ML72106401

Age and sex

Adult, Unknown sex - X

Tags

Field notes/sketch

Media notes

This artwork was drawn by David A. Sibley.

Observation details

This winter adult seabird was initially identified as a Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) and was observed feeding in the waters of the St. Lawrence River in the headpond of the Ontario Power Generation dam in Cornwall, ON. D'Anna and I enjoyed excellent scope views of this alcid that was observed in both Ontario and New York State waters. D'Anna suggested that perhaps we should cross over to Messina on the New York State side where it might be possible for us to observe this rare visitor at closer range. Once over the river we headed for the 5th floor outdoor observation platform of the New York Power Authority building. From here we had a perfect opportunity to view the headpond waters of the dam. Before long we were fortunate to have David Sibley, Tony Leukering and Jim Dowdell (three power house US birders) join us at the platform. Sibley asked if we were aware that two subspecies exist for Marbled Murrelet. We replied yes but that we were not exactly sure of the exact plumage differences. He immediately grabbed his sketch pad and drew for us the field mark differences of the two subspecies. Looking through Sibley's Questar, and with his coaching, we now were able to clearly see why he felt that this murrelet was in fact the western subspecies B. m. perdix. Sibley then drew for us exactly what we were looking at in the river above the dam. In less than a week I received an envelope from Sibley containing a copy of his drawing of the alcid. Instead of a photograph I have chosen to include a copy of his artwork in this eBird report. Regretfully D'Anna and I because of time constraints had to decline an invitation from Sibley to join his group in a boat ride onto the river for close-up views of this supreme rarity to Ontario and New York waters. In 1997, the AOU split Marbled Murrelet into Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) and Long-billed Murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix). This Cornwall individual was determined to be a Long-billed Murrelet. In Sibley 1993, he writes that all previous 13 records from the interior and eastern North America have been "perdix" while "marmoratus" has never been recorded more than 75 km inland. This sighting was accepted by the OBRC and NYSARC.

Technical information

Model

Canon MG6400 series

Dimensions

1779 pixels x 1437 pixels

Original file size

475.47 KB