Michael Kennedy asked -

>I'm new to this list and am wondering if anyone has any thoughts or
>comments about the Falcated Teal near Tofino. Has it been "declared" a
>"wild and free" bird by any checklist committees, or is it reguarded as
>an escapee as suggested in the National Geographic and other field guides?

Assuming this is the same bird that has been spending the past few winters in
the same place at Tofino, the answer is that it has been accepted as a wild
and free bird by the B.C. Field Ornithologists Bird Records Committee.
Tofino's reputation as a vagrant trap factored heavily into the decision.

- Jack




Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
CANADA
jcbowling at mindlink.bc.ca