This past Sunday, December 27th, I participated in the 86th annual Bronx-Westchester Christmas Bird Count. The count in total netted 117 species and the Rye count region got 91. I teamed up with Benjamin van Doren, a sophomore at White Plains High School; Andrew Farnsworth, a Rye resident and a member of the Cornell Labs of Ornithology; and Megan Aitchison, my ex-counselor and sister of another of my ex-counselors who is now my co-counselor. The four of us covered the Rye Marshlands pretty carefully, with some highlights being an American Woodcock flushed by Ben and Megan, who also found three Field Sparrows and our only Golden-crowned Kinglet of the day. More highlights and a summary of the count can be found on the Bronx-Westchester CBC's website.
I'm hoping to be able to get down to the Southern Nassau CBC this upcoming Saturday.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
IOC World List v 2.3 Release
Winter Break kicked off with the release of the International Ornithological Congress's world checklist, version 2.3.
The only change to my list brought about by this was that the Pipipi of New Zealand was moved from family Acanthizidae to Incertae Sedis along with the two species in genus Mohoua, the Whitehead and Yellowhead, both residents of New Zealand. However, I did not see either of these species on my trip there in August. The Gray Gerygone will remain in family Acanthizidae.
Of note, however, was the accepted split of the Mexican Duck from the Mallard on the basis of McCracken et al's suggestion based on phylogenic data making the Mexican Duck the "southwestern sister 'species'" of the Mottled Duck. Though I have been to Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, I have no recorded sightings of Mallards while there and cannot then add the Mexican Duck to my list. However, I plan to seek it out while in the southern Rio Grande Valley this May.
The only change to my list brought about by this was that the Pipipi of New Zealand was moved from family Acanthizidae to Incertae Sedis along with the two species in genus Mohoua, the Whitehead and Yellowhead, both residents of New Zealand. However, I did not see either of these species on my trip there in August. The Gray Gerygone will remain in family Acanthizidae.
Of note, however, was the accepted split of the Mexican Duck from the Mallard on the basis of McCracken et al's suggestion based on phylogenic data making the Mexican Duck the "southwestern sister 'species'" of the Mottled Duck. Though I have been to Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, I have no recorded sightings of Mallards while there and cannot then add the Mexican Duck to my list. However, I plan to seek it out while in the southern Rio Grande Valley this May.
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