Rare Bird Alert Thursday, 8 October 1998 Baton Rouge Audubon Society Rare Bird Alert Area: Baton Rouge and Louisiana statewide Highlights: WOOD STORK GROOVE-BILLED ANI BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD LEUCISTIC HUMMINGBIRD (probable Ruby-throat) CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER CLAY-COLORED SPARROW BULLOCK'S ORIOLE Others birds mentioned: unidentified sulid (possible masked booby or northern gannet) double-crested cormorant american white pelican black-bellied whistling-duck blue-winged teal plegadis (probably white-faced) ibis roseate spoonbill osprey cooper's hawk merlin peregrine falcon common snipe piping plover gull-billed tern inca dove common ground-dove alder flycatcher american pipit palm warbler lincoln's sparrow white-crowned sparrow nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow leconte's sparrow lark sparrow dickcissel yellow-headed blackbird red-winged blackbird Transcript: Welcome birders to the BRAS' rare bird alert.  The following was recorded on Thursday October 8.  Highlights include an immature male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD in Metairie, a leucistic HUMMINGBIRD (probable ruby-throat) near Kaplan in Vermilion Parish, a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW on Grand Isle and one on Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans, WOOD STORKS near Baton Rouge and a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD in LaPlace. An immature male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD was banded in Metairie on 10/4.  He is still present as of 10/8.  Call Nancy Newfield at 504-835-7231 to arrange a time to visit.  A white (albino?) HUMMINGBIRD appeared 10/6 at a feeder just north of Kaplan and was still there as of 10/7.  If you would like to see it, call Mrs. Simon (pronounced SEE-mohn) at 318-643-8105 to arrange a time. A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was seen 10/4 by the water tower on Grand Isle.  Follow LA 1 to Grand Isle.  The water tower is on the north side of LA 1.  2 GROOVE- BILLED ANIS and an adult male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER were also seen in this area.  A CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was also seen on Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans the same day. WOOD STORKS have been seen along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge on 10/3 and 4.  Two were seen on 10/3 and 1 was seen on 10/4 at Richfield Riversilt which is 2 miles upriver from Ben Hur Road.  Exit I-10 at College Drive and head south on College, which becomes Lee Drive after it crosses Highland Road.  Continue on Lee Drive to Nicholson Drive and turn left onto Nicholson.  Go almost ½ a mile and turn right onto Ben Hur Road.  Ben Hur ends in a little over 3 miles at River Road.  Turn right onto River Road. Richfield Riversilt will be on your left in about 2 miles.  The storks were seen in the trees projecting above the levee.  I haven't had any subsequent reports. 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. The male BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD continues at 800 Fagot Loop in LaPlace.  A number of RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS are in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette. Also another BUFF-BELLIED has shown up in New Orleans.  Call if you would like more detailed directions (225-763-6805).  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 10/6:  2 AMERICAN PIPITS in southern Caddo Parish. Sightings from 10/5:  a PEREGRINE FALCON near Holly Beach and one at Lacassine NWR in Cameron Parish; a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in Welsh and a PEREGRINE just south of Welsh in Jefferson Davis Parish; and a MERLIN, 2 NELSON'S SHARP- TAILED SPARROWS and 2 LARK SPARROWS at the Pontchartrain lakefront in Bucktown in New Orleans.  Call if you would like directions to Bucktown. Sightings from 10/4:  an unidentified sulid, possibly MASKED BOOBY or NORTHERN GANNET, a half mile out over the gulf at Constance Beach in Cameron Parish; a PALM WARBLER, 5 DICKCISSELS and 5500 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS near Lawtell in St. Landry Parish; 3 OSPREYS, a COOPER'S HAWK, 4+ PEREGRINES, 1 ALDER FLYCATCHER, several PALM WARBLERS, an early WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, a DICKCISSEL and 3 YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS (on Estay Road in Port Fourchon) in the Port Fourchon and Grand Isle area; a MERLIN at Pontchartrain Beach in New Orleans; and over 2000 BLUE-WINGED TEAL and 3000 Plegadis, probably WHITE-FACED IBIS, near Pine Island in Jefferson Davis Parish. Sightings from 10/3:  30 BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING-DUCKS including a female with around 10 downy chicks on the Marsh Trail at Sabine NWR in Cameron Parish; over 100 GULL-BILLED TERNS in several mixed flocks along LA 82 west of Holly Beach in Cameron Parish; an INCA DOVE in Lafayette; and 2 COMMON GROUND-DOVES, a GROOVE-BILLED ANI, 7 PALM WARBLERS and a number of NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS at Recovery One in New Orleans East.  Call if you would like directions to Recovery One. Sightings from 10/2:  a juvenile PIPING PLOVER, an AMERICAN PIPIT, a PALM WARBLER and a NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW along the Red River in Caddo Parish; 2 COMMON SNIPE in St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish; and a possible LINCOLN'S SPARROW and a pair of SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS in Bucktown. Sightings from 10/1:  7 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 125 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS and a ROSEATE SPOONBILL just south of Baton Rouge along the Mississippi River; a NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW in Bucktown; and a probable LECONTE'S SPARROW in the Atchafalaya Swamp in St. Mary's Parish. Also flocks of 85, 33 and 51 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS were seen over St. Gabriel between 9/28 and 10/4. 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