> The new year and the Christmas Bird Counts remind us about Ohio bird > records. The last time we discussed this topic on ohio-birds was in > early 2006, when we were fresh from a productive year with five > additions to the Ohio list: sooty tern, green violetear, Anna's > hummingbird, red-naped sapsucker, and cave swallow. Since then, only > one new species has been added, a totally unforeseen white-throated > swift seen by a few lucky observers in Ottawa NWR in April 2006. The > state list now stands at 420 species, according to the new OBRC Checklist. > > Not that we haven’t been vigilant. A number of species that would have > been new to the list were reported, but none conclusively documented > for the record. A lot of rarities were found, and we had notable > nesting/probable nesting records (common raven, black rail, Eurasian > collared-dove, black-necked stilt, Mississippi kite are examples) that > were of great importance. Among documented rarities just this year > were black rails, anhinga, magnificent frigatebird, burrowing owls, > wood storks, cave swallows, and western tanager, to mention only the > most prominent. But three years with only one new bird for the list is > a very long time, especially now that more birders, more communicative > and knowledgeable overall than ever before, are out in the field more > often. > > Back in February 2006, I posted to the list to ask for thoughtful > predictions about the species most likely to be added to the Ohio > list. Thirteen people responded, and nominated 52 species in all. > Here, in order of number of votes received (each indicated by an X) > and alphabetically within ties, are the nominees: > > Ash-throated flycatcher XXXXXXXXX > > Fish crow XXXXXXXXX > > Sage thrasher XXXXXXXX > > Broad-billed hummingbird XXXXXX > > Fork-tailed flycatcher XXXXXXX > > Slaty-backed gull XXXXXX > > Yellow-billed loon XXXXXX > > Golden-crowned sparrow XXXXX > Band-tailed pigeon XXXX > Black-chinned hummingbird XXXX > > Black skimmer XXXX > > Cassin’s sparrow XXXX > > Gray kingbird XXXX > > Great cormorant XXXX > > Inca dove XXXX > > Lewis’s woodpecker XXXX > > Neotropic cormorant XXXX > > Ferruginous hawk XXX > > Lazuli bunting XXX > > Band-rumped storm-petrel XX > > Dovekie XX > > MacGillivray’s warbler XX > > Pacific-slope flycatcher XX > > Tropical kingbird XX > > Vaux’s swift XX > > Virginia’s warbler XX > > One vote @: Gull-billed tern, reddish egret, shiny cowbird, Allen’s > hummingbird, Pacific golden-plover, hermit warbler, black-tailed gull, > hooded oriole, Allen’s hummingbird, gray jay, yellow-legged gull, new > sp. red crossbill, lesser nighthawk, Cory’s shearwater, fieldfare, > Clark’s grebe, monk parakeet, black-tailed godwit, little stint, > masked duck, western wood-pewee, mountain plover, Hammond’s > flycatcher, Clark’s nutcracker, chestnut-collared longspur, lesser > goldfinch (all one vote apiece). > > Only two species on this list have even been reported during those > three years: an old report of a ferruginous hawk that might well have > been valid but just didn’t have enough details, and two reports of a > reddish egret from the past summer that are now being evaluated. > Still, the list above doesn’t seem unrealistic, does it? If anyone has > important revisions to suggest, please let us all know. If nothing > else, this is a good list of the likelier great Ohio finds to bone up > on before you start 2009 birding, and a reminder that good solid > documentation is needed if you’re prepared and lucky enough to find one! > > Happy new year to all, > > Bill Whan > Columbus > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]