Hutchins\' Canadese Ganzen in Nederland / Hutchins\'s Canada Geese in the Netherlands

Na herziening van alle eerder aanvaarde gevallen van Hutchins\' Canadese Gans blijven vijf gevallen, alle uit 1997-98, staan op de Nederlandse lijst. Het is niet uitgesloten dat minder dan vijf verschillende vogels bij deze vijf gevallen betrokken waren. Hutchins\' Canadese Gans is het enige taxon van Kleine Canadese Gans op de Nederlandse lijst - bij andere taxa wordt een mogelijke wilde herkomst (vooralsnog) onwaarschijnlijk geacht. Alleen gevallen die aan de \'klassieke\' kenmerken van Hutchins\' Canadese Gans voldoen zijn aanvaard: formaat als Brandgans, korte hals, kleine snavel, roomwitte borst en lichte onderdelen, geen donkere keelstreep. Op basis van de revisie kan worden geconcludeerd dat dergelijke vogels daadwerkelijk zeldzaam zijn en dat het vaak lastig is om een Grote Canadese Gans van het taxon B c parvipes (Middelste Canadese Gans) of hybriden tussen verschillende taxa met zekerheid uit te sluiten.
Van Grote Canadese Gans staan de (niet beoordeelde) noord-oostelijke taxa B c canadensis en B c interior op de Nederlandse lijst. Van deze taxa is een wilde herkomst niet uit te sluiten maar is tevens duidelijk dat veel verwilderde exemplaren in Nederland aanwezig zijn (samen met exemplaren van B c maxima). Van het taxon B c parvipes dat in wilde staat naar Europa zou kunnen afdwalen zijn (nog) geen gevallen voor Nederland bekend.

A review by the Dutch rarities committee (CDNA) of all records of Hutchins\'s (or Richardson\'s) Canada Goose Branta hutchinsii hutchinsii in the Netherlands has resulted in the deletion of five records, concerning 10 individuals. Five records remain, all of single birds in 1997-98 (9 March 1997, Anjum, Dongeradeel, Friesland; 16 November 1997 to 2 January 1998, Korendijkse Slikken, Korendijk and Stad aan \'t Haringvliet/Den Bommel, Middelharnis/Oostflakkee, Zuid-Holland; 9-12 February 1998, Aalkeetbuitenpolder, Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland; 11-18 April 1998, Workumerwaard, Nijefurd, Friesland; and 24-26 April 1998, Bandpolder, Dongeradeel, Friesland, and 26 April 1998, Lauwersmeer, De Marne, Groningen). Some of these records may refer to the same individual. Hutchins\'s Canada Goose is the only taxon of Lesser Canada Goose B hutchinsii currently on the Dutch list; for the other taxa (Aleutian Canada Goose B h leucopareia, Cackling Canada Goose B h minima and Taverner\'s Canada Goose B h taverneri) a wild origin of birds recorded in Europe is, on current knowledge, considered impossible. The five remaining records all refer to birds showing the combination of \'classic\' hutchinsii characters: small size (similar to or smaller than Barnacle Goose B leucopsis) with relatively short neck and small triangular bill, pale brown underparts with even paler buffish-white breast and absence of dark chin-strap.
In this paper, the identification of taxa of Lesser Canada Goose is summarized; it is stressed that the knowledge is still incomplete and that further research, especially in the North American breeding areas, is needed. Apart from separating other taxa of Lesser Canada Goose as well as hybrids, the main pitfall for identifying Hutchins\'s Canada Goose is the exclusion of Greater Canada Goose B canadensis of the taxon B c parvipes (Intermediate Canada Goose) which can be equally pale and is often only slightly larger and with a longer neck and larger bill. Identification of Greater Canada Goose (including the taxa canadensis, fulva, interior, maxima, moffitti, occidentalis and parvipes) is not discussed in this paper. Greater Canada Goose is on the Dutch list because the north-eastern taxa B c canadensis and B c interior may occur as genuine vagrants although their occurrence is clouded by the numerous presence of feral birds and wintering birds from introduced populations in Britain and Scandinavia (also including B c maxima). There are no records (yet) of B c parvipes for the Netherlands.

Max Berlijn, Wilhelminastraat 9, 6285 AS Epen, Nederland
berlijn.m@budi.nn.nl
CDNA, Postbus 45, 2080 AA Santpoort-Zuid, Nederland
cdna@dutchbirding.nl

Spotted Sandpiper at Île de Gorée, Senegal, in February 2001

On 20 February 2001 around 09:00, Cornelie van der Hoop observed and photographed a Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia at Île de Gorée, off Dakar, Senegal. The bird was foraging and resting on the rocky shoreline at the south-eastern side of the island. It foraged among several Ruddy Turnstones Arenaria interpres.

SIZE & SHAPE Small wader resembling Common Sandpiper A hypoleucos, obviously smaller than nearby Turnstones. Impression \'heavy\' and robust. Steep forehead giving angled shape to head.
HEAD Clear pale white supercilium and darker eye-stripe. Crown, side of head and neck uniform grey.
UPPERPARTS Mantle uniformly brownish grey, edge of scapulars darker.
UNDERPARTS Breast, belly, flank and undertail-coverts white. Sides of breast up to neck with dark patch, clearly not connected on breast (field observation).
TAIL Not visible.
WING Uniform brownish grey.
BARE PARTS Bill clearly bicoloured, with orange-yellow base and dark brown (horn) tip. Leg and toe pale flesh to orange-yellow.
BEHAVIOUR Slowly walking over boulders.

Based on the white underparts, the bird was in winter plumage. The visible characters separating it from Common Sandpiper were the orange-yellow legs, toes and base of the bill, the stocky shape of the bird with a short (not visible) tail, the dark patch on the side of the breast, the clear white supercilium and the angled head (cf Svensson et al 1999).
This record constitutes the first for Senegal and the third for sub-Saharan mainland Africa. Previous sub-Saharan records concerned adults photographed in central Kenya on 4-5 September 1999 and in south-western Cameroon on 21 April 2000 (Bishop & Bishop 2001, Languy & Lambin 2001). In the south-western Western Palearctic, this Nearctic counterpart of Common Sandpiper is a frequent vagrant (Mitchell & Young 1997). For instance, there are several records for the Cape Verde Islands and the Canary Islands and at least three (in April 1990, May 1995 and April 1999) for Morocco (cf Bergier et al 2000, Languy & Lambin 2001). Most transatlantic records of this species are from Britain and Ireland, particularly in September-October, but also in other months.

Tom M van der Have, Furkabaan 674, 3524 ZL Utrecht, Netherlands
tvanderhave@hetnet.nl

Cornelie van der Hoop