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Posted by steve siegel on 11:44:05 12/20/09
The Red-footed Booby was present at the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station this morning from 8 until I left at 10. Here is the history of the bird. It was found on a South Florida beach and brought to the station for rehab. It was released three weeks ago. It spends most of the day away from the station, but returns in the evening to roost on top of the cages with the Brown Pelicans and Black Vultures.
It hangs around with these birds hoping to snag a fish at the captive birds' feeding time. The caretaker told me that they allow it one fish a day, otherwise it competes with over 50 vagrant pelicans, a dozen black vultures, Black-crowned Night Herons and egrets that crowd in all at once. One fish a day will not sustain a booby, so it must be fishing on its own most of the time.
So is this bird countable?
1. It came here on its own. It was not transported from outside the ABA area.
2. It has been out of captivity for three weeks. ABA Recording Rules (amended 2004) states: "A bird is considered under the influence of captivity after its release until it regains the activities and movements of a bird which has not been captured." Since the bird spends most of its time in the bay or at sea, it meets this criterion.
3. What does ABA say about released, rehab birds? A bird is under the influence of captivity during its INITIAL flight away from its release point and during subsequent activity reasonably influenced by the captivity, such as INITIAL perching and preening or EARLY sleeping or roosting near the release point. Three weeks really is not "initial".
4. Is the bird "wild"? It's being fed. Here is what ABA says: "An otherwise wild bird that voluntarily uses or is attracted to a feeder, nest box, tape recorder, ship at sea, or other nonnatural device without being captured is still considered to be wild. Physical contact between an observer and a bird does not automatically preclude a bird from being counted, as there are situations where wild birds have learned to eat from outstretched hands, or have used people as temporary perches."
So I ask again, is this bird countable? Well. are these birds countable?
A Red-bellied Woodpecker has been using your feeder. It discovers mangos fermenting on the ground, gets tipsy and flies into a window. You pick it up, put it in a box, and provide water overnight. The next day it has recovered and you release it, as it continues to use your feeder. Your granddaughter, a new birder, comes to visit and sees the bird. Can she count it?
A Florida Scrub Jay, habituated to snatching peanuts from peoples' hands gets a toe caught in a tourist's bracelet, and when taking off injurs its leg, making perching and landing difficult. The bird is captured and rehabed until it is well. After it's release, it still goes after human-held peanuts. Is it countable?
Now I understand why the American Birding Association shares its initials with the American Bar Association.
At any rate, the bird is very pretty, dove brown with pale red feet, and is certainly worth taking a look at. I didn't see the Franklin's Gull, but there is a mature adult (still in the cage) Masked Booby there as well. What happens when they release him?
Pelican Harbor is just east of the big bridge on the 79th Street Causeway (Kennedy Causeway). Turn north at the light.
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