Many Seanetters frequently encounter severed wings or wings attached only to a scavenged sternum. When faced with such a find, traditional bird field guides, and indeed even the Beached Bird Guide, may not be sufficient to make an identification. Into that gap now steps the nascent SEANET Field Guide to Severed Wings. The field guide will be gradually developed and will be located at this blogsite.
Common Eider wing; an example of the kind of image to be included in our new Field Guide to Severed Wings
We will use a combination of photos taken at necropsy and photos submitted from the field by our volunteers. To ensure that your beached bird photos will be of the utmost utility to the project, try to ensure that you fully extend the wing when photographing to reveal even subtle markings, and be sure to photograph both the upper wing and the underwing.
SEANET hopes this project will serve both our own volunteers and the wider birding community. Check back soon for the first images in the field guide, and feel free to comment on it–we will be trying to establish the best system of organization and you are the best judge of what you need, so bring on the comments!
