rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) (02/20/89)
I suspect that many Eurasian birds that appear regularly in N.A. really breed locally here. Indeed, this has been documented in some instances. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is rare in the summer in western Alaska, and probably breeds there in low density. Curlew Sandpiper is a rare breeder in northern AK. Ruff has been found breeding in northwestern AK and territorial & displaying at Churchill. Black-headed Gull has been found breeding in Newfoundland. And, of course, breeding Little Gulls are well documented. To my knowledge, there are as of yet no N.A. breeding records of Lesser Black-backed Gull, but this species is increasing in N.A. rapidly, and I'd bet breeds here somewhere. So far as I know there are no N. A. breeding records of either Tufted Duck or Eurasian Wigeon, but the latter species surely must breed here somewhere. Eurasian Wigeon is regular in migration and winter in southern Ontario (though I've never seen one), and along the west coast; it is less common I'd judge from what I read in the east than in the west. There are two records that I know of of Tufted Duck in Ontario, and I actually saw one of those, in the midst of a bunch of scaup. Both of these records were in the 1980s, but I am not certain that that suggests that they are increasing. --Jim Rising -- Name: Jim Rising Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1 UUCP: uunet!attcan!utzoo!rising BITNET: rising@utzoo.utoronto.bitnet
john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) (02/21/89)
I don't have the reference right here in front of me, but I'm fairly sure _American Birds_ has printed several reports of Eurasian Wigeon breeding in Alaska, and possibly as far south as coastal Washington. It shouldn't be too hard to find wintering in northern California: try Golden Gate Park (southernmost lake in Chain of Lakes has been good). [I have been having considerable trouble with my newsfeed, so if anyone sees this, please acknowledge by e-mail, because my last 30 postings have gone into the bit bucket.] -- John Shipman/Zoological Data Processing/Socorro, New Mexico USENET: ucbvax!unmvax!nmtsun!john CSNET: john@nmtsun.nmt.edu ``A lesson from past over-machined societies...the devices themselves condition the users to employ each other the way they employ machines.'' --Frank Herbert
dmark@cs.Buffalo.EDU (David Mark) (02/25/89)
In article <1958@nmtsun.nmt.edu> john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) writes: >I don't have the reference right here in front of me, but I'm >fairly sure _American Birds_ has printed several reports of >Eurasian Wigeon breeding in Alaska, and possibly as far south as >coastal Washington. ... The A.O.U. Check-list (1983) lists no breeding record of Eurasian Wigeon from North America. I do not recall reading of confirmation anywhere, either. They are fairly common in southwestern British Columbia in winter, perhaps 1 in 200, so a large wigeon flock often includes 1 or 2. And, most of the females presumably go unrecorded. There are very few (if any?) summer records in that region, and I assume that if they breed in North America at all, it would be in western and/or northern Alaska. David Mark dmark@cw.buffalo.edu
mjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (02/27/89)
In article <1958@nmtsun.nmt.edu>, john@nmtsun.nmt.edu (John Shipman) writes: > I don't have the reference right here in front of me, but I'm > fairly sure _American Birds_ has printed several reports of > Eurasian Wigeon breeding in Alaska, and possibly as far south as > coastal Washington. It shouldn't be too hard to find wintering > in northern California: try Golden Gate Park (southernmost lake > in Chain of Lakes has been good). I don't know about nesting records, especially in the lower 48 states, but Eurasian Wigeon is certainly a "relatively" numerous wintering bird in coastal central California. The sightings seem to have increased in recent years and I'm not sure if this is due to an actual increase in the population or more skilled and alert observers. At one point, the Northern California Rare Bird Alert put out this transcript; "Eurasian Wigeon sightings are too numerous to mention." Mike