Posted by John Nichols on February 26, 2009 at 13:15:20 user Mcneacail.
In Reply to: Re: Photos as evidence (was Black swans in England? posted by Peter H on February 26, 2009 at 11:35:27:
I gather AR had spent some time in Scotland, and he may have run across tales from people who thought they had seen this happen, but could not prove it at the time.
There is a rare bird in Arkansas which is thought to be extinct, except for a fuzzy photograph and now all and sundry are looking for it.
In terms of records:
Arkansas Bird Records Committee
One of the objectives of the Arkansas Audubon Society has been to contribute to the knowledge of birds in Arkansas through the permanent maintenance of bird records for the state. The Arkansas Bird Records Committee, a committee of five members chaired by the AAS Curator, is responsible for determining the validity of reports of birds in Arkansas that are rare in the state, difficult to identify, or seen out of season. Noteworthy records that have been accepted by the ABRC appear in the Curator’s report, published each quarter in the AAS newsletter, Arkansas Birds. The ABRC also maintains and periodically publishes the official Arkansas State Bird List.
I am pretty sure with Capt Flint as witness, the photographs and the son of an academic Professor that Dick would have had a credible claim. In science we seek repetition, but once only is good. Once the chicks hatched there would have been time to bring in the heavy weights of science.
JMN