[cobirds] Colorado condors countable?

CObirders,

The ABA changed their rules for counting reintroduced indigenous birds on 9/27/14. Populations no longer need to be self-sustaining. They only need to have "successfully hatched young in the wild." This has caused a lot of discussion on the AZ/NM listserv regarding condors, which are now legal to count.

Do I recall correctly that a condor was reported from southwestern CO a few years ago? If so, would those who chased it and saw it be able to count it now? 

There is an ABA rule that lets a bird observed in the past "when it was not considered a valid species" to be counted when it becomes a valid species. I guess you'd have to determine if there had been successful hatching of young in AZ before you saw the bird in CO.

The in-house discussion of the decision to make the rule change is very interesting, particularly the lone dissenter's statement. It's available here:

http://listing.aba.org/rsec-vote-2014-04/

Scott Roederer

Estes Park