2002 Annual Meeting
The 2002 annual meeting of the Texas Bird Records Committee was held at the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, on Saturday 17 August 2002. In attendance were
Members
o John Arvin, Chairman
o Mark Lockwood, Secretary
o Keith Arnold, Academician
o Terry Maxwell
o Petra Hockey
o Brush Freeman
o Mel Cooksey
TBRC members Kelly Bryan and Barry Zimmer were unable to attend the meeting. The meeting was convened at 9:30 a.m.
Election of Members
Terry Maxwell's and Barry Zimmer's 2nd terms expired with the conclusion of the fall 2002 meeting, this left two vacancies to be filled. There were two nominations for the positions: Jim Paton and Randy Pinkston. Arvin, Lockwood, and Arnold were again nominated for the positions of Chair, Secretary and Academician. There being no further nominations, all nominees were elected by acclamation.
Current membership and term of service are as follows:
o John Arvin, Chair - Term expires fall 2003; can be re-elected
o Mark Lockwood, Secretary - term is as listed for Chair
o Keith Arnold, Academician - term is as listed for Chair
o Brush Freeman - 2nd term expires fall 2003
o Petra Hockey - 2nd term expires fall 2004
o Kelly Bryan - 1st term expires fall 2003, can be re-elected
o Mel Cooksey- 1st term expires fall 2004, can be re-elected
o Jim Paton - 1st term expires fall 2005, can be re-elected
o Randy Pinkston - 1st term expires fall 2005, can be re-elected
Regular Agenda Items
Fourth Round Records
1. 1996-130 White-cheeked Pintail
Brazoria Co., 11 September 1996
not accepted 3-4
There was considerable discussion about this record. The identification of the duck was never in question and the debate centered on origin. White-cheeked Pintail is a commonly kept species by aviculturalists and the dissenting members pointed to the large human population in the surrounding vicinity as a potential source of this individual. The supporting members pointed out that there was no evidence in the record that the bird was ever in captivity. Members voting against this record were concerned about anecdotal information of other escapees, including a White-cheeked Pintail, in the same general area.
2. 1999-4, Red-throated Loon
Hopkins Co., 15 November-9 December 1998
accepted 6-1
3. 1999-14, Ruddy Ground-Dove
Cameron Co., 31 January 1999
not accepted 1-6
4. 1999-31, Yellow-green Vireo
Chambers Co., 30 April 1999
not accepted 2-5
5. 1999-43, Baird's Sparrow
Tarrant Co., 1 May 1999
accepted 7-0
6. 1999-60, Black-whiskered Vireo
Jefferson Co., 29 April 1999
not accepted 1-6
7. 1999-120, Cuban Pewee
Kenedy Co., 9 October 1999
not accepted 2-5
Revision of Mailing Sequence
New mailing sequence is as follows:
Freeman
Hockey
Cooksey
Arvin
Pinkston
Bryan
Paton
Arnold
Lockwood
Motion to Remove Red-throated Loon, Lewis's Woodpecker, and Broad-billed Hummingbird from the list of Review Species
Freeman provided information on the occurrence of Red-throated Loon, Lewis's Woodpecker and Broad-billed Hummingbird in Texas for the past 10 years.
The status of Red-throated Loon was discussed first and Cooksey (second: Arnold) moved that the species be removed from the Review Species list. This species is an annual visitor to the state with approximately 50 documented records. There was no disagreement about the removal of the species. The committee voted 7-0 to remove Red-throated Loon from the Review List.
Maxwell (second: Lockwood) moved that Lewis's Woodpecker be removed from the Review Species list. This species is an annual visitor to the state with approximately 60 documented records. There was no disagreement about the removal of the species. The committee voted 7-0 to remove Lewis's Woodpecker from the Review List.
Discussion then turned to Broad-billed Hummingbird. The occurrence patterns of this species in the east two-thirds of the state is substantially different from that in the Trans-Pecos. Arvin (second: Lockwood) moved that Broad-billed Hummingbird be retained on the Review Species List and the motion carried unanimously.
Review Species Specimens Located
A Dark-eyed "White-winged" Junco collected prior to 1988 was examined during the meeting. Lockwood (Hockey: second) moved that the committee accept the specimen as a state record. The motion passed unanimously.
White-winged Junco, Briscoe County, 19 Dec 1968
1975 Black Noddy record
Questions about the identification of the 1975 Black Noddy record have been raised recently by Martin Reid. Based on the information provided by Reid, the committee decided to recirculate this record.
TOS Checklist of the Birds of Texas
Lockwood and Freeman provided an update on the progress made on revising the Checklist of Texas Birds (TOS 1995). The final draft is very near completion and will be provided to Texas A&M University Press before the end of August. The expected publication date is in the late summer 2003.
Review List B species
Lockwood (second: Freeman) moved that the Review Lists B and C be merged and revised. Review List B contained three species Swainson's Hawk (December-January), Semipalmated Sandpiper (December-January), and White-rumped Sandpiper (outside April -June) Review List C contained : Green-winged (Common) Teal, Yellow (Mangrove) Warbler, Dark-eyed (White-winged) Junco, and Orchard (Fuertes's) Oriole. The committee discussed the merits of continuing to review records of winter Swainson's Hawks considering the recently discovered winter population in Calhoun County (fide Bill Clark). The results of the discussion was to limit Review List B to identifiable taxa where species status has been questioned. The revised Review List B taxa include: Green-winged (Common) Teal, Great Blue (White) Heron, Yellow (Mangrove) Warbler, Dark-eyed (White-winged) Junco, and Orchard (Fuertes's) Oriole. Should a (Slate-colored) Fox Sparrow be documented in the state, that taxon would also be added. The Herring (Vega) Gull record currently in circulation will be added to this list should it be accepted. Other taxa were discussed for possible inclusion, Brewer's (Timberline) Sparrow in particular, but field identification criteria of this taxon in winter and migration are not known.
TBRC website management
Martin Reid has informed the committee that he will no longer be able to maintain the TBRC website. There are no current members of the TBRC with experience in the creation and maintenance of a website. Lockwood agreed to find a replacement for Reid as soon as possible.
Adjournment
There being no other formal business on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned at about 2:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark W. Lockwood
Secretary, Texas Bird Records Committee