A bit about some list exclusions....

There have been a few questions about why or why not some species have not made "the list". There are a few reasons.  One is that some birds are consider sub-species, rather than a separate species.  Others are considered "vagrants", meaning that they sometimes show up in NA, but not at a frequency that they would be considered "from", North America.  Another would be color morphs.  Still others are protected from legal hunting, and would impossible to obtain legally, so they are left off the list for obvious reasons.

I'll explain a bit more...

Sub-species are birds that are close enough in appearance, nesting habits, habitat, feeding patterns, etc., that they are not technically classified as separate species.  One prime example is the Common Eider.  Common Eiders are broken up into several different sub-species. Some of those are American-Dresseri, Northern-Borealis, Euro-Mollissima, and Pacific-V Nigra.  I believe there are even a few more, like Pharaohs(sp?), but I'll have to do some more research on that.

Another common example of a sub-species, that has brought some debate, is the Mexican Mallard, or Mexican Duck. I have to admit I don't know much about this duck, but when "the list" was being made it was debated some, and at the time it was decided that it was a sub-species and wouldn't be included.  Another example would be the Tule Goose, a sub-species of the Greater White Front, or Speckle Belly.

There are far to many sub-species to include every one in the original scope of the project.  The sheer enormity of that task, along with the constant, and ever changing classifications, makes that project a dream that will have to wait until this one is realized.

It was however decided early on in the planning phases of the project to include the Canada Goose sub-species, for the the reasons I have gone into detail about in previous posts.

"Vagrants", is a term that is used to describe waterfowl that is sometimes seen in NA, but don't come around enough to be technically considered from here.  Most don't nest here, but even the ones that do, do so infrequently, that they are not common.  A prime example is the Eurasian Widgeon.  "Euro's" as they are called, are close relative of the American Widgeon, hence the name.  Euro's, are sometimes found along the west coast, and in Alaska. Several have been taken in Washington, and they are regularly taken on Adak Island in Alaska.  But again they are seen so infrequently, that they are not commonly considered a NA regular.  Another example is the Masked Duck. A stiff tailed relative of our Ruddy Duck.  They are sometimes found along the gulf coast and in Mexico.  However they are considerably more abundant in South America.

Color morphs, are something that I definitely need to do some reading up on.  What little I do know, led me to leave the Blue-phase Snow Goose off the list.  Blue's or Eagle heads, as they are sometimes called are a genetic color variation of the more common white Snow Goose. While they are far from rare, they do not technically fall under the category of a separate species.  However their is such a bird as a Blue-phase Ross.  these diminutive birds are extremely rare. So rare that some believe they are actually hybridized with Snow Geese, and then crossed back with a ross goose for several generations, leaving the recessive gene intact, until it pops up, once in a great, great while. These little birds are a highly prized trophy among collectors.

Then there are the birds that are protected by the Federal Government.  Among these are the Stellars and Spectacled Eiders, Emperor Geese and Trumpeter Swans.  These birds have been deemed by the government to have populations that would not support regular harvest.  However Emperor Geese have been making a comeback, that has sparked talk about possibly re-opening them to limit harvest.  Most experts agree that the current population could support limited harvest. On the flip side though, most do not see a re-opening unless the population reaches a much higher level.

Another interesting story for hunters is the Trumpeter Swan.  Protected by the government, they are illegal to harvest.  But, they are to similar to be consistently identified on the wing, by the average hunter. This fact has made the possibility of an accidental harvest a reality in the state of Utah.  To help prevent the accidental taking of Trumpeter Swans, Utah requires all swan hunting applicants to take a swan identification course. And they have instituted a sub-quota system, allowing that if 10 Trumpeter swans are taken during the season, the season will be immediately closed, for the remainder of that season.  Currently it is believed that only a few Trumpeters have been taken over the entire history of the swan hunt in Utah.  You won't get in trouble, but it is very, very discouraged, and could possibly spell the end of swan hunting in Utah.

Enough about why and why not we have chosen "the list" that we have.  Now for the fun part...

Given the vast array of different waterfowl out there, hybrids, juvenile color variations, sub-species, etc.  We have discussed, expanding the original collection once it's complete.  So that being said, if anyone has any of the above described birds that they would like to donate, or any others of interest, we will accept those as well.  I won't be publishing a list until the original collection is complete.  But it never hurts to get a head start!

Later,
Kev

THE LIST

Here's the list.  I've highlighted the birds we still need in red, birds that have been "promised" but have not made it yet are in blue, birds that I currently have possession are in black.  Unless otherwise noted, I need a drake and hen of all the duck species.

In order to accept the birds I need a signed transfer of ownership form.  If someone has an official form, shoot me a link and I'll post it up.  Otherwise a written note, with the current owners, name address, phone #, hunting license # (if birds are taken in multiple states, include all that are applicable), species description, date and location taken.  Along with that a small statement transferring ownership to me, as well it needs to be dated and signed.

Unfortunately, I am not able to reimburse anyone for shipping.  The liability is too high, and it "blurrs" the line, of compensation.  I will keep all "gifters" anonymous, unless otherwise specifically stated.

You'll notice that I've broken the Canada goose into sub-species. There are a couple reason's for that, not the least of which is simply because I think it's cool that they come in that many sizes. But mostly because here in Utah we see several  sub-species, and I think it would benefit the public to see that variety. 

A side note on that:

I am far from an expert on Canada Goose sub-species.  If you believe I have missed and/or misprinted any of the sub-species. Please let me know. I realize that the classifications are always in a state of "flux", so I tried my best to be accurate

Some have notice what they believe to be "deletions" from the list.  In the next day or two I'll write up a couple different things.  For now, I'll say this.  Most of the common "deletions", involve either sub-species, color morphs, or vagrants.  More on this later.

If you see a bird in RED or BLUE, that you either, have in your possession or can harvest, and would be willing to donate, please let me know.  You can post here in the comments, or you can email me kevbooth69@hotmail.com, if you'd rather stay anonymous.

Later,

Kev

DUCKS 


American Black Duck
American Widgeon
Barrow's Goldeneye
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Black Scoter 
Blue-winged Teal 
Bufflehead 
Canvasback 
Cinnamon Teal   (hen only)
Common Eider 
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser 
Fulvous Whistling-Duck 
Gadwall 
Greater Scaup 
Green-winged Teal 
Harlequin Duck 
Hooded Merganser
King Eider
Lesser Scaup 
Long-tailed Duck
Mallard 
Mottled Duck 
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail 
Red-breasted Merganser
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck 
Ruddy Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter  (drake only)
Wood Duck 

GEESE

Greater White-fronted Goose 
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Canada Goose 

                                        Atlantic
                                        Interior
                                        Giant
                                        Moffits
                                        Vancouver
                                        Dusky
                                       Western


                                       Richardsons/Hutchinsons
                                       Aleutian
                                       Taverner
                                       Cackler 

Brant 

OTHER 

Sandhill Crane 
Tundra Swan 

Project overview

Welcome the official jumping off point of the Waterfowl of North America project.

I started the project a few years ago, with the intention of having a mobile comprehensive display (that is one that could be setup at various venues) of all the recognized species of waterfowl that reside in North America.

Our mission, and what we hope to accomplish with the completed collection, is to provide an opportunity for any and all that are interested, waterfowlers, bird lovers, and general public alike, to be able to witness all in one place the enormous variety of waterfowl that lives in North America.

When coming up with the concept for this project, my initial intention was to raise awareness of the differences, in the various species of waterfowl, to be used by waterfowlers for  identification purposes.  I am an avid collector myself (6 species left, more on that later too), and thought that along with the obvious advantage of having representative specimens of each species available to educate waterfowlers, how awesome it would be to have an entire collection for the public to view.

The concept behind the project was borrowed, with permission, from John Otto, of Washington.  He had assembled a small collection, that included the 32 recognized drake ducks from North America.  I loved the idea and thought it would be great to expand that concept to include both hens and drakes, along with geese, cranes and swans.

To say I underestimated the enormity of the task would be and understatement.

The logical jumping off point for this thing would be to amass a list, either official or generally recognized as correct, of the species that would be included in the collection.  I was fortunate enough to find the website www.wildfowltraveler.com/.  The website is a "society" of sorts, similar to the Boon and Crocket club, for big game enthusiasts.  They have a comprehensive list of NA waterfowl that was agreed upon by a panel of members, that when all have been "collected" would allow a collector to become a member of the "Master" society.  I used this list as a base for my collection (see list here).  Along the way we added a few things, like including all the sub-species of Canada geese, etc.  But for the most part we have stuck with the main list.

The next step for me was to secure a/many taxidermist(s) that would be willing to mount the birds, either for free, or reduced cost.  In exchange I offered advertising for their services at all the events we attended with the display. Darin Gardner (Darin's website) stepped up to the plate and offered to mount all the birds, for this enormous project, free of charge.  I can't say enough how big of relief this was for me.  I was fearful of the amount of work it would take to not only coordinate the taxidermists, but all the legal paperwork that must accompany any federally protected bird (which all waterfowl are), when it is at a licensed taxidermy facility. Having Darin step in and accept the whole project, really helped me to believe that we could accomplish this enormous task.

The next step of course would be to collect all the specimens that we would hope to be displaying.  Federal law allows for waterfowl to be "gifted", to someone other than the original owner.  No form of compensation is allowed, be it trade, monetary, good will or otherwise, in exchange for protected waterfowl.  I have been very, very strict about this policy, not even allowing for compensation for shipping.  I felt I had to be, to protect the integrity of the project, and make sure that all legal avenues were followed.  I have in my possession, transfer of ownership documents, for all waterfowl that was donated/gifted to me/the project.  I retain ownership of all the birds for legal reasons.

Currently we have nearly all of the necessary, specimen(s) collected, except for an elite few.  I will be posting a list on the blog, that I will try and keep updated, incase some of you are willing and/or able to donate/gift any of these birds to the project.  We are only accepting, dead, frozen, unmounted specimens. This allows us the ability to make sure that everything will fit in with the display.

The next and final step will be to either purchase or construct, a purpose built trailer, that will house and store the collection and the corresponding display.  In my "other" life, away from the passion of waterfowling, I am a fabricator by trade.  I have the resources and ability to build a trailer like this.  We are in the planning phase of fundraisers, to purchase the materials to construct the trailer.  More on that to come.

In the coming months I hope to have updates on the project, along with a list of the remaining birds that we need to "collect" for the project.  I also plan on having a, species profile, with various websites and information about the different birds that we will be featuring once the collection is complete.  Along with that I will have updates on fundraisers, for the project.

Thanks for taking the time to read.  Post a comment if you'd like.

Later,
Kev