Note: Rare bird reports and submissions, along with documentation and with photographs where available, are circulated to all committee members for written response in advance. During the subsequent conference call, and after all written responses have been circulated, each submission is discussed in detail. Recommendations are made by consensus.

A total of eleven species (including one from Round 3) were discussed by the BRC during its October conference call. The results published below list the records accepted to both to the main, and the provisional Provincial lists.

A full account of all the decisions made by the committee, including records not accepted, will be published in an upcoming issue of our journal British Columbia Birds.

The following species were accepted to the main Provincial list:

Great Shearwater

(48 24.3, 125 37.0; approx 35 nmi west of Cape Flattery, Washington, 28 nmi southwest of Pachena Point & Cape Beale, Vancouver Island – 24 June 2000)

BCBRC#2014–010 Richard Rowlett, G. Scott Mills, Barbara Blackie

 

Oriental Turtle Dove

(Stubbs Island, Tofino  – 26 September 2013)

BCBRC#2014–o12 Adrian Dorst

 

MURPHY’S PETREL

(47.227, -127.971, 258 KM SW OF TOFINO – 25 MAY 2014)

BCBRC#2014–016 Paul Lehman, Bruce Rideout

 

 

Eastern/mexican WHIP-POOR-WILL

(AMPHRITRITE POINT, UCLUELET – 5 NOVEMBER, 2001)

BCBRC#2014–011 Bill McIntyre

This submission (BCBRC #2014-011 – Whip-poor-will) was accepted to the main Provincial list as Eastern/Mexican Whip-poor-will. A tissue sample has been requested to conduct DNA testing to confirm the specific identification of this bird.

The Whip-poor-will specimen was found at Amphitrite Point, Ucluelet, on 5 November, 2001, by Bill McIntyre. Judging by the state of decomposition, it had been dead for at least a week and possibly two. It likely died in the third or 4th week of October.

 

The following species were accepted to the provisional list, but lacked physical evidence for acceptance to the main Provincial list:

 LEAST AUKLET

(51 17 39 N,  129 44 08 W, approx. 97 km northwest of northwest tip Vancouver Island – 6 June 2013)

BCBRC#2014–013 Paul Lehman, Larry Peavler

HAWAIIAN PETREL

(47.503, 128.099, approx. 242 km SW of Tofino – 25 May 2014)

BCBRC#2014–014 Paul Lehman

HAWAIIAN/Galapagos PETREL

(49 14 00 N, 130 30 40 W; approx. 220 km SW of Brook’s Peninsula, Vancouver Island – 11 JULY 2013)

BCBRC#2014–015 Paul Lehman

This record (BCBRC #2014-015 – Dark-rumped Petrel) was accepted to the provisional list as Hawiian/Galapagos Petrel. To eliminate assumptions in bird identification that could mask or complicate future records (e.g., the Manx/Black-vented situation), this record is accepted as a species-pair. It is acknowledged that Galapagos is as yet unrecorded in North American waters, and that this record almost certainly pertains to Hawaiian. However, we are taking a conservative approach. The species-pair name is preferable to “Dark-rumped” Petrel, as some birders may not be aware of what species are involved in the Dark-rumped Petrel complex.