Rare Bird Alert Sunday, 29 November 1998 Baton Rouge Audubon Society Rare Bird Alert Area: Baton Rouge and Louisiana statewide Highlights: CINNAMON TEAL * ( * Louisiana State Review List) SWAINSON'S HAWK COMMON GROUND-DOVE BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD * RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD TREE SWALLOW (large roosts) BULLOCK'S ORIOLE * others birds mentioned: horned grebe eared grebe snow goose american wigeon gadwall canvasback redhead bufflehead yellow-crowned night-heron roseate spoonbill white-tailed kite bald eagle greater yellowlegs dunlin stilt sandpiper black-necked stilt american golden-plover wilson's plover franklin's gull common loon white-winged dove rose-ringed parakeets chuck-will's-widow ruby-throated hummingbird western kingbird (probable) scissor-tailed flycatcher cedar waxwing swainson's thrush wood thrush golden-crowned kinglet tennessee warbler northern parula magnolia warbler black-throated green warbler black-and-white warbler northern waterthrush harris's sparrow leconte's sparrow lark sparrow indigo bunting baltimore oriole orchard oriole rusty blackbird bronzed cowbird Transcript: Welcome birders to the BRAS' rare bird alert. The following was recorded on Sunday November 29. Highlights include 2 COMMON GROUND-DOVES in Baton Rouge, an immature SWAINSON'S HAWK at Port Fourchon, an immature male and 2 female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS near St. Gabriel, large TREE SWALLOW roosts in canefields along the Mississippi River, a CINNAMON TEAL in New Orleans and a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD in LaPlace. 2 COMMON GROUND-DOVES were seen 11/27 at Richfield Riversilt on River Road in Baton Rouge. Richfield Riversilt is 5 miles south of the LSU Vet School on River Road and is on the river side of the road. If you aren't familiar with the LSU campus, you can exit I-10 at College Drive and head south on College, which becomes Lee drive after it crosses Highland. Continue on Lee to Nicholson Drive and turn left onto Nicholson. Go almost ½ 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 and Richfield Riversilt will be on your left in about 2 miles. An immature light morph SWAINSON'S HAWK was seen 11/22 along Fourchon Road between Theriot and Estay Roads at Port Fourchon in Lafourche Parish. The hawk was last seen at Belle Pass following a barge up the channel. An immature male CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD appeared at a feeder near St. Gabriel on 11/21. You are invited to call Van at 225(504)-642-0113 to arrange a time to visit. Also 2 female CALLIOPES appeared at another feeder near St. Gabriel the same day. Call Steve or Donna at 225(504)388-2855 if you want to arrange a time to see them. Two large congregations of TREE SWALLOWS, each estimated to be over 1 million, have been found in canefields along the Mississippi River. One roost is located near Lucy in St. John the Baptist Parish across the Mississippi River from LaPlace. Take I-310 across the Mississippi River and take the next exit (exit 7 marked Hahnville/Luling) to get to River Road (LA 18) which runs along the west bank. Go west on LA 18 for 11 miles to an iron pipe gate on the left and park. This spectacular event occurs around dusk (~5:15 pm on 11/22 - lasts 7-10 minutes). A second equally large roost is in Vacherie in St. James Parish. And about 10,000 swallows are roosting in cane at the foot of the I-310 bridge in Luling in St. Charles Parish. A CINNAMON TEAL has appeared in New Orleans at the same spot as last year in a canal behind the Abramson High School. Exit I-10 at Read Blvd (after I-610 rejoins I-10) and turn right heading south on Read. In about 2 blocks turn right and head west on Dwyer Rd. The canal is on the right hand side of the road. If you don't find the teal there, just look for other access spots to the canal working your way back towards I-10. The male BULLOCK'S ORIOLE continues at 1409 Glendale and the male BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD continues at 800 Fagot Loop, both addresses in LaPlace in St John the Baptist Parish. BUFF-BELLIES are also in New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles and Cameron. A number of RUFOUS (or at least selasphorus) HUMMINGBIRDS are in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles and Cameron. And BLACK-CHINS are in Gramercy in St. James Parish, St Gabriel in Iberville Parish, Lafayette and Lake Charles. And some lingering RUBY-THROATS are scattered around as well. Migration reports are winding down and the number of wintering birds is on the increase. Here is a sampling of some of the more interesting reports: Sightings from 11/27: East Baton Rouge Parish: 5 LECONTE'S and a LARK SPARROW at Richfield Riversilt on River Road in Baton Rouge. Cameron Parish: 2 WHITE-TAILED KITES, one at Sabine NWR and the other along LA 82. Sightings from 11/26: Caddo Parish: an adult male HARRIS'S SPARROW south of Shreveport. Sightings from 11/25: Livingston Parish: 3 CANVASBACKS, 20-30 REDHEADS and lots of GREATER YELLOWLEGS and BLACK-NECKED STILTS and some RUSTY BLACKBIRDS at the Denham Springs Water Treatment Plant. Sightings from 11/24: Cameron Parish: both HORNED and EARED GREBES at the boat launch at the Sabine River bridge on LA 82. Sightings from 11/22: Cameron Parish: a probable WESTERN KINGBIRD at Peveto Woods Sanctuaries. St. Tammany Parish: 3 BUFFLEHEAD, an immature BALD EAGLE, 5 BLACK-NECKED STILTS, 2 WHITE-WINGED DOVES, 60 CEDAR WAXWINGS and 1 INDIGO BUNTING in Mandeville. St. Charles Parish: an adult BALD EAGLE on LA 18 near Killona. Orleans Parish: 550 AMERICAN WIGEON, 4 REDHEAD, 14 BUFFLEHEAD, 1 BLACK- THROATED GREEN and 1 BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER and 1 NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH at Bayou Savage NWR in New Orleans East. Lafourche Parish: a HORNED GREBE, over 150 SNOW GEESE, numbers of WIGEON, a dozen or so GADWALL, 7-8 BUFFLEHEAD, an adult YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT- HERON, 6 ROSEATE SPOONBILLS, 24 STILT SANDPIPERS, a FRANKLIN'S GULL and 2 COMMON LOONS at Port Fourchon. Jefferson Parish: 1500 DUNLIN, a juvenile AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, a WILSON'S PLOVER (all at the Exxon Fields), 175 WHITE-WINGED DOVES, 1-2 CHUCK- WILL'S-WIDOWS, an immature male RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, 2 SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHERS, 10-15 CEDAR WAXWINGS, a SWAINSON'S and 1-2 WOOD THRUSHES, 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, 3 TENNESSEE WARBLERS, a NORTHERN PARULA, a MAGNOLIA and a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, an INDIGO BUNTING, a BALTIMORE and 2 ORCHARD ORIOLES and a BRONZED COWBIRD on Grand Isle. And, if you're interested in ROSE-RINGED PARAKEETS, try the wires or palm trees along Robert E Lee between Elysian Fields and Paris in New Orleans. Exit I-610 at either Paris (2C) or Elysian Fields (3) and head north. Robert E Lee is approximately 3-4 major intersections north of the interstate. Try around dawn or late evening. 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