Dutch Birding volume 31 (2009) no 4

Baikal Teal in Amsterdam region in May 2006

On 18 May 2006, an adult male Baikal Teal Anas formosa was discovered late in the evening near Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands, and seen by c 15 birders. Next morning, it was gone but it was relocated on 21 May at Polder IJdoorn, Noord-Holland, c 15 km north-east of the first site. It was last seen here in the morning of 22 May and visited by 100+ birders. Both sites are flooded meadows with low water levels. Already on 14 May, probably the same male was reported at Langeraar, Zuid-Holland (15 km south-west of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel), but this sighting was submitted without sufficient documentation and could therefore not be accepted. The bird was unringed, had undamaged plumage and showed no aberrant behaviour. Identification was straight­forward and there were no indications of any hybrid influence. It was accepted by the Dutch rarities committee (CDNA) as the ninth record and the first since 1962. In recent years, several proven escapes have been reported in the Netherlands. In November 2005, a first-winter Baikal Teal was shot in Denmark. Stable isotope analysis of old and newly grown feathers of this bird showed that it almost certainly originated from Siberia, Russia. This record supports the CDNA policy to accept Baikal Teals that do not show rings, wing damage, hybrid plumage traits and/or aberrant behaviour as (possibly) wild birds.

Leon Edelaar, Guyotte van IJsselsteinlaan 32, 1934 GN Egmond aan den Hoef, Nederland
(l.edelaarquicknet.nl)