Rare Bird Alert Thursday, 1 October 1998 Baton Rouge Audubon Society Rare Bird Alert Area: Baton Rouge and Louisiana statewide Highlights: GROOVE-BILLED ANI BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD CLAY-COLORED SPARROW BULLOCK'S ORIOLE Others birds mentioned: magnificent frigatebird osprey mississippi kite bald eagle sharp-shinned hawk cooper's hawk merlin peregrine falcon long-billed dowitcher american golden-plover eurasian collared-dove rufous hummingbird american pipit lark sparrow dickcissel bobolink Transcript: Welcome birders to the BRAS' rare bird alert. The following was recorded on Thursday October 1. Highlights include a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE in LaPlace, a CLAY- COLORED SPARROW and GROOVE-BILLED ANI in New Orleans and a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD in LaPlace. A male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE is coming to a feeder in LaPlace since around the end of September. From Airline Hwy in LaPlace, turn north by the McDonald's onto Carrollwood. Go to the second stop sign and turn left onto Concord. Go 1 block and turn right onto Glendale. The oriole and usually some wintering hummingbirds are at the second house on the left (1409 Glendale). I'm not sure which feeder the oriole is coming to, but last year (presumably the same bird), he often approached by first flying into the tall trees behind the house. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and a GROOVE-BILLED ANI were found on 9/24 by Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans in an area known as Bucktown. Both were also seen again on 9/25, but have not been reported since even though the area was checked on 9/29 and 30. This spot seems to draw its share of rarities and is often worth a look. To get to Bucktown, take I-10 to I-610. Exit I-610 at West End/Canal Blvd (first exit after the split with I-10), just as you cross from Metairie into New Orleans. Go north on West End towards the lake a few miles. You'll pass several lights. At the light for Robert E Lee, turn left onto Lee, stay in the right lane and immediately bear right, following Old Hammond Hwy. After a few blocks, you'll cross a bridge over the 17th St Canal into Bucktown. Look for R&O's Restaurant on the left after about a block. Park at the base of the levee on your right. The sparrow was approximately 100 yards west of the paved pathway leading to the peninsula, just past where a paved pathway begins next to the shore. The ani was also seen in the weeds close to where the paved pathway begins and in the pine trees along a backyard fence on the other side of the levee. The BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD that has been coming to LaPlace for 6 years is back. Take Airline Hwy to LaPlace and turn south on Elm Street just past the Billy Hart Restaurant. The buffy is at 800 Fagot Loop, which is the northwest corner of Elm and Fagot Loop. He likes the feeders in the back. Also a number of RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS are in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette. Call if you would like directions. My number is at the end of this message. Migration reports are still coming in, but I only mention ones that constitute late or early dates, high numbers or are unusual for the locale. Sightings from 9/30: an AMERICAN PIPIT at the clay-colored site in Bucktown; a COOPER'S HAWK, 21 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and a juvenile AMERICAN GOLDEN- PLOVER along the Red River in Caddo Parish; and a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD in New Orleans. Sightings from 9/29: 1 OSPREY, 10 COOPER'S HAWKS, 7 MERLIN and 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS in Cameron; a LARK SPARROW and a BOBOLINK in Bucktown; a PEREGRINE FALCON in Westwego in Jefferson Parish and a MERLIN and a PEREGRINE over the southern lakefront of Lake Pontchartrain; an OSPREY, a COOPER'S HAWK, a MERLIN and a PEREGRINE FALCON over Rigolettes Bayou in Jefferson Parish; and 30-40 DICKCISSELS in Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish. Sightings from 9/28: 2 MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRDS in Baton Rouge along the Mississippi River near the LSU campus. Sightings from 9/27: a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in Bossier Parish in NW LA; and an OSPREY and a BALD EAGLE in St. Gabriel. Sightings from 9/26: 2 COOPER'S HAWKS and a DICKCISSEL in St. Gabriel. Sightings from 9/25: a MERLIN in Caddo Parish in NW LA. Sightings from 9/24: 2 LARK SPARROWS in Bucktown; a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK in St. Gabriel; and a late MISSISSIPPI KITE in Lafayette. Thanks for calling the Baton Rouge rare bird alert and good birding. Compiler: Karen Fay Home phone # : 225-763-6805 RBA phone # : 225-768-9874 Email address: lamskite@aol.com RARE BIRD ALERT ARCHIVE