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LABIRD-L for Monday, January 8, 2001
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Subject: Birding in Westen St. Martin Parish, Louisiana - Sunday 7
Jan. 2001
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 6:27am
I (J. Huner) birded the eastern side of Lake Martin-Western St. Martin
Parish, Louisiana from about 8:15 - 9:30 AM and the western 1/3 of the
Durand Pond Site - between Coteau Holmes and Catahoula, Louisiana from
10:15 AM-2:30 PM today, Sunday, 7 January 2000. Weather deteriorated
from morning to mid-afternoon with a frontal passage. Wind was
reasonably calm and temperatures were in the low 60's F. Rain did not
begin to fall, in earnest, until about 3 PM.
Lake Martin is open to the public. The Durand Pond Crawfish/Rice
System is private and inaccessible to the public. I did not get "into
the woods" at Lake Martin or Durand Ponds.
1. Pied-billed Grebe - LM-3 & DP-3
2. Double-crested Cormorant - LM-50
3. Ahinga - LM-1
4. Great Blue Heron - LM-4 & DP-1
5. Great Egret - LM-3 & DP-6
6. Snowy Egret - LM-2
7. White Ibis - LM-8 & DP-35
8. Mallard - LM-14 & DP-1
9. Northern Shoveler - DP-5
10. Green-winged Teal - DP-50
11. Lesser Scaup - DP-3
12. Ring-billed Duck - DP-20
13. Hooded Merganser - DP-1
14. Cooper's Hawk - DP-1
15. Red-shouldered Hawk - LM-1 & DP-1
16. Red-tailed Hawk - DP-1
17. American Kestrel - LM-1 & DP-1
18. Peregrine Falcon - LM-1
19. American Coot - LM-2,500 & DP- 6,500
20. Killdeer - LM-30 & DP-20
21. Greater Yellowlegs - DP-2
22. Lesser Yellowlegs - DP-3
23. Least Sandpiper - DP-1
24. Common Snipe - DP-4
25. Mourning Dove - LM-8
26. Belted Kingfisher - LM-3
27. Red-bellied Woodpecker - LM-3 & DP-2
28. Eastern Phoebe - LM-6 &DP-4
29. Loggerhead Srike - DP-1
30. Pileated Woodpecker - DP-1
31. Blue Jay - LM-1 & DP-6
32. American Crow - LM-15 & DP-100
33. Fish Crow - DP-159
34. Tree Swallow - LM-30m & DP-20
35. Belted Kingfisher - LM-3
36. Carolina Chickadee - LM-2 & DP-3
37. Tufted Titmouse - LM-1 & DP-1
38. Carolina Wren - LM-2 & DP-2
39. House Wren - LM-1
40. Eastern Bluebird - LM-15 - Gobbling tallow seeds at the Boat
Launch.
41. Hermit Thrush - LM-1
42. American Robin - LM-45 & DP-3
43. Northern Mockingbird - LM-3 & DP-3
44. European Starling - LM-5 & DP-2
45. American Pipit - LM-75 & DP-20
46. Yellow-rumped Warbler - LM-15 & DP-7
47. Pine Warbler - LM-2
48. Savannah Sparrow - DP-35
49. Song Sparrow - LM-5 & DP-15
50. Swamp Sparrow - LM-15 & DP-5
51. White-throated Sparrow - LM-15 &DP-15 (Someone is putting out
bird feed near the spillway at Lake Martin, presumably for sparrows.)
52. Northern Cardinal - LM-12 & DP-9
53. Red-winged Blackbird - LM-250+ & DP-300+
54. Eastern Meadowlark - DP-5
55. Rusty Blackbird - LM-1
56. Brewer's Blackbird - LM-15
57. Common Grackle - LM-2 & DP-150
58. American Goldfinch - LM-100+ & DP-4
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: raptors at feeders
From: Ron Rovansek <Rovansek.Ronaldj(AT)EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 9:36am
This is a multipart message in MIME format.
--Boundary_(ID_1OvagTNJLqr2mD/aDbw6GA)
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
Trond,
I think, as I have written before, that you should view bird feeding as
something that benefits you, not the birds. Whatever birds are present in
your region in the winter can undoubtedly find food for themselves, and
are not dependent on your feeders. This is true not only of the small
birds eating your food, but also the larger birds eating your small birds.
The only exceptions may be birds that are wintering farther north than
they otherwise would because you or someone else is feeding them. These
birds may actually rely on feeders, but in my opinion this doesn't
necessarily mean that you are doing them a favor by feeding. If you didn't
feed them perhaps they would migrate south to a region where they can
survive unaided. Or the bird at your feeder might die, but this might mean
that later generation of the species do not try to winter farther north
than they should. You shouldn't assume you are aiding the birds or the
birds' species simply because they are eating you food.
On the other hand, you may not be harming them much, either. If the hawks
at your feeders are simply pursueing the same birds they would naturally
hunt, but doing so now in your yard rather than in the woods, and if the
chances of a kill between predator and prey stay about the same at your
feeder as they would be in the forest, then I think you are not really
doing much harm, either. I feed birds most winters and generally there are
hawks that attack the birds at my feeders. I don't know if the feeders
create an advantage for the hawks. I assume ( for my own peace of mind)
that the hawks would be chasing and sometimes catching the birds
regardless of whether I was feeding the birds. I try not to create a
situation that allows hawks an advantage, but otherwise "let nature take
its course".
The largest benefit to birds from bird feeding, I believe, is that bird
feeding allows many people to see birds which they would not otherwise
see, and this creates interest in and concern for wild birds that might
not otherwise exist. Hopefully concern for wild birds translates into some
sort of action to protect birds or their habitats. I think, at least some
of the time, it does. I, too have seen some of my most exciting wildlife
scenes when a hawk attacks birds at the feeder. This type of scene is
particularly memorable for non-birders, and I think goes a long way toward
making a non-birder into a birder, or at least into someone who has a
little bit of awareness of wild birds.
Ron Rovansek
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 14:43:51 +0100
From: Trond Nilsen <trond.nilsen(AT)LARVIK.KOMMUNE.NO>
Subject: Cats and raptors
Good people!
Why not curtail the cat debate and pick up another interesting subject:
I feed birds only in winter, when we have snow and food is difficult to
find.
I feed them mainly to help them out, but it doesn`t brake my heart to see
a
Northern Gooshawk make a try for the pigeons or a Sparrowhawk hunt
Bramblings or Blue Tits at the feeding place.
Raptor-prey scenes is most exciting to me - as I believe it is to most
birders.
Is that making me "...invite to dinner whithout letting them know they are
the food" - as someone postet earlier in this cat debate, or particularly
cynical in my birding behaviour?
Trond
NE Norway
------------------------------
--Boundary_(ID_1OvagTNJLqr2mD/aDbw6GA)
Content-type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-transfer-encoding: QUOTED-PRINTABLE
<br><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New">Trond,</font>
<br><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New">I think, as I have written be=
fore, that you should view bird feeding as something that benefits yo=
u, not the birds. Whatever birds are present in your region in the wi=
nter can undoubtedly find food for themselves, and are not dependent =
on your feeders. This is true not only of the small birds eating your=
food, but also the larger birds eating your small birds. The only ex=
ceptions may be birds that are wintering farther north than they othe=
rwise would because you or someone else is feeding them. These birds =
may actually rely on feeders, but in my opinion this doesn't necessar=
ily mean that you are doing them a favor by feeding. If you didn't fe=
ed them perhaps they would migrate south to a region where they can s=
urvive unaided. Or the bird at your feeder might die, but this might =
mean that later generation of the species do not try to winter farthe=
r north than they should. You shouldn't assume you are aiding the bir=
ds or the birds' species simply because they are eating you=20
<br>
<br><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New">On the other hand, you may no=
t be harming them much, either. If the hawks at your feeders are simp=
ly pursueing the same birds they would naturally hunt, but doing so n=
ow in your yard rather than in the woods, and if the chances of a kil=
l between predator and prey stay about the same at your feeder as the=
y would be in the forest, then I think you are not really doing much =
harm, either. I feed birds most winters and generally there are hawks=
that attack the birds at my feeders. I don't know if the feeders cre=
ate an advantage for the hawks. I assume ( for my own peace of mind) =
that the hawks would be chasing and sometimes catching the birds rega=
rdless of whether I was feeding the birds. I try not to create a situ=
ation that allows hawks an advantage, but otherwise "let nature =
take its course".</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New">The largest benefit to birds =
=66rom bird feeding, I believe, is that bird feeding allows many peop=
le to see birds which they would not otherwise see, and this creates =
interest in and concern for wild birds that might not otherwise exist=
. Hopefully concern for wild birds translates into some sort of actio=
n to protect birds or their habitats. I think, at least some of the t=
ime, it does. I, too have seen some of my most exciting wildlife scen=
es when a hawk attacks birds at the feeder. This type of scene is par=
ticularly memorable for non-birders, and I think goes a long way towa=
rd making a non-birder into a birder, or at least into someone who ha=
s a little bit of awareness of wild birds.</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New">Ron Rovansek</font>
<br>
<br><font size=3D2 face=3D"Courier New">-----------------------------=
-----------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 14:43:51 +0100<br>
=46rom: Trond Nilsen <trond.nilsen(AT)LARVIK.KOMMUNE.NO&=
gt;<br>
Subject: Cats and raptors<br>
<br>
Good people!<br>
<br>
Why not curtail the cat debate and pick up another interesting subjec=
t:<br>
<br>
I feed birds only in winter, when we have snow and food is difficult =
to<br>
find.<br>
I feed them mainly to help them out, but it doesn`t brake my heart to=
see a<br>
Northern Gooshawk make a try for the pigeons or a Sparrowhawk &=
nbsp;hunt<br>
Bramblings or Blue Tits at the feeding place.<br>
Raptor-prey scenes is most exciting to me - as I believe it is to mos=
t<br>
birders.<br>
<br>
Is that making me "...invite to dinner whithout letting them kno=
w they are<br>
the food" - as someone postet earlier in this cat debate, or par=
ticularly<br>
cynical in my birding behaviour?<br>
<br>
Trond<br>
NE Norway<br>
<br>
------------------------------</font>
--Boundary_(ID_1OvagTNJLqr2mD/aDbw6GA)--
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: A Louisiana Day in the Life of Stacy and Mike
From: Stacy Peterson <SJPeterson(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 10:36am
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Good morning Labirders,
Yesterday, Sunday, 1/7/01, I met Mike Nelson at his Baton Rouge home shortly
after sunrise. Our goal was to become members of the illustrious "400-club"
-- birders who have seen 400 species of birds in LA. I'll forgo the suspense
right now and say that I came up 158 species short. Other than that, we had
an eventful day.
Our first stop was for the fictional Harris' Hawk in Sorrento. No luck,
although we did have Hooded Mergansers on the ponds there at the ponds along
Hwy 61 just north of the interstate.
We then drove to Tom Sylvest's home in Gramercy where he kindly welcomed us
into his wonderful backyard to view hummers. They were everywhere, and only
3 could be confirmed to be marked / banded. A couple Black-chinned,
Ruby-throat, and several Selasphorus apparently are new. We also saw
White-crowned Sparrow with the White-throats in his yard. It was a pleasure
to meet Mr. Tom in person.
After that we buzzed over to the Bonnet Carre Spillway in search of Sprague's
Pipit (unsuccessful), Horned Larks (unsuccessful) and longspurs
(unsuccessful). We did find lots of American Pipits and hundreds of Savannah
Sparrows. Mixed in with the latter was a wannabe
Snow-Savannah-Bunting-Sparrow. This bird was on the short-cut grass at the
RC airplane area. It's head was largely pure white with streaks of brown on
the nape and crown, dark malar, with streaks of white down the back. The
lores were yellow. The weirdest Savannah Sparrow I've ever seen and lots of
fun to study. We then walked the "Ammodramus fields" in search of LeConte's
Sparrows. We got stellar looks at 7 of these birds and flushed quite a few
more. Mike had discovered that the best way to view these birds was to flush
them to the edge of the large ponds in the back of the fields. The sparrows
would then sit in the dead vegetation bordering the pond and not want to fly
over the water. They can then be approached and viewed at leisure from
distances approaching 10 feet. That was fun. We also flushed an American
Bittern from the back area near the dirt piles behind the ponds, and had an
adult Bald Eagle fly over. It began raining while we chased sparrows.
We then decided to visit the Crescent Acres landfill and adjoining sewage
ponds south of New Orleans. The fella I talked to at the sewage plant was a
character. He easily gave us permission to bird there, and when I asked if
there were any off limits areas or spots we should avoid he kept repeating in
his southern accent, "You be awright. You be awright." So we had full run
of the place. Not much there, frankly. Lots of Ring-billed and Boneparte's
Gulls. A Little Gull was only seen in our dreams.
The real excitement came while we were birding the landfill. Not that we saw
any special birds -- a woodcock and a few "Ammodramus" (LeConte's and
possibly others) were the only noteworthy birds found in the rain. But just
as we were leaving we were approached by a young kid about 13 years old. He
said that he and his two younger friends had been hunting with pellet guns in
the woods on the other side of the landfill when one of his friends had shot
himself in the foot. As it turned out, his pellet gun had been filled with
one pellet and six BBs. When it started to rain, the kid thought he'd keep
his gun dry by sticking it down his pant leg. I don't know. Maybe it's
because I've lived a little longer. Maybe it's because I want to be happily
married for the rest of my life. But the last place I'd want to stick a
loaded rifle of any kind is down my pants. Anyway, with Mike doing the lions
share of the carrying, we eventually got him back to my car and took him
home. His Mom took him to the ER.
With the rain now coming down in droves, we decided to suspend our birding
for the day. We ended with 76 species and the realization that the 400 club
would probably be easier to reach in Texas or California.
Best birding,
--Stacy
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stacy Jon Peterson
210 Fechet Drive, Biloxi, MS 39531
3 blocks from the Gulf of Mexico
SJPeterson(AT)aol.com
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
BIRDS of Coastal MS: www.geocities.com/coastbirds/
GENEALOGY: www.my-ged.com/peterson AND
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=peterson
RAIN FOREST preservation -- help us for free! <A
HREF="http://rainforest.care2.com/welcome?w=216486224">
http://rainforest.care2.com/welcome?w=216486224</A>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: raptors at feeders
From: "Nancy L. Newfield" <colibri(AT)GS.VERIO.NET>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 10:46am
Ron,
At 10:16 AM 1/8/01 -0500, Ron Rovansek wrote:
>The largest benefit to birds from bird feeding, I believe, is that bird
>feeding allows many people to see birds which they would not otherwise
>see, and this creates interest in and concern for wild birds that might
>not otherwise exist. Hopefully concern for wild birds translates into some
>sort of action to protect birds or their habitats. I think, at least some
>of the time, it does. I, too have seen some of my most exciting wildlife
>scenes when a hawk attacks birds at the feeder. This type of scene is
>particularly memorable for non-birders, and I think goes a long way toward
>making a non-birder into a birder, or at least into someone who has a
>little bit of awareness of wild birds.
I couldn't agree more.
Thanks.
NLN
Nancy L. Newfield
Casa Colibr=ED=A9
Metairie, Louisiana USA =20
<colibri(AT)gs.verio.net>
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Pine Siskin, pheucticus grosbeak in New Orleans
From: "Lisa A. Robichaux" <lisaro(AT)MOBILETEL.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 11:12am
David and ALL:
Saturday, Jan. 6, I had a mature male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK in my
backyard platform feeder.
The only other time I have seen one in my yard was a couple of years ago
during the spring migration.
Lisa Robichaux
Raceland, LA
(50 mi. SW of New Orleans)
----------
> From: David Muth <dmuth(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET>
> To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
> Subject: Pine Siskin, pheucticus grosbeak in New Orleans
> Date: Sunday, January 07, 2001 7:44 PM
>
> All:
>
> Today on the New Orleans lakefront, along the fence at UNO east, among
about
> a hundred goldfinches, were two siskins. These are the first I've had in
New
> Orleans in a long, long time. Along with the single Purple Finch I had at
> the Nature Center Dec. 27, (and the ones seen by Tom Sherry on the New
> Orleans CBC), we are seeing a virtuasl WINTER FINCH INVASION! Well, by
> today's standards, anyway.
>
> Along the same fence I had a brief look at a problematic pheucticus
> grosbeak. It could have been either Rose-breasted or Black-headed--just
did
> not see it long enough. That is the third such grosbeak I've seen this
> winter--quite exceptional.
>
> David Muth
> New Orleans
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: amazing insectivore void
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 11:34am
LABIRD: I just talked with Steve Cardiff, and the amazing absence of
many insectivores that was so striking on the Crowley CBC was also evident
in the Cameron cheniers this weekend.
The most impressive "result" of the Crowley CBC on Friday was that those
rows of brush, overgrown fields, and bayou riparian strips that normally
have spectacular concentrations of small landbirds were virtually devoid
of birds! Some parties barely recorded Ruby-crowned Kinglet and
Orange-crowned Warblers, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was missed by many
parties. Crowley CBC vets are used to spishing in large numbers of these
birds at every patch of brush etc., even on blustery cold days, much less
warm still ones like Friday. My area had a total of 8 Ruby-crowneds,
fewer than I would have expected in a single small patch of scrub. Also
in low numbers were Blue-headed and White-eyed vireos, House Wren, and C.
Yellowthroat. But even some granivores like Cardinal and White-throated
Sparrow were way down in numbers, at least in my area. Wilson's Warbler
was missed completely on the CBC, something that I think we all would have
considered "impossible" a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway ... Steve and Donna noted the same thing in Cameron on 6-7 January,
in places where numbers were fairly good on the CBCs. Therefore, we
suspect that there has been a massive pullout (die-off seems much less
likely) over the last two weeks ... during one of the longest cold spells
we've had in years, with night-time temps usually in the 20s and daily
highs regularly staying below 50. Perhaps the 3 years of drought also
played a role in reducing food supplies?
Anyway, if anyone knows where several gazillion small birds went during
the last few weeks, let us know.
#################################
Van Remsen,
LSU Museum of Natural Science,
najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Hummer Banding in Thibodaux, Jan. 6, 2001
From: "Beth H. Maniscalco" <cone-bhm(AT)NICH-NSUNET.NICH.EDU>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 12:06pm
Humnetters and Labirders:
In my continued effort to keep Nancy Newfield out of trouble, I
invited her to Thibodaux on Saturday to put a bracelet on the
immature male Broad-billed spotted by John Conover on the Thibodaux
CBC on December 28, 2000.
She and John Sevenair and Sammy and I arrived at the home of Barbara
and Mike Gauthier promptly at 7 AM. In less than 15 minutes, Mr.
Broad-billed was in the bag. In addition, the following birds were
captured and banded:
#1 Ruby-throated female, #2 Ruby-throated female, #3 Ruby-throated
female, #4 Ruby-throated female (who left with purple and gold
stripes on her head in honor of our hummer hosts who are big LSU
fans), #1 Black-chinned female and the piece de resistance, CALLIOPE,
AHYfemale. (Tom, please use first observed date of 1/6/2001 for all
birds but Calliope. Use 1/5/2001 for this bird which was called by
the Lafayette Ladies ((Beckie Harieu, Judith O'Neale and crew)) and
Lisa Robichaux on Friday afternoon.) NOTE: Admonition to John
Conover, please do a better job next time. We might have gotten that
Calliope on the CBC. ;-^p
We left the Gauthier's and trekked over to the Maniscalcos to see if we
could trap a few of the new and/or unmarked birds hanging around our
place. The two Buff-bellieds observed for the CBC were trapped,
as well as a Black-chinned male who had been hanging around a while.
In addition, four female Rufous hummingbirds were trapped. One of
the Buffies captured was a returnee, having been banded at our place
on February 5, 2000. There are still 3-4 birds unmarked in the yard
at this time.
So, Mr. Tom, please make the following changes/corrections to the
Maniscalco totals:
Add: #3 and #4 Buff-bellied hummingbird
Change: #3 R/A type to Rufous, female
Add: #3 Rufous female, #4 Rufous, female, #5 Rufous, female
Banded Black-chinned was already reported (#1 Black-chinned).
This makes a total of 15 birds captured in the Maniscalco yard this
winter season, including 2 recaptures. Not even close to Lisa
Robichaux's totals, but respectable none-the-less.
Please note that anyone wishing to visit the Broad-billed (and
Calliope)is welcome. Contact me for information. I understand from
the Hummer Hostess, Mrs. Gauthier, that Mark Swan got some great
video of the bird on Thursday.
Beth Maniscalco
Thibodaux, LA
(Approx. 60 miles SW of New Orleans)
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Hummer Banding in Thibodaux, Jan. 6, 2001
From: "Nancy L. Newfield" <colibri(AT)GS.VERIO.NET>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 2:19pm
Beth,
At 12:07 PM 1/8/01 -0600, you wrote:
>In my continued effort to keep Nancy Newfield out of trouble, I
>invited her to Thibodaux on Saturday to put a bracelet on the
>immature male Broad-billed spotted by John Conover on the Thibodaux
>CBC on December 28, 2000.
>
>She and John Sevenair and Sammy and I arrived at the home of Barbara
>and Mike Gauthier promptly at 7 AM. In less than 15 minutes, Mr.
>Broad-billed was in the bag. In addition, the following birds were
>captured and banded:
>
>#1 Ruby-throated female, #2 Ruby-throated female, #3 Ruby-throated
>female, #4 Ruby-throated female (who left with purple and gold
>stripes on her head in honor of our hummer hosts who are big LSU
>fans), #1 Black-chinned female and the piece de resistance, CALLIOPE,
>AHYfemale. (Tom, please use first observed date of 1/6/2001 for all
>birds but Calliope. Use 1/5/2001 for this bird which was called by
>the Lafayette Ladies ((Beckie Harieu, Judith O'Neale and crew)) and
>Lisa Robichaux on Friday afternoon.) NOTE: Admonition to John
>Conover, please do a better job next time. We might have gotten that
>Calliope on the CBC. ;-^p
>
>We left the Gauthier's and trekked over to the Maniscalcos to see if we
>could trap a few of the new and/or unmarked birds hanging around our
>place. The two Buff-bellieds observed for the CBC were trapped,
>as well as a Black-chinned male who had been hanging around a while.
>In addition, four female Rufous hummingbirds were trapped. One of
>the Buffies captured was a returnee, having been banded at our place
>on February 5, 2000. There are still 3-4 birds unmarked in the yard
>at this time.
Thanks for keeping everyone up to date on our progress. It is noteworthy
that the Gauthiers had 8 individuals - and not a single Rufous [or other
Selasphorus]. After I left your place, I went to the home of Stuart and
Betty Lasseigne in LaPlace to try for a Calliope I'd seen on the
Reserve-Bonnet Carr=E9 Spillway CBC - not to mention a few other humms.
Stuart was waiting outside with Gene Street when I arrived and we wasted no
time setting up. In short order, we captured 7 birds - 1 Calliope, 1
Ruby-throated, 2 Black-chinned, and 3 Rufous. This was 1 more bird than
John Sevenair and I had tallied on the count. The two female Black-chinneds
were identical, so we either just perceived one bird or a new one arrived
after we censused earlier in the week.
It was a 21 hummer day [6 species].
NLN
Nancy L. Newfield
Casa Colibr=ED=A9
Metairie, Louisiana USA =20
<colibri(AT)gs.verio.net>
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: FW: small land birds
From: "Danny M. Dobbs" <ddobbs(AT)XCLLTD.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 3:54pm
-----Original Message-----
From: Danny M. Dobbs [SMTP:ddobbs(AT)xclltd.com]
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2001 2:12 PM
To: 'najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu'
Subject: small land birds
Van
I saw your post about the low small bird numbers. I bird Lake Martin in St
Martin Ph near Lafayette at least once a week and often more. I have been
twice since 1 Jan and what you say has been in evidence there as well. In a
total of probably 7 hours those two days I have yet to see a blue-gray
gnatcatcher which I would have thought impossible. There still seem to be
good numbers of ruby crowned but gold crowned kinglet numbers have
plummeted. Last Sat my son Rob and I walked the entire lake (4 or 5 miles I
guess) in about 4 hours and saw one orange crown warbler, one blue headed
vireo, and no white eyed vireo, all of which are very low numbers. We did
see 2 winter and 4 house wrens.
The one thing that has not diminished at Lake Martin is the sparrow
population. Rob and I estimated, we thought conservatively, 300+ white
throated sparrows, 25 or so songs, and 25 or so swamps. Also, 1 fox sparrow
which is the third straight time I have seen that sp at the lake this
winter (unusual, at least for me). Larger sp do not seem to have changed
since 1 Jan.
Danny Dobbs
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: A Louisiana Day in the Life of Stacy and Mike
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 5:46pm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Dear Friends,
The Harris's Hawk was confirmed by a group of birders from BR and NO. I =
stayed home over the weekend so did not have the opportunity to look for =
it. I found it at about 1:30 PM. I do not remember when Bruce Crider =
said that his crew found it but I find that birds are creatures of =
habit. Bill Fontenot keeps missing the Eastern Meadowlarks next to the =
Crawfish Shed (come visit, it really IS A SHED) because "if" they come =
down to visit, it is after 10:30 AM.=20
Jay H.
-----Original Message-----
From: Stacy Peterson <SJPeterson(AT)AOL.COM>
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu <LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu>
Date: January 8, 2001 10:36 AM
Subject: A Louisiana Day in the Life of Stacy and Mike
=20
=20
Good morning Labirders,=20
=20
Yesterday, Sunday, 1/7/01, I met Mike Nelson at his Baton Rouge home =
shortly=20
after sunrise. Our goal was to become members of the illustrious =
"400-club"=20
-- birders who have seen 400 species of birds in LA. I'll forgo the =
suspense=20
right now and say that I came up 158 species short. Other than =
that, we had=20
an eventful day.=20
=20
Our first stop was for the fictional Harris' Hawk in Sorrento. No =
luck,=20
although we did have Hooded Mergansers on the ponds there at the =
ponds along=20
Hwy 61 just north of the interstate.=20
=20
We then drove to Tom Sylvest's home in Gramercy where he kindly =
welcomed us=20
into his wonderful backyard to view hummers. They were everywhere, =
and only=20
3 could be confirmed to be marked / banded. A couple Black-chinned, =
Ruby-throat, and several Selasphorus apparently are new. We also =
saw=20
White-crowned Sparrow with the White-throats in his yard. It was a =
pleasure=20
to meet Mr. Tom in person.=20
=20
After that we buzzed over to the Bonnet Carre Spillway in search of =
Sprague's=20
Pipit (unsuccessful), Horned Larks (unsuccessful) and longspurs=20
(unsuccessful). We did find lots of American Pipits and hundreds of =
Savannah=20
Sparrows. Mixed in with the latter was a wannabe=20
Snow-Savannah-Bunting-Sparrow. This bird was on the short-cut grass =
at the=20
RC airplane area. It's head was largely pure white with streaks of =
brown on=20
the nape and crown, dark malar, with streaks of white down the back. =
The=20
lores were yellow. The weirdest Savannah Sparrow I've ever seen and =
lots of=20
fun to study. We then walked the "Ammodramus fields" in search of =
LeConte's=20
Sparrows. We got stellar looks at 7 of these birds and flushed =
quite a few=20
more. Mike had discovered that the best way to view these birds was =
to flush=20
them to the edge of the large ponds in the back of the fields. The =
sparrows=20
would t! ! hen sit in the dead vegetation bordering the pond and not =
want to fly=20
over the water. They can then be approached and viewed at leisure =
from=20
distances approaching 10 feet. That was fun. We also flushed an =
American=20
Bittern from the back area near the dirt piles behind the ponds, and =
had an=20
adult Bald Eagle fly over. It began raining while we chased =
sparrows.=20
=20
We then decided to visit the Crescent Acres landfill and adjoining =
sewage=20
ponds south of New Orleans. The fella I talked to at the sewage =
plant was a=20
character. He easily gave us permission to bird there, and when I =
asked if=20
there were any off limits areas or spots we should avoid he kept =
repeating in=20
his southern accent, "You be awright. You be awright." So we had =
full run=20
of the place. Not much there, frankly. Lots of Ring-billed and =
Boneparte's=20
Gulls. A Little Gull was only seen in our dreams.=20
=20
The real excitement came while we were birding the landfill. Not =
that we saw=20
any special birds -- a woodcock and a few "Ammodramus" (LeConte's =
and=20
possibly others) were the only noteworthy birds found in the rain. =
But just=20
as we were leaving we were approached by a young kid about 13 years =
old. He=20
said that he and his two younger friends had been hunting with =
pellet guns in=20
the woods on the other side of the landfill when one of his friends =
had shot=20
himself in the foot. As it turned out, his pellet gun had been =
filled with=20
one pellet and six BBs. When it started to rain, the kid thought =
he'd keep=20
his gun dry by sticking it down his pant leg. I don't know. Maybe =
it's=20
because I've lived a little longer. Maybe it's because I want to be =
happily=20
married for the rest of my life. But the last place I'd want to =
stick a=20
loaded rifle of any kind is down my pants. Anyway, with Mike! ! =
doing the lions=20
share of the carrying, we eventually got him back to my car and took =
him=20
home. His Mom took him to the ER.=20
=20
With the rain now coming down in droves, we decided to suspend our =
birding=20
for the day. We ended with 76 species and the realization that the =
400 club=20
would probably be easier to reach in Texas or California.=20
=20
Best birding,=20
=20
--Stacy=20
++++++++++++++++++++++++++=20
Stacy Jon Peterson=20
210 Fechet Drive, Biloxi, MS 39531=20
3 blocks from the Gulf of Mexico=20
SJPeterson(AT)aol.com=20
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////=20
BIRDS of Coastal MS: www.geocities.com/coastbirds/=20
GENEALOGY: www.my-ged.com/peterson AND=20
=
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=3Dpeterson =
RAIN FOREST preservation -- help us for free! =20
http://rainforest.care2.com/welcome?w=3D216486224=20
++++++++++++++++++++++++++=20
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 5:53pm
Dear Friends,
I birded, with semi-intensity, the UL Lafayette Farm (Western St.
Martin Parish) today. I found 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Wilson's
Warbler, a Pine Warbler, a Winter Wren, and a Blue-headed Vireo. I
also made the Crowley CBC and seems to me that Dave Patton and I found
3-5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I found only one Ruby-crowned Kinglet at
Lake Martin Saturday/Sunday and none at Durand Ponds on Sunday. Danny
Dobbs and his professional ornithologist son birded Lake Martin
Saturday for sure - met him there - so he may add to his comments to
this discussion tommorrow - he accesses e-mail from his office.
Guess it's like the tree falling in the woods and no one being there
to hear it! I suspect that the birds are there but they aren't singing
or showing themselves? I find that weekly posts from the UL Lafayette
Farm show 10-20 more species than I can pick up in one day.
Regards, Jay Huner
-----Original Message-----
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu <LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu>
Date: January 8, 2001 11:35 AM
Subject: amazing insectivore void
>LABIRD: I just talked with Steve Cardiff, and the amazing absence of
>many insectivores that was so striking on the Crowley CBC was also
evident
>in the Cameron cheniers this weekend.
>
>The most impressive "result" of the Crowley CBC on Friday was that
those
>rows of brush, overgrown fields, and bayou riparian strips that
normally
>have spectacular concentrations of small landbirds were virtually
devoid
>of birds! Some parties barely recorded Ruby-crowned Kinglet and
>Orange-crowned Warblers, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was missed by many
>parties. Crowley CBC vets are used to spishing in large numbers of
these
>birds at every patch of brush etc., even on blustery cold days, much
less
>warm still ones like Friday. My area had a total of 8 Ruby-crowneds,
>fewer than I would have expected in a single small patch of scrub.
Also
>in low numbers were Blue-headed and White-eyed vireos, House Wren,
and C.
>Yellowthroat. But even some granivores like Cardinal and
White-throated
>Sparrow were way down in numbers, at least in my area. Wilson's
Warbler
>was missed completely on the CBC, something that I think we all would
have
>considered "impossible" a couple of weeks ago.
>
>Anyway ... Steve and Donna noted the same thing in Cameron on 6-7
January,
>in places where numbers were fairly good on the CBCs. Therefore, we
>suspect that there has been a massive pullout (die-off seems much
less
>likely) over the last two weeks ... during one of the longest cold
spells
>we've had in years, with night-time temps usually in the 20s and
daily
>highs regularly staying below 50. Perhaps the 3 years of drought
also
>played a role in reducing food supplies?
>
>Anyway, if anyone knows where several gazillion small birds went
during
>the last few weeks, let us know.
>
>
>#################################
>
>Van Remsen,
> LSU Museum of Natural Science,
> najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: A Louisiana Day in the Life of Stacy and Mike
From: Stacy Peterson <SJPeterson(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 6:35pm
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
In a message dated 01/08/01 5:48:09 PM Central Standard Time,
jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM writes:
> The Harris's Hawk was confirmed by a group of birders from BR and NO. I
> stayed home over the weekend so did not have the opportunity to look for
> it. I found it at about 1:30 PM. I do not remember when Bruce Crider said
> that his crew found it
Jay and all,
In my last post I didn't mean to imply that the Harris's Hawk was
misidentified or anything like that. Just that I've missed that species
probably 90% of the time I've searched for them in AZ, TX, and elsewhere.
Recent reports from Sorrento seem to indicate that this bird is just as
elusive. Perhaps "fictional" wasn't the best choice of words. "Phantom" or
something similar probably would have been better.
Best birding,
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stacy Jon Peterson
210 Fechet Drive, Biloxi, MS 39531
3 blocks from the Gulf of Mexico
SJPeterson(AT)aol.com
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
BIRDS of Coastal MS: www.geocities.com/coastbirds/
GENEALOGY: www.my-ged.com/peterson AND
http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=peterson
RAIN FOREST preservation -- help us for free! <A
HREF="http://rainforest.care2.com/welcome?w=216486224">
http://rainforest.care2.com/welcome?w=216486224</A>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Bird habitat: Grand Isle Tree Planting
From: Jennifer Coulson <Jacoulson(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 6:55pm
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Subj: Grand Isle Tree Planting =20
Date: 01/08/2001 5:12:35 PM Central Standard Time=20
From:=A0 =A0 dmcdowelltnclafo(AT)hotmail.com (Don McDowell)
Last year thanks to a great response from several different places we had=20
one of our biggest volunteer days ever as we planted trees on the Exxon=20
Mobil property at Grand isle.=A0 Again this year on January 20th we will be=20
doing the same and in addition doing some work at Lafitte Woods, planting=20
trees, cleaning up the property and erecting a split rail fence around our=20
new parking lot on highway one.=A0 So we need another great response.=A0 If=20=
you=20
can help out let me know either to this email address or my tnc address,=20
dmcdowell(AT)tnc.org.=A0 We will work from 10 am until around 2 in the afternoo=
n.=20
=A0 We usually meet at the Sureway Grocery on Grand Isle.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Don McDowell
Director of Volunteers
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: David Muth <dmuth(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET>
Date: 8 Jan 2001 9:45pm
Van:
I noted the same thing here as I checked some of my spots this weekend.
Scrub areas and fence rows that were verdant Dec. 23 for the Xmas count look
like they've been hit with a flame thrower. Kinglets, gnatcatchers,
orange-crowned warblers, and even yellow-rumps way down. Seed eaters up,
though.
Here at my house, I have to scratch for a kinglet. A few orange-crowneds are
hanging in, but using nectar feeders a lot. Did not hear my Wilson's.
Of course, re: Crowley--the Xmas count has usually been done before Xmas,
not January 5. Any sense from your own experience (or can others comment?),
about how unusual this dimunution of insectivores in the hedgerows out there
really is?
Whence, I wonder?
David Muth
New Orleans
-----Original Message-----
From: Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information on Louisiana Birds
[mailto:LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu]On Behalf Of Van Remsen
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2001 11:35 AM
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: amazing insectivore void
LABIRD: I just talked with Steve Cardiff, and the amazing absence of
many insectivores that was so striking on the Crowley CBC was also evident
in the Cameron cheniers this weekend.
The most impressive "result" of the Crowley CBC on Friday was that those
rows of brush, overgrown fields, and bayou riparian strips that normally
have spectacular concentrations of small landbirds were virtually devoid
of birds! Some parties barely recorded Ruby-crowned Kinglet and
Orange-crowned Warblers, and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was missed by many
parties. Crowley CBC vets are used to spishing in large numbers of these
birds at every patch of brush etc., even on blustery cold days, much less
warm still ones like Friday. My area had a total of 8 Ruby-crowneds,
fewer than I would have expected in a single small patch of scrub. Also
in low numbers were Blue-headed and White-eyed vireos, House Wren, and C.
Yellowthroat. But even some granivores like Cardinal and White-throated
Sparrow were way down in numbers, at least in my area. Wilson's Warbler
was missed completely on the CBC, something that I think we all would have
considered "impossible" a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway ... Steve and Donna noted the same thing in Cameron on 6-7 January,
in places where numbers were fairly good on the CBCs. Therefore, we
suspect that there has been a massive pullout (die-off seems much less
likely) over the last two weeks ... during one of the longest cold spells
we've had in years, with night-time temps usually in the 20s and daily
highs regularly staying below 50. Perhaps the 3 years of drought also
played a role in reducing food supplies?
Anyway, if anyone knows where several gazillion small birds went during
the last few weeks, let us know.
#################################
Van Remsen,
LSU Museum of Natural Science,
najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
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