RARE BIRDS

GENERAL INFORMATION RULES CURRENT REVIEW LIST RARE BIRD RECORD FORM

GENERAL INFORMATION

Why submit a record to the South Australian Rarities Committee?

Records of rarities are of real interest to the ornithological community. They have done a lot to improve understanding of distribution limits, migration routes and field identification of many species of bird. Unfortunately, not every claim of a rare bird is what it appears to be, and this can seriously upset the validity of occurrence statistics.

Any author preparing a checklist, field guides or handbook to the birds of Australia or any region of Australia requires an authoritative list of what occurs.

If records are not substantiated with some descriptive evidence it is difficult to accept some of the more extraordinary claims that have been made. Some of these records are good and have been documented well. At the other end of the scale, some out-and-out misidentifications have occurred.

Birds SA needs to maintain a similar standard of rigour to rare bird sightings as already occurs through the South Australian Rarities Committee (SARC).

An expert Committee of Birds SA votes on what records are accurate and adequately documented, and which ones are not.

No records are rejected and SARC findings are not binding in any way on the observer. Records are either Accepted or Not-Accepted, because of inadequate supporting descriptive evidence. Only Accepted records will go forward to our database of species occurrence in South Australia.

This process acts as a permanent archive not only for Accepted records but for all cases put before SARC and Not Accepted records can be reopened at future dates if additional information becomes available, for example a repeat sighting.

Taking notes of what you see

Some birders take detailed notes and this certainly helps ‘clinch’ a rare bird sighting if the notes match the key features of that particular species. Notes on size, shape, plumage, colour of soft parts and “jizz” (the behavioural characteristics) all make up a composite description.

It is important to distinguish between what you have seen and what the Field Guide suggests that you should have seen. Word for word descriptions that match the text of a Field Guide are not credible reports. Descriptions that lack some, seemingly significant, information will not necessarily be classed as Not Accepted because their may still be enough information for Acceptance.

Obviously it is desirable to see and record as much as possible if the bird is a major rarity. It is also worthwhile taking descriptions of rarities you see which were found by other people. There is no guarantee that the finder of a rarity is going to write it up - and even if they are, it is possible that they will miss aspects that you pick up. Quite often a submission of a rarity includes notes taken by many observers - in fact, the more descriptions taken, the more likely the record is to get through.

What you should do when you find a rarity

When you are fortunate enough to find a rarity there are three simple steps to follow:

·  Take a detailed description;
·  Get other people to see it;
·  Obtain documentation such as photos or tape recordings, all of which will help enormously.

The sequence in which you do these things will depend where and when the rarity is sighted. Taking a detailed description is the most important of these three steps; it is often not possible to get photos of a particular rarity or to show it to other people, but with detailed notes you should be able to work out what you've seen and document it adequately.

Field notes are best recorded while the bird is in front of you. Sometimes this is possible (especially when watching waders); often it is not (a frequent problem for those watching seabirds). Everyone's approach to this problem varies; some take notes very quickly indeed while the bird is in front of them; others like to absorb every detail and write it down once the bird has disappeared, arguing that while they have the opportunity they should spend every second looking at the bird in question rather than spending half of their time looking at a notebook. Do whatever works best for you. The key thing is do get notes down as soon as possible, and in particular to get them down before you have consulted any literature that might have some kind of subconscious effect on your memories of what you actually saw.

Sketches are extremely valuable. However, some bird observers are much more adept at sketching birds than others. It is something one can improve on with practice, however, even the non-talented can annotate their sketches - there is nothing wrong with doing a sketch that doesn't work out perfectly, provided you note any shortcomings.

What is expected in a Submission?

A Rare Bird Record Form can be downloaded from the Birds SA website and will help you to complete a description.

However, descriptions will be accepted in other formats, including a photocopy of the actual notes from your notebook.

A partially completed Rare Bird Record Form, that has the administrative information, plus a photocopy of your notes is also a practical way to provide a description.

Submitting the completed description

Send your submission including any photographs, notes from other observers or any other relevant material to :-

Secretary, South Australian Rarities Committee, 6 Flavel Avenue, Woodforde, SA 5072 or email it to

How long will it take to process?

This will depend upon the complexity and nature of the submission. Sometimes it is necessary to seek expert advice from overseas ornithologists. Generally a result should become available within 3 months. Although, some extreme cases that involve multiple rounds of voting and or expert opinion may take considerably longer. The observer will be the first to know the outcome.

How are records published?

When you have made a sighting of a rare bird the record may still be announced at the Bird Call session at Birds SA meetings and it may also go in the Newsletter. It will carry a qualifier “this record is published subject to review by the South Australian Rarities Committee”. When a record is Accepted this will be announced in the Newsletter and the entry in the Annual Bird Report will state “Record Accepted by the South Australian Rare Birds Committee”. Records that are Not Accepted will not be published.

South Australian Rarities Committee Members 2011

·  Andrew Black

·  Graham Carpenter

·  John Fennell

·  John Hatch

·  Lynn Pedler

·  Colin Rogers (Secretary)

RULES

Function of the South Australian Rarities Committee

To receive submissions and to provide an informed, discerning and impartial appraisal of the records of birds submitted to Birds SA that are considered to be rare in South Australia or are of unusual significance.

To maintain an up-to-date and relevant list of those species which the Rare Bird Committee will appraise.

To maintain an archival record of submissions and the decisions about them.

To regularly publish the decisions.

The function of the SARC is to Accept or Not Accept records submitted to it. It does not Reject records and its decisions are not binding on any person.

Membership of the South Australian Rarities Committee.

SARC shall consist of up to six members, one of whom shall be the Secretary.

The members of SARC will be required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement.

A candidate for membership shall be a person who, in the estimation of the Birds SA Committee of Management, has demonstrated an expert ability in and knowledge of the field identification of birds and who is a member in good standing of Birds SA.

A member of SARC shall be nominated by the Birds SA Committee for a term of one year. All members shall be eligible for reappointment to SARC at the discretion of the Birds SA Committee. The Birds SA Committee of Management shall also appoint two proxy members to serve on the Rare Bird Committee on an occasional basis.

The Secretary shall be appointed by the Birds SA Committee of Management in consultation with SARC.

SARC shall have the right to seek advice from other persons, such as inter-state or overseas experts on an as-needs basis.

A SARC member shall review records thoughtfully and be committed to doing the work of the Rare Bird Committee in a timely and efficient manner. SARC members will make an initial response to the Secretary within three weeks of receipt of a Rare Bird Report Form for appraisal.

SARC may remove for cause any member who is delinquent in their duties, by a majority vote of all other members and request the Birds SA Committee to nominate a replacement.

Receipt of records and distribution to SARC.

SARC will endeavour to achieve awareness of the scheme through presentation to general members of Birds SA, newsletter articles and website information.

Encouragement will be given to submissions in electronic format.

SARC will encourage submissions to be made on the official Record Form, either typed or clearly handwritten.

Submissions will be accepted in other forms providing that they contain most of the information as defined in the official Record Form.

Submissions should annex copies of field notes, sketches, photos and other available material and should indicate the fate of specimens.

Submissions must contain a complete (as possible) description of the bird (based upon the observed features) and the circumstances of the observation.

Submissions should clearly show the identification criteria, cite references used, and name other observers able to corroborate the record.

Observers will be required to self-assess their own confidence in their identification.

South Australian Rarities Committee Voting Procedures

All SARC members including the Secretary shall cast a vote independently, which will either Accept or Not Accept a record. Rare Bird Committee members will not vote on their own records instead this may be done by an appropriate proxy member.

External advisors will not have voting rights. The comments of external advisors will be taken into consideration by Rare Bird Committee Members when making their votes.

Not Accept and where required Accept votes at the first round of voting, and all votes at subsequent rounds shall be supported by reasons for the decision expressed.

SARC members shall not consult with each other at the first circulation of a record, but may consult before voting at any subsequent recirculation.

Upon receipt of a submission each Rare Bird Committee member shall:

·  judge its validity and cast a vote promptly;
·  send the vote to the Secretary within three weeks (or advise why this cannot be done)

Not Accept and where required Accept votes at the first round of voting, and all votes at subsequent rounds shall be supported by reasons for the decision expressed.

A SARC member may request that expert opinion be obtained to assist in the appraisal of a record.

A vote on a submission may be deferred pending receipt and circulation of expert opinion.

The SARC should aim to reach consensus in its decision wherever possible.

A record may be Accepted if it receives five or more votes for acceptance (maximum of one vote against).

A record may be Not Accepted if it receives two or more votes against acceptance.

In the absence of a decision a submission may remain as “Pending”.

At the discretion of SARC, a case may be reopened through the presentation of new and substantial evidence or for other legitimate reason.

If SARC agrees to reopen a case by this means, a decision which reverses a previously accepted record shall only occur by a unanimous vote.

The SARC will aim to provide an observer with its decision within 3 months of receipt of the Rare Bird Record Form.

The Review List

The SARC will appraise records of species defined in the Review List, and new additions to the South Australian List including:

·  pelagic seabirds observed within the South Australian 200 nautical-mile fishing zone;
·  tide-line specimens, collected specimens, road kills, deceased passage migrants and other specimens excepting those transported into
South Australia or obtained illegally.

It will not appraise records of birds which the SARC reasonably believes to be of captive origin.

It may appraise published records which have not previously come before it.

The SARC shall compile and maintain a Review List of those species which it will treat based on reported observations over a preceding ten-year period, to a maximum average of 1·5 records per year (i.e. three records in a two year period). Species averaging greater than 1·5 records per year, with sightings in at least seven years of the preceding decade, shall be removed from the Review List by a majority vote of the Rare Bird Committee.

A decline in reported abundance back to a level of less than 1·5 records per year, may cause a species to be returned to or placed on the Review List by a decision of the SARC.

Decisions of the South Australian Rarities Committee

The decisions of the SARC shall be notified to all SARC members and to persons submitting the record, by the Secretary.

The SARC'S decisions on Accepted records will be published at least annually by Birds SA or more frequently if appropriate. Not Confirmed records will not be published.

The case files of the Rare Bird Committee are confidential, and may be made available solely to the President of Birds SA and others at the discretion of the President.