ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
NORTH DAKOTA BIRDING SOCIETY'S
BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE:
2002
by Dan Svingen and Ron Martin
The North Dakota state bird list was last updated more than 20 years ago.
The state's avifauna has changed markedly since that list was published. In
an attempt to document some of these changes, the North Dakota Natural Science
Society formed the North Dakota Ornithological Records Committee in 1979.
The North Dakota Birding Society reconstituted this committee in 2001. The
committee's goals are to evaluate and archive documentations of rare bird
sighting and to periodically revise the official state bird list. This report
summarizes the results of the committee's evaluations in 2002.
METHODS:
The North Dakota Bird Records Committee reviewed material submitted to document
the occurrence rare birds in North Dakota. This material typically involved
a documentation form and a copy of field notes and sketches. Photographs,
tape recordings, and videotape were reviewed when available. The 5-member
committee then voted on whether the documentation was sufficient to establish
the bird record. The vote taken was on the adequacy of the documentation,
not on the skills of the observer. A vote of 4 or 5 yeas was required to accept
a record. Conversely, a vote of 4 or 5 nays was required to reject a record.
Unresolved records were recirculated until resolved.
Committee members for most of 2002 included: Ron Martin (Chairperson), Dan Svingen (Secretary), Larry Igl (Voting Member), Bob O'Connor (Voting Member), and Clark Talkington (Voting Member). Corey Ellingson and Jill Shaffer served as alternate members. In October 2002, Clark Talkington's term expired and Corey Ellingson succeeded him.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
The committee evaluated 109 bird records, resolving 95. The remaining records
were either archived because they were not subject to committee review (see
review list published elsewhere on this website), or are still under review.
The acceptance rate of resolved records was 79% (75/95), whereas the rejection
rate was 21% (20/95). A summary of resolved records is presented in Table
1. Full details on these records will be published elsewhere.
As always, we wish to express our thanks to our fellow committee members,
as well as particularly thanking all of the observers who submitted rare bird
documentations.
Table 1. Results of North Dakota Birding Society's Bird Records Committee Votes in 2002. BRC = Bird Records Committee number, NWR = National Wildlife Refuge.
| DATE OF FIRST SIGHTING | ||||
| SPECIES | BRC | LOCATION | RESULT | |
| American Woodcock | Feb-77 | Ransom County | 5/19/2001 | |
| 1) i.d. | 1) Rejected | |||
| 2) nest | 2) Rejected | |||
| Anhinga | Feb-32 | Near Alice, Cass County | 4/29/1998 | Rejected |
| Arctic Tern | Feb-53 | Minot, Ward County | 6/20/1993 | Accepted |
| Black-necked Stilt | Feb-55 | Mandan, Morton County | 5/9/1987 | Accepted |
| Black-necked Stilt | Feb-61 | Kelly’s Slough NWR, Grand Forks County | 6/1/2001 | Accepted |
| Black-necked Stilt | Feb-98 | Mandan, Morton County | 4/28/1981 | Accepted |
| Black-necked Stilt | Feb-99 | Harwood, Cass County | 5/29/1993 | Accepted |
| Black-throated Sparrow | 3-Feb | Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge, Stutsman County | 5/27/1984 | Accepted |
| Blue Grosbeak | 6-Feb | Mirror Pool WMA, Ransom County | 5/25/1997 | Rejected |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 02-103 | Fargo, Cass County | 5/12/1990 | Accepted |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | Feb-42 | Near Washburn, McLean County | 10/6/1996 | Accepted |
| Blue-winged Warbler | Feb-66 | Fort Ransom, Ransom County | 8/25/2001 | Accepted |
| Blue-winged Warbler | Feb-83 | Fargo, Cass County | 5/12/1990 | Accepted |
| Blue-winged Warbler | Feb-84 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 8/31/1988 | Accepted |
| “Brewster’s” Warbler | Feb-85 | Fargo, Cass County | 5/22/1993 | Accepted |
| Carolina Wren | Feb-41 | Mandan, Morton County | 9/21/1996 | Accepted |
| Cassin’s Finch | 24-Feb | Mandan, Morton County | 1/18/1996 | Accepted |
| Cerulean Warbler | Feb-86 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 5/22/1987 | Accepted |
| Common Eider | 11-Feb | Lake Sakakawea, McLean County | 12/5/1981 | Accepted |
| Common Eider | 25-Feb | Near Lawton, Ramsey County | 4/22/1996 | Rejected |
| Eastern Meadowlark | 20-Feb | Near Hope, Steele County | 5/7/1995 | Accepted |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | Feb-47 | Napoleon, Logan County | 2/10/2002 | Accepted |
| Eurasian Wigeon | Feb-73 | Burleigh County | 4/14/1985 | Accepted |
| Franklin’s Gull | 13-Feb | Garrison Dam, Mercer County | 12/21/1982 | Accepted |
| Golden-crowned Sparrow | 18-Feb | Bismarck, Burleigh County | 5/15/2000 | Accepted |
| Golden-crowned Sparrow | 19-Feb | J. Clark Salyer NWR, McHenry County | 5/16/1995 | Accepted |
| “Gray-headed” Dark-eyed Junco | Feb-81 | Bismarck, Burleigh County | 4/19/2002 | Accepted |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 5-Feb | Garrison Dam, Mercer County | 11/23/1996 | Rejected |
| Hammond’s Flycatcher | 15-Feb | Near Solen, Sioux County | 5/23/1986 | Rejected |
| Henslow’s Sparrow | Feb-68 | Near Robinson, Kidder County | 7/2/2001 | |
| 1) i.d. | 1) Accepted | |||
| 2) nest | 2) Accepted | |||
| Henslow’s Sparrow | Feb-79 | Near Steele, Kidder County | 6/27/2002 | Accepted |
| Hooded Warbler | Feb-74 | Hettinger, Adams County | 9/20/1988 | Accepted |
| Hooded Warbler | Feb-87 | Fargo, Cass County | 5/6/1993 | Accepted |
| Hooded Warbler | Feb-90 | Fargo, Cass County | 5/1/1993 | Accepted |
| Hooded Warbler | 1-Feb | Fargo, Cass County | 5/15/1996 | Rejected |
| Iceland Gull | Feb-64 | Garrison Dam, Mercer County | 12/16/2001 | Accepted |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | Feb-57 | Dickinson, Stark County | 4/16/2002 | Accepted |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | Feb-58 | Minot, Ward County | 4/20/2002 | Accepted |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | 22-Feb | Garrison Dam, Mercer County | 12/16/1990 | Accepted |
| Little Blue Heron | Feb-43 | Dewald Slough, Kidder County | 8/26/1996 | Rejected |
| Loggerhead Shrike | 02-102 | Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Burleigh County | 12/22/1992 | Accepted |
| Loggerhead Shrike | 26-Feb | Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge, Stutsman County | 1/9/1996 | Accepted |
| Long-tailed Duck | Feb-70 | Sibley Lake, Kidder County | 6/17/1992 | Accepted |
| Long-tailed Jaeger | Feb-44 | Lake Etta, Kidder County | Aug-96 | Accepted |
| Mew Gull | Feb-62 | Garrison Dam, Mercer County | 11/17/2001 | Accepted |
| Mountain Chickadee | Feb-34 | Hazen, Mercer County | Fall 1997 | Rejected |
| Northern Hawk-owl | Feb-35 | Blooming Township, Grand Forks County | 12/27/1996 | Accepted |
| Northern Wheatear | 16-Feb | Fargo, Cass County | 11/9/1994 | Rejected |
| Parasitic Jaeger | Feb-48 | Lake Darling, Renville County | 7/17/1997 | Rejected |
| Parasitic Jaeger | Feb-93 | Long Lake NWR, Burleigh County | 9/24/2002 | Accepted |
| Pine Warbler | Feb-89 | Fargo, Cass County | 8/4/1990 | Accepted |
| Pine Warbler | 23-Feb | Fargo, Cass County | 05/25/19?? | Rejected |
| Pinyon Jay | 02-101 | Hettinger, Adams County | 10/10/1992 | Accepted |
| Prothonotary Warbler | Feb-54 | Minot, Ward County | 5/23/1987 | Accepted |
| Prothonotary Warbler | Feb-56 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 5/22/1991 | Accepted |
| Prothonotary Warbler | 2-Feb | Fargo, Cass County | 10/11/1996 | Accepted |
| Pygmy Nuthatch | 4-Feb | Fargo, Cass County | 10/23/1996 | Accepted |
| Red Phalarope | Feb-38 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 10/9/1998 | Accepted |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Feb-33 | Sully’s Hill NWR, Benson County | 5/2/1998 | Accepted |
| Ruff | Feb-97 | Fargo, Cass County | 7/9/1989 | Accepted |
| Sabine’s Gull | Feb-37 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 9/21/1998 | Accepted |
| Sabine’s Gull | 14-Feb | Bowman Haley Reservoir, Bowman County | 9/20/1986 | Accepted |
| Scissor-tailed Flycatcher | Feb-45 | Stark County | 10/23/1998 | Accepted |
| Selasphorus Hummingbird | Feb-63 | Dickinson, Stark County | 9/3/2001 | Accepted |
| Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | Jan-36 | Sheyenne National Grassland, Richland County | 8/25/1994 | Rejected |
| Snowy Plover | Feb-65 | Near Dewald’s Slough, Kidder County | 5/26/2002 | Accepted |
| Snowy Plover | 12-Feb | Near Napoleon, Logan County | 5/20/1935 | Accepted |
| Summer Tanager | 02-107 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 5/28/1985 | Accepted |
| Summer Tanager | 02-108 | Fargo, Cass County | 5/17/1985 | Accepted |
| Summer Tanager | Feb-29 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 5/18/1996 | Rejected |
| Thayer’s Gull | 17-Feb | West Fargo, Cass County | 4/13/1996 | Accepted |
| Tricolored Heron | 02-109 | Kelly’s Slough, Grand Forks County | 5/20/1993 | Accepted |
| Tricolored Heron | Feb-94 | Near Niobe, Burke County | 5/17/1982 | Accepted |
| Tricolored Heron | 10-Feb | Alkaline Lake, Kidder County | 5/27/1984 | Accepted |
| Trumpeter Swan | Feb-40 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 10/21/1998 | Accepted |
| Trumpeter Swan | Feb-78 | Lake Borg, Sargent County | 8/7/2002 | Accepted |
| Trumpeter Swan | Feb-80 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 5/17/2002 | Accepted |
| Turkey Vulture | Feb-36 | Near Wyndmere, Richland County | 1/27/1997 | Rejected |
| Western Bluebird | 02-105 | South Unit Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Billings County | 5/22/1977 | Accepted |
| Western Bluebird | 02-106 | Bismarck, Burleigh County | 10/15/1988 | Rejected |
| Western Bluebird | Feb-49 | Near Pingree, Stutsman County | 10/28/1996 | Rejected |
| Western Sandpiper | Feb-96 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 9/26/1992 | Accepted |
| Western Tanager | Feb-46 | Dickinson, Stark County | 5/19/1995 | Accepted |
| Western Tanager | Feb-71 | Dunn County | Early June 1986 | Accepted |
| Western Tanager | 7-Feb | Fargo, Cass County | 5/29/1997 | Accepted |
| Western Tanager | 21-Feb | Minot Air Force Base, Ward County | 5/25/1995 | Accepted |
| Western Tanager | 28-Feb | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 5/18/1996 | Accepted |
| Whimbrel | Feb-39 | Grand Forks, Grand Forks County | 9/24/1998 | Accepted |
| White-tailed Kite | Feb-50 | Near South Heart, Stark County | 6/1/1997 | Rejected |
| Worm-eating Warbler | Jan-32 | Fort Ransom, Ransom County | 5/23/1998 | Rejected |
| Worm-eating Warbler | Feb-67 | Sheyenne National Grassland, Richland County | 5/23/2002 | Accepted |
| Worm-eating Warbler | Feb-91 | Fargo, Cass County | 5/9/1993 | Accepted |
| Worm-eating Warbler | Feb-92 | Larimore Dam, Grand Forks County | 5/18/1992 | Rejected |
| Worm-eating Warbler | 27-Feb | New Town, Mountrail County | 10/24/1995 | Accepted |
| Yellow-throated Warbler | Feb-60 | Fargo, Cass County | 4/25/2002 | Accepted |
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