I've been interested recently in the subject of "exotic" birds and the difficulty birders have in determining their status as wild or escapees. I've spoken to several breeders of exotic birds about their practices and how frequently birds escape, but now I wanted to talk to someone on a records committee.
Records committees are the ones who have to make the "official" decision on whether or not an exotic bird seen in the field got there on its own or with some kind of human assistance. I have never sat on a records committee, and I wanted to know how such a body reviews birds like Smew or Greenfinches or Bar-headed Geese - birds that could theoretically be migrants.
It interests me because all it takes it one. Nine hundred and ninety-nine Bar-headed Geese seen in North America could be escapees, but that last one just could have been blown astray during a high-altitude migration over Asia. Would we know? Does anyone care to check?
After this brief chat with Phil Davis, a long-time members of the Maryland/DC Birds Records Committee, I feel confident that the answer is Yes. I have known a few members of records committees over the years, and I haven't met a single one who doesn't take their job very seriously. Phil continues that tradition, and his answers reveal the inherent difficulties in dealing with these types of records, as well as the common-sense approaches the MD/DCRC uses in an attempt to find an answer. Although it still may be impossible to completely determine the origin on a bird seen in the field, there are birders out there doing their best to figure it out.
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