LABIRD-L for Sunday, January 28, 2001

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Time   Durand Pond Site, Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana - Jay Huner - Friday Jan. 26, 2001   Jay V. Huner   6:59am   Re: Martin Scouts here.....   Beth Maniscalco    8:54am   McElroy Swamp, Ascension Parish, Louisiana Birds January 27, 2001   Jay V. Huner   1:05pm   Surf Scoter, Brown Pelican in BR   Van Remsen    3:02pm   Re: crows and owls   fbio2251    3:26pm   Lake Martin, Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana Birds - January 28, 2001   Jay V. Huner   3:51pm   UL Lafayette Experimental Farm Birds - Week of January 21, 2001 - Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana   Jay V. Huner   4:33pm   RE OUR BOB   cecil tarver    4:38pm   Re: crows and owls   David Muth    6:03pm   Re: Urban Cooper's Hawks.   David Muth    6:23pm   Sandhill cranes are moving around   Roselie Overby    7:28pm   Re: Urban Cooper's Hawks.   Jennifer Coulson    9:26pm

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Subject: Durand Pond Site, Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana - Jay
          Huner - Friday Jan. 26, 2001
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 6:59am

Durand Pond Site, Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana - Jay Huner

I birded this Crawfish Board Site from about 9:15-11:15 AM. Weather
was cool with a light wind. The sky was overcast. Site is located
between the villages of Coteau Holmes and Catahoula and includes
several thousand acres of mostly crawfish/rice systems with several
large wooded wetlands and fringing cane.

1.    Pied-billed Grebe - 25
2.    American White Pelican - 50
3.    Double-crested Cormorant - 50
4.    Great Blue Heron - 25
5.    Great Egret - 45
6.    Snowy Egret - 4
7.    White Ibis - 60
8.    Ross's Goose - 1
9.    Wood Duck - 6
10.  Gadwall - 10
11.  Mallard - 30
12.  Blue-winged Teal - 1
13.  Northern Shoveler - 75
14.  Ring-necked Duck - 4
15.  Lesser Scaup - 250
16.  Bufflehead - 4 [new to list - 171]
17.  Hooded Merganser - 15
18.  Northern Harrier - 6 [including one silver male]
19.  Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
20.  Red-tailed Hawk - 8
21.  American Coot - 4,000+ [one of largest concentrations in region.]
22.  Killdeer - 30
23.  Common Snipe - 15
24.  Bonaparte's Gull - 2
25.  Ring-billed Gull - 35
26.  Herring Gull - 1 [new to list - 172]
27.  Foster's Tern - 2
28.  Belted Kingfisher - 1
29.  Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
30.  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
31.  Eastern Phoebe - 9
32.  Loggerhead Shrike - 2
33.  Blue Jay - 4
34.  American Crow - 20
35.  Fish Crow - 1
36.  Tree Swallow - 4
37.  Caolina Chickadee - 2
38.  Carolina Wren - 10
39.  House Wren - 1
40.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
41.  American Robin - 3
42.  Northern Mockingbird - 2
43.  American Pipit - 100
44.  Yellow-rumped Warbler - 50
45.  Common Yellowthroat - 1
46.  Savannah Sparrow - 50
47.  Song Sparrow - 20
48.  Swamp Sparrow - 4
49.  White-throated Sparrow - 8
50.  Northern Cardinal - 3
51.  Red-winged Blackbird - 200
52.  Eastern Meadowlark - 2


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Subject: Re: Martin Scouts here.....
From: Beth Maniscalco <cone-bhm(AT)nich-nsunet.nich.edu>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 8:54am

Labirders:

Purple Martin scouts also seen in Thibodaux, LA on Saturday, January 27,
2001.  Friend a little southeast of Thibodaux has had scouts all this week.

Beth Maniscalco
Thibodaux, LA
(Approx. 60 miles SW of New Orleans)


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Subject: McElroy Swamp, Ascension Parish, Louisiana Birds January 27,
          2001
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 1:05pm

McElroy Swamp, Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Jan. 27, 2001, Jay Huner

Cool, calm, overcast

This site is located along US 61 between the Town of Sorrento, La and
I-10. Much is cleared being in old field succession or crawfish ponds
with a significant amount of wooded wetland. This is private property
and is being birded for an Agro-biodiversity Project. I birded the
area from about 7:30 AM until 9:30 AM. I only covered about 1/3 of the
area I normally bird and this is reflected in the diversity and
numbers, especially the waterfowl.

1.    Pied-billed Grebe - 8
2.    Double-crested Cormorant - 2
3.   Anhinga - 5
4.    Great Blue Heron - 3
5.    Great Egret - 10
6.    Snowy Egret - 4
7.    Black-crowned Night-Heron - 1
8.    White Ibis - 8
9.    Mallard - 15
10.  Northern Shoveler - 20
11.  Ring-necked Duck - 30
12.  Hooded Merganser - 15
13.  Northern Harrier - 2 [one gray male.]
14.  Harris's Hawk - 1
15.  Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
16.  Red-tailed Hawk - 3
17.  American Kestrel - 1
18.  Merlin - 1
19.  Killdeer - 10
20.  Ring-billed Gull - 50
21.  Foster's Tern - 2
22.  Barred Owl - 1
23.  Belted Kingfisher - 1
24.  Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
25.  Downy Woodpecker - 1
26.  Eastern Phoebe - 6
27.  American Crow - 20
28.  Fish Crow - 3
29.  Carolina Chickadee - 10
30.  Tufted Titmouse - 2
31.  Carolina Wren - 10
32.  House Wren - 2
33.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 4
34.  American Robin - 30
35.  Northern Mockingbird - 6
36.  American Pipit - 30
37.  Yellow-rumped Warbler - 30
38.  Common Yellowthroat - 2
39.  Chipping Sparrow - 1
40.  Field Sparrow - 3
41.  Vesper Sparrow - 1
42.  Savannah Sparrow - 30
43.  Song Sparrow - 10
44.  Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
45.  Swamp Sparrow - 20
46.  White-throated Sparrow - 10
47.  Northern Cardinal - 8
48.  Red-winged Blackbird - 50
49.  Common Grackle - 10


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Subject: Surf Scoter, Brown Pelican in BR
From: Van Remsen <najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 3:02pm

LABIRD: On 26 January, Dan Christian and my Ornithology Class had a Brown
Pelican on Capital Lake, Baton Rouge.

Then, on Sat. (27th), Dan found a female SURF SCOTER on University Lake
near Dalrymple X LSU campus.

#################################

Van Remsen,
 LSU Museum of Natural Science,
 najames(AT)unix1.sncc.lsu.edu


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Subject: Re: crows and owls
From: fbio2251 <stouffer(AT)SELU.EDU>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 3:26pm

Labirders,

Crows must have a special vocalization that they use to call in the
reinforcements to harass owls.  I worked for a while with radiotagged Am
Crows.  With this technique we knew their territorial boundaries very well.
One day I found a group in the middle of the neigboring group's territory,
joining about 15 other birds (probably the resident family and another
neighbor) in mobbing a GH Owl.  They were normally aggressive at the
boundaries, but they appeared to unite to harass the predator.  That was the
only time I saw birds so far into another territory.

Phil Stouffer

>===== Original Message From Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information
on Louisiana Birds <LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu> =====
>Hello everyone,
>
>I've got nesting G-H owls next to my house in a stand of woods. This
afternoon, a flock of crows discovered one of them and proceeded to a major
league harassment. Every 2 or 3 minutes, the owl would fly to a new tree,
staying in the general area. They found both the male and
>female and both were flying around trying to avoid the crows, but the more
they flew, the more noise they made and the more that showed up. After about
10 minutes , there must have been 20 or 30 chasing them from tree to tree. I'm
sure the nest was left open for some time and finally
>the owls seemed to lose them. 20-30 minutes later and both returned to the
area. It was quite a spectacle.
>
>Toddy Guidry
>Lafayette


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Subject: Lake Martin, Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana Birds -
         January 28, 2001
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 3:51pm

Lake Martin, Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana Birds - January 28,
2001 - Jay V. Huner

Cool/Warm, Light Wind, Overcast

Birded along the eastern levee from LA 353 to the Spillway and went
out the east/west road to LA 31.

1.    Pied-billed Grebe - 20
2.    Neotropic Cormorant - 5+ [mature birds in tree with immature
Double-crested Cormorant - size difference was dramatic.]
3.    Double-crested Cormorant - 100+
4.    Anhinga - 1
5.    Great Blue Heron - 3
6.    Great Egret - 20 [saw 7 birds in trees in the heronry seemingly
staking out territories.]
7.    Snowy Egret - 4
8.    White Ibis - 15
9.    Wood Duck - 30
10.  Mallard - 2
11.  Red-shouldered Hawk - 3
12.  American Kestrel - 1
13.  Common Moorhen - 10+
14.  American Coot - 2,500
15.  Killdeer - 20
16.  Forster's Tern - 4
17.  Belted Kingfisher - 1
18.  Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6
19.  Pileated Woodpecker - 1
20.  Eastern Phoebe - 4
21.  Loggerhead Shrike - 2
22.  American Crow - 20+
23.  Fish Crow - 10+
24.  Carolina Chickadee - 10+
25.  Tufted Titmouse - 8
26.  Carolina Wren - 10+
27.  House Wren - 3
28.  Winter Wren - 3 [most I've ever seen]
29.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 4
30.  Eastern Bluebird - 3
31.  Hermit Thrush - 1
32.  American Robin - 50
33.  Northern Mockingbird - 7
34.  American Pipit - 75
35.  European Starling - 15
36.  Yellow-rumped Warbler - 20+
37.  Pine Warbler - 1
38.  Common Yellowthroat - 7
39.  Chipping Sparrow - 1
40.  Savannah Sparrow - 2
41.  Song Sparrow - 8
42.  Swamp Sparrow - 15
43.  White-throated Sparrow - 100+ [all over the place]
44.  Northern Cardinal - 20
45.  Red-winged Blackbird - 100
46.  Rusty Blackbird - 20
47.  Common Grackle - 50
48.  American Goldfinch - 30

This was a beautiful birding day but just couldn't come up with any
more birds = problem when one doesn't bird by ear very well. Met Danny
Dobbs who had seen a Golden-crowned Kinglet today and had Field
Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco yesterday.


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Subject: UL Lafayette Experimental Farm Birds - Week of January 21,
         2001 - Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
From: "Jay V. Huner" <jjhuner(AT)MINDSPRING.COM>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 4:33pm

UL Lafayette Experimental Farm - Mostly Crawfish Pond Area and Wooded
Wetland Woodlot - Western St. Martin Parish, Louisiana - Jay Huner -
Week of January 21, 2001

I was out of town Sunday-Tuesday. I only birded 24, 25, and 26
January. My technician, W. J. Bernard, III, doesn't count birds but
noted an influx of ducks and spotted one Hooded Merganser on 22
January. I did not see any.

Cold to cool, calm to light winds, light clouds to cloudy

1.     Pied-billed Grebe - W-24, Th-18, & F-15
2.    Double-crested Cormorant - Th-2 & F-1
3.    American Bittern - W-1
4.    Great Blue Heron - W-2, Th-1 & F-1
5.    Great Egret - W-3, Th-2 & F-2
6.    Snowy Egret - W-4, Th-3 & F-2
7.    Tricolored Heron - W-1 & Th-1
8.    White Ibis - W-4, Th-17 & F-20
9.    White-faced Ibis - W-1, Th-57, & F-35
10.  Wood Duck - Th-5 & F-10
11.  Green-winged Teal - W-10 & Th-10
12.  Mallard - W-2 & Th-5
13.  Blue-winged Teal - W-7, Th-50 & F-50
14.  Northern Shoveler - W-14, Th-75 & F-75
15.  Gadwall - W-8, Th-125, & F-100
16.  American Wigeon - W-2, Th-5 & F-10
17.  Redhead - W-1 & Th-5
18.  Ring-necked Duck - Th-300 & F-500
19.  Greater Scaup - Th-20
20.  Lesser Scaup - W-1, Th-100, & F-1
21.  Hooded Merganser - Present M
[Note: Ducks on large ponds at sunrise and depart when first
"spooked". Return around sunset. If you are not present before 7:30 or
after 4:30, you will not see many ducks.]
22.  Turkey Vulture - Th-2
23.  Northern Harrier - W-1, Th-1, & F-2
24.  Red-shouldered Hawk - Th-1 & F-1
25.  Red-tailed Hawk - W-3, Th-1 & F-1
26.  American Kestrel - M-1, Th-1, & F-1
27.  Merlin - Th-1
28.  Sora - Th-1
29.  Killdeer - W-4, Th-10, & F-10
30.  Common Snipe - W-4 & Th-3
31.  Laughing Gull - Th-1
32.  Ring-billed Gull - W-1, Th-4, & F-1
33.  Herring Gull - Th-1
34. Forster's Tern - W-1 & F-6
35.  Belted Kingfisher - W-1, Th-1, & F-1
36.  Red-bellied Woodpecker - W-2, Th-3 & F-2
37.  Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Th-2
38.  Downy Woodpecker - W-1 & F-1
39.  Northern Flicker - F-2
40.  Eastern Phoebe - W-3, Th-7, & F-6
41.  Tree Swallow - Th-1 & F-1
42.  Blue Jay - W-4, Th-4, & F-1
43.  American Crow - W-30, Th-20, & F-20
44.  Fish Crow - W-4, Th-10 & F-5
45.  Carolina Chickadee - Th-2 & F-1
46.  Tufted Titmouse - W-1 & Th-1
47.  Carolina Wren - W-2, Th-3 & F-1
48.  House Wren - W-2, Th-2 & F-1
49.  Sedge Wren - Th-2
50.  Marsh Wren - Th-1
51.  Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Th-2 & F-2
52.  Eastern Bluebird - Th-1
53.  American Robin - W-8, th-4, & F-10
54.  Northern Mockingbird - W-3, th-1 & F-3
55.  Brown Thrasher - F-1
56.  American Pipit - W-8, Th-15 & F-8
57.  Loggerhead Shrike - W-1, Th-2,& F-1
58.  European Starling - Th-2 & F-1
59.  Orange-crowned Warbler - F-1
60.  Yellow-rumped Warbler - W-20, Th-15, & F-10
61.  Common Yellowthroat - Th-3
62.   Northern Cardinal - W-4, Th-6, & F-4
63.  Vesper Sparrow - F-1
64.  Savannah Sparrow - W-75, Th-40, & F-50
65.  Song Sparrow - W-10, Th-15, & F-10
66.  Swamp Sparrow - W-10, Th-20, & F-10
67.  White-crowned Sparrow - W-2 & F-10
68.  Red-winged Blackbird - W-200, Th-100, & F-150
69.  Eastern Meadowlark - W-25
70.  Rusty Blackbird - W-10, Th-1, & F-50
71.  Brewer's Blackbird - W-20 & F-10
72.  Boat-tailed Grackle - W-75, Th-10 & F-20
73.  Brown-headed Cowbird - Th-150
74.  American Goldfinch - W-2 & F-3
75.  House Sparrow - Th-25  [Farm Shop = Always There]


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Subject: RE OUR BOB
From: cecil tarver <exk5hdl(AT)NETSCAPE.NET>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 4:38pm

Bob, that was indeed a great show. Thanks to you and A&E for sharing it with
us.
--
CECIL TARVER
LIVINGSTON
__________________________________________________________________
Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Webmail account today at
http://webmail.netscape.com/


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Subject: Re: crows and owls
From: David Muth <dmuth(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 6:03pm

Phil/Labird:

On the 3 occasions I've seen a Great Horned Owl here in my neighborhood in
the heart of New Orleans, it was because it was in each case being mobbed by
over 100 crows. (The cacophany was so spectacular in one case that half my
neighbors came outside to see what was up, and the woman in whose backyard
water oak the owl was perched, was outside banging pots to drive off the
crows.) This was obviously a lot of teritorial birds invited into a single
territory. I wonder if the larger numbers I've seen were a function of the
rarity of the encounter for these urban crows?

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 fbio2251
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2001 3:26 PM
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Re: crows and owls

Labirders,

Crows must have a special vocalization that they use to call in the
reinforcements to harass owls.  I worked for a while with radiotagged Am
Crows.  With this technique we knew their territorial boundaries very well.
One day I found a group in the middle of the neigboring group's territory,
joining about 15 other birds (probably the resident family and another
neighbor) in mobbing a GH Owl.  They were normally aggressive at the
boundaries, but they appeared to unite to harass the predator.  That was the
only time I saw birds so far into another territory.

Phil Stouffer

>===== Original Message From Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information
on Louisiana Birds <LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu> =====
>Hello everyone,
>
>I've got nesting G-H owls next to my house in a stand of woods. This
afternoon, a flock of crows discovered one of them and proceeded to a major
league harassment. Every 2 or 3 minutes, the owl would fly to a new tree,
staying in the general area. They found both the male and
>female and both were flying around trying to avoid the crows, but the more
they flew, the more noise they made and the more that showed up. After about
10 minutes , there must have been 20 or 30 chasing them from tree to tree.
I'm
sure the nest was left open for some time and finally
>the owls seemed to lose them. 20-30 minutes later and both returned to the
area. It was quite a spectacle.
>
>Toddy Guidry
>Lafayette


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Subject: Re: Urban Cooper's Hawks.
From: David Muth <dmuth(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 6:23pm

Glenn:

It seems to me that there are both 1) more Cooper's Hawks, and 2) more urban
Cooper's. I think the evidence is pretty good that Cooper's Hawks population
crashed as the result of DDT and other pesticides. When I was a novice
birder (in the seventies), I studied Accipiter after Accipiter, but I had
been birding several YEARS before I saw my first unequivocal Cooper's Hawk.
Part of this was from ignorance, another part from an overabundance of
caution, no doubt, but, still, Cooper's was actually rare for awhile.
Nowadays, except during the height of migration, I consider Cooper's as
likely as Sharp-shinned during the non-breeding season, if not more likely.
Again, there is some evidence that Sharp-shinned has been in a recent
decline, but Cooper's is definitely expanding.

As for their urban status, both as breeders and winterers, I have no doubt
that I've seen a real increase in New Orleans. Whether this represents a new
phenomenon, or simple a rebound from the nadir of the sixties and seventies,
I doubt anyone has the data to answer.

I'd like to hear from Tom Coulson, though. Here in New Orleans, no one has
been more viscerally aware of hawks these last 30 years than Tom.

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 gousset
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2001 9:26 PM
To: LABIRD-L(AT)listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Urban Cooper's Hawks.

I and another birder at different times today observed two different
Cooper's Hawks ( 1 A, 1 I ) feeding  on Rock Doves at the edge of a busy
street in Chalmette. There have been numerous other reports of urban
Cooper's this year and in recent years around New Orleans. Are there only
more Cooper's or are they adapting more to the urban environment?

Glenn Ousset


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Subject: Sandhill cranes are moving around
From: Roselie Overby <rosebird(AT)BAYOU.COM>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 7:28pm

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On my way back from the LOS meeting this morning, I didn't find any =
sandhill cranes in the fields south of Forest by La. Hwy 17.  The fields =
looked freshly-plowed.  I've previously seen them in the afternoon, so I =
don't know if it was too early in the day for them.  Around noon, a =
flock of about a hundred landed in a field near La. Hwy 2 across from my =
house!  They were far back in the field and appeared to be a bit =
nervous.  I didn't have a chance to monitor them during the afternoon.  =
They were gone by 5 pm.  Where do sandhill cranes roost?
                                                                Roselie =
Overby
                                                                Oak =
Grove in W. Carroll Parish

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Subject: Re: Urban Cooper's Hawks.
From: Jennifer Coulson <Jacoulson(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 28 Jan 2001 9:26pm

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In a message dated 01/28/2001 6:24:19 PM Central Standard Time,
dmuth(AT)BELLSOUTH.NET writes:

> I'd like to hear from Tom Coulson, though. Here in New Orleans, no one has
>

Dear David, Glenn and others,

Well, Tom's not exactly punching the keys, but he tells me that Cooper's have
been rare in Louisiana in his lifetime until the last five years.  Within the
last five years we've seen a gradual increase until this year.  This year's
explosion of Cooper's Hawks might be double what last year's population was
(for this area).

As for Sharpies, Tom says they were very common winter birds from 1965 to
1980.  He suspects that they have been declining gradually since about 1980.

Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks have always been bold where human habitation
is concerned.  They have always been species likely to hunt birds in urban
neighborhoods.  The recent increase in urban sightings (and nesting for
Coops) is probably just a reflection of the increasing Cooper's Hawk
population.

Jennifer and Tom Coulson

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