On Thu, 7 Dec 1995, Stuart MacKay wrote:
> You don't need potter traps - a mist net and 20 seconds is more
> than enough. However catching it for purely recreational purposes is
> certainly bad for the bird, bad for banding and who really cares
> what sex it is anyway ???????

I would think that after all this debate regarding its sex, and no clear
answers, it actually makes alot of sense to catch it. Why? Because if
the collective tweeters can't figure it out, that probably means there's
not enough info regarding visual sexing of this particular species in the
field (giving all of us tweets the benefit of the doubt here that we are
competent birders, of course). Either we're a collective group of
nitwits, or there isn't enough info answer that question. Of course, if
there is no way to sex it in the hand (short of laps of course - I think
that should be avoided), then catching it would be a fool's errand. But
if measurements or other characters would cinch a sex determination in
the hand (again without invasive procedures), it makes alot of sense to
do so, determine the sex, and record all the plumage characteristics.
Thus in the future, this confusion wouldn't occur again (or we would know
that the bird couldn't be sexed). Hope that makes sense.


-------------
Michael R. Smith
Univ. of Washington, Seattle
whimbrel at u.washington.edu
http://salmo.cqs.washington.edu/~wagap/mike.html