As Geoff Carey is away, perhaps I can answer these two questions on his behalf.
Firstly, the dates and places requested by Samuel Ma. I’m not quite sure exactly what information is being requested but there is now a lot of data out there already. Apart from the HK List itself, we have the HK Bird Data by species (as at the end of 2011)
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/view ... &extra=page%3D1
plus the details on any recent first records now published regularly and quickly here
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/view ... &extra=page%3D1
the historical HK Bird Reports here
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/web/eng/bird_report_eng.htm
with an index to many of the reports here
http://www.hkbws.org.hk/BBS/attachment.php?aid=12146
and the 2007-08 and 2009-10 HKBR now published. Is there something we are missing?
On Mike’s question about Hawfinch. The Records Committee reviews each record against the criterion of 'reasonable doubt' – in fact, the constitution reads
‘The decision to accept a record is made on the basis that all reasonable doubt has been removed by the record submission’
Each member assesses each record independently for identity and category separately. The identity of a HK First must a unanimous decision. The category is a majority decision with a conservative (Cat III) view taken for a 3-3 tie, so with six voting members at the moment, it requires a 4-2 majority to pass as Cat I. The elements considered in this decision include
Date of occurrence
Typical range of species
Rarity of species
Extent of migratory behaviour
Weather patterns
Habitat in which a bird occurs
Tameness or other behaviour
Plumage and bare part condition
Presence in trade of the species concerned
Previous records in relation to all the factors above
Unlike a Court of Law, the evidence for the category of an individual record changes over time since one of the considerations is ‘previous records’. So each new record may change the decision.
In the case of Hawfinch, the RC considered that this record, which was ‘clean’, changed the balance for Hawfinch and allowed the species to be classified as Cat I. In these circumstances (i.e. where previous potential ‘clean’ records exist), this record will be declared the first accepted Cat I record (which it is) but the RC will then review all previous records accepted to species to see if any can now also be accepted as Cat I, given the new circumstances.
As a result, the RC is currently reviewing all historical records of Hawfinch to see if any can now be accepted as Cat I. However, this review will take some time as all previous record details must be retrieved and each reviewed by each RC member, when once again the majority vote will be required.
As an outsider (which I once was), this seems a reasonable and fair system. We all have our individual grievances about particular records (including me) but the system does operate fairly, as I now know having sat in on the meetings (I am a non-voting member).
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Last edited by wgeoff at 30/11/2012 08:49 ]
