Hi Michele,

It looks like the Common Pochard is indeed an escapee.  I have been 
trying to do some digging into the subject, but haven't gotten a lot of 
additional information.  The evidence for an escapee is based on two 
pieces of information.  First, the band type has been identified as what 
is called a "seamless" band in which the band is slipped over the foot 
of a duckling.  As the duckling grows, the band is no longer able to 
slip over the bird's foot.  Because the window of opportunity for 
applying such a band is brief, the suggestion is that this is a bird 
that was born in captivity.  Although the photos of the band do not 
necessarily provide clear evidence that the band is seamless (i.e., you 
can't see the band from all angles simultaneously), the identification 
of a seamless band was based on its narrow width relative to a 
traditional Fish and Wildlife Service band.  I'm still trying to get 
some additional information from European banders to eliminate the 
possibility of this being a European band.  The second line of evidence 
comes from a researcher who knows the pochard supplier.  A direct quote 
from the researcher was: "I have first-hand information that an 
aviculturalist who raised Pochard[s] recognizes the band in the photo as 
almost certainly his and that he sold some to an aviary about 80 miles 
south of where the bird is being seen."

That's the evidence for now...
Allan

On 1/21/2013 1:43 AM, Michele Patenaude wrote:
> Is this bird countable on a life list? Is it wild or an escaped domestic?
>
> Michele Patenaude
> 172 Woodbury Road
> Burlington, VT 05408
> 802-862-4085

-- 

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Allan M. Strong
University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
220L Aiken Center

81 Carrigan Drive
Burlington, VT 05405
802-656-2910
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