Most distant vagrants (1 Viewer)

[jurek]

On the recent thread about European rarities, there was a discussion whether a vagrant Ashy Drongo could turn up in Norway. This made me interested.

How far away a sedentary species can move as a certain vagrant?

A short or a long distance migrant - how much further way it can go beyond, or to the opposite of its normal migration distance?

How do one actually measure a distance traveled by migratory birds other than ringing? In the case of the drongo, it was distance from the most extreme edge of the breeding range to the southern part of the wintering range. This may be sensible, because in migratory birds, often the populations from far north winter far south (probably because closer populations claim closer wintering areas).

I think that the number of unusual birds noticed in the Aleutians in the ABA area may be interesting - things like European Wood Warbler or Kentish Plover.

 

[01101001]

You may get more answers by posting it in the rarities forum (now that you can still change the location of this thread by yourself), though I may be wrong.

 

[dwatsonbirder]

A short or a long distance migrant - how much further way it can go beyond, or to the opposite of its normal migration distance?

A couple of examples for starters: Pale-legged leaf-warbler - most western record within core range (but still a vagrant) is from Satchari NP in Bangladesh. One confirmed by DNA on St Agnes, UK. Distance between the two points: 8,506.53 km give or take a few km. I can't think of a larger spread off the top of my head (Chestnut-eared bunting occurs west along the Himalayas) for the UK.
More notable is Dark-sided flycatcher, with a record from Peshawar in the west of its core range, and a record from Bermuda - a staggering 11,329.04 km +/- if heading west in a straight line, though that is very unlikely to have been the route taken - more likely from Kamchatka and over the arctic circle, still no mean feat at 9,749.64 km...

I think that the number of unusual birds noticed in the Aleutians in the ABA area may be interesting - things like European Wood Warbler or Kentish Plover.

Indeed, using the same "over the top" theory going the other way e.g. Wood Warbler (eastern most in Yekaterinburg) occuring in LA at a distance of 9,938.36 km is pretty astonishing.

If you don't already own it, I cannot recommend the book that Alex and James recently published highly enough - thoroughly researched, and arguably the definitive book on vagrancy.

 

[raymie]

Humboldt Penguin has been recorded as a vagrant in Alaska. Alaska's Icterine Warbler also comes to mind.

 

[Mysticete]

There is a record of Fork-tailed Flycatcher from Nunavat....that has got to be up there.

 

[Mysticete]

Humboldt Penguin has been recorded as a vagrant in Alaska. Alaska's Icterine Warbler also comes to mind.

IIRC, wasn't this further south than AK. At any rate, people were concerned over providence on that record, and it was never added to any checklists.

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

How many of the vagrants in the Aleutians are sedentary? You mention Wood Warbler, a friend found one of these in South Africa presumably going in exactly the wrong direction but not a sedentary species.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Several seabirds in the UK including White-chinned Petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird, a couple of Albatross sp, Ancient and Long-billed Murrelets.

 

[Andy Adcock]

How many of the vagrants in the Aleutians are sedentary? You mention Wood Warbler, a friend found one of these in South Africa presumably going in exactly the wrong direction but not a sedentary species.

Wood Warblers winter in Africa.

 

[Farnboro John]

Several seabirds in the UK including White-chinned Petrel, Red-billed Tropicbird, a couple of Albatross sp, Ancient and Long-billed Murrelets.

Tufted Puffin, too.

John

 

[Xenospiza]

On the recent thread about European rarities, there was a discussion whether a vagrant Ashy Drongo could turn up in Norway. This made me interested.

How far away a sedentary species can move as a certain vagrant?

A Crested Tit over 1 km from the nearest coniferous tree is a major event. Marsh Tit also does not really move at all.
I believe Magpie will lead to a twitch on some of the British offshore islands.

How about birds like Siberian Jay?

 

[Farnboro John]

A Crested Tit over 1 km from the nearest coniferous tree is a major event. Marsh Tit also does not really move at all.
I believe Magpie will lead to a twitch on some of the British offshore islands.

How about birds like Siberian Jay?

I confess: both on Scilly and Shetland. The Scilly one took two goes on boats to St Martin's, the first being a very very soggy dip.

John

 

[raymie]

IIRC, wasn't this further south than AK. At any rate, people were concerned over providence on that record, and it was never added to any checklists.

There are actually five records from the west coast of North America, the furthest northern one was in AK. Personally I think ignoring the clear pattern of these records and dismissing prevalence of a species not found in the private aviculture trade is ill-advised.

 

[Andy Adcock]

A Crested Tit over 1 km from the nearest coniferous tree is a major event. Marsh Tit also does not really move at all.
I believe Magpie will lead to a twitch on some of the British offshore islands.

How about birds like Siberian Jay?

A very rare bird even in Leningrad Oblast, I certainly never saw one in the years I spent there.

 

[jurek]

Siberian Jay occurred as a vagrant to Poland in 19. century.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Siberian Jay occurred as a vagrant to Poland in 19. century.

Was a (June?) record of a pair in Lithuania ten years or so ago - it was accepted, but I am very sceptical of this record

 

[Andy Adcock]

Siberian Jay occurred as a vagrant to Poland in 19. century.

Over a hundred, years ago!

 

[01101001]

eBird even has a record from Slovakia from 1990: Sign in, and a whole flock was seen in northwestern Ukraine in 1997 (Ільчук c, 2011.pdf in 🇺🇦: 'the birds were making Magpie-like sounds as loud as a flock of Starlings would').

EDIT: @opisska So, pace another recent thread, you can find mega rarities even in central Europe (Slovakia).

 

[01101001]

More sources, sorry: Zoznam druhov SR - Vtaky.sk and The Checklist of the Birds of Ukraine. Birds of Ukraine.

 

[jurek]

Over a hundred, years ago!

Yes - I don't know, maybe the range of Siberian Jay could reach further south back then? Some other northern birds, like Snowy Owl and Pine Grosbeak, were noticed much more often in Central Europe in the 19. century.