Countability of Brown Pelican

["Larene Wyss" <lwyss at utah dot gov>]

Last weekend, someone asked me whether or not I thought the Brown
Pelican found at Newcastle Reservoir was countable under ABA listing
standards, based on the information that Steve Summers provided about it
being found by DWR in an emaciated condition and then released.  The
reason for the doubt was because it took human intervention for it to
survive.  I decided to contact the ABA Recording Standards and Ethics
committee to see what their opinion was.  This was before Steve sent a
second posting saying that it may not be the same bird, in which case
the countability of the Newcastle pelican would not be in question.    

I received a response this morning, and the good news is that the
Newcastle pelican is countable under ABA listing standards, regardless
of whether or not it is the same bird found by DWR.  Here is the
response I received.

Dear Larene Wyss,

I have read your narrative about the Brown Pelican being seen in Utah,
and I believe the rule in question is Rule 3. If you have a copy of
last
year's listing supplement you can find the rules and interpretations
on
pages 81 and 82. 
 
On page 82 under Rule 3, section C "unrestrained ", it says "A bird is
considered under the influence of captivity after its release until it
regains the activities and movements of a bird which has not been
captured." Item (i) further explains that "A bird is under influence
of
captivity during its initial flight away from its release point and
during subsequent activity reasonably influenced by the captivity,
such
as initial perching and preening or early sleeping or roosting near
the
release point."
 
As I understand it, there has been considerable time since the pelican
was released, and the bird has flown to a new area. I would therefore
consider the bird countable.
 
Tony White
Chair, Recording Standards and Ethics Committee

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