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LABIRD-L for Tuesday, January 9, 2001
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Subject: Purple finch
From: Patrick Willis <p.willis(AT)CENTURYTEL.NET>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 7:57am
I noticed a female purple finch at the ground feeder this morning. One
eye was matted closed. Is there anything I can or should do. She is
among a large flock of goldfinches, plus chipping sparrows,
cardinals,-the usual mixture at my feeders.
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Purple finch
From: Paul Conover <conover(AT)TALSTAR.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 8:11am
patrick,
is it definitely a purple finch, and not a house finch?
house finches are famous for eye diseases, which it sounds like your
bird
might have. they seem prone to diseases, period. right now i have a house
finch with one eye bulging out of its head, and another with a tumor half
the size of the rest of its head on the base of its bill.
you could call a rehabber, or put it to sleep, but if it's diseased,
you
want to keep it from the rest of your birds.
paul conover
tallahassee, fl
----------
> From: Patrick Willis <p.willis(AT)CENTURYTEL.NET>
> To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
> Subject: Purple finch
> Date: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 7:59 AM
>
> I noticed a female purple finch at the ground feeder this morning. One
> eye was matted closed. Is there anything I can or should do. She is
> among a large flock of goldfinches, plus chipping sparrows,
> cardinals,-the usual mixture at my feeders.
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: Phil Stouffer <stouffer(AT)SELU.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 9:34am
La-birders,
I think that Van and David are right that insectivore numbers are truly
down, particularly for rc kinglets. I think our banding data from
Tangipahoa Parish from past years show steady numbers through the winter,
so the Crowley change is unlikely to be a regular seasonal movement. Too
bad we're not banding this winter.
So where are the kinglets? Coastal Texas and Mexico? I did a CBC at
Brazos Bend, south of Houston, that apparently had 'normal' numbers for
kinglets, gnatcatchers, etc. I just saw a post on Mex-birds from a CBC at
Gomez Farias, in northeastern Mexico in the mountains, that had what
appeared to be low numbers of kinglets etc. When I was there and in the
central plateau of Mexico in the winter you couldn't swing a dead cat (an
allusion to an earlier thread) without hitting a kinglet. Ours don't
appear to be there. Then again, ours probably only started to move during
the cold weather in about the last week of December. Maybe by now they are
in the sunny Rio Grande valley.
On the other hand, gc kinglets are amply distributed in winter in areas far
less hospitable than the worst southern Louisiana has to offer.
kingletless in Hammond,
Phil Stouffer
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 10:56am
On Mon, 8 Jan 2001, David Muth wrote:
> 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.
David/LABIRD: I actually may have more RcKi and OcWa than usual this
winter at my house, but all are using hummer feeders and peanutbuttergoo
extensively.
>
> 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?
-- Although there is definitely attrition in winter insectivores from CBC
time to later in winter (very evident in cheniers and at my home census
plot), my sense is that even by February, you couldn't help but bumble
into bunches of these birds in those rice-field hedgerows -- I think we
would have noticed such an absence right away during winter fieldwork out
there.
Many of us have discussed this before .... the difference between early
winter and late winter is pretty dramatic here -- worthy of separate
seasonal designations in our LA bird book draft in fact -- but cries out
for some data. One of these years, we ought to repeat a CBC circle in
late Jan-early Feb and publish the comparison in J. Louis. Ornith.
#################################
Van Remsen,
LSU Museum of Natural Science,
najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Cheneyville Sandhills
From: JINGOLD <JINGOLD(AT)PILOT.LSUS.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 12:08pm
I'm planning a Bird Study Group trip to see the cranes in February. Are
they there?
Thanks!
Jim Ingold
LSU-Shreveport
jingold(AT)pilot.lsus.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Insectivorous bird void - a northern note
From: JINGOLD <JINGOLD(AT)PILOT.LSUS.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 12:12pm
I banded birds on my east Texas site this past Saturday (01-01-2001). I
recaptured a Ruby-crowned Kinglet that was originally banded on 11-11-2000.
This bird has weathered two ice storms, one major and one minor, and a 2.5
inch snow storm on News Year eve.
Jim Ingold
LSU-Shreveport
jingold(AT)pilot.lsus.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: An Interesting Intrafamilial Interaction
From: "Nancy L. Newfield" <colibri(AT)GS.VERIO.NET>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 12:31pm
Hi LABIRD,
Just looked out to see a Baltimore Oriole perched on the hummer feeder that
is hanging inside a hummer trap. That isn't real unusual. This adult male
visits the nectar dispensers 50 times a day. But, a female Bronzed Cowbird
was perched on the door of the trap. I don't see many Bronzed Cowbirds
during the winter months, though they are certainly findable elsewhere at
that time of year.
As soon as the oriole noticed the cowbird, he left the feeder and chased her
away before returning to sip more sugar water. Even though this oriole
would not likely encounter Bronzed Cowbirds on its nesting grounds, he
seemed to know that it was not desirable to have the cowbird around.
NLN
Nancy L. Newfield
Casa Colibr=ED=A9
Metairie, Louisiana USA =20
<colibri(AT)gs.verio.net>
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 12:48pm
Well,
For what it is worth, review of our western St. Martin Parish,
Louisiana data and McElroy Swamp data (Ascension Parish, Louisiana)
before the big December chill showed plenty of Ruby-crowned Kinglets
and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. I was "mobbed" by both species in both
areas when playing an owl tape. However, I do not dispute their
apparent absence now - having found few at Lake Martin, Durand Ponds,
and McElroy Swamp although I am finding 4-5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets a
day at the UL Lafayette Farm which was about the same as before the
big chill.
Jay Huner
-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Stouffer <stouffer(AT)SELU.EDU>
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu <LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu>
Date: January 9, 2001 9:38 AM
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
>La-birders,
>
>I think that Van and David are right that insectivore numbers are
truly
>down, particularly for rc kinglets. I think our banding data from
>Tangipahoa Parish from past years show steady numbers through the
winter,
>so the Crowley change is unlikely to be a regular seasonal movement.
Too
>bad we're not banding this winter.
>
>So where are the kinglets? Coastal Texas and Mexico? I did a CBC at
>Brazos Bend, south of Houston, that apparently had 'normal' numbers
for
>kinglets, gnatcatchers, etc. I just saw a post on Mex-birds from a
CBC at
>Gomez Farias, in northeastern Mexico in the mountains, that had what
>appeared to be low numbers of kinglets etc. When I was there and in
the
>central plateau of Mexico in the winter you couldn't swing a dead cat
(an
>allusion to an earlier thread) without hitting a kinglet. Ours don't
>appear to be there. Then again, ours probably only started to move
during
>the cold weather in about the last week of December. Maybe by now
they are
>in the sunny Rio Grande valley.
>
>On the other hand, gc kinglets are amply distributed in winter in
areas far
>less hospitable than the worst southern Louisiana has to offer.
>
>kingletless in Hammond,
>
>Phil Stouffer
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: Olga Clifton <humermom(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:08pm
Would we have to pay $5.00 to do the count?!!!!!!!!
Our Kinglets and Wilson's Warbler left after the first hard freeze.
Olga Clifton
Abita Springs,La.
West St. Tmmany Parish
----- Original Message -----
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
To: <LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 10:56 AM
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
> On Mon, 8 Jan 2001, David Muth wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> David/LABIRD: I actually may have more RcKi and OcWa than usual this
> winter at my house, but all are using hummer feeders and peanutbuttergoo
> extensively.
>
> >
> > 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?
>
> -- Although there is definitely attrition in winter insectivores from CBC
> time to later in winter (very evident in cheniers and at my home census
> plot), my sense is that even by February, you couldn't help but bumble
> into bunches of these birds in those rice-field hedgerows -- I think we
> would have noticed such an absence right away during winter fieldwork out
> there.
>
> Many of us have discussed this before .... the difference between early
> winter and late winter is pretty dramatic here -- worthy of separate
> seasonal designations in our LA bird book draft in fact -- but cries out
> for some data. One of these years, we ought to repeat a CBC circle in
> late Jan-early Feb and publish the comparison in J. Louis. Ornith.
>
> #################################
>
> Van Remsen,
> LSU Museum of Natural Science,
> najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
>
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: Paul Dickson <Paul(AT)MORRISDICKSON.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:14pm
Yes, checks made payable to Van.
-----Original Message-----
From: Olga Clifton [mailto:humermom(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET]
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 1:10 PM
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
Would we have to pay $5.00 to do the count?!!!!!!!!
Our Kinglets and Wilson's Warbler left after the first hard freeze.
Olga Clifton
Abita Springs,La.
West St. Tmmany Parish
----- Original Message -----
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
To: <LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 10:56 AM
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
> On Mon, 8 Jan 2001, David Muth wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
> David/LABIRD: I actually may have more RcKi and OcWa than usual this
> winter at my house, but all are using hummer feeders and peanutbuttergoo
> extensively.
>
> >
> > 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?
>
> -- Although there is definitely attrition in winter insectivores from CBC
> time to later in winter (very evident in cheniers and at my home census
> plot), my sense is that even by February, you couldn't help but bumble
> into bunches of these birds in those rice-field hedgerows -- I think we
> would have noticed such an absence right away during winter fieldwork out
> there.
>
> Many of us have discussed this before .... the difference between early
> winter and late winter is pretty dramatic here -- worthy of separate
> seasonal designations in our LA bird book draft in fact -- but cries out
> for some data. One of these years, we ought to repeat a CBC circle in
> late Jan-early Feb and publish the comparison in J. Louis. Ornith.
>
> #################################
>
> Van Remsen,
> LSU Museum of Natural Science,
> najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
>
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Insectivorous bird void - a northern note
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:14pm
On Tue, 9 Jan 2001, JINGOLD wrote:
> I banded birds on my east Texas site this past Saturday (01-01-2001). I
> recaptured a Ruby-crowned Kinglet that was originally banded on 11-11-2000.
> This bird has weathered two ice storms, one major and one minor, and a 2.5
> inch snow storm on News Year eve.
Jim/LABIRD: what intrigues me about the apparent RcKi evacuation is that
this species, as your record above demonstrates, is not one of those
sissy insectivores that can't handle real winter -- they occur normally
in winter much farther north than LA and routinely handle harsher weather
than they'd face in the worst of whatever south Louisiana could throw at
them; they are also not exclusively insectivores, with things like Poison
Ivy fruit a regular menu item. But several gazillion south Louisiana
RcKi's are missing.
#################################
Van Remsen,
LSU Museum of Natural Science,
najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:19pm
On Tue, 9 Jan 2001, Olga Clifton wrote:
> Would we have to pay $5.00 to do the count?!!!!!!!!
Olga -- you're a very very naughty girl!
Don't worry -- Paul Dickson will pick up everyone's fee.
#################################
Van Remsen,
LSU Museum of Natural Science,
najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: 2/10 Cleanup Bayou Sauvage, NWR
From: "Finley, Joelle" <jfinle(AT)LSUHSC.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:36pm
Betty,
I can't help on Jan. 20. My mother's 84th birthday is the 19th and we're
going to the Fairgrounds on the 20th to celebrate!
Hopefully, next time.
Keep up the good work!
I spoke with Juanita Perkins today. There is another group using the
Wilderness Park that day, but we will get something worked out. Thanks for
your help.
joelle
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Betty Brody [SMTP:Travels717(AT)AOL.COM]
> Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 12:30 PM
> To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
> Subject: 2/10 Cleanup Bayou Sauvage, NWR
>
> Please help the Crescent Bird Club and Lockheed Martin clean the bird
> habitat
> at beautiful Bayou Sauvage.
>
> TIME: Saturday, 2/10/01, 8:30 AM (you can come as late as 9:30 AM)-11:30
> AM
> PLACE: The Boat Launch parking lot on Highway 11
> DIRECTIONS: Drive on I-10 East through New Orleans East and take Exit 254
> (the North Shore, Irish Bayou, Highway 11 exit). Drive west on Highway 11
> about 2.5 miles, and the Boat Launch will be on your right. For further
> information, crescentbirdclub(AT)aol.com or 586-1381.
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
From: Paul Dickson <Paul(AT)MORRISDICKSON.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:35pm
Sorry, I already gave.
PD
-----Original Message-----
From: Van Remsen [mailto:najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 1:20 PM
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Re: amazing insectivore void
On Tue, 9 Jan 2001, Olga Clifton wrote:
> Would we have to pay $5.00 to do the count?!!!!!!!!
Olga -- you're a very very naughty girl!
Don't worry -- Paul Dickson will pick up everyone's fee.
#################################
Van Remsen,
LSU Museum of Natural Science,
najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: 2/10 Cleanup Bayou Sauvage, NWR
From: "Finley, Joelle" <jfinle(AT)LSUHSC.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:41pm
Sorry. I mistakenly sent this to the list.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Finley, Joelle [SMTP:jfinle(AT)LSUHSC.EDU]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 1:28 PM
> To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
> Subject: Re: 2/10 Cleanup Bayou Sauvage, NWR
>
> Betty,
>
> I can't help on Jan. 20. My mother's 84th birthday is the 19th and we're
> going to the Fairgrounds on the 20th to celebrate!
> Hopefully, next time.
> Keep up the good work!
> I spoke with Juanita Perkins today. There is another group using the
> Wilderness Park that day, but we will get something worked out. Thanks for
> your help.
> joelle
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Betty Brody [SMTP:Travels717(AT)AOL.COM]
> > Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 12:30 PM
> > To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
> > Subject: 2/10 Cleanup Bayou Sauvage, NWR
> >
> > Please help the Crescent Bird Club and Lockheed Martin clean the bird
> > habitat
> > at beautiful Bayou Sauvage.
> >
> > TIME: Saturday, 2/10/01, 8:30 AM (you can come as late as 9:30 AM)-11:30
> > AM
> > PLACE: The Boat Launch parking lot on Highway 11
> > DIRECTIONS: Drive on I-10 East through New Orleans East and take Exit
> 254
> > (the North Shore, Irish Bayou, Highway 11 exit). Drive west on Highway
> 11
> > about 2.5 miles, and the Boat Launch will be on your right. For further
> > information, crescentbirdclub(AT)aol.com or 586-1381.
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Gulf Coast Bird Club website
From: "Judith O'Neale" <JLONeale(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 1:48pm
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
The Gulf Coast Bird Club website is now up on Geocities at=20
http://www.geocities.com/gulfbird01/
Please look at it and give CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.=A0 Do you have any=20
pictures of birds or of our birding areas?=A0 Brian could scan a few good=20
ones and I could put some on the site. If so,=A0 bring them to the meeting.=20
Please remember that we must hold the copyright or have permission for use.
Anne Frohlich, Serials Librarian
McNeese State University Library
Box 91445
Lake Charles, LA 70609
Phone: 337-475-5741
1-800-622-3352 x5741
Fax:=A0 =A0=A0 337-475-5719
http://www.mcneese.edu/library/
Judith L. O'Neale
Lafayette LA
LOS Secretary/Treasurer
Check out our website at www.losbird.org
and the LOS Online store for birding needs
"How to be green? Here's the answer. Consume less. Share more. Enjoy=20
life."
Penny Kemp and Derek Wall, British ecologists
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: yo-yo migrants
From: Paul Dickson <Paul(AT)MORRISDICKSON.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 2:01pm
Labird: Following up on this idea that lost kinglets might come back
another month add this to the broth: It is widely held, I would suggest
known, that both waterfowl and Woodcock will follow the freeze line in
winter, yo-yo style. These unrelated and very different species are better
known in their winter habits than small insectivores because they are hunted
and hunters want to know where gamebirds are. Moreover, hunters are willing
to pay to find out i.e. Pittman-Robinson funding. So we know this about
gamebirds, they will make long distance but short term "reverse" migrations.
Now add to this knowledge the scattered sightings of a wide variety of birds
from the MOGP study of birds apparently crossing the Gulf in winter and in
summer or going the "wrong way" or at the "wrong time". Could it be that
many bird species cross the Gulf with extreme cold weather, only to return
weeks or even days later? Could they do the same in circum-gulf fashion?
If so with Woodcock and Mallards why not with kinglets? Migration all
started as a response to food supply variation. Must that plan be as simple
as one round trip per year? I find that very little in nature is simple.
Of course the answer to the kinglet question could be as simple as the
Greek's answer to the disappearance of swallows: those kinglets are just
buried in the mud waiting for it to thaw out.
Paul Dickson
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Insectivorous bird void - a Rio Grande note
From: Wylie Barrow <wylie_barrow(AT)USGS.GOV>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 2:11pm
There are several-fold more Ruby-crowned Kinglets at Big Bend this winter
compared to last.
I have 2 field assistants working at Big Bend National Park. One is Missy
Powell, a member of this list. They are conducting point counts from 15
Dec through 25 Feb. We have 70 count stations all located in the desert.
Each winter each count station is visited once per week for 8 weeks. Last
winter they detected a total 9 RCKIs on 560 20-minute point counts. This
year they detected 8 RCKIs on their first round of 70 counts.
On 20 December, Greg Levandoski (the other field assistant) sent a message
to me reporting the abundance of orange-crowned warblers, hermit thrushes,
and kinglets at the park compared to last year. These 3 species are fairly
common along the river and in the Chisos. But are rare in the desert.
Greg wrote on 20 December, "In the last couple days I saw another Hermit
Thrush in the desert scrub and an Orange-crowned Warbler too. There
continues to be a Ruby-crowned Kinglet in every wash in the lowlands."
At the time, I was unaware of the south Louisiana departure. I figured
maybe the cold weather in the Chisos drove them down into the desert? I
will ask for more details including abundance of kinglets in mtns and on
rio grande. I don't know if there are enough washes in the Chihuahuan
Desert to hold a gazillion kinglets, but I thought you may be interested in
these data. Besides, a very cold chenier woodland with acacia thickets and
vine tangles etc. still seems as though it would be more suitable to a
kinglet than a cold desert wash.
Wylie Barrow
National wetlands Research Center
Lafayette, LA
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: yard notes 16-31 Dec. 2000
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 3:49pm
LABIRD: Notes from my place near St. Gabriel, Iberville Par., for 16-31
December. Puddle ducks made a good showing, presumably a function of the
harsh weather; it's still the worst year ever for diving ducks. These two
weeks must have been one of the longest cold-spells ever for December,
with most nights below freezing, many close to 20 degrees, and many high
temps not breaking 50.
Mentionable birds = ....
DAWN sky-watches @ 30 mins (n=6); horizon-to-horizon fly-overs only.
Presumed/potential migrants:
-- Gr. White-fronted Goose: 5 going W on 12/18.
-- Mallard: 17 on 18 Dec., 2 on 19 Dec.
-- Green-winged Teal: 1 on 12/18.
-- Greater Yellowlegs: 1 going W on 12/19.
-- Belted Kingfisher: 1 on 12/19.
-- Am. Robin: a few high-flying presumed migrants, showing no strong
pattern: 5 going E on 12/17; 1 going N on 12/18; 9 going NE on 12/19; 21
going S on 12/26; 13 going S on 12/31. Low-medium height presumed
commuters: 36-57/day.
-- Am. Pipit: 1 on 12/17.
-- Cedar Waxwing: 34-57/day on 5 days -- good numbers.
-- Myrtle Warbler: 1-8/day on 5 days, most going N or E.
++++++++++++
MID/LATE-AM hawk-watches @ 30 mins (n=5); horizon-to-horizon fly-overs
only. Oddly, these were the most interesting hawk-watches of the "Fall"
(but that's not saying much).
-- White Pelican: 79 on 12/24, 33 on 12/29.
-- Mallard: 63 on 12/16 (one of my highest 1-day totals ever)
-- N. Shoveler: 5 on 12/16, 1 on 12/24.
-- Red-tailed Hawk: high-flying presumed migrant going SW on 12/16.
-- Sharp-shinned Hawk: 1 going SE on 12/24.
-- Cooper's Hawk: 1 going SE on 12/24.
-- Ring-billed Gull: 61 on 12/24, clearly a major movement.
-- Am. Robin: 2 high-flying presumed migrants going N on 12/24.
++++++++++++
AROUND the yard:
-- Snow Goose: unseen flock overhead on 12/16.
-- Mallard: 10 over on 12/16.
-- N. Pintail: 5 over on 12/18.
-- Herring Gull: 2 imms. overhead on 12/29 (fewer than 1 record/year
here).
-- Am. Woodcock: 1 persistently in garden. I've logged more
woodcock-watching minutes in the last few weeks than all my previous years
combined. I now consider it Louisiana's most beautiful bird, slightly
ahead of White-faced Ibis. Of course the one day I actually tried to find
the bird, on the Baton Rouge CBC, no luck.
-- WHIP-POOR-WILL: 1 calling 12/23.
-- Black-chinned Hummingbird: 3 birds daily.
-- Ruby-throated Hummingbird: a female throughout period (starting 11/13),
evidently one of the only ones in Baton Rouge area this winter.
-- Rufous/Allen's Hummingbird: imm. male throughout the period (starting
12/6) that has some Allen's potential.
-- CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD: 1 imm. male with a couple of rosy, partial
stripes in its throat present for several hours on 12/16, conspicuously
feeding at feeders and seemingly content. But by the end of the day,
gone. This suggest to me that this bird was using my yard as a stopover
point for migration (rather than being forced out of the woods or whatever
by diminishing resources -- if it had been forced to move in search of
food, why the heck did it stay only a few hours when it had ad libitum
food.)
-- Red-headed Woodpecker: 1 on 12/24, wandering from somewhere (my only
record since October).
-- Wilson's Warbler: 1 present and feeding at feeders through 12/28, then
disappeared (as have evidently many of this fall's bumper crop of this
species).
-- Dark-eyed Junco: 3 on 12/23.
-- Fox Sparrow: 1 intermittently in yard and at feeders.
-- Rusty Blackbird: 1 overhead on 12/29 (scarce).
-- Am. Goldfinch: showing their usual December increase: max-in-view
counts at feeders started at 17 on 12/16 and rose to 91 by 12/31. If it's
a typical winter, the big increase has yet to come.
( -- Winter Wren: still ZERO. I've never gone this long into fall/winter
without getting one)
*** Millennium + 365 non-moribund Eurotrash Scuz-Dove-Free days and still
counting ***
#################################
Van Remsen,
LSU Museum of Natural Science,
najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Pelicans & kinglets
From: Elizabeth Sigler <ESigler(AT)UNO.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 4:29pm
On Sunday, Jan.7, around 11:00 am, I was out on Lakeshore Dr. between UNO &
Bayou St. John, and my husband and I counted 50 White Pelicans flying west along
the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. I spotted one Ruby-crowned Kinglet flitting
about in a tree as well.
During the week between Christmas and New Year's, I went out in the backyard to
change the water in the birdbath. I hadn't realized it was frozen. I cleaned
out the ice and added fresh water. As soon as I got inside the birds converged,
mainly sparrows but I did have Yellow-rumped warblers and one lone Ruby-crowned
Kinglet. The kinglet landed on the ground in the perfect spot and the sun
caught its ruby crown. Where's a camera when you need it?
Liz Sigler
New Orleans
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Shreveport Field trips on Saturday - Smith's Longspurs
From: JINGOLD <JINGOLD(AT)PILOT.LSUS.EDU>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 5:00pm
Terry Davis asked me to post this to these lists:
He will try to take a group into the Shreveport Airport Saturday (13
January) Morning to see Smith's Longspurs. He has not made all of the
arrangements so you need to call him (318-741-1115) or page him
(318-682-0361) for details on when and where to meet.
He will also be doing an owl prowl Saturday afternoon into early evening in
Bossier Parish. Meet at 2:00 p.m. in the parking lot of Brookshires in
south Bossier City on US 71 near the Jimmie Davis Bridge (the old Food Lion
store).
Jim Ingold
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Kinglets
From: Roselie Overby <rosebird(AT)BAYOU.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 6:50pm
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I have only been back up here in NE La for two winters now, so I don't =
know the normal abundance of rc kinglets and orange-crowned warblers. =
I've rarely seen more than one rc in the yard at any given time both =
this winter and last. It was still here this weekend. I also had an =
orange-crowned warbler at my feet near one of the feeders. I've seen =
one off and on this winter; last winter I don't think I had one hanging =
around. There have been fewer golden-crowned kinglets this winter. =
There was a nice little flock of them earlier, but I haven't seen one in =
a week. I did hear at least one last week up in the pines. =20
Roselie Overby
Oak Grove in W. =
Carroll Parish
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[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: RcKinglets & O-c warblers
From: MiriamLDavey <athena(AT)INTERSURF.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 2001 8:16pm
Labird:
Before we left for the holidays (Dec 24), there seemed to be more of the
above at this location than usual for this time of year. There were also a
few Golden-cr Kinglets in the treetops. After returning around the 4th, I
have seen/heard only one R-c Kinglet, no Golden-crowneds, but still have at
least three Orange-crowned Warblers coming to the suet cakes.
Hummers are all still accounted for.
Bill Fontenot---if you're still keeping frugivory records, I saw a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet eating Poison Ivy berries here on Dec 29,2000.
Looked for the Vaux's Swifts at LSU Lakes yesterday from 11:15 to 12:15,
but didn't find th4em. There were two Ruddy Ducks among the usuals,
though, and that was nice.
MiriamLDavey
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