oversimplified ‘migrant’ label.

 

Of course there is much relevant information in the database, for which reports should also be submitted.  However I believe, for various reasons, that people are more likely to send an emailed report of sightings for a small number of species over a limited period than to make a report for database purposes.

 

Chatline members can be expected to report other scarcities, as in recent reports of W-b Cuckoo-shrike and Horsfield’s BC.  These are of considerable interest and can be added as footnotes to the final summary, but are not within the scope of the exercise as originally specified.

 

At the end, people can offer any comments or criticism that they wish on the results.

 

GD     

 

 

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