[CALBIRDS] CBRC review and request for documentation

California birders,

This has been a record year for boobies off the California coast. The California Bird Records Committee (CBRC) will begin reviewing the following records in mid November.
Despite the fact that many of these birds were well seen and photographed, we have little or no documentation for most of these records. If you have any documentation to submit for these records, please do so as soon as possible. Feel free to forward this
request to local listservs as appropriate. Thank you.

Tom

Thomas A. Benson

Secretary, California Bird Records Committee

MASKED BOOBY

2018-098     17 Aug 2018     Approx. 42.8 km W of Pt. Loma SD

2018-099     19 Aug 2018     Thirty Mile Bank SD

2018-107     24 Aug 2018     Approx. 4.1 km WNW of Pt. Pinos MTY

2018-108     25 Aug 2018     Approx. 9.5 km W of San Clemente Island LA

2018-139     6 Sep 2018        Cortes Basin LA

2018-160     25 Sep-2 Oct 2018    Anacapa Island VEN

NAZCA BOOBY

2018-101     5 Jul 2018        Approx. 8 km SW of SE Farallon Island SF

2018-081     15 Jul 2018      Approx. 10.5 km SW of Sutil Rock SBA

2018-077     15 Jul 2018      Anacapa Island VEN

2018-084     19 Jul 2018      Approx. 4 km SE of Pt. Fermin LA

2018-088     6-7 Aug 2018     County Line Beach VEN & Leo Carillo State Beach LA

2018-089     10 Aug 2018      10.5 km W of San Diego River mouth SD

2018-100     19-23 Aug 2018      Los Angeles Harbor LA

2018-105     20 Aug 2018      Approx. 16.3 km WSW of Dana Point Headlands ORA

2018-116     28 Aug 2018      Approx. 12 km off San Diego SD

2018-114     29 Aug-4 Sep 2018     Sutil Rock SBA

2018-136     4 Sep 2018        Condor Bank SBA

2018-137     5 Sep 2018        Rodriguez Dome SBA

2018-138     7 Sep 2018        near San Clemente Island LA

2018-132     8 Sep 2018        Los Angeles Harbor LA

2018-159     23 Sep 2018      Nine Mile Bank SD

2018-177     6 Oct 2018        near Santa Barbara Island SBA

MASKED/NAZCA BOOBY

2018-104     29 Jun 2018      Estero Bay SLO

2018-102     8 Jul 2018         Approx. 27.8 km WSW of Bodega Head SON

2018-087     1 Aug 2018       Farallon Escarpment SF

2018-106     22 Aug 2018     Approx. 4 km S of Pt. Fermin LA

2018-115     29 Aug 2018     Tijuana River mouth SD

2018-117     31 Aug 2018     Santa Monica Bay LA

2018-149     13 Sep 2018      Platform Eureka ORA (2)

                     6 Oct 2018        Platform Ellen ORA (record number not yet assigned)

RED-FOOTED BOOBY

2018-085     23 Jul 2018       Approx. 6 km WSW of Dana Point Headlands ORA

2018-090     9-10 Aug 2018     Mission Bay SD

2018-091     9 Aug 2018       Approx. 17.5 km offshore from San Diego River mouth SD

2018-092     12 Aug 2018     Approx. 10 km SW of Huntington Beach Pier ORA

2018-093     12-13 Aug 2018    Moss Landing MTY

2018-094     17 Aug 2018     Mugu Rock and Santa Barbara Channel VEN

2018-095     17 Aug 2018     Approx. 48 km W of La Jolla

2018-096     18-21 Aug 2018    Pt. Loma SD

2018-097     19 Aug 2018     Approx. 45 km WSW of La Jolla

2018-109     25 Aug 2018     Approx. 10.4 km S of Newport Pier ORA

2018-110     25 Aug 2018     Pt. Pinos MTY

2018-111     25 Aug 2018     Approx. 4 km WNW of San Clemente Island LA

2018-112     26 Aug 2018     Imperial Beach SD

2018-113     29 Aug 2018     near Santa Barbara Island SBA

2018-127     1 Sep 2018        Approx. 12 km SW of Huntington Beach Pier ORA

2018-133     1-9 Sep 2018     Oceanside Pier SD

2018-126     3 Sep 2018        Approx. 19 km SW of Huntington Beach Pier ORA

2018-134     3 Sep 2018        Offshore San Diego County SD

2018-135     4 Sep 2018        near Santa Barbara Island SBA

2018-125     5 Sep 2018        Southeast Farallon Island SF

2018-150     17 Sep 2018      Los Angeles Harbor LA

2018-153     18 Sep 2018      Seacliff State Beach SCZ

2018-164     29 Sep 2018      Platform Eureka ORA

2018-168     30 Sep 2018      Approx. 30 km SSW of Four Mile Beach SCZ

2018-178     6 Oct 2018        near Anacapa Island VEN

2018-179     7 Oct 2018        Don Edwards NWR ALA

                    6 Oct 2018        Platform Eureka ORA (record number not yet assigned)

What kind of documentation should one submit to the CBRC? Following are some guidelines for submitting media and written descriptions that will be useful for helping the
CBRC evaluate records and archive documentation. Documentation may be submitted directly to the secretary via email (secretary@…) , or by using the online
submission form (http://www.californiabirds.org/report_sighting.html).

Media: This includes photos, audio recordings, and video. Photographs are usually the most useful documentation for evaluating records. If you have reasonably good (=identifiable)
photos, please submit them. If possible, please crop the photos before submission so that the bird fills most of the frame. Also, please send originals whenever possible, and not screenshots or back-of-camera photos. How many photos should you submit? That
really depends on the record. If it is a long-staying rarity that is easily identifiable and seen by dozens of people, then a few photos (1-3 per person) are sufficient. If it is a mega-rarity that is difficult to identify and only seen by a one or few people,
then send as many photos as possible that show the bird at different angles, postures, lighting, etc. Sometimes it is also useful to submit audio and/or video recordings of the bird, as some birds are more easily identified by their vocalizations. If relatively
short, most audio recordings are small enough to be submitted via email; please submit those along with a brief note indicating the date and location of the recording. Large audio files and video files can be submitted by using a file sharing service; please
contact the secretary if you need to submit a file that is too large for email.

Written descriptions: Some written details should always be provided – even the best photos should be accompanied by the name of the observer, the date, and the location,
at a minimum. Sometimes a photo can’t be obtained or vocalizations can’t be recorded. In some cases, behaviors might be noted in the field that aren’t preserved well by photos. In these cases, it is helpful to submit a written description of the bird. Ideally,
this description should be written as soon after observing the bird as possible; it is often helpful to make written notes in the field, or even dictate notes into the voice recorder on your smartphone while observing the bird, from which you can later generate
a written description. The most important aspect of a written description is that you report only what you observed, and not a general description of the bird from a field guide. At a minimum, your description should include the date and location of the observation,
and a description of the bird (size and structure, plumage, vocalizations, behavior). A brief discussion of how the bird was identified, and how similar species were eliminated is also helpful. Other useful information you might report includes optics used,
distance from bird, lighting or weather conditions, length of time viewed, and other observers present.