Louisiana Rare Bird Alert Wednesday, 30 December 1998 Baton Rouge Audubon Society Rare Bird Alert Area: Baton Rouge and Louisiana statewide Highlights: CINNAMON TEAL * ( * Louisiana State Review List) CALIFORNIA GULL * BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD * BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD * RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD WESTERN (possible PACIFIC-SLOPE) FLYCATCHER * PAINTED BUNTING BULLOCK'S ORIOLE * others birds mentioned: common goldeneye hooded merganser roseate spoonbill sandhill crane american avocet white-winged dove ruby-throated hummingbird western kingbird american robin prairie warbler ovenbird baltimore oriole Transcript: Welcome birders to the BRAS' rare bird alert. The following was recorded on Wednesday December 30. Highlights include a probable female BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD in Abbeville in Vermilion Parish, a WESTERN-type (possible PACIFIC-SLOPE) FLYCATCHER near Pine Prairie in Evangeline Parish, female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS in Baton Rouge and St. Gabriel, a male PAINTED BUNTING in Baton Rouge, an immature CALIFORNIA GULL in Cameron Parish, a male CINNAMON TEAL in New Orleans, a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD in Baton Rouge and a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE and a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD in LaPlace. A female BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD was discovered in a yard in Abbeville in Vermilion Parish on 12/29. The description sounds very good for Broad-billed - expecting confirmation soon. Exit I-10 at Lafayette and follow signs for US 167 to Abbeville (over 20 miles). At the first traffic light in Abbeville, turn left onto Bypass 14. Cross the bridge and turn right at the next light by a Burger King. Turn right again at the second street. Follow the curves and cross the coulee bridge. 301 S. Hollingsworth is the second house on the right. Call Elizabeth at 898-1469 if you have difficulty finding the house. An immature CALIFORNIA GULL , which may be one of the ones seen on the Creole CBC, was seen on 12/27 on western Rutherford Beach near Oak Grove in Cameron Parish. I was told the gull was about a half mile east of the cut, which may mean something to you only if you regularly drive Rutherford Beach. I believe the cut refers to a stream that divides Rutherford from Broussard Beach. To reach Rutherford Beach, exit I-10 at Chloe and head south on LA 397 for about 6 miles. Turn left on LA 14, which starts heading south in about 3 miles. Continue heading south on LA 27 at Holmwood. Follow 27 south through Creole, continuing on LA 82 to Oak Grove (~ 24 miles from Holmwood). Turn right at the T-intersection onto Trosclair Rd. The turn to Rutherford Beach is a little over a mile on the left. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is recommended if you plan to drive the entire beach. During a scouting trip on 12/26 for the Pine Prairie CBC, a possible WESTERN- type FLYCATCHER was found near Pine Prairie. The vocalizations led the observer to lean towards an identification of PACIFIC-SLOPE. The bird was found again on 12/27, but could not be found on the morning of 12/28, possibly due to the high wind. So far attempts to photograph the bird have not met with success. If you have a camera and the opportunity, please check it out. To look for the bird, exit I-10 or US 190 at LA 13 and head north. Pine Prairie is about 30 miles north of I-10 on LA 13. Turn left at the intersection with LA 10 which has a flashing light. Go about ¾ of a mile on LA 10. When the road takes a sharp right, turn right onto a gravel road and head north. Go past the 3 or so houses on the left for about ½ a mile. When this road makes a 90 degree right, find a spot to pull over. The bird was seen in the hedgerow on the left. It was on the back side (west) facing a cow pasture protected by an electric fence. A female CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD appeared in my yard in Baton Rouge on 12/22. Another CALLIOPE was discovered on 12/24. They were both here as of 12/28. If you would like to try and see one, exit I-10 on Siegen Lane and head south. Turn right onto Perkins Rd, which is the first light after the Winn Dixie to your left. Almost immediately take the first left into the Winderemere subdivision, turn right at the stop sign and follow the road around to the left, where it becomes Wordsworth Dr. The Calliopes are at 732 Wordsworth, which is on the left in about the middle of the block. One seems to have settled in the backyard and one continues in the front yard and regularly returns to the bare tree surrounded by aloes and yuccas in the center of the front yard. 2 female CALLIOPES are coming to feeders near St. Gabriel. Call Van at 225(504)388-2855 during the day if you want to arrange a time to see one there. A male PAINTED BUNTING has returned to the feeders at the library on Bluebonnet Rd. The library hosted several buntings, including a male last year for the entire winter. Exit I-10 at Bluebonnet and head south. The library is south of Perkins Rd on the right (west side). He is best seen from the geneology section. The male CINNAMON TEAL in New Orleans appears to be wintering in the canal between Read Blvd and Bundy Rd. He moves up and down the canal and has been seen from Lake Forest Blvd and from Dwyer Rd, both south of I-10. The canal is also north of I-10 behind Sam's. A BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD continues in Baton Rouge at 1180 Stanford Avenue. People are invited to come by, but are requested not to park on the street or in front of any of the neighbors' properties. You can park in the driveway, if there is room, or park on the right side of Stanford by the lake and walk back. Exit I-10 at Acadian Thruway and head south. Acadian becomes Stanford Ave after it crosses Perkins Rd. 1180 is 0.9 miles south of the Perkins intersection on the left. 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. The buffy is reliable, but be prepared for a long wait if you try for the oriole. Call for directions if you need them. BUFF-BELLIES are also in New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Cameron, Slidell and Covington in St. Tammany Parish. A number of RUFOUS (or at least selasphorus) HUMMINGBIRDS are in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Cameron and Covington. And BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRDS are in Gramercy in St. James Parish, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Slidell, Covington, Baton Rouge and Mandeville in St. Tammany Parish. What follows are interesting reports of unusual sightings for the locales or season or high concentrations of a particular species: Sightings from 12/28: Orleans Parish (New Orleans CBC): a flock of 170 HOODED MERGANSERS, 2 WESTERN KINGBIRDS, well over 6600 AMERICAN ROBINS, a PRAIRIE WARBLER and an OVENBIRD. Sightings from 12/27: Calcasieu Parish: 200 SANDHILL CRANES just south of Holmwood. Sightings from 12/26: St. John the Baptist Parish (Reserve CBC): 2 adult male RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, 8 BALTIMORE and 1 BULLOCK'S ORIOLES. (Don't have complete results) Orleans Parish: an adult male RUBY-THROATED and possibly several immatures in a yard in New Orleans. Sightings from 12/25: East Baton Rouge Parish: a male COMMON GOLDENEYE and 8 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS on University Lake at LSU in Baton Rouge. Sightings from 12/23: Jefferson Parish (Grand Isle CBC): 8 ROSEATE SPOONBILLS, 180 AMERICAN AVOCETS and 19 WHITE-WINGED DOVES. Thanks for calling the Baton Rouge rare bird alert and good birding. Compiler: Karen Fay Home: 225.763.6805 RBA: 225.768.9874 lamskite@aol.com RARE BIRD ALERT ARCHIVE