Tim makes a good point about out-of-place oddities, and I would also like
to add that while the Golden-fronted Woodpecker is indeed a bird that tends
to stay put, its range is also currently suffering an extended severe
drought, which may spur some birds to start looking afield for greener
brushlands, so to speak. This is probably why Ohio got its Cassin's Sparrow
last year.

However, all of this is moot for this particular bird. What is needed are
the photographs, which should be submitted to the record committee along
with a write-up of the bird at least. And it would be nice if they were
posted on a publicly-viewable website, such as Flickr. Even better would be
directions to where the bird was actually seen, so other birders can
attempt to find the bird, if the photos are either inconclusive or confirm
that the bird actually is a golden-fronted woodpecker.

Good birding,
Andy Sewell
Columbus, Ohio

On Sun, Jan 29, 2012 at 8:13 PM, Timothy Spahr <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Hi James, birders:
>
> Thanks for posting this link.  This thread is very good for many reasons.
> One main point is that birds often wander in absolutely spectacular
> fashion, and just because something is unlikely does not mean it
> could not happen.  Just consider in the last few years:
>
> Short-tailed Hawks in Ohio and Michigan
> Grace's Warbler in New York (!!!)  and Illinois
> Lucy's Warbler in Michigan
> Lewis's Woodpecker in New York (!)
> Kirtland's Warbler in Maine
>
> I could go on.  And yes, we can argue about migrants versus
> non-migrants, but still.  Birds wander, sometimes spectacularly.
> We should get used to it.
>
> Of course as many have pointed out, extraordinary claims
> also require extraordinary evidence.  Today's run-of-the-mill
> digital cameras are often good enough to confirm rarities
> without much effort.  Note the Kirtland's in Maine was
> confirmed with a point-and-shoot.  Hey, a bud of mine and
> I confirmed an Oregon Junco with an iPhone on the local
> Christmas Count here in Concord, Massachusetts.  This
> wasn't a digibin shot.  Just whipped out the iPhone and
> snapped a single picture.
>
> There's great stuff out there!  Go find it and get a picture.
> We might be surprised with the results.
>
> Good luck on the Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Ohio Birders!
>
> Tim
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, 29 Jan 2012, James Fox wrote:
>
> > In this discussion several people have implied that a it is virtually
> impossible that a Golden-fronted Woodpecker would wander to Ohio since
> there are almost no vagrant records.  I agree that an aberrant Red-bellied
> Woodpecker is much more likely but Michigan does have a record of
> Golden-fronted Woodpecker from November-December 1974 so it is possible.
>  Photos of that record are here
> http://www.michiganaudubon.org/research/recordscommittee/photo_gallery.html/title/golden-fronted-woodpecker
> >
> > If Carl could post a link to his photos that would be great.
> >
> > James Fox
> > ______________________________________________________________________
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