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MASSBIRD for Wednesday, December 9, 2009
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Subject: Shelduck Updates
From: mresch8702(AT)aol.com
Date: 9 Dec 2009 6:34am
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I didn't see any posts regarding updates on the Shelduck on Tuesday. I'm=
worried that no news is bad news. Hoping weather won't be so bad today=
to prevent additional searches. Thursday there will be an early morning=
high tide, so I'm thinking of heading to Lynn at dawn to give it a try.
Regards -
Mike Resch
Pepperell, MA
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Subject: Re: Shelduck Updates
From: Barbara Volkle and Steve Moore <barb620(AT)theworld.com>
Date: 9 Dec 2009 8:30am
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We were there at the outfall pipe at dusk and did not hear any
positive reports from yesterday.
I'm hoping that folks will continue to look for it in that area and
along the coast points south.
Barbara Volkle
Northborough, MA
barb620(AT)theworld.com
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Subject: Re: Shelduck
From: "Myer S. Bornstein" <mborn(AT)massmed.org>
Date: 9 Dec 2009 8:40am
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Subject: Kingston: many Bonaparte's Gulls and Dunlin (in
breeding plumage)
From: Evan Dalton <evanndalton(AT)gmail.com>
Date: 9 Dec 2009 11:24am
A quick stop at Kingston harbor on the way home this morning revealed
186 Bonaparte's Gulls (probably the normal group from Plymouth Beach)
attempting to roost and feed off the mud flats of rocky nook. I say
attempting because the driving rain and 50mph winds weren't letting
them do anything peacefully. I would be interested if anyone saw the
Bonaparte's Gulls at Plymouth Beach today (or recently) and got a good
count. Along with the Gulls there was one lone Dunlin, in breeding
plumage as far as I could tell. Most Dunlin you see this time of year
have made the switch to basic plumage, but this bird's back was a nice
rust color and it had a bold black belly. I wasn't close enough to
tell if it had began its molt or not. Unfortunately no Shelduck on the
mudflats. Interesting never the less.
Evan Dalton
Kingston, MA
evanndalton(AT)gmail.com
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Subject: Common Shelduck follow-up thoughts
From: "Marshall Iliff" <miliff(AT)aol.com>
Date: 9 Dec 2009 12:50pm
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Massbird,
It is too bad that the Common Shelduck was not seen yesterday, but with any
luck it will reappear. It clearly has moved significant distances with the
greater Lynn-Nahant area so this supports the idea that it may still be
around. With Tim Factor's excellent adult Mew Gull found yesterday, the
incentives for continuing to bird this area are increased. A couple
additional Shelduck thoughts:
1) IF it is refound, and IF birders are watching it, we should all be
SUPER ALERT for the possibility of salvaging a feather from this bird.
Speculation about its origin will be just that, speculation, unless we get a
feather from which to do stable isotope analysis. This could give us the
possibility of knowing approximately where the bird molted, and if that
proved to be the west coast of Iceland, I think any doubt about this bird's
origin could be allayed. If it proves to be Concord, NH, then we could
similarly be pretty sure of where this bird came from (i.e., a cage). If
anyone sees the bird again and sees a feather drop off this bird, please
please do anything you can to collect it. If you passed the feather along to
me or Jeremiah Trimble, we believe that one of us could get the analysis
done and would obviously share the results here.
2) Second, I'd recommend a new round of searching once the high tide
cycle comes back around to daylight hours. The current 6am/6pm tide high
cycle puts both tides in darkness.
3) Finally, I have had dozens of emails from many people in many states
and have not had a chance to respond to most of them, so thanks to everyone.
Many have reported sightings of (presumed) escapee Common Shelducks from
elsewhere, from Scarborough Marsh, ME, to Connecticut, to Delaware. This is
EXACTLY the type of information that will allow us to search for patterns of
occurrence, so thanks to all for sending those along. When I have a bit more
time, I'll compile these reports into a more cohesive summary and will share
it here.
Best,
Marshall Iliff
miliff(AT)aol.com
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