Wisconsin Society for Ornithology

One of the primary functions of the WSO Records Committee (RC) is to maintain a list of species requiring documentation and validate records of these species through a review process.  Periodically, the RC modifies its list of review species due to their changing occurrences in the state and revises its review process as needed.  With the start of the Summer 2012 reporting season on June 1, the following changes take effect:

1. The former “Short Form” intended for moderately-rare species is eliminated. Completed Short Forms were previously evaluated by the WSO Bird Reports Coordinator and Passenger Pigeon seasonal editors (but not the RC). However, with most WSO bird reports now coming electronically via eBird (www.ebird.org/wi), this review function is now best handled by the Wisconsin eBird team through the filter/flagged records process.  Birders who do not use eBird may be prompted for additional information when reporting these species by paper, on listserves, or in other forums.
2. The “Long Form” continues as previous but that terminology is discontinued. The single documentation form is now referred to as the “Rare Bird Documentation Form”.  These completed forms are reviewed by the RC.
3.  The list of species requiring documentation for acceptance into the state ornithological record is now referred to as the “Review List”.
4. All species previously requiring the “Long Form” move to the Review List, with the exception of Eurasian Collared-Dove. Of thirty species formerly requiring the “Short Form”, fifteen species move to the Review List and fifteen species now require no formal documentation outside of the WI eBird platform. Three species on the Review List have geographic modifiers whereby documentation is required statewide except at known hotspots.  One is the Black-necked Stilt, now a Review Species except at Horicon Marsh.  The two others are listed below.

Species previously requiring the Short Form that are now added to the Review List:

• Eared Grebe
• Western Grebe
• Little Blue Heron
• Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
• Yellow Rail
• King Rail
• Purple Sandpiper
• Little Gull
• Laughing Gull
• Parasitic Jaeger*  (*only away from Wisconsin Point)
• Great Gray Owl
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Yellow-throated Warbler** (**only away from Wyalusing State Park)
• Prairie Warbler
• Worm-eating Warbler

• Ross’s Goose
• Harlequin Duck
• Spruce Grouse
• Piping Plover
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper
• Iceland Gull
• Lesser Black-backed Gull
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• White-eyed Vireo
• Bell’s Vireo
• Carolina Wren
• Townsend’s Solitaire
• N. Mockingbird
• Yellow-breasted Chat
• Nelson’s Sparrow
• Summer Tanager