Newsgroups: rec.birds
Path: utzoo!rising
From: rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising)
Subject: Eurasian Birds in N.A.
Message-ID: <1989Feb20.151705.2347@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Date: Mon, 20 Feb 89 15:17:05 GMT

I suspect that many Eurasian birds that appear regularly in N.A.
really breed locally here.  Indeed, this has been documented in
some instances.  Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is rare in the summer
in western Alaska, and probably breeds there in low density.
Curlew Sandpiper is a rare breeder in northern AK.  Ruff has
been found breeding in northwestern AK and territorial & displaying
at Churchill.  Black-headed Gull has been found breeding in Newfoundland.
And, of course, breeding Little Gulls are well documented.
To my knowledge, there are as of yet no N.A. breeding records of Lesser
Black-backed Gull, but this species is increasing in N.A. rapidly, and
I'd bet breeds here somewhere.
So far as I know there are no N. A. breeding records of
either Tufted Duck or Eurasian Wigeon, but the latter species surely
must breed here somewhere.  Eurasian Wigeon is regular in migration and
winter in southern Ontario (though I've never seen one), and along the
west coast; it is less common I'd judge from what I read in the east than
in the west.  There are two records that I know of of Tufted Duck in
Ontario, and I actually saw one of those, in the midst of a bunch of
scaup.  Both of these records were in the 1980s, but I am not certain
that that suggests that they are increasing.

--Jim Rising
-- 
Name:     Jim Rising
Mail:     Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada    M5S 1A1
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