Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from The Louisiana Birding List > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Thursday, February 9 at 03:07 PM EST The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Band-bellied Crake,©BirdQuest

9 Feb Re: BRAS 2/12 Field trip change -- Didn't factor in Mardi Gras! [Jane Patterson ] 9 Feb BRAS 2/12 Field trip change -- Didn't factor in Mardi Gras! [Jane Patterson ] 9 Feb Am. Goldfinches [Sandra Barbier ] 9 Feb UNBELIEVABLE DAY AND IT AIN'T OVER YET [Beth Maniscalco ] 9 Feb Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE [John Dillon ] 9 Feb 'Goldfinches Gone Wild' [thomas finnie ] 9 Feb WBA stats updated [James Remsen ] 9 Feb weekend atlasing Eagle Expo ["Steven W. Cardiff" ] 9 Feb Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE [janine robin ] 9 Feb atlasing ["Steven W. Cardiff" ] 9 Feb Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE [Harriett Pooler ] 9 Feb Re: goldfinches [Claire Thomas ] 9 Feb Re: goldfinches and Lesser Goldfinches? [Jay V Huner ] 9 Feb goldfinches [Beth Willis ] 8 Feb Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE [Wendy Rihner ] 8 Feb Plaquimines Parish Sundy [Ed Wallace ] 8 Feb Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE [Curtis Sorrells ] 8 Feb Fw: eBird Report - Cedarton Quad, Feb 8, 2012 [Stephen Pagans ] 8 Feb Re: Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads [Rosemary Seidler ] 8 Feb Fwd: eBird Report - Husser Quad, Feb 8, 2012 GTTO relocated [janine robin ] 8 Feb Re: Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads [Roselie Overby ] 8 Feb Getting Close to 10 hours - Temple Quad, Feb 8, 2012 [Jay V Huner ] 8 Feb eBird Report - Tunica Quad, Feb 8, 2012 [Bob & Karen Pierson ] 8 Feb Harvey's Green-tailed towhee in Husser Quad [janine robin ] 8 Feb Re: Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads ["Bayless, Victoria M." ] 8 Feb Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads [Richard Gibbons ] 8 Feb boat atlasing Cameron [Buford Myers ] 8 Feb Am. Goldfinch lows & Waxwings in Central Louisiana [Jay V Huner ] 8 Feb Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE ["Steven W. Cardiff" ] 8 Feb Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE [James Remsen ] 8 Feb Winter Bird Atlas stats update [James Remsen ] 8 Feb Fwd: Playback [Jay V Huner ] 8 Feb Fw: eBird Report - Husser Quad, Feb 6, 2012 ["Harvey L. Patten" ] 8 Feb Fwd: eBird Report - Claire D. Thomas, Feb 7, 2012 [Claire Thomas ] 7 Feb Fwd: eBird Report - English Lookout Quad, Feb 5, 2012 [Claire Thomas ] 7 Feb Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE [Terry Davis ] 7 Feb Redheads at Capitol Lakes [Jane Patterson ] 7 Feb Re: h.o. GTTO Wallace Lake quad 2-07-12 + playback [John Dillon ] 7 Feb Bewick's Wren, Lafayette [Paul Conover ] 7 Feb h.o. GTTO Wallace Lake quad 2-07-12 + playback [Terry Davis ] 7 Feb Burrowing Owl at Johnson Bayou [MARA DOMINGUE ] 7 Feb Re: unknown hawk and pipers ["James W. Beck" ] 7 Feb Fw: eBird Report - Eros Quad, Feb 7, 2012 [Stephen Pagans ] 7 Feb unknown hawk and pipers [MARA DOMINGUE ] 7 Feb Re: Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee ["James W. Beck" ] 7 Feb FW: eBird Report - Audubon Park, Feb 7, 2012 [David Muth ] 7 Feb Re: Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee [Paul Conover ] 7 Feb Re: atlas gaps and burrowing owl history [Paul Conover ] 7 Feb Re: atlas gaps and burrowing owl history [MARA DOMINGUE ] 7 Feb Good Birds Everywhere But Have To Stay Near Home - Alexandria Quad, Feb 7, 2012 [Jay V Huner ] 7 Feb Fwd: eBird Report - Franklinton Quad, Jan 16, 2012/UPDATED CHECKLIST TO ADD VESPER SPARROWS [janine robin ] 7 Feb Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee ["Harvey L. Patten" ] 7 Feb Venice birding yesterday [jared wolfe ] 7 Feb more SW LA quad-busting Sun-Mon cont'd ["Steven W. Cardiff" ] 6 Feb Fw: eBird Report - Eros Quad, Feb 6, 2012 [Stephen Pagans ] 6 Feb Whitehall and Killian Quads [Winston and Linda Caillouet ] 6 Feb Plastic Martins in Melder Quad [Jay V Huner ] 6 Feb WBA stats updated [James Remsen ] 6 Feb Fw: eBird Report - Little Woods Quad, Feb 6, 2012 [glenn ousset ] 6 Feb Fw: eBird Report - Port Barre Quad, Jan 28, 2012 [William Vermillion ] 6 Feb Re: more SW LA quad-busting ["Steven W. Cardiff" ] 6 Feb Snowy Owl in HAWAII! [Chris Johnston ] 5 Feb FW: eBird Report - Goodwill Quad, Feb 5, 2012 [Roselie Overby ] 5 Feb FW: eBird Report - Bear Skin Quad, Feb 5, 2012 [Roselie Overby ] 5 Feb Re: dark canine photos/Little Chenier [Claire Thomas ] 5 Feb dark canine photos/Little Chenier [Paul Conover ] 5 Feb Re: Creole & Grand Chenier Quad birds [Erik Johnson ] 5 Feb eBird Report - Laurel Hill Quad, Feb 5, 2012 [Bob & Karen Pierson ] 5 Feb Creole & Grand Chenier Quad birds [Paul Conover ] 5 Feb Green-tailed and Spotted Towhees! - Eros Quad, Feb 5, 2012 [Stephen Pagans ] 5 Feb Shreveport American Redstart photo'd 2-05-12 [Terry Davis ] 5 Feb White Castle Quad, Feb 5, 2012 - lots of Palm Warblers! [Jane Patterson ] 5 Feb Ball Quad, Feb 5, 2012 [Jay V Huner ] 5 Feb Fw: eBird Report - Robert Quad, Feb 5, 2012 [Mary Mehafey ] 5 Feb Fwd: Haynesville West Quad February 5, 2012 [John Dillon ] 5 Feb Union P. farm pond eagle [miriam ] Subject: Re: BRAS 2/12 Field trip change -- Didn't factor in Mardi Gras! From: Jane Patterson <japatter AT COX.NET> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:57:08 -0600 Sorry, the date is Saturday 2/11 not 2/12 -- Jane On Feb 9, 2012, at 1:45 PM, Jane Patterson wrote: > LABIRD, BRAS - > > It occurred to me this morning that there may be parades near the Capitol that might interfere with the Capitol Lakes field trip planned for Saturday. Sure enough….parade scheduled for 2:00 pm. Figure things may be tricky with parking and getting in and out through traffic. As such, we’re moving to Plan B. > > We will still meet at 12:30 at the parking lot of Foster Hall (the Subway end of the building) but we’ll go to the City and University lakes instead of Capitol Lakes instead. We will carpool as much as possible so we don’t have to park as many cars as we’ll be moving from place to place around the lakes. We’ll be back to Foster Hall by 2:45pm so those that plan to go to the museum tour will be able to do so. > > If anyone is terribly disappointed about not seeing birds at Capitol Lakes, I will offer to go down to the Capitol Lakes by 7:30 or 8 to do a round of birding by the lakes before the parade traffic sets in. Just let me know. > > Please send me an email (japatter AT cox.net or President AT braudubon.org) if you plan to come so I have an idea who’ll be there. > > Thanks! > > Jane Patterson > www.braudubon.org Subject: BRAS 2/12 Field trip change -- Didn't factor in Mardi Gras! From: Jane Patterson <japatter AT COX.NET> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 14:45:41 -0500 LABIRD, BRAS - It occurred to me this morning that there may be parades near the Capitol that might interfere with the Capitol Lakes field trip planned for Saturday. Sure enough….parade scheduled for 2:00 pm. Figure things may be tricky with parking and getting in and out through traffic. As such, we’re moving to Plan B. We will still meet at 12:30 at the parking lot of Foster Hall (the Subway end of the building) but we’ll go to the City and University lakes instead of Capitol Lakes instead. We will carpool as much as possible so we don’t have to park as many cars as we’ll be moving from place to place around the lakes. We’ll be back to Foster Hall by 2:45pm so those that plan to go to the museum tour will be able to do so. If anyone is terribly disappointed about not seeing birds at Capitol Lakes, I will offer to go down to the Capitol Lakes by 7:30 or 8 to do a round of birding by the lakes before the parade traffic sets in. Just let me know. Please send me an email (japatter AT cox.net or President AT braudubon.org) if you plan to come so I have an idea who’ll be there. Thanks! Jane Patterson www.braudubon.org Subject: Am. Goldfinches From: Sandra Barbier <sandabar10 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 13:38:24 -0600 I heard some goldfinches about two weeks ago and decided to put out sunflower seed, even though I was concerned because of the owls that hang around so much. About 20-30 birds came in a day or two and stayed maybe three days, then left. I was thinking the owls scared them away. Despite seed left in the feeders I saw only one little finch late last week, and it seemed kind of lethargic, maybe ill. Since then, none. Last year I had maybe 75 or more at a time for a few weeks here in LaPlace, and about 10 years ago, even more for a couple of months in Marrero. -- Sandra Barbier LaPlace, LA Subject: UNBELIEVABLE DAY AND IT AIN'T OVER YET From: Beth Maniscalco <beth.maniscalco AT NICHOLLS.EDU> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 12:10:38 -0600 Labirders and Humnetters: Just want to tell you folks that Nancy Newfield reached 500 new banded hummingbirds for the 2011-2012 season this morning in Thibodaux! And she trapped 26 birds at the home of Mike and Barbara Gauthier (Rufous, Black-chinned, Calliope (3) and Ruby-throated), another record for most birds caught at a single sight in one day. With two more homes to go to today, we are on-track to break her single day record of 33! All of us are punch drunk from the excitement of it! Good birding, Beth Maniscalco Thibodaux, La (Approx. 60 miles SW of New Orleans) Subject: Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: John Dillon <kisforkryptonite AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:55:35 -0600 I've had 2-5 at my sunflower feeders, showing up about 2 weeks ago. My parents had about 40 last weekend with 3 Pine Siskins. And whereas I've been getting anywhere from 40-100 or more everytime I go birding, Sunday I had 1 in nearly 6 hours of birding. They're finches, though, so I'm sure they're going where the food is. John Dillon Athens, LA Sent from my iPhone On Feb 9, 2012, at 10:28 AM, janine robin wrote: > Harriet, > I have not had a problem with thistle seed, but it is lasting longer due to > not as many goldfinches for the last 2 weeks or so. > I did have some from last year stored in a Ziploc bag. It was the first > batch I put out when the finches arrived. It was all eaten. So, I don't > think there was anything wrong with the seed. > Janine in Folsom > On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 9:37 AM, Harriett Pooler > wrote: > >> Labird, >> I haven't had many goldfinches either............maybe 5 at the most. And >> this year I even bought thistle seed instead of just feeding sunflower >> seed. When the goldfinches didn't come to the sock/thistle feeder I dumped >> some out on the platform feeder with the sunflower seeds..............and >> it sat there a few days. Eventually I got the flock of 5 and they and maybe >> other birds (?) ate the thistle. Bob & Karen Pierson suggested that my >> thistle may be last years and rancid. I need to look at the package date. >> Has anyone else experienced rancid thistle? >> Thanks, >> Harriett >> Baton Rouge >> >> On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 10:09 PM, Wendy Rihner wrote: >> >>> Labird: >>> >>> I am interested to read others' goldfinch experiences. Usually, I have >>> about 40 goldfinches each winter. This winter 10 was a big number! And >>> though I restocked feeders yesterday, they have not touched anything. I >>> last saw a few on Sunday. Today, I heard one or two vocalizing in >>> neighbors' trees, but they never came to the feeders. >>> >>> I am not sure if there is any connection, but my family in Cleveland has >>> not yet called me to complain of miserably cold, snowy weather, so maybe >> it >>> is still warm enough up north. >>> >>> But I would love to find out why the numbers are so low around here. >>> >>> Wendy Rihner >>> Metairie, LA >>> >>> On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 9:56 PM, Curtis Sorrells >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Van/Labird >>>> >>>> This is very strange-the disappearance of Goldfinches. At our place >> in >>>> southern Washington Ph. I have not >>>> noticed any change in number at all. I do not get out there but a >> couple >>>> of days a week, but yesterday and >>>> today I had a flock of 40- 50 feeding off and on all day. I also had 6 >>>> purple finches today. I have not had >>>> any Pine Siskins or Common Redpolles yet this year, however. >>>> >>>> Curt Sorrells >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- From: James Remsen >>>> Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:49 AM >>>> To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU >>>> Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for >> CORE >>>> >>>> On Feb 7, 2012, at 10:53 PM, Terry Davis wrote: >>>> >>>> Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the past >>>>> few days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the recent >> front >>>>> and cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the norm. Hmm? >>>>> >>>>> A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in >>>>> Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is private/ >>>>> inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of >>>>> Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other >>>>> reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted >>> one >>>>> or more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This may >> be >>> the >>>>> year!! >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> Terry/LABIRD: this has been the worst-ever winter for AmGo at my >>>> feeders, and the few I did have pulled out almost a week ago, instead >>>> of the usual mid-late Feb. pullout. eBird data-base will now allow us >>>> to determine whether they stayed farther north this year or whether >>>> numbers were just low all-over or ... [?]. >>>> >>>> Yesterday I was sent a photo of a C. Redpoll in, of all places, San >>>> Diego Co. CA .... perhaps the most un-Redpollian place in the USA away >>>> from Florida Keys. >>>> >>>> ***************************** >>>> Dr. J. V. Remsen >>>> Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds >>>> Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences >>>> LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 >>>> najamesLSU.edu >>> >> Subject: 'Goldfinches Gone Wild' From: thomas finnie <finnie.tom AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:47:51 -0600 Labirders, Where did the American Goldfinches go? One rather large flock is situated in SW LA, in Sulphur. They are stil hanging around.. Check out my blog and see for yourself. http://tfinnie.blogspot.com/ Have a Great Day, :) Tom . Subject: WBA stats updated From: James Remsen <najames AT LSU.EDU> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 11:47:43 -0600 LABIRD: unofficial stats for Winter Bird Atlas just updated. A number of quads turned red or green. ***************************** Dr. J. V. Remsen Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 najamesLSU.edu Subject: weekend atlasing Eagle Expo From: "Steven W. Cardiff" <scardif AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:36:45 -0600 Just in case anyone else has similar plans and wants to coordinate, Donna and I plus Dan O'Malley will be atlasing in the Morgan City area during the Eagle Expo Friday-Saturday. We will concentrate on pushing the Gibson, Morgan City, and Patterson quads over 10 hours, and adding to Morgan City SE. Some other vulnerable quads down that way are Pierre Part (3.5 hr), Napoleanville SW (5.4), and Gray (2.5). Thanks, Steve Cardiff Subject: Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: janine robin <janinerobin1982 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 10:28:44 -0600 Harriet, I have not had a problem with thistle seed, but it is lasting longer due to not as many goldfinches for the last 2 weeks or so. I did have some from last year stored in a Ziploc bag. It was the first batch I put out when the finches arrived. It was all eaten. So, I don't think there was anything wrong with the seed. Janine in Folsom On Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 9:37 AM, Harriett Pooler wrote: > Labird, > I haven't had many goldfinches either............maybe 5 at the most. And > this year I even bought thistle seed instead of just feeding sunflower > seed. When the goldfinches didn't come to the sock/thistle feeder I dumped > some out on the platform feeder with the sunflower seeds..............and > it sat there a few days. Eventually I got the flock of 5 and they and maybe > other birds (?) ate the thistle. Bob & Karen Pierson suggested that my > thistle may be last years and rancid. I need to look at the package date. > Has anyone else experienced rancid thistle? > Thanks, > Harriett > Baton Rouge > > On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 10:09 PM, Wendy Rihner wrote: > > > Labird: > > > > I am interested to read others' goldfinch experiences. Usually, I have > > about 40 goldfinches each winter. This winter 10 was a big number! And > > though I restocked feeders yesterday, they have not touched anything. I > > last saw a few on Sunday. Today, I heard one or two vocalizing in > > neighbors' trees, but they never came to the feeders. > > > > I am not sure if there is any connection, but my family in Cleveland has > > not yet called me to complain of miserably cold, snowy weather, so maybe > it > > is still warm enough up north. > > > > But I would love to find out why the numbers are so low around here. > > > > Wendy Rihner > > Metairie, LA > > > > On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 9:56 PM, Curtis Sorrells > >wrote: > > > > > Van/Labird > > > > > > This is very strange-the disappearance of Goldfinches. At our place > in > > > southern Washington Ph. I have not > > > noticed any change in number at all. I do not get out there but a > couple > > > of days a week, but yesterday and > > > today I had a flock of 40- 50 feeding off and on all day. I also had 6 > > > purple finches today. I have not had > > > any Pine Siskins or Common Redpolles yet this year, however. > > > > > > Curt Sorrells > > > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- From: James Remsen > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:49 AM > > > To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU > > > Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for > CORE > > > > > > On Feb 7, 2012, at 10:53 PM, Terry Davis wrote: > > > > > > Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the past > > >> few days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the recent > front > > >> and cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the norm. Hmm? > > >> > > >> A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in > > >> Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is private/ > > >> inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of > > >> Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other > > >> reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted > > one > > >> or more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This may > be > > the > > >> year!! > > >> > > >> > > >> > > > Terry/LABIRD: this has been the worst-ever winter for AmGo at my > > > feeders, and the few I did have pulled out almost a week ago, instead > > > of the usual mid-late Feb. pullout. eBird data-base will now allow us > > > to determine whether they stayed farther north this year or whether > > > numbers were just low all-over or ... [?]. > > > > > > Yesterday I was sent a photo of a C. Redpoll in, of all places, San > > > Diego Co. CA .... perhaps the most un-Redpollian place in the USA away > > > from Florida Keys. > > > > > > ***************************** > > > Dr. J. V. Remsen > > > Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds > > > Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences > > > LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 > > > najamesLSU.edu > > > Subject: atlasing From: "Steven W. Cardiff" <scardif AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:53:02 -0600 Atlasers- When strategizing where to atlas, make sure that you check the tabular quad stats page, which is more up to date than the coverage maps. For example, over in central-western LA, Negreet and Dowden Creek show up as green on the coverage map but they are actually over the 20 hour threshold according to the tabular quad stats and will be upgraded to red. Also, I found one northern quad (Many in Sabine Parish) that was listed in the southern interior section of the tabular stats. Steve Cardiff Subject: Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: Harriett Pooler <harriett.pooler AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:37:42 -0600 Labird, I haven't had many goldfinches either............maybe 5 at the most. And this year I even bought thistle seed instead of just feeding sunflower seed. When the goldfinches didn't come to the sock/thistle feeder I dumped some out on the platform feeder with the sunflower seeds..............and it sat there a few days. Eventually I got the flock of 5 and they and maybe other birds (?) ate the thistle. Bob & Karen Pierson suggested that my thistle may be last years and rancid. I need to look at the package date. Has anyone else experienced rancid thistle? Thanks, Harriett Baton Rouge On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 10:09 PM, Wendy Rihner wrote: > Labird: > > I am interested to read others' goldfinch experiences. Usually, I have > about 40 goldfinches each winter. This winter 10 was a big number! And > though I restocked feeders yesterday, they have not touched anything. I > last saw a few on Sunday. Today, I heard one or two vocalizing in > neighbors' trees, but they never came to the feeders. > > I am not sure if there is any connection, but my family in Cleveland has > not yet called me to complain of miserably cold, snowy weather, so maybe it > is still warm enough up north. > > But I would love to find out why the numbers are so low around here. > > Wendy Rihner > Metairie, LA > > On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 9:56 PM, Curtis Sorrells >wrote: > > > Van/Labird > > > > This is very strange-the disappearance of Goldfinches. At our place in > > southern Washington Ph. I have not > > noticed any change in number at all. I do not get out there but a couple > > of days a week, but yesterday and > > today I had a flock of 40- 50 feeding off and on all day. I also had 6 > > purple finches today. I have not had > > any Pine Siskins or Common Redpolles yet this year, however. > > > > Curt Sorrells > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- From: James Remsen > > Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:49 AM > > To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU > > Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE > > > > On Feb 7, 2012, at 10:53 PM, Terry Davis wrote: > > > > Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the past > >> few days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the recent front > >> and cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the norm. Hmm? > >> > >> A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in > >> Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is private/ > >> inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of > >> Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other > >> reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted > one > >> or more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This may be > the > >> year!! > >> > >> > >> > > Terry/LABIRD: this has been the worst-ever winter for AmGo at my > > feeders, and the few I did have pulled out almost a week ago, instead > > of the usual mid-late Feb. pullout. eBird data-base will now allow us > > to determine whether they stayed farther north this year or whether > > numbers were just low all-over or ... [?]. > > > > Yesterday I was sent a photo of a C. Redpoll in, of all places, San > > Diego Co. CA .... perhaps the most un-Redpollian place in the USA away > > from Florida Keys. > > > > ***************************** > > Dr. J. V. Remsen > > Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds > > Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences > > LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 > > najamesLSU.edu > Subject: Re: goldfinches From: Claire Thomas <claire AT CLAIREDTHOMAS.COM> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 09:29:16 -0600 I also have quite a large number of Goldfinches here in Mandeville. All my hummers are absent already though. I did see Noel (Allen's) and Ruffio (male rufous) in the last 2 days but only for a minuet. They are not hanging in the yard. Ruffio seemed ragged and unkept when I saw him yesterday. Both sightings were late in the evening right before dark. I'm not seeing them at all during the day. Claire D. Thomas claire AT clairedthomas.com On Feb 9, 2012, at 7:30 AM, Beth Willis wrote: > We have truly hundreds of goldfinches on our property and at the feeders. > Some are showing some good color. Had some trees cut this past spring and > things are more open, so this may be a factor. Also we have a few house > finches. Put up martin boxes and are hoping to attract these this year. > > Beth Willis > > LaSalle Parish > > 6 miles east of Jena Subject: Re: goldfinches and Lesser Goldfinches? From: Jay V Huner <jvh0660 AT LOUISIANA.EDU> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:44:49 -0600 Good Morning, Seem to recall a few years ago with this sort of mild winter and no one could find robins as they were concentrated in southern Arkansas and northern Mississippi. Based on posts so far about goldfinch distribution, they are located across central Louisiana and northward in the state. Wonder if this distribution shows up on ebird maps? Maybe this is a good year to look for Lesser Goldfinches? Beth needs to watch her birds closely. Jay Huner ----- Original Message ----- From: "Beth Willis" To: LABIRD-L AT listserv.lsu.edu Sent: Thursday, February 9, 2012 7:30:33 AM Subject: [LABIRD-L] goldfinches We have truly hundreds of goldfinches on our property and at the feeders. Some are showing some good color. Had some trees cut this past spring and things are more open, so this may be a factor. Also we have a few house finches. Put up martin boxes and are hoping to attract these this year. Beth Willis LaSalle Parish 6 miles east of Jena Subject: goldfinches From: Beth Willis <p.willis AT CENTURYTEL.NET> Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2012 07:30:33 -0600 We have truly hundreds of goldfinches on our property and at the feeders. Some are showing some good color. Had some trees cut this past spring and things are more open, so this may be a factor. Also we have a few house finches. Put up martin boxes and are hoping to attract these this year. Beth Willis LaSalle Parish 6 miles east of Jena Subject: Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: Wendy Rihner <wrihner AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 22:09:06 -0600 Labird: I am interested to read others' goldfinch experiences. Usually, I have about 40 goldfinches each winter. This winter 10 was a big number! And though I restocked feeders yesterday, they have not touched anything. I last saw a few on Sunday. Today, I heard one or two vocalizing in neighbors' trees, but they never came to the feeders. I am not sure if there is any connection, but my family in Cleveland has not yet called me to complain of miserably cold, snowy weather, so maybe it is still warm enough up north. But I would love to find out why the numbers are so low around here. Wendy Rihner Metairie, LA On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 9:56 PM, Curtis Sorrells wrote: > Van/Labird > > This is very strange-the disappearance of Goldfinches. At our place in > southern Washington Ph. I have not > noticed any change in number at all. I do not get out there but a couple > of days a week, but yesterday and > today I had a flock of 40- 50 feeding off and on all day. I also had 6 > purple finches today. I have not had > any Pine Siskins or Common Redpolles yet this year, however. > > Curt Sorrells > > > > -----Original Message----- From: James Remsen > Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:49 AM > To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU > Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE > > On Feb 7, 2012, at 10:53 PM, Terry Davis wrote: > > Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the past >> few days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the recent front >> and cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the norm. Hmm? >> >> A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in >> Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is private/ >> inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of >> Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other >> reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted one >> or more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This may be the >> year!! >> >> >> > Terry/LABIRD: this has been the worst-ever winter for AmGo at my > feeders, and the few I did have pulled out almost a week ago, instead > of the usual mid-late Feb. pullout. eBird data-base will now allow us > to determine whether they stayed farther north this year or whether > numbers were just low all-over or ... [?]. > > Yesterday I was sent a photo of a C. Redpoll in, of all places, San > Diego Co. CA .... perhaps the most un-Redpollian place in the USA away > from Florida Keys. > > ***************************** > Dr. J. V. Remsen > Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds > Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences > LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 > najamesLSU.edu Subject: Plaquimines Parish Sundy From: Ed Wallace <tapacula AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 20:07:26 -0800 Sorry for the untimely post.  I travelled with Kimberly Lanka to several spots in Plaquimines Parish.  Species count was not spectacular but the birds we found were.  We were particularly successful in Diamond where we found the female vermilion flycatcher, two western kingbirds, 1 scissor tailed flycatctcher, one lark sparrow, the green-tailed towhee, briefly saw the ash-throated flycatcher (and possiby heard) and clearly heard the brown-crested flycatcher.  It was amazing to say the least.  We also were stumped by a very white, and I mean very white, immature krider's red tailed hawk.  Its head was completely white.  I tried all I could to make it a white phased gyrfalcom but when better birders than I saw the pictures Kimberly took, my hopes were dashed.    Another surprise bird was a calling pileated woodpecker in a weedy lot along the river near the Woodlawn Plantation.    > Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 22:41:38 -0500 > From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org > To: mottledduck AT hotmail.com > Subject: eBird Report - Conoco Plant Area, Feb 5, 2012 > > Conoco Plant Area, Plaquemines, US-LA > Feb 5, 2012 8:00 AM - 8:45 AM > Protocol: Traveling > 2.0 mile(s) > 31 species > > Pied-billed Grebe 2 > Double-crested Cormorant 25 > Brown Pelican 4 > Great Blue Heron 2 > Great Egret 2 > Snowy Egret 2 > Cattle Egret 15 > White Ibis 12 > Turkey Vulture 2 > Northern Harrier 2 > Red-tailed Hawk 2 one caught a common gallinule and then dropped it > American Kestrel 1 > Common Gallinule 25 > American Coot 12 > Killdeer 8 > Laughing Gull 2 > Rock Pigeon 4 > Eurasian Collared-Dove 2 > Mourning Dove 6 > Blue Jay 1 > American Crow 12 > American Robin 8 > Northern Mockingbird 4 > European Starling 25 > American Pipit 25 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 > Savannah Sparrow 50 > Red-winged Blackbird 50 > Eastern Meadowlark 25 > Boat-tailed Grackle 6 > Brown-headed Cowbird 45 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) > Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 22:47:44 -0500 > From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org > To: mottledduck AT hotmail.com > Subject: eBird Report - Diamond, Feb 5, 2012 > > Diamond, Plaquemines, US-LA > Feb 5, 2012 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM > Protocol: Traveling > 0.5 mile(s) > Comments: Very successful > 36 species > > Double-crested Cormorant 2 > Great Egret 3 > Turkey Vulture 12 > Red-tailed Hawk 6 > American Kestrel 2 > Killdeer 12 > Ring-billed Gull 2 > Mourning Dove 6 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 > Eastern Phoebe 3 > Vermilion Flycatcher 1 Female > Ash-throated Flycatcher 1 Seen by Kimberly. Also may have heard call > Brown-crested Flycatcher 1 Calling. Not seen. Match song on tape. > Western Kingbird 2 > Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 1 Unmistakable long tail pinkish sides pale underneath. The creator got pictures > Loggerhead Shrike 1 > American Crow 5 > Carolina Chickadee 3 > Carolina Wren 2 > Sedge Wren 1 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 > American Robin 45 > Gray Catbird 1 > Northern Mockingbird 3 > European Starling 12 > American Pipit 100 > Orange-crowned Warbler 2 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 8 > Green-tailed Towhee 1 Brief glimpse. The bird was in a flock of white crowned sparrows. The creator greenish with rusty cap. The bird also called. The creator did not respond to tape. > Lark Sparrow 1 > Savannah Sparrow 25 > Swamp Sparrow 3 > White-crowned Sparrow 7 > Northern Cardinal 5 > Red-winged Blackbird 25 > Boat-tailed Grackle 6 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)  Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 22:48:11 -0500 > From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org > To: mottledduck AT hotmail.com > Subject: eBird Report - Woodland Plantation, Feb 5, 2012 > > Woodland Plantation, Plaquemines, US-LA > Feb 5, 2012 9:45 AM - 10:15 AM > Protocol: Traveling > 2.0 mile(s) > 19 species > > Double-crested Cormorant 2 > Brown Pelican 2 > Turkey Vulture 3 > Northern Harrier 1 > Red-tailed Hawk 2 > Killdeer 2 > Laughing Gull 3 > Mourning Dove 6 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 > Pileated Woodpecker 1 heard its call. Not quite sure where it was. > Loggerhead Shrike 2 > House Wren 1 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 > Northern Mockingbird 1 > Orange-crowned Warbler 1 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 > Savannah Sparrow 5 > Swamp Sparrow 2 > Northern Cardinal 3 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)  Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 22:48:40 -0500 > From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org > To: mottledduck AT hotmail.com > Subject: eBird Report - Fort Jackson, Feb 5, 2012 > > Fort Jackson, Plaquemines, US-LA > Feb 5, 2012 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 5.0 mile(s) > 31 species > > Mottled Duck 2 > Northern Shoveler 2 > Red-breasted Merganser 2 > Common Loon 1 > Pied-billed Grebe 2 > Double-crested Cormorant 25 > American White Pelican 7 > Great Blue Heron 2 > Great Egret 2 > Little Blue Heron 2 > White Ibis 6 > Black Vulture 4 > Turkey Vulture 25 > Northern Harrier 1 > Red-shouldered Hawk 1 > Red-tailed Hawk 6 We had one very white juvenile red tail. Its head was complete white as was its belly and tail. The back was checkerboard white and black. > American Kestrel 1 > Clapper Rail 7 > American Coot 12 > Killdeer 15 > Ring-billed Gull 12 > Forster's Tern 2 > Belted Kingfisher 2 > Tree Swallow 12 > Marsh Wren 1 > Northern Mockingbird 1 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 > Nelson's Sparrow 1 > Swamp Sparrow 2 > Red-winged Blackbird 15 > Boat-tailed Grackle 20 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Subject: Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: Curtis Sorrells <csorrells AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 21:56:09 -0600 Van/Labird This is very strange-the disappearance of Goldfinches. At our place in southern Washington Ph. I have not noticed any change in number at all. I do not get out there but a couple of days a week, but yesterday and today I had a flock of 40- 50 feeding off and on all day. I also had 6 purple finches today. I have not had any Pine Siskins or Common Redpolles yet this year, however. Curt Sorrells -----Original Message----- From: James Remsen Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 10:49 AM To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE On Feb 7, 2012, at 10:53 PM, Terry Davis wrote: > Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the past few > days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the recent front and > cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the norm. Hmm? > > A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in > Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is private/ > inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of > Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other > reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted one > or more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This may be > the year!! > > Terry/LABIRD: this has been the worst-ever winter for AmGo at my feeders, and the few I did have pulled out almost a week ago, instead of the usual mid-late Feb. pullout. eBird data-base will now allow us to determine whether they stayed farther north this year or whether numbers were just low all-over or ... [?]. Yesterday I was sent a photo of a C. Redpoll in, of all places, San Diego Co. CA .... perhaps the most un-Redpollian place in the USA away from Florida Keys. ***************************** Dr. J. V. Remsen Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 najamesLSU.edu Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Cedarton Quad, Feb 8, 2012 From: Stephen Pagans <slp_4-7 AT ATT.NET> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 18:23:55 -0800 This was my first entry into this quad. Of the four Gray Catbirds (GRCA) found, three were heard to meow after being prompted by their call.  At first one of them did not answer so I wasn't sure one was in the thicket.  So, I switched to the Green-tailed Towhee (GTTO) call to see if one of them was there.  Then the GRCA started responding to the GTTO call.  I kept playing the GTTO call and the catbird vigorously responded to it.  The GTTO call (for me) is somewhat similar to the catbird call.  One of the earlier GRCAs also responded to the GTTO call.  I play the GTTO call fairly often around thickets since I found the one in the last few days.  I find it interesting that the catbird willingly responds to it.  I have to wonder if the catbird just thinks it is another catbird that sings differently.  Maybe not.  I have also found that just playing the full song/call of the GTTO (Stokes) stimulates interesting responses from other species. Cedarton Quad, Lincoln, US-LA Feb 8, 2012 8:57 AM - 3:45 PM  (6 hr 48 min) Protocol: Traveling 5.4 mile(s) Comments:    Weather was clear, breezy at times, and chilly.  I worked the northeastern part of the quad.  Of the distance covered, I walked 1.1 miles. 43 species (+1 other taxa) Gadwall  16 Pied-billed Grebe  1 Black Vulture  53    50 in one group Turkey Vulture  35 Red-shouldered Hawk  2 Red-tailed Hawk  1 American Coot  30 Red-bellied Woodpecker  14 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  2 Downy Woodpecker  1 Hairy Woodpecker  1 Northern Flicker  2 Pileated Woodpecker  2 Eastern Phoebe  1 Loggerhead Shrike  1 Blue Jay  5 American Crow  10 Fish Crow  2 Carolina Chickadee  5 Tufted Titmouse  11 Brown-headed Nuthatch  4 Carolina Wren  7 Winter Wren  1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1 Eastern Bluebird  25 Hermit Thrush  7 American Robin  120 Gray Catbird  4 Northern Mockingbird  4 Brown Thrasher  6 Pine Warbler  8 Yellow-rumped Warbler  10 Eastern Towhee  6 Chipping Sparrow  9 Fox Sparrow  2 Song Sparrow  6 Swamp Sparrow  2 White-throated Sparrow  54 Dark-eyed Junco  8 Northern Cardinal  8 Red-winged Blackbird  180 Common Grackle  1 blackbird sp.  300    I think most of these were Red-winged Blackbirds. American Goldfinch  9 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Re: Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads From: Rosemary Seidler <rseidler AT CENTENARY.EDU> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 19:46:49 -0600 Zwolle NW is finished. Rosemary Seidler Shreveport ________________________________________ From: Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information on Louisiana Birds [LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU] On Behalf Of Richard Gibbons [rgibbo3 AT YAHOO.COM] Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 1:38 PM To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU Subject: [LABIRD-L] Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads I thought it might help motivate us for one last push Dear LABIRDers, I thought it might help motivate us for one last push if we had a list of quads that are within a day's birding of the 20-hour threshold. Use the link below to search for the quad location: http://www.minilogic.com/LAQuads/index.html NORTHERN INTERIOR ZONE (15) Quad Hours to 20 Huxley East 6.25 Flora 8 Zwolle NW 6 Fort Necessity 2.5 Buckeye NE 7.7 Minden South 6.25 Walters 8 Goodwill 5.3 Larto Lake North 6.5 Manifest 7.2 Ruston East 7 Greenwood 7 Harrisonburg 3 Langston 7.8 Jena West .2 SOUTHERN INTERIOR ZONE (22) Quad Hours to 20 Laccasine 8.15 Moss Lake 8 Marksville S 6.8 Longville 3.7 Lake Charles SW 4 Vinton 4.5 Grosse Tete 1.8 Buhler 5.8 Addis 4.5 Manchac 3.75 Robert 2 Big Bend 6 Clinton 8 Lena 8.3 Fred 7 Scotlandville 7.25 Wilson 8 Kernan 8.25 Fields 3 Melder 3.4 Frogmore 2 Rosepine 5.2 COASTAL ZONE (19) Quad Hours to 20 Creole 3.7 Abbeville W 6.8 Intracoastal City 7 Johnson’s Bayou 4.75 Grand Bayou .7 Mallard Bay 7.4 Forked Island 9.75 Holly Beach 2 Abbeville E 8 Lake Cataouatche E 4.25 Weeks 2.6 New Iberia S 6.7 Cheniere au Tigre 8 Ruddock 5.5 Houma 3.8 Fearman Lake 7.2 Bayou Boeuf 8.25 E. Isles Dernieres 1.5 Calumet Island 7.8 Richard Gibbons Baton Rouge, La Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Husser Quad, Feb 8, 2012 GTTO relocated From: janine robin <janinerobin1982 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 19:12:41 -0600 Thanks again to Harvey Patten for posting his find with directions to the location. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Date: Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 5:56 PM Subject: eBird Report - Husser Quad, Feb 8, 2012 To: janinerobin1982 AT gmail.com Husser Quad, Tangipahoa, US-LA Feb 8, 2012 2:05 PM - 4:05 PM Protocol: Traveling 11.7 mile(s) Comments: Our mission was to see the GTTO and we were successful. Temp: 66 degrees ,slight northerly wind, sunny,blue skies. Observers: Paul and Janine Robin. Birded a portion of Hwy 445, Neal Rd,and E.Bell Rd. Beautiful countryside, pastures,ponds, and some hardwood and pine forests and scrubby bushes along the fences. Very friendly farmers and sheriff's deputies who just checked to see if we were okay. 42 species Canada Goose 2 Hooded Merganser 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Black Vulture 8 Turkey Vulture 4 Northern Harrier 3 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 3 Killdeer 1 Mourning Dove 6 Belted Kingfisher 1 Red-headed Woodpecker 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Downy Woodpecker 2 Pileated Woodpecker 1 flew over 2 open pastures and landed in a large live oak Eastern Phoebe 2 Loggerhead Shrike 3 Blue Jay 4 American Crow 7 Carolina Chickadee 3 Tufted Titmouse 4 Brown-headed Nuthatch 4 Carolina Wren 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2 Eastern Bluebird 7 American Robin 90 Northern Mockingbird 3 European Starling 30 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Pine Warbler 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 30 Green-tailed Towhee 1 North side of Neal Rd,75 ft from where it intersects with Hwy 445. Eastern Towhee 4 Chipping Sparrow 2 Savannah Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 3 Red-winged Blackbird 120 Eastern Meadowlark 1 Heard one sing, there were probably more, but they weren't poppin up. Brown-headed Cowbird 35 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 ( http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Re: Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads From: Roselie Overby <rosebird8791 AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 18:54:25 -0600 I'll work on Goodwill. Roselie Overby Subject: Getting Close to 10 hours - Temple Quad, Feb 8, 2012 From: Jay V Huner <jvh0660 AT LOUISIANA.EDU> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 18:16:41 -0600 Aha, I see a PROBLEM with the quad location information. About 1/3 is in Rapides Parish! And, except for about 100 yards, all of today's birding was in Rapides Parish. But, sort of interesting that I managed to add a few new birds for the WBA and another few birds for the combined WBA-SBA total. Heck, might get the total to 100. Jay Huner > Temple Quad, Vernon, US-LA > Feb 8, 2012 2:15 PM - 4:45 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 6.5 mile(s) > Comments: Had only 9 birds after the first hour of this survey. Hit a major mixed flock of songbirds in ideal Spotted Towhee habitat at the end of the survey to get a decent number for the quads in this area. No, no towhee! 1 observer, start 2:15 PM, duration 2 hr 30 min. distance 6.5 miles. Birding in Mora area. Have a bit over 9 hours for the quad. > 29 species > > Turkey Vulture 1 > Killdeer 2 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 > Eastern Phoebe 1 > Blue Jay 4 > American Crow 13 > Fish Crow 2 > Carolina Chickadee 4 > Tufted Titmouse 3 > Carolina Wren 2 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 > Eastern Bluebird 7 > American Robin 75 > Gray Catbird 1 > Northern Mockingbird 2 > Cedar Waxwing 20 > Orange-crowned Warbler 1 > Pine Warbler 1 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 22 > Chipping Sparrow 18 > Field Sparrow 1 > Savannah Sparrow 2 > Song Sparrow 4 > White-throated Sparrow 2 > Dark-eyed Junco 8 > Northern Cardinal 9 > Red-winged Blackbird 15 > Eastern Meadowlark 4 > Brown-headed Cowbird 1 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: eBird Report - Tunica Quad, Feb 8, 2012 From: Bob & Karen Pierson <piersor AT COX.NET> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 19:13:59 -0500 Able to get this quad over the 10 hr threshold and added 11 birds to the quad list with Purple Finch being the most unexpected > > Tunica Quad, West Feliciana, US-LA > Feb 8, 2012 7:15 AM - 2:15 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 17.6 mile(s) > Comments: Bob & Karen Pierson and Winston Caillouet, 15.4 miles driving & 2.2 miles walking, Sunny with light wind, 43-62F, Covered Tunica Hills WMA(portion within Quad) and side roads off LA66 > 45 species > > Wood Duck 2 > Double-crested Cormorant 1 > Black Vulture 18 > Turkey Vulture 28 > Red-shouldered Hawk 3 > Red-tailed Hawk 8 > Mourning Dove 7 > Barred Owl 1 > Belted Kingfisher 1 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 38 > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 9 > Downy Woodpecker 12 > Hairy Woodpecker 1 > Northern Flicker 5 > Pileated Woodpecker 5 > Eastern Phoebe 6 > Loggerhead Shrike 1 > Blue Jay 30 > American Crow 15 > Fish Crow 3 > Carolina Chickadee 20 > Tufted Titmouse 64 > Carolina Wren 13 > Winter Wren 2 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 11 > Eastern Bluebird 8 > Hermit Thrush 4 > American Robin 380 > Northern Mockingbird 5 > Brown Thrasher 2 > Cedar Waxwing 122 > Orange-crowned Warbler 1 > Pine Warbler 10 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 36 > Eastern Towhee 14 > Chipping Sparrow 8 > Song Sparrow 2 > Swamp Sparrow 2 > White-throated Sparrow 15 > Dark-eyed Junco 4 > Northern Cardinal 22 > Red-winged Blackbird 5 > Brown-headed Cowbird 2 > Purple Finch 8 > American Goldfinch 49 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Harvey's Green-tailed towhee in Husser Quad From: janine robin <janinerobin1982 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 16:53:47 -0600 Labird, Thanks to Harvey's excellent directions to the GTTO, my husband and I relocated the bird without any trouble at all. We saw it within one minute of stopping the car. I was able to get at least one good picture. Will post the quad list later along with the link to the picture. Janine Robin Subject: Re: Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads From: "Bayless, Victoria M." <VBayless AT AGCENTER.LSU.EDU> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 14:37:54 -0600 My Commitment: I will get the Grosse Tete Quad over the 20 hour mark this weekend. (only 1.8 hours) I can also get to the Addis Quad needing 4 hours. (not sure about all of it by the weekend) Victoria Moseley Bayless Curator, Louisiana State Arthropod Museum Dept. of Entomology, Louisiana State University 404 Life Sciences Bldg., Baton Rouge, LA  70803-1710 Phone: 225-578-1838 www.lsuinsects.org www.coleopsoc.org -----Original Message----- From: Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information on Louisiana Birds [mailto:LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU] On Behalf Of Richard Gibbons Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 1:39 PM To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU Subject: [LABIRD-L] Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads I thought it might help motivate us for one last push Dear LABIRDers, I thought it might help motivate us for one last push if we had a list of quads that are within a day's birding of the 20-hour threshold. Use the link below to search for the quad location: http://www.minilogic.com/LAQuads/index.html NORTHERN INTERIOR ZONE (15) Quad                     Hours to 20 Huxley East            6.25 Flora                       8 Zwolle NW               6 Fort Necessity         2.5 Buckeye NE            7.7 Minden South          6.25 Walters                   8 Goodwill                  5.3 Larto Lake North      6.5 Manifest                  7.2 Ruston East            7 Greenwood              7 Harrisonburg            3 Langston                 7.8 Jena West                .2   SOUTHERN INTERIOR ZONE (22) Quad                     Hours to 20 Laccasine               8.15 Moss Lake              8 Marksville S            6.8 Longville                 3.7 Lake Charles SW    4 Vinton                    4.5 Grosse Tete            1.8 Buhler                    5.8 Addis                     4.5 Manchac                3.75 Robert                    2 Big Bend                6 Clinton                   8 Lena                      8.3 Fred                       7 Scotlandville           7.25 Wilson                   8 Kernan                   8.25 Fields                    3 Melder                   3.4 Frogmore               2 Rosepine               5.2   COASTAL ZONE (19) Quad                     Hours to 20 Creole                    3.7 Abbeville W            6.8 Intracoastal City      7 Johnson’s Bayou     4.75 Grand Bayou           .7 Mallard Bay            7.4 Forked Island          9.75 Holly Beach            2 Abbeville E              8 Lake Cataouatche E  4.25 Weeks                   2.6 New Iberia S           6.7 Cheniere au Tigre    8 Ruddock                5.5 Houma                  3.8 Fearman Lake        7.2 Bayou Boeuf          8.25 E. Isles Dernieres   1.5 Calumet Island       7.8 Richard Gibbons Baton Rouge, La Subject: Bird Atlas List of Close-out Quads From: Richard Gibbons <rgibbo3 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 11:38:55 -0800 I thought it might help motivate us for one last push Dear LABIRDers, I thought it might help motivate us for one last push if we had a list of quads that are within a day's birding of the 20-hour threshold. Use the link below to search for the quad location: http://www.minilogic.com/LAQuads/index.html NORTHERN INTERIOR ZONE (15) Quad                     Hours to 20 Huxley East            6.25 Flora                       8 Zwolle NW               6 Fort Necessity         2.5 Buckeye NE            7.7 Minden South          6.25 Walters                   8 Goodwill                  5.3 Larto Lake North      6.5 Manifest                  7.2 Ruston East            7 Greenwood              7 Harrisonburg            3 Langston                 7.8 Jena West                .2   SOUTHERN INTERIOR ZONE (22) Quad                     Hours to 20 Laccasine               8.15 Moss Lake              8 Marksville S            6.8 Longville                 3.7 Lake Charles SW    4 Vinton                    4.5 Grosse Tete            1.8 Buhler                    5.8 Addis                     4.5 Manchac                3.75 Robert                    2 Big Bend                6 Clinton                   8 Lena                      8.3 Fred                       7 Scotlandville           7.25 Wilson                   8 Kernan                   8.25 Fields                    3 Melder                   3.4 Frogmore               2 Rosepine               5.2   COASTAL ZONE (19) Quad                     Hours to 20 Creole                    3.7 Abbeville W            6.8 Intracoastal City      7 Johnson’s Bayou     4.75 Grand Bayou           .7 Mallard Bay            7.4 Forked Island          9.75 Holly Beach            2 Abbeville E              8 Lake Cataouatche E  4.25 Weeks                   2.6 New Iberia S           6.7 Cheniere au Tigre    8        Ruddock                5.5 Houma                  3.8 Fearman Lake        7.2 Bayou Boeuf          8.25 E. Isles Dernieres   1.5 Calumet Island       7.8 Richard Gibbons Baton Rouge, La Subject: boat atlasing Cameron From: Buford Myers <bmyers990 AT EARTHLINK.NET> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 13:32:43 -0600 Yesterday, 7 Feb., Dave Patton and I spent much of the day boating in Cameron waters. We launched along Davis Rd. near E. Jetty, and worked out the channel, then offshore, w. to quad boundary, back nearer shore e. to jetties, w. to quad boundary. We continued into Grand Bayou quad, working e. along s. boundary and then returning w. near beach. We resumed counting in Cameron quad when we re-entered it. It was a beautiful day to be out. Despite fairly nice greenish water (away from Calcasieu R. flow), we saw no gannets. And we struggled on jaegers, but finally had one very cooperative Parasitic. List for Cameron quad follows. The Grand Bayou quad was not worth posting here. Mac **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Cameron Quad, Cameron, US-LA Feb 7, 2012 9:00 AM - 2:15 PM Protocol: Traveling 27.5 mile(s) Comments: with Dave Patton in his boat. Of the 5 hrs. 15 min., 5 hrs. by boat, 15 min. by car. Of the miles, 25.2 by boat, 2.3 by car. Launched near E. Jetty and went out Calcasieu Pass, worked s. boundary to w. boundary and back to Pass, then to east along s. boundary and on into Grand Bayou quad. Then resumed count in this quad upon re-enteering from the east; worked east side of rocks. Cool to mild, p. cloudy to mostly cloudy. Light winds veered from n.e. early thru e., s.e., s. s.w. and to n.w by day's end! Only land-based surveying at the launch and along Davis Rd. between launch and highway. 43 species Canada Goose 1 feral type at oxidation pond Redhead 14 Greater Scaup 2 w/ large flock LESC, photos Lesser Scaup 2200 Red-breasted Merganser 22 Ruddy Duck 5 oxidation pond Double-crested Cormorant 317 American White Pelican 420 Brown Pelican 173 Great Blue Heron 3 Great Egret 2 Snowy Egret 47 Turkey Vulture 3 Northern Harrier 2 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Black-bellied Plover 4 American Avocet 686 Greater Yellowlegs 1 Willet 40 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Ruddy Turnstone 100 Sanderling 100 Western Sandpiper 150 Least Sandpiper 150 Dunlin 500 Bonaparte's Gull 121 Laughing Gull 865 Ring-billed Gull 163 Herring Gull 73 Caspian Tern 2 Forster's Tern 228 Royal Tern 58 Black Skimmer 400 Parasitic Jaeger 1 photos; missing its left foot! Mourning Dove 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Loggerhead Shrike 1 European Starling 15 Savannah Sparrow 3 Red-winged Blackbird 25 Eastern Meadowlark 5 Boat-tailed Grackle 28 Great-tailed Grackle 2 Subject: Am. Goldfinch lows & Waxwings in Central Louisiana From: Jay V Huner <jvh0660 AT LOUISIANA.EDU> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 12:08:26 -0600 Labird- Ditto what Van said- there were decent numbers of goldfinches up until about 7-10 days ago, then they just vanished. My guess is that it's been so warm that many trees are already starting to bud out and the finches have already made the switch to wild food sources. It always amazes me that they will suddenly ignore the unlimited sunflower seed at the feeders, which tells you how much more they crave those nice tree buds or whatever they switch to. If we get a nasty cold spell, I'll predict that the finches will come grovelling back to the feeders.... Steve Cardiff e. Iberville Parish Hi, Up here NW of Alexandria, we have fair numbers of American Goldfinches but next to no Purple Finches and Pine Siskins. The goldfinches only recently started working seed feeders. Ticks and Goldfinches - Friends who feed lots of birds found a dead goldfinch and, upon checking it, they found a huge "dog" tick on its throat. For what it's worth, I picked up a roaming seed tick about 10 days ago. Waxwings and Buds - Yesterday, the waxwings were swarming the trees along the bank of the Diversion Canal on the east side of The Lake District in Alexandria. Our azaelas are blooming. I also found a small flock of waxwings actively engaged in flycatching. Jay Huner Subject: Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: "Steven W. Cardiff" <scardif AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 11:09:32 -0600 Labird- Ditto what Van said- there were decent numbers of goldfinches up until about 7-10 days ago, then they just vanished. My guess is that it's been so warm that many trees are already starting to bud out and the finches have already made the switch to wild food sources. It always amazes me that they will suddenly ignore the unlimited sunflower seed at the feeders, which tells you how much more they crave those nice tree buds or whatever they switch to. If we get a nasty cold spell, I'll predict that the finches will come grovelling back to the feeders.... Steve Cardiff e. Iberville Parish On Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 10:49 AM, James Remsen wrote: > On Feb 7, 2012, at 10:53 PM, Terry Davis wrote: > > Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the past few >> days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the recent front and >> cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the norm. Hmm? >> >> A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in >> Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is >> private/inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of >> Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other >> reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted one or >> more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This may be the >> year!! >> >> >> > Terry/LABIRD: this has been the worst-ever winter for AmGo at my feeders, > and the few I did have pulled out almost a week ago, instead of the usual > mid-late Feb. pullout. eBird data-base will now allow us to determine > whether they stayed farther north this year or whether numbers were just > low all-over or ... [?]. > > Yesterday I was sent a photo of a C. Redpoll in, of all places, San Diego > Co. CA .... perhaps the most un-Redpollian place in the USA away from > Florida Keys. > > ***************************** > Dr. J. V. Remsen > Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds > Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences > LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 > najamesLSU.edu > Subject: Re: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: James Remsen <najames AT LSU.EDU> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 10:49:22 -0600 On Feb 7, 2012, at 10:53 PM, Terry Davis wrote: > Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the > past few days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the > recent front and cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the > norm. Hmm? > > A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in > Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is private/ > inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of > Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other > reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted > one or more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This > may be the year!! > > Terry/LABIRD: this has been the worst-ever winter for AmGo at my feeders, and the few I did have pulled out almost a week ago, instead of the usual mid-late Feb. pullout. eBird data-base will now allow us to determine whether they stayed farther north this year or whether numbers were just low all-over or ... [?]. Yesterday I was sent a photo of a C. Redpoll in, of all places, San Diego Co. CA .... perhaps the most un-Redpollian place in the USA away from Florida Keys. ***************************** Dr. J. V. Remsen Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 najamesLSU.edu Subject: Winter Bird Atlas stats update From: James Remsen <najames AT LSU.EDU> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 10:42:40 -0600 LABIRD: I just updated the unofficial stats at: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/LWBAQuadStats.htm Hooray! 33% of all LA quads now have > 20 phrs coverage. There's a chance that we'll come close to 35% by the end of the WBA period (20 Feb). And also a chance that we'll break 50% with > 10 phrs coverage. What a year for raptors! Rough-legged, Ferruginous, White-tailed, Golden Eagle ... now if someone can only find that Prairie Falcon present before WBA period. Harris's Hawk would be nice, too. Several quads made huge jumps in species totals, especially those that were Cardittmannized. At least 7 quads now have Green-tailed Towhee, with Harvey's Tangipahoa bird and Steve Pagan's Jackson bird showing that the species could be present in virtually any quad. ! It was not that long ago that Louisiana had only 7 records total, all-time. ***************************** Dr. J. V. Remsen Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 najamesLSU.edu Subject: Fwd: Playback From: Jay V Huner <jvh0660 AT LOUISIANA.EDU> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 09:24:42 -0600 ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "Jay V Huner" To: "John Dillon" Sent: Wednesday, February 8, 2012 9:22:04 AM Subject: Playback My Two Cents Worth: Okay, I see decent habitat. I listen. Nothing. I pish. Nothing. I've found that playing cardinal followed by titmouse or chickadee will usually generate some action. That's when I play screech-owl and the fun begins. If cardinal - tit playback doesn't elicit action, nothing will. Starting with screech-owl just doesn't generate the response that starting with cardinal - tit does for me. Lately, I play Green-tailed Towhee and Spotted Towhee and these, for some reason, tend to bring birds out. Jay Huner ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Dillon" To: LABIRD-L AT listserv.lsu.edu Sent: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 10:14:50 PM Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] h.o. GTTO Wallace Lake quad 2-07-12 + playback Ditto Terry's comments on playback. Simply put: it works and, when used for field research as opposed to one's own entertainment, doesn't seem to be any more harmful to birds than the calls of other birds. If you doubt its usefulness, go bird with someone who uses it well and for the right reasons, and you're likely to experience birding in a new way. John Dillon Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Husser Quad, Feb 6, 2012 From: "Harvey L. Patten" <puffin AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 07:16:20 -0600 Yesterday I atlased the western sector of the Husser Quad and updated the totals to 21.4 hrs. and 75 species. Four added to the quad are capitalized in the list. In the Loranger Quad I raised the total hrs. to 9.3 while adding 7 species (capitalized in the list) for a total of 50. Harvey L. Patten Covington ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 6:46 AM Subject: eBird Report - Husser Quad, Feb 6, 2012 > Husser Quad, Tangipahoa, US-LA > Feb 6, 2012 6:20 AM - 9:45 AM > Protocol: Traveling > 18.0 mile(s) > Comments: Best find was a Green-tailed Towhee as I birded along roads > in the western sector of the quad. I verified the presence of White-eyed > Vireo and have added it to my 1/30/12 list. > 55 species > > Wood Duck 8 > Pied-billed Grebe 1 > Great Blue Heron 1 > Great Egret 3 > Black Vulture 14 > Turkey Vulture 7 > BALD EAGLE 1 > Cooper's Hawk 1 > Red-shouldered Hawk 2 > American Kestrel 2 > Killdeer 10 > Mourning Dove 4 > Belted Kingfisher 1 > Red-headed Woodpecker 2 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 10 > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 > Northern Flicker 1 > Pileated Woodpecker 2 > Eastern Phoebe 3 > Loggerhead Shrike 1 > WHITE-EYED VIREO 1 > Blue-headed Vireo 1 > Blue Jay 22 > American Crow 45 > Fish Crow 2 > Tree Swallow 5 > Carolina Chickadee 5 > Tufted Titmouse 16 > Brown-headed Nuthatch 1 > Carolina Wren 26 > House Wren 2 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 > Eastern Bluebird 9 > American Robin 1500 > Gray Catbird 2 > Northern Mockingbird 6 > Brown Thrasher 4 > American Pipit 1 > Orange-crowned Warbler 1 > Pine Warbler 5 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 8 > GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE 1 Observed at 15 ft. near the junction of Neal Rd. > and Hwy. 445 nw of the town of Husser. > Eastern Towhee 13 > Vesper Sparrow 1 > Savannah Sparrow 27 > Song Sparrow 20 > Swamp Sparrow 2 > White-throated Sparrow 16 > DARK-EYED JUNCO 3 > Northern Cardinal 17 > Red-winged Blackbird 16 > Eastern Meadowlark 4 > Common Grackle 7 > American Goldfinch 3 > House Sparrow 1 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 > (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Loranger Quad, Tangipahoa, US-LA Feb 7, 2012 9:45 AM - 11:50 AM Protocol: Traveling 7.6 mile(s) Comments: The female Summer Tanager was a nice find. 35 species Black Vulture 15 Turkey Vulture 10 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 American Kestrel 2 MOURNING DOVE 1 Red-headed Woodpecker 4 Red-bellied Woodpecker 10 Downy Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 1 Blue Jay 16 American Crow 9 FISH CROW 2 Carolina Chickadee 5 Tufted Titmouse 11 Brown-headed Nuthatch 1 Carolina Wren 13 House Wren 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Eastern Bluebird 9 American Robin 750 Estimate Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 15 European Starling 5 Pine Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 16 Eastern Towhee 6 Chipping Sparrow 15 White-throated Sparrow 27 SUMMER TANAGER (Eastern) 1 Always a nice winter find in Se Louisiana. Northern Cardinal 4 EASTERN MEADOWLARK 3 COMMON GRACKLE 2 HOUSE FINCH 2 American Goldfinch 12 HOUSE SPARROW 1 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) > Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Claire D. Thomas, Feb 7, 2012 From: Claire Thomas <claire AT CLAIREDTHOMAS.COM> Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 00:07:35 -0600 Is a Blue Grosbeak not common this time of year? It was flagged for confirmation on this checklist. Please check my photo of this bird and let me know if it's NOT a grosbeak. If I am wrong I'll go and change it on the list. Thanks Claire D. Thomas claire AT clairedthomas.com Begin forwarded message: > From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org > Date: February 8, 2012 12:04:06 AM CST > To: claire AT clairedthomas.com > Subject: eBird Report - Claire D. Thomas, Feb 7, 2012 > > Claire D. Thomas, St. Tammany, US-LA > Feb 7, 2012 1:29 PM - 2:59 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 3.64 mile(s) > Comments: Sunny, cool, breezy > 25 species (+1 other taxa) > > Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2 One of these hawks was light in color. I could barely see the streaking on it's breast while perched. > > > > > gull sp. (Larinae sp.) 25 Most likely Ringed bills > Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) 10 > Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 2 > Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 6 > Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) 1 Already documented female returnee, this is her 5th year > Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 2 > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) 2 > Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1 > Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 3 > Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 3 > Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 2 > Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) 3 > Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 1 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 3 > Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) 6 > Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 15 > Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) 3 > Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 35 > Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) 4 > Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 4 > White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 2 > Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 6 > Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) 1 > > > House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) 6 > American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 12 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - English Lookout Quad, Feb 5, 2012 From: Claire Thomas <claire AT CLAIREDTHOMAS.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 23:30:47 -0600 This quad is partially in Miss. but most of the accessible birding areas are in LA. This quad had no hours for LA so I went and took a look. Not bad habitat for such a small area. Would have been great to have another pair of eyes with me. Claire D. Thomas claire AT clairedthomas.com Begin forwarded message: > From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org > Date: February 7, 2012 3:54:11 PM CST > To: claire AT clairedthomas.com > Subject: eBird Report - English Lookout Quad, Feb 5, 2012 > > English Lookout Quad, Hancock, US-MS > Feb 5, 2012 10:43 AM - 1:45 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 20.23 mile(s) > Comments: This quad is partially in LA and most of the survey area that can be done from land is in LA. > 44 species > > Canada Goose 8 > Gadwall 10 > Double-crested Cormorant 3 > Anhinga 1 > Little Blue Heron 1 > Black Vulture 4 > Turkey Vulture 35 > Bald Eagle 2 2 Immature birds flying together overhead. > Red-tailed Hawk 3 > American Kestrel 1 > American Coot 5 > Killdeer 10 > Franklin's Gull 1 > Ring-billed Gull 10 > Rock Pigeon 100 > Mourning Dove 4 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 > Downy Woodpecker 2 > Hairy Woodpecker 1 > Northern Flicker 1 > Loggerhead Shrike 3 > Blue Jay 4 > American Crow 1 > Fish Crow 2 > Carolina Chickadee 5 > Tufted Titmouse 2 > Brown-headed Nuthatch 2 > Carolina Wren 4 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 > Eastern Bluebird 8 > American Robin 5 > Gray Catbird 2 > Northern Mockingbird 4 > Orange-crowned Warbler 4 > Pine Warbler 9 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 45 > Eastern Towhee 8 > Chipping Sparrow 35 > Swamp Sparrow 12 > Northern Cardinal 20 > Red-winged Blackbird 19 > Common Grackle 1 > Brown-headed Cowbird 30 > American Goldfinch 15 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Am. Goldfinch lows + be on the look-out for CORE From: Terry Davis <trdavis22 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 20:53:17 -0800 Hi all, maybe it's just the areas I've been listening at for the past few days but goldfinch nos have been notably low AFTER the recent front and cold, which seems a bit odd/ in reverse of the norm. Hmm? A Common Redpoll has been recently observed visiting a feeder in Nacogdoches Co in east Texas- evidently the location is private/inaccessible to birders. This is approximately 80 or so miles sw of Shreveport and just over the Texas line. There have been a few other reports at near this same latitude farther west. Arkansas has hosted one or more CORE this year. We're going to get one eventually. This may be the year!! Terry Subject: Redheads at Capitol Lakes From: Jane Patterson <japatter AT COX.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 22:31:34 -0600 I didn't have time to do an atlas survey today but will probably enter an ebird list at some point as there were 7 Redheads at the Capitol Lakes today: 3 adult males and 4 females. They're on the northeast end of the big lake. Most I've seen there at one time. Hopefully they'll still be there for our BRAS Waterbird tour on Saturday! --Jane Patterson www.braudubon.org Subject: Re: h.o. GTTO Wallace Lake quad 2-07-12 + playback From: John Dillon <kisforkryptonite AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 22:14:50 -0600 Ditto Terry's comments on playback. Simply put: it works and, when used for field research as opposed to one's own entertainment, doesn't seem to be any more harmful to birds than the calls of other birds. If you doubt its usefulness, go bird with someone who uses it well and for the right reasons, and you're likely to experience birding in a new way. John Dillon Sent from my iPhone On Feb 7, 2012, at 9:57 PM, Terry Davis wrote: > Labirders/Birdalert, With little time to go far, Jeff and I ran and spent over an hour in finished Wallace Lake quad to try and relocate the Green-tailed Towhee previously found by Martha Leonard awhile back. The background noise and shale/ hwy 1 traffic was fairly heavy. We finally heard the Green-tailed Towhee on Gayle Levee Rd at Hartz Island rd. It was in the company of mostly White-throated Sparrows at first but a nice gp of White-crowned joined the melee shortly after. I was on the back side of an old busted-down barn visiting the trees for a moment. I'd shut off playback briefly used, when I heard the bird call 7 or more times a minute or so afterward. I announced the presence of the bird to Jeff who was about 75 yards away and he said he'd heard it as well. There was a train and lots of background noise but the bird gave two other separate calls and a high-pitched twittering shortly after I returned carside with Jeff. The thicket was very > lush/green with much Ligustrum. We looked for several more minutes without successfully getting the bird to show before resuming the survey on Gayle Levee to the west. The bird did not appear to be responding to, or was either very wary of playback- as it hadn't given the usual "mewee" call until after we'd shut it off for a bit on both occasions. The twittering was heard during the playback. This is a hundred or so yards to the sw from where Martha Leonard had reported the bird according to her odometer, although that tenth of a mile could have been anywhere between the thickets slightly to the north or near even with Gayle Levee- therefore almost certainly the same bird. We also found 2 Western Meadowlark and several Rusty Blackbird in Wallace Lake quad, then 1 Western Meadowlark in Clear Lake quad, which we spent a little over an hour in afterward. > > I'll say one thing about playback. It works. It brings the birds in. I don't believe anyone can be/or is absolutely certain that it is detrimental to the bird's well being on breeding grounds- and ESPECIALLY on their wintering grounds. I can think of several other things that are MUCH more of a problem such as habitat destruction. There are no doubt many, many others as well. When one is atlasing or birding frequently, they are certain to note that there are FREQUENT periods of inactivity, sometimes much of a given day! So what are you going to do when that happens? Keep driving until you find some activity, meanwhile counting the bird-less miles you drove past and say you're giving an accurate estimate of birds per mile? I think not! Yep, maybe not everybody, (and it may well be the best thing NOT to do) but MANY are gonna reach for that old faithful E Screech-Owl tape. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm one of them. However- and as I said before, I DO > NOT go back to areas on a frequent basis and blast birds with screech-owl and other bird calls. I've used them once a week for thicket birds during our fall shorebird surveys- and nearly every time during WINTER atlas period. I've used it twice over a week-an-a-half at a local residence where it had been several months (except Wilson's Warbler) when I'd used it there beforehand, then maybe 8 or 9 times over the past 8 years. I've only used it judiciously during breeding season, which means a few songs to get a bird within photographing range before s-h-u-t-t-i-n-g it off. I do believe could be much more of a problem at this time. Moreover, I absolutely don't need it during summer due to frequent singing of territorial males. If I'm missing a harder-to-find bird at that time, such as Worm-eating or Black-and-White, then I'll play a few times, listen, and move on! I remember a sad feeling after finding one of among my first Swainson's Warblers, only to > have it disappear after using playback on a couple of days back to back. However, I worked nearby on a weekly basis and heard the bird singing again in the same place the following week. On breeding Eastern Screech-Owl- our locals may begin courtship slightly earlier but do not begin breeding until mid-late March at the earliest. I've only observed birds at a nest in April, then nestling owls poking their heads out in early may. > > > Last I checked, our mission was to find out the relative abundance of birds per mile- not what birders can find by standing there with their thumbs up their butt when everything is quiet. We're out here in the field working just as hard as anyone else trying to contribute to this atlas- but I'm beginning to get a bad feeling after some recent comments. I plan on continuing to use playback judiciously during my surveys. If anyone has a problem with my survey methods then they need to e-mail me personally- and we will deal with it. > > Thanks for listening, > > Terry Subject: Bewick's Wren, Lafayette From: Paul Conover <zoiseaux AT LUSFIBER.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 22:07:51 -0600 Labird, I saw a Bewick's Wren today in the Duson Quad. Maybe I'm forgetting something, but I think it's my first for Lafayette Parish. Paul Conover Lafayette Subject: h.o. GTTO Wallace Lake quad 2-07-12 + playback From: Terry Davis <trdavis22 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 19:57:40 -0800 Labirders/Birdalert, With little time to go far, Jeff and I ran and spent over an hour in finished Wallace Lake quad to try and relocate the Green-tailed Towhee previously found by Martha Leonard awhile back. The background noise and shale/ hwy 1 traffic was fairly heavy. We finally heard the Green-tailed Towhee on Gayle Levee Rd at Hartz Island rd. It was in the company of mostly White-throated Sparrows at first but a nice gp of White-crowned joined the melee shortly after. I was on the back side of an old busted-down barn visiting the trees for a moment. I'd shut off playback briefly used, when I heard the bird call 7 or more times a minute or so afterward. I announced the presence of the bird to Jeff who was about 75 yards away and he said he'd heard it as well. There was a train and lots of background noise but the bird gave two other separate calls and a high-pitched twittering shortly after I returned carside with Jeff. The thicket was very lush/green with much Ligustrum. We looked for several more minutes without successfully getting the bird to show before resuming the survey on Gayle Levee to the west. The bird did not appear to be responding to, or was either very wary of playback- as it hadn't given the usual "mewee" call until after we'd shut it off for a bit on both occasions. The twittering was heard during the playback. This is a hundred or so yards to the sw from where Martha Leonard had reported the bird according to her odometer, although that tenth of a mile could have been anywhere between the thickets slightly to the north or near even with Gayle Levee- therefore almost certainly the same bird. We also found 2 Western Meadowlark and several Rusty Blackbird in Wallace Lake quad, then 1 Western Meadowlark in Clear Lake quad, which we spent a little over an hour in afterward. I'll say one thing about playback. It works. It brings the birds in. I don't believe anyone can be/or is absolutely certain that it is detrimental to the bird's well being on breeding grounds- and  ESPECIALLY on their wintering grounds. I can think of several other things that are MUCH more of a problem such as habitat destruction. There are no doubt many, many others as well. When one is atlasing or birding frequently, they are certain to note that there are FREQUENT periods of inactivity, sometimes much of a given day! So what are you going to do when that happens? Keep driving until you find some activity, meanwhile counting the bird-less miles you drove past and say you're giving an accurate estimate of birds per mile? I think not! Yep, maybe not everybody, (and it may well be the best thing NOT to do) but MANY are gonna reach for that old faithful E Screech-Owl tape. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm one of them. However- and as I said before, I DO NOT go back to areas on a frequent basis and blast birds with screech-owl and other bird calls. I've used them once a week for thicket birds during our fall shorebird surveys- and nearly every time during WINTER atlas period. I've used it twice over a week-an-a-half at a local residence where it had been several months (except Wilson's Warbler) when I'd used it there beforehand, then maybe 8 or 9 times over the past 8 years. I've only used it judiciously during breeding season, which means a few songs to get a bird within photographing range before s-h-u-t-t-i-n-g it off. I do believe could be much more of a problem at this time. Moreover, I absolutely don't need it during summer due to frequent singing of territorial males. If I'm missing a harder-to-find bird at that time, such as Worm-eating or Black-and-White, then I'll play a few times, listen, and move on! I remember a sad feeling after finding one of among my first Swainson's Warblers, only to have it disappear after using playback on a couple of days back to back. However, I worked nearby on a weekly basis and heard the bird singing again in the same place the following week. On breeding Eastern Screech-Owl- our locals may begin courtship slightly earlier but do not begin breeding until mid-late March at the earliest. I've only observed birds at a nest in April, then nestling owls poking their heads out in early may.   Last I checked, our mission was to find out the relative abundance of birds per mile- not what birders can find by standing there with their thumbs up their butt when everything is quiet. We're out here in the field working just as hard as anyone else trying to contribute to this atlas- but I'm beginning to get a bad feeling after some recent comments. I plan on continuing to use playback judiciously during my surveys. If anyone has a problem with my survey methods then they need to e-mail me personally- and we will deal with it. Thanks for listening, Terry  Subject: Burrowing Owl at Johnson Bayou From: MARA DOMINGUE <curiouskitty AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 19:35:12 -0800 As promised here are my photos of the Burrowing Owl. Thi Hi LaBirders, As promised here are my photos of the Burrowing Owl. This is a new owl for me! I didn't just stumble upon this guy---my husband had been seeing him all last week! He'd pop out from the culvert every time a truck would driver over (and that's sometimes every hour out there!) and greet everyone just like this! We thought we were skunked after a 4 hour drive yesterday when we got there and it had rained 5 inches over the weekend and the culvert he'd been in the whole last week was flooded! I said, "Let's check out those other culverts!"  https://picasaweb.google.com/101484720990776541199/2012_02_06BurrowingOwl?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP7z9ofi3Ibg4QE&feat=directlink mara domingue curiouskitty AT bellsouth.net Subject: Re: unknown hawk and pipers From: "James W. Beck" <ommatius AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 21:12:08 -0600 Hi Mara, This is a Red-tailed Hawk of the borealis (or Eastern) subspecies that has an inordinate amount of white of the head. Red-tails (aside from Common Buzzard, Buteo buteo) are quite possibly one of the most variable species of bird on the planet in terms of plumage variation. I should also point out that the underwing pattern is wrong in terms of the secondary feather coloring for Short-tailed Hawk. -j On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 8:56 PM, MARA DOMINGUE wrote: > This white headed hawk was at Pintail Wildlife Drive in > Hi LaBirders, > > This white headed hawk was at Pintail Wildlife Drive in Cameron parish. My > guess is an immature or light phase Short-tailed Hawk. I know the pipers > are really a long shot since the photo quality is so poor, but > nevertheless, here they are. > > > https://picasaweb.google.com/101484720990776541199/2012_02_06?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJmM0uz8sK6BNQ&feat=directlink > > > thanks in advance for any id help! > > mara domingue > curiouskitty AT bellsouth.net > > -- ----------------------- James W. Beck Broussard, Louisiana venomousphotography.shutterfly.com ommatius AT gmail.com Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Eros Quad, Feb 7, 2012 From: Stephen Pagans <slp_4-7 AT ATT.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 19:11:23 -0800 This did not fly the first try. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Stephen Pagans To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU Sent: Tue, February 7, 2012 6:01:15 PM Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Eros Quad, Feb 7, 2012 I went back to this quad to cover a few more roads.  With this survey I added 6 hr 49 min and three species for new totals of 30 hr 20 min and 62 species. I went back by where I previously found the Spotted Towhee and did not find it. Eros Quad, Jackson, US-LA Feb 7, 2012 8:27 AM - 3:16 PM Protocol: Traveling 11.3 mile(s) Comments:    Weather was cloudy and cool most of the day with slight wind.  Of the total distance, I walked 1.0 miles. 39 species (+1 other taxa) Great Blue Heron  1 Turkey Vulture  13 Red-shouldered Hawk  4 Red-tailed Hawk  1 Mourning Dove  5 Red-headed Woodpecker  2 Red-bellied Woodpecker  8 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  5 Hairy Woodpecker  2 Northern Flicker  7 Pileated Woodpecker  3 Eastern Phoebe  7 Blue Jay  33 American Crow  65 Fish Crow  1 Carolina Chickadee  8 Tufted Titmouse  9 Brown-headed Nuthatch  1 Carolina Wren  17 Winter Wren  2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  5 Eastern Bluebird  10 Hermit Thrush  6 American Robin  9 Northern Mockingbird  6 Brown Thrasher  7 Pine Warbler  11 Yellow-rumped Warbler  13 Eastern Towhee  10 Chipping Sparrow  33 Field Sparrow  5 Song Sparrow  7 Swamp Sparrow  8 White-throated Sparrow  67 Dark-eyed Junco  24 Northern Cardinal  33 Red-winged Blackbird  1 blackbird sp.  30 Purple Finch  15 American Goldfinch  103    one group of 80 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: unknown hawk and pipers From: MARA DOMINGUE <curiouskitty AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 18:56:16 -0800 This white headed hawk was at Pintail Wildlife Drive in Hi LaBirders, This white headed hawk was at Pintail Wildlife Drive in Cameron parish. My guess is an immature or light phase Short-tailed Hawk. I know the pipers are really a long shot since the photo quality is so poor, but nevertheless, here they are.  https://picasaweb.google.com/101484720990776541199/2012_02_06?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJmM0uz8sK6BNQ&feat=directlink thanks in advance for any id help!  mara domingue curiouskitty AT bellsouth.net Subject: Re: Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee From: "James W. Beck" <ommatius AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 19:49:41 -0600 Paul, Harvey, LABIRD, This year I have actually done some alternative experimentation in terms of 'playback'. While I do not like to abuse this method, I do dabble in some different situations, just 'cause....started with a reaction from a Greenhouse Frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris) in response to a playback of Rio Grande Chirping Frog (E. cystignathoides) in Metairie. What I noticed this Winter is that I received a ca. 80/100% response in terms of mixed-flock reaction to a playback of 1) Northern Saw-whet Owl and 2) Fox Sparrow...oddly enough. While I haven't pulled out any sort of interesting vagrants using this method, I still found it quite interesting and can't help but wonder if this might somehow be related to phonotaxis (Bob Thomas?) or just an inherent audible recognition of a predator? -j On Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 7:16 PM, Paul Conover wrote: > Harvey, Labird, > I can't spish or squeak well. I use a screech owl tape with a mix of > scolding songbirds thrown in, but only outside of the breeding season. > Works great, though it has its limitations. In spots where songbirds are > already evident, I just sit and watch quietly, but when nothing is shaking, > my Screech Owl: Bold as Love mp3 is a good starter. > > Paul Conover > Lafayette > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information on Louisiana Birds > [mailto:LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU] On Behalf Of Harvey L. Patten > Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 4:36 PM > To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU > Subject: [LABIRD-L] Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee > > Hello All, > > This morning I atlased in the western sector of the Husser Quad and the > mideastern sector of the Loranger Quad in SE Louisiana. Tomorrow I will > input data to ebird and then forward to LABIRD. However I wanted to report > the GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE that I encountered. > > Directions to the site northwest of the town of Husser which is northeast > of > Loranger are as follows. Make your way to the town of Husser via a route of > your choosing. From where I live in Covington I usually head north to the > Global Wildlife Center on Hwy 40 West of Folsom. Continue west on 40 and > then north on Hwy 445. After passing through the town of Husser 445 trends > NW and then due west. It then trends due north near the western boundry of > the Husser Quad. Right where it turns north the road continues west as Neal > Rd. > > On Neal Rd. park on the north side about 50-75 feet west of the junction > with 445. The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE was in the low shrubby vegetation > bordering the road, and was in the company of a mixed flock of sparrows > (mostly Song), a Gray Catbird and Eastern Towhees. Birds were not evident > as > I parked here at about 9:30 a.m. until I exited my vehicle and proceeded to > pish. I did not and never (except for winter CBC owls) use mechanical > devices to lure birds out of their habitats or to elicit their > vocalizations. I usually have great success with my pishing techniques. > > I was also able to verify the White-eyed Vireo vocalizations I thought I > heard once elsewhere in the quad last week and will update that listing > tomorrow. > > One other good winter bird was a female Summer Tanager along Null Rd. in > eastern Loranger Quad. > > Thanks for reading, > > Harvey L. Patten > Covington > > > -- ----------------------- James W. Beck Broussard, Louisiana venomousphotography.shutterfly.com ommatius AT gmail.com Subject: FW: eBird Report - Audubon Park, Feb 7, 2012 From: David Muth <MuthD AT NWF.ORG> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 20:30:04 -0500 I managed to get to Audubon Park in New Orleans and find one of the Fulvous Whistling Ducks on the south end of Ochsner Island. Did not have enough time to atlas, but found one bird. I was quite surprised to see it dive for 10-15 seconds at a time, but research confirms this is not unusual. Never knew. This is a new bird for me in New Orleans (Orleans Parish)--number 331. BTW, does anybody have good photos? It would be good to confirm thety are not escaped Lesser or Wandering whistling-ducks... David P. Muth New Orleans -----Original Message----- From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org [mailto:do-not-reply AT ebird.org] Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 6:55 PM To: David Muth Subject: eBird Report - Audubon Park, Feb 7, 2012 Audubon Park, Orleans, US-LA Feb 7, 2012 12:00 PM - 12:35 PM Protocol: Traveling 0.5 mile(s) Comments: north lagoon; note FWDU 21 species Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 1800 Fulvous Whistling-Duck 1 south end Ochsner Is.; dove twice for 1-15 seconds; parish bird Wood Duck 12 Mallard 15 feral Double-crested Cormorant 8 Anhinga 2 Great Egret 1 in nuptial plumage on island Snowy Egret 1 in nuptial plumage on island White Ibis 15 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 American Coot 15 Mourning Dove 6 Downy Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 2 American Crow 6 Fish Crow 1 Carolina Chickadee 5 European Starling 1 Orange-crowned Warbler 3 Pine Warbler 1 singing Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) Subject: Re: Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee From: Paul Conover <zoiseaux AT LUSFIBER.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 19:16:19 -0600 Harvey, Labird, I can't spish or squeak well. I use a screech owl tape with a mix of scolding songbirds thrown in, but only outside of the breeding season. Works great, though it has its limitations. In spots where songbirds are already evident, I just sit and watch quietly, but when nothing is shaking, my Screech Owl: Bold as Love mp3 is a good starter. Paul Conover Lafayette -----Original Message----- From: Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information on Louisiana Birds [mailto:LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU] On Behalf Of Harvey L. Patten Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 4:36 PM To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU Subject: [LABIRD-L] Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee Hello All, This morning I atlased in the western sector of the Husser Quad and the mideastern sector of the Loranger Quad in SE Louisiana. Tomorrow I will input data to ebird and then forward to LABIRD. However I wanted to report the GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE that I encountered. Directions to the site northwest of the town of Husser which is northeast of Loranger are as follows. Make your way to the town of Husser via a route of your choosing. From where I live in Covington I usually head north to the Global Wildlife Center on Hwy 40 West of Folsom. Continue west on 40 and then north on Hwy 445. After passing through the town of Husser 445 trends NW and then due west. It then trends due north near the western boundry of the Husser Quad. Right where it turns north the road continues west as Neal Rd. On Neal Rd. park on the north side about 50-75 feet west of the junction with 445. The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE was in the low shrubby vegetation bordering the road, and was in the company of a mixed flock of sparrows (mostly Song), a Gray Catbird and Eastern Towhees. Birds were not evident as I parked here at about 9:30 a.m. until I exited my vehicle and proceeded to pish. I did not and never (except for winter CBC owls) use mechanical devices to lure birds out of their habitats or to elicit their vocalizations. I usually have great success with my pishing techniques. I was also able to verify the White-eyed Vireo vocalizations I thought I heard once elsewhere in the quad last week and will update that listing tomorrow. One other good winter bird was a female Summer Tanager along Null Rd. in eastern Loranger Quad. Thanks for reading, Harvey L. Patten Covington Subject: Re: atlas gaps and burrowing owl history From: Paul Conover <zoiseaux AT LUSFIBER.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 19:06:55 -0600 Mara, Labird, Secret Place is a school board section (a Section 16) in the Johnsons Bayou Quad. I believe the entrance road is either on the border between sections (not quads, but see below) or on a different section; the guard at the checkpoint (assuming the check station is still there--I haven’t been in since November) works for the oil company, not the school board, so, even while she'll let you pass, permission to enter the school board section is a separate deal that I don’t think she has a real say on. I always birded there with the OK of the leaseholders in the past, but thanks to Judith O'Neale we now have clarification that it's OK to bird it from the School Board itself. The entrance road itself is barely within the western boundary of the Johnsons Bayou Quad. I don’t think we have permission to bird that section, anyway. The Burrowing Owl would appear to be wintering there this year. In the past, Burrowing Owls have used the metal pipe culverts under the road, and it's a practice to check the pipes in the winter. I don’t know if that's the "burrow" this year. In the past, the low area alongside the road would fill up with water and water could get up as high as the culverts. I haven't seen good standing water there in a long time--a shame as it used to be great shorebird habitat, but probably good news for owls. To find out which quad is which, and see the finer details, you can get the quad layout in the SW LA map (http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/LWBA-coverageSWLA.jpg), and fine tune it by getting the individual quad maps (http://www.minilogic.com/LAQuads/index.html). Btw, is your old Creole homesite open to birding? Paul Conover Lafayette -----Original Message----- From: Bulletin Board for Dissemination of Information on Louisiana Birds [mailto:LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU] On Behalf Of MARA DOMINGUE Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 6:08 PM To: LABIRD-L AT LISTSERV.LSU.EDU Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] atlas gaps and burrowing owl history In a message dated this week, James Remsen mentioned that  "LABIRD:  some of the best quads in SW LA still haven't reached 20 party-hrs: Johnsons Bayou, Holly Beach, Grand Bayou, Creole, and Grand Chenier -- hope some of you within striking distance can push these past 20 before the end of the season.  Coastal quads are extra- important.  I'm starting to get a little worried with only 3 more weekends left in WBA." Of course, I'm tardy and just reading this now that I'm just back from whirlwind trip to Johnson Bayou where I birded 6 hours yesterday. I have a list but wish I had a secretary! I saw the Burrowing Owl and captured some awesome photographs of it, and I spotted a Crested Caracara too! Whoo-hoo! Does that Burrowing Owl just winter there? What is its story? Is that Secret Place in the School Board Quad?  What Quad is Pintail Wildlife Drive? I was there over an hour tallying this morning and was surprised to see two Hairy Woodpeckers and a Red-bellied! I photographed a hawk with a white head but I need to get an expert to look at it. I also have some sandpipers that I need some help with. I will get a slideshow up soon for anyone wishing to help id.  I was also surprised to see a Brown Thrasher at our old homeplace in Creole. It's always a humbling experience revisting.  mara domingue ventress, la curiouskitty AT bellsouth.net Subject: Re: atlas gaps and burrowing owl history From: MARA DOMINGUE <curiouskitty AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 16:08:20 -0800 In a message dated this week, James Remsen mentioned that  "LABIRD:  some of the best quads in SW LA still haven't reached 20   party-hrs: Johnsons Bayou, Holly Beach, Grand Bayou, Creole, and Grand   Chenier -- hope some of you within striking distance can push these   past 20 before the end of the season.  Coastal quads are extra-  important.  I'm starting to get a little worried with only 3 more   weekends left in WBA." Of course, I'm tardy and just reading this now that I'm just back from whirlwind trip to Johnson Bayou where I birded 6 hours yesterday. I have a list but wish I had a secretary! I saw the Burrowing Owl and captured some awesome photographs of it, and I spotted a Crested Caracara too! Whoo-hoo! Does that Burrowing Owl just winter there? What is its story? Is that Secret Place in the School Board Quad?  What Quad is Pintail Wildlife Drive? I was there over an hour tallying this morning and was surprised to see two Hairy Woodpeckers and a Red-bellied! I photographed a hawk with a white head but I need to get an expert to look at it. I also have some sandpipers that I need some help with. I will get a slideshow up soon for anyone wishing to help id.  I was also surprised to see a Brown Thrasher at our old homeplace in Creole. It's always a humbling experience revisting.  mara domingue ventress, la curiouskitty AT bellsouth.net Subject: Good Birds Everywhere But Have To Stay Near Home - Alexandria Quad, Feb 7, 2012 From: Jay V Huner <jvh0660 AT LOUISIANA.EDU> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 18:05:17 -0600 I really enjoy birding. ebird lets me keep track of site birds, month birds and year birds. But, family considerations have caused me to have to stay close to home and not try to find some really nice birds reported reasonably close to where I live - after a fashion. Way it goes. The Lake District remains one of my favorite places to bird because the diversity is good and I never know what I'll find. Jay Huner > Alexandria Quad, Rapides, US-LA > Feb 7, 2012 1:20 PM - 3:20 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 2.5 mile(s) > Comments: Alexandria Quad. Has plenty of WBA hours but only place I could do a survey today. Birding in Lake District south of LA 28 W behind Menard High School. 1 observer, start 1:20 PM, duration 2 hr 00 min., distance 2.5 miles. Mild weather 60 F, light winds, partly cloudy to cloudy. Remains a favorite place to bird for me. Nope, no Spotted Towhees or, for that matter any towhees today. > 31 species > > Wood Duck 2 > Pied-billed Grebe 5 > Great Blue Heron 1 > Great Egret 1 > Cooper's Hawk 1 > American Kestrel 1 > Killdeer 6 > Wilson's Snipe 3 > White-winged Dove 11 > Mourning Dove 4 > Barred Owl 2 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 > Northern Flicker 1 > Pileated Woodpecker 2 > Loggerhead Shrike 3 > Blue Jay 14 > American Crow 3 > Carolina Chickadee 1 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 > Eastern Bluebird 3 > American Robin 80 > Northern Mockingbird 6 > European Starling 7 > Cedar Waxwing 95 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 14 > White-throated Sparrow 9 > Northern Cardinal 3 > Red-winged Blackbird 275 > Eastern Meadowlark 16 > Brown-headed Cowbird 200 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Franklinton Quad, Jan 16, 2012/UPDATED CHECKLIST TO ADD VESPER SPARROWS From: janine robin <janinerobin1982 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 16:54:08 -0600 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Date: Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 4:51 PM Subject: eBird Report - Franklinton Quad, Jan 16, 2012 To: janinerobin1982 AT gmail.com Franklinton Quad, Washington, US-LA Jan 16, 2012 3:30 PM - 4:50 PM Protocol: Traveling 3.6 mile(s) Comments: This is an update on original list posted in order to add 2 Vesper sparrows that I saw when I looked at my photos of the survey. The main reason for this survey was to ,hopefully, get the white-winged dove that I saw here prior to the atlas start date. Was not successful. Drove Bethel rd. Hardwood forests and then opening up to pasture land. Overcast and mild. Very low traffic area, so fairly safe to bird from car or to get out and walk. One observer, Janine Robin. The pasture land area is the LSU SE Agricultural research center. 27 species Great Egret 1 Black Vulture 11 Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 2 Killdeer 3 Greater Yellowlegs 1 Wilson's Snipe 2 Mourning Dove 2 Red-headed Woodpecker 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 2 Loggerhead Shrike 3 Blue Jay 3 Eastern Bluebird 6 American Robin 350 Northern Mockingbird 3 European Starling 51 Cedar Waxwing 30 Yellow-rumped Warbler 13 Vesper Sparrow 2 Savannah Sparrow 8 White-throated Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 1 Red-winged Blackbird 60 Eastern Meadowlark 55 Brown-headed Cowbird 35 House Sparrow 5 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 ( http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Husser Quad Green-tailed Towhee From: "Harvey L. Patten" <puffin AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 16:35:42 -0600 Hello All, This morning I atlased in the western sector of the Husser Quad and the mideastern sector of the Loranger Quad in SE Louisiana. Tomorrow I will input data to ebird and then forward to LABIRD. However I wanted to report the GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE that I encountered. Directions to the site northwest of the town of Husser which is northeast of Loranger are as follows. Make your way to the town of Husser via a route of your choosing. From where I live in Covington I usually head north to the Global Wildlife Center on Hwy 40 West of Folsom. Continue west on 40 and then north on Hwy 445. After passing through the town of Husser 445 trends NW and then due west. It then trends due north near the western boundry of the Husser Quad. Right where it turns north the road continues west as Neal Rd. On Neal Rd. park on the north side about 50-75 feet west of the junction with 445. The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE was in the low shrubby vegetation bordering the road, and was in the company of a mixed flock of sparrows (mostly Song), a Gray Catbird and Eastern Towhees. Birds were not evident as I parked here at about 9:30 a.m. until I exited my vehicle and proceeded to pish. I did not and never (except for winter CBC owls) use mechanical devices to lure birds out of their habitats or to elicit their vocalizations. I usually have great success with my pishing techniques. I was also able to verify the White-eyed Vireo vocalizations I thought I heard once elsewhere in the quad last week and will update that listing tomorrow. One other good winter bird was a female Summer Tanager along Null Rd. in eastern Loranger Quad. Thanks for reading, Harvey L. Patten Covington Subject: Venice birding yesterday From: jared wolfe <jdwolfe80 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 11:13:34 -0800 Yesterday (6-February-2012) Eric Liffmann and I drove from Baton Rouge to Venice, birding at the abandoned golf course and diversion canal at Braithwaite, and around the Venice area. In addition to the usual suspects we got good looks at a Western Kingbird near the woods behind Diamond. Find our bird list below. Happy Birding, Jared Wolfe School of Renewable Natural Resources Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA 70803   Venice Area: Pied-billed Grebe            5 Double-crested Cormorant         120 American White Pelican                40 Great Egret         36 Turkey Vulture  350 Osprey4 Northern Harrier              1 Red-shouldered Hawk   2 Swainson's Hawk             1 Red-tailed Hawk               8 American Kestrel             8 Common Gallinule (American)   15 American Coot  90 Caspian Tern      1 Royal Tern           1 Belted Kingfisher             4 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker              1 Western Kingbird             1 Loggerhead Shrike          8 American Crow30 Purple Martin    1 Tree Swallow     45 Carolina Chickadee          20 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   8 Ruby-crowned Kinglet   11 American Robin                2 Gray Catbird       2 American Pipit   45 Orange-crowned Warbler            14 Palm Warbler     2 Yellow-rumped Warbler               650 Savannah Sparrow          150 Song Sparrow    5 Northern Cardinal            40 Red-winged Blackbird    1100 Eastern Meadowlark      8 Boat-tailed Grackle         450                 Caernarvon Diversion Canal: Lesser Scaup      12 Double-crested Cormorant         70 Anhinga               4 American White Pelican                26 Brown Pelican   12 Great Blue Heron             8 Great Egret         25 Snowy Egret       15 Little Blue Heron              1 Cattle Egret        8 White Ibis            20 Glossy Ibis           1 Black Vulture     10 Turkey Vulture  250 Osprey1 Bald Eagle            1 Northern Harrier              1 Sharp-shinned Hawk      1 Red-shouldered Hawk   3 Red-tailed Hawk               4 American Kestrel             4 Common Gallinule (American)   20 American Coot  85 Killdeer5 Wilson's Snipe   15 Laughing Gull     3 Ring-billed Gull  700 Herring Gull        12 Forster's Tern    4 Rock Pigeon (Domestic type)      1 Mourning Dove                10 Great Horned Owl           1 Red-bellied Woodpecker             1 Downy Woodpecker      2 Eastern Phoebe                8 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher                2 Loggerhead Shrike          4 Blue-headed Vireo          1 Blue Jay                4 American Crow20 Fish Crow            1 Tree Swallow     35 Carolina Chickadee          15 Carolina Wren   12 Sedge Wren       1 Marsh Wren       2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher   10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet   12 Gray Catbird       3 Northern Mockingbird   2 European Starling            85 American Pipit   50 Orange-crowned Warbler            8 Common Yellowthroat  10 Pine Warbler      3 Yellow-rumped Warbler               450 Savannah Sparrow          10 Song Sparrow    2 Lincoln's Sparrow             2 Swamp Sparrow               35 White-throated Sparrow              2 Northern Cardinal            75 Red-winged Blackbird    1300 Eastern Meadowlark      4 American Goldfinch        2 Subject: more SW LA quad-busting Sun-Mon cont'd From: "Steven W. Cardiff" <scardif AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 10:36:14 -0600 More green and red quads blossoming in SW LA.... On Super Bowl Sunday Donna and I put in 7+ hours in the Welsh South quad (which should put the quad at 10+ party hours), racking up 110 species (without any playback, btw....). Spent a lot of time along I-10/Roanoke/Welsh/NW areas of quad, then moved south late in the day. In addition to the previously mentioned Whooping Crane (which, of course, I'm not counting in the 110 species), highlights were: Canvasback Redhead 10 Ring-necked Duck 1200 Hooded Merganser 2 Ruddy Duck 145 Roseate Spoonbill 35 Crested Caracara 3 (pair chasing immature at Hwy. 99 X Bayou Chene) Sandhill Crane 6 (near Welsh Landfill) Marbled Godwit 2 (Wild Road near Hwy. 382) Laughing Gull 2400+ Ring-billed Gull 39000+ (dump closed on Sunday, gulls EVERYWHERE, including RBGU concentrations at different locations of 15K, 10K, 2K, 7K,5K) Vermilion Flycatcher 2 Purple Martin (Welsh) Wilson's Warbler Clay-colored Sparrow (Martin Road just W of Welsh Canal) Yellow-headed Blackbird (imm female on Martin Road just W of Hwy. 382) Yesterday (Monday, 2/6), we tackled the Hayes quad, which was 3.4 hr short of 20 party hours. We started along Hwy. 14 and Rossignol Road (I highly recommend the 8 AM breakfast cheeseburger at the Hayes-South store) and worked south to Illinois Plant Road and the Hayes quad-portion of Lacassine Pool. We were just trying to get to 20 hours and were then going to move on to another quad, but ended up spending the whole day (8 hr, 44 min) because: American Wigeon 108 Bufflehead 3 Eared Grebe on first pond at Lac Pool entrance Bald Eagle pair over southern (gravel stretch) Illinois Plant Road FERRUGINOUS HAWK imm above southernmost Illinois Plant Road at refuge boundary. Bird had a full crop and eventually glided off towards the NNE. GOLDEN EAGLE 1 adult along northern (paved stretch) Illinois Plant Road, harassing goose flocks west of the highway, starting off fairly close to Hwy. 14 then moving south to Cameron Parish line, then back north. SPOTTED TOWHEE heard only, Ward Line Road between Lac Pool turnoff and Hayes, north side of road all the way to the east end of the east-west stretch. Fox Sparrow Had 109 species for the day, about 135 species combined over the two days.... Cheers, Steve Cardiff On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 7:31 AM, Steven W. Cardiff wrote: > Erik/Paul/Labird- > Thanks for those updates. Donna and I did Welsh South quad > yesterday, and it should be around 10 hours now. Full report later, but > wanted to mention that we had a WHOOPING CRANE at the N edge of the quad, > just SSE of Mt. Trashmore near Welsh. The bird was airborne and associated > with 6 Sandhill Cranes; they all move off to the east roughly parallel to > the power line corridor. We weren't close enough to see leg bands, etc., > but presumably the Whooper was one of the AWOL re-introduced birds from > White Lake..... > > Steve Cardiff > > On Sun, Feb 5, 2012 at 9:49 PM, Erik Johnson wrote: > >> Paul/LAbird, >> >> Your Green-tailed Towhee east of Muria Rd. is new as far as I am aware. >> The one that Michael Seymour, Eric Liffmann, and I saw during the Creole >> CBC was well west of Muria Rd. on Little Chenier Rd. This is some winter! >> >> Today, David Ringer and I put in just over an hour into the Creole Quad, >> so >> it should be at 20+ hours now. David spotted a Spotted Towhee at Oak >> Grove >> Sanctuary and we both eventually got great, but fleeting looks. A singing >> Western Meadowlark originally found by Jay Huner and Michael Musumeche >> during the Creole CBC was still at Domingue Rd., just west of Creole. >> >> Moving up to Boudreaux Lake Quad, we had a Wilson's Warbler, Crested >> Caracara, and a male CINNAMON TEAL at the Cameron Prairie NWR >> Headquarters. >> We couldn't relocate the reported Say's Phoebe at the Pintail Loop >> boardwalk, but the winds were wicked. >> >> Happy birding, >> Erik Johnson >> S Lafayette, LA >> ejohnson AT audubon.org >> ejohn33 AT lsu.edu >> > > Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Eros Quad, Feb 6, 2012 From: Stephen Pagans <slp_4-7 AT ATT.NET> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 18:48:30 -0800 With this survey we added 7 hr 38 min and seven species.  Quad totals should now be 23 hr 31 min and 59 species. Joan and I had to work to get the Green-tailed Towhee to show itself.  We also went by the locations where the Spotted Towhee was found yesterday but did not see or hear it.  The location is a wooded lot between two houses but after looking at Google Earth last night, it looked like the wooded lot just expands into a much larger area.  When we got to the Spotted Towhee location this afternoon, a man next door was briefly using a power saw and may have been using it for an extended period of time before we arrived.  Within five minutes of our arrival, he pulled out of his driveway and came by to talk to us.  He had a table saw in the back of his truck.  His saw work could have made the Spotted Towhee leave the area.  Whether it comes back is a guess.  He owned the vacant lot and his mother-in-law lived on the other side of the vacant lot. There are still a few roads that I have not covered in this quad so I may go back. Eros Quad, Jackson, US-LA Feb 6, 2012 8:20 AM - 3:58 PM Protocol: Traveling 13.5 mile(s) Comments:    Weather was clear and chilly with light winds.  Joan Brown and I worked the northern part of the quad.  Of the total distance covered, we walked 0.9 miles. 49 species (+1 other taxa) Wood Duck  1 Double-crested Cormorant  3 Turkey Vulture  30 Northern Harrier  1    female Red-shouldered Hawk  6 Merlin  1    female Mourning Dove  2 Red-headed Woodpecker  2 Red-bellied Woodpecker  13 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1 Downy Woodpecker  1 Hairy Woodpecker  1 Northern Flicker  3 Eastern Phoebe  1 Blue-headed Vireo  1 Blue Jay  9 American Crow  14 Fish Crow  76 Carolina Chickadee  3 Tufted Titmouse  11 Carolina Wren  4 House Wren  1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1 Eastern Bluebird  8 Hermit Thrush  4 American Robin  34 Northern Mockingbird  3 Brown Thrasher  1 Cedar Waxwing  7 Pine Warbler  2 Yellow-rumped Warbler  4 Green-tailed Towhee  1    This is the same bird that was seen on 2-6-12.  Today it was heard calling numerous times and finally showed itself for a number of photos. Eastern Towhee  20 Chipping Sparrow  30 Field Sparrow  4 Vesper Sparrow  3 Fox Sparrow  3 Song Sparrow  18 Lincoln's Sparrow  1 Swamp Sparrow  4 White-throated Sparrow  48 Dark-eyed Junco  3 Northern Cardinal  5 Red-winged Blackbird  1 Eastern Meadowlark  4 Common Grackle  2 Brown-headed Cowbird  103 blackbird sp.  110 Purple Finch  3    females American Goldfinch  1 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Whitehall and Killian Quads From: Winston and Linda Caillouet <lincwinc AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 20:46:20 -0600 Birded Whitehall and Killian Quads today. Got Whitehall over 10 hours and added 1.5 hours to Killian. Added Bald Eagle to Whitehall and seven species to the Killian list, including a GH Owl. Winston Caillouet Whitehall Quad, Livingston, US-LA Feb 6, 2012 10:30 AM - 12:40 PM Protocol: Traveling 12.6 mile(s) Comments: Birded several roads off Hwy 444, including Old Frost Rd. Most of the birds tallied on this trip were observed along Old Frost Rd. was again very productive. Temp ranged from 58-62 F, skies were sunny and there was hardly any wind. 26 species Great Egret 1 Black Vulture 3 Turkey Vulture 2 Bald Eagle 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 8 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 2 Loggerhead Shrike 1 White-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 6 American Crow 10 Carolina Chickadee 5 Tufted Titmouse 5 Carolina Wren 10 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 American Robin 15 European Starling 1 Pine Warbler 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 15 Chipping Sparrow 46 Savannah Sparrow 10 Song Sparrow 5 Swamp Sparrow 5 White-throated Sparrow 1 Dark-eyed Junco 5 Northern Cardinal 12 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Killian Quad, Livingston, US-LA Feb 6, 2012 12:40 PM - 2:10 PM Protocol: Traveling 13.4 mile(s) Comments: Birded spots along Hwy 444 and 22 and Lower Rome Rd. Temp 62-65 F. Neglible wind and sunny skies. 25 species (+1 other taxa) Mallard (Domestic type) 3 Black Vulture 4 Red-tailed Hawk 1 Mourning Dove 3 Great Horned Owl 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 4 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Northern Flicker 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 1 Blue Jay 6 American Crow 1 Carolina Chickadee 1 Tufted Titmouse 7 Carolina Wren 3 Eastern Bluebird 2 American Robin 10 Northern Mockingbird 6 Yellow-rumped Warbler 5 Chipping Sparrow 30 Song Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 8 Dark-eyed Junco 2 Northern Cardinal 4 Red-winged Blackbird 15 House Sparrow 1 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Plastic Martins in Melder Quad From: Jay V Huner <jvh0660 AT LOUISIANA.EDU> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 19:56:00 -0600 Good Evening, The Melder Quad now has a bit over 10 hours. Could not go to an area where I sort of hope for a Spotted Towhee because of flooding of the Calcasieu River at Strother Crossing and closure of the bridge at Hineston for maintenance. But, there is a nice set of gourd martin houses at the Calcasieu community. There were martins on top of them, two per house! Then, I noticed that they were plastic martins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The houses had plenty of martins last spring. Surprised that the owner feels he/she needs decoys to bring them in. Continue to find Eastern Towhees in appropriate habitat in Grant, Rapides and Vernon parishes. They respond well to Spotted Towhee calls! Jay Huner Subject: WBA stats updated From: James Remsen <NAJAMES AT LSU.EDU> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 14:30:02 -0600 LABIRD -- just updated the unofficial stats at: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/LWBAQuadStats.htm We're just a few quads short of hitting 33% of all quads with > 20 hours. I counted about 18 quads that have only 4 or fewer hours to go before breaking 20. Two weekends left. All Mardi Gras festivities postponed until 21 Feb. ***************************** Dr. J. V. Remsen Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 najamesLSU.edu Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Little Woods Quad, Feb 6, 2012 From: glenn ousset <gousset AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 12:26:35 -0800 G 2 observers. Interesting list from the Nature Center area this week. Glenn Ousset ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: "do-not-reply AT ebird.org" To: gousset AT bellsouth.net Sent: Mon, February 6, 2012 2:01:10 PM Subject: eBird Report - Little Woods Quad, Feb 6, 2012 Little Woods Quad, Orleans, US-LA Feb 6, 2012 6:35 AM - 11:35 AM Protocol: Traveling 3.5 mile(s) Comments:    Audubon La Nature Center and vicinity in eastern New Orleans. 59 species (+2 other taxa) Muscovy Duck (Domestic type)  1    2 Wood Duck  5    4 Gadwall  225    1,2 Mallard (Domestic type)  65    1,2,8 Northern Shoveler  24    1,2,8 Redhead  25    2 Ring-necked Duck  18    1,2 Lesser Scaup  10    1,2 Pied-billed Grebe  7    1,2,8 Double-crested Cormorant  20    1,2,4,8 Anhinga  15    1,2,4,8 American White Pelican  12    1,9 Great Blue Heron  7 Great Egret  8    1,2,4,8 Snowy Egret  6    1,2,8 Little Blue Heron  1    2 Cattle Egret  10    8 Black-crowned Night-Heron  9    4,8 White Ibis  50    2,8,9 Black Vulture  3    9 Bald Eagle  1    2                    on tall pole in abandoned apartment complex Northern Harrier  1    2 Cooper's Hawk  1    1 Red-shouldered Hawk  3    1,4,8 Red-tailed Hawk  2    1,2 American Kestrel  3    1,3 American Coot  200    1,2 Killdeer  3    2 Greater Yellowlegs  1    2 Laughing Gull  45    2,9 Ring-billed Gull  50    2,9 Eurasian Collared-Dove  2    2 White-winged Dove  25    6,8 Mourning Dove  10    2,3,9 Monk Parakeet  5    9 Great Horned Owl  1    8                    on nest in Live Oak Belted Kingfisher  3    2,8 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1    5 Downy Woodpecker  2    4,6 Northern Flicker  1    6 Eastern Phoebe  5    1,5,6,8 Loggerhead Shrike  3    2,8 Blue Jay  4    1,4 American Crow  250    1,2,4,6,8,9      mostly one flock in flight, early am. Fish Crow  1    9 Carolina Chickadee  8    1,4,6,8 Carolina Wren  5    1,4,5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  3    5,8 Hermit Thrush  1    6 Gray Catbird  1    7 Northern Mockingbird  3    2,8 European Starling  20    1,2,8 Orange-crowned Warbler  6    4,5,6,8 Yellow-rumped Warbler  30    1,2,4,8 Song Sparrow  1    1 Swamp Sparrow  2    8 White-throated Sparrow  6    1,5 Northern Cardinal  9    1,4,6,8 Red-winged Blackbird  25    6 American Goldfinch  3    4 House Sparrow  4    1 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Port Barre Quad, Jan 28, 2012 From: William Vermillion <vermillion_william AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 07:23:23 -0800 This report is from weekend before last, and brings quad hours to 8.3, species total to 66.  Found some managed moist-soil impoundments (the owner/manager turned out to be a former student of LSU's Dr. Frank Rohwer) that were holding 3 species of waterfowl, Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal and Northern Shoveler, plus coots,  a good flock of stilts and a few other waterbirds.   Bill Vermillion ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "do-not-reply AT ebird.org" To: vermillion_william AT yahoo.com Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 4:22 PM Subject: eBird Report - Port Barre Quad, Jan 28, 2012 Port Barre Quad, St. Landry, US-LA Jan 28, 2012 7:37 AM - 10:47 AM Protocol: Traveling 21.0 mile(s) Comments:    Port Barre quad, St. Landry Parish. Cloudy early then clearing, temp 50 - 65 F, wind Beaufort 3 - 4.  Road birding, ag fields, flooded moist soil impoundments, rural residential 46 species (+1 other taxa) Greater White-fronted Goose  7 Gadwall  28 Blue-winged Teal  2 Northern Shoveler  6 Pied-billed Grebe  1 Great Blue Heron  3 Great Egret  5 Snowy Egret  2 White Ibis  92 Black Vulture  4 Turkey Vulture  12 Red-shouldered Hawk  1 Red-tailed Hawk  7 American Kestrel  3 American Coot  977 Killdeer  294 Black-necked Stilt  103 Lesser Yellowlegs  1 Eurasian Collared-Dove  11 Mourning Dove  45 Red-bellied Woodpecker  1 Pileated Woodpecker  1 Eastern Phoebe  1 Loggerhead Shrike  1 Blue Jay  4 American Crow  13 crow sp.  9 Tufted Titmouse  3 Carolina Wren  6 House Wren  1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1 Eastern Bluebird  1 American Robin  54 Northern Mockingbird  11 European Starling  32 American Pipit  56 Pine Warbler  1 Yellow-rumped Warbler  6 Savannah Sparrow  78 Song Sparrow  2 White-throated Sparrow  2 Northern Cardinal  27 Red-winged Blackbird  226 Eastern Meadowlark  1 Common Grackle  17 Brown-headed Cowbird  65 House Sparrow  4 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Re: more SW LA quad-busting From: "Steven W. Cardiff" <scardif AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 07:31:20 -0600 Erik/Paul/Labird- Thanks for those updates. Donna and I did Welsh South quad yesterday, and it should be around 10 hours now. Full report later, but wanted to mention that we had a WHOOPING CRANE at the N edge of the quad, just SSE of Mt. Trashmore near Welsh. The bird was airborne and associated with 6 Sandhill Cranes; they all move off to the east roughly parallel to the power line corridor. We weren't close enough to see leg bands, etc., but presumably the Whooper was one of the AWOL re-introduced birds from White Lake..... Steve Cardiff On Sun, Feb 5, 2012 at 9:49 PM, Erik Johnson wrote: > Paul/LAbird, > > Your Green-tailed Towhee east of Muria Rd. is new as far as I am aware. > The one that Michael Seymour, Eric Liffmann, and I saw during the Creole > CBC was well west of Muria Rd. on Little Chenier Rd. This is some winter! > > Today, David Ringer and I put in just over an hour into the Creole Quad, so > it should be at 20+ hours now. David spotted a Spotted Towhee at Oak Grove > Sanctuary and we both eventually got great, but fleeting looks. A singing > Western Meadowlark originally found by Jay Huner and Michael Musumeche > during the Creole CBC was still at Domingue Rd., just west of Creole. > > Moving up to Boudreaux Lake Quad, we had a Wilson's Warbler, Crested > Caracara, and a male CINNAMON TEAL at the Cameron Prairie NWR Headquarters. > We couldn't relocate the reported Say's Phoebe at the Pintail Loop > boardwalk, but the winds were wicked. > > Happy birding, > Erik Johnson > S Lafayette, LA > ejohnson AT audubon.org > ejohn33 AT lsu.edu > Subject: Snowy Owl in HAWAII! From: Chris Johnston <cmjohnston AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:35:06 -0600 Ok, after reading this story I'm paying much closer attention for the odd Snowy that might show up in Louisiana. http://hawaii.land.blogs.civilbeat.com/post/16450956889/details-emerge-about-snowy-owl-holiday-death Christopher Johnston My profiles: [image: Google] [image: Twitter] [image: LinkedIn] [image: 500px] [image: YouTube] [image: Twitter] Latest tweet: New challenges and serious doubts http://t.co/Xj2KHNMt Follow AT chrisjohnston Reply Retweet 22:50 Feb-05 Get this email app! Get a signature like this. CLICK HERE. Subject: FW: eBird Report - Goodwill Quad, Feb 5, 2012 From: Roselie Overby <rosebird8791 AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 22:25:39 -0600 After working an hour on my feeder watch count, I opted to bird in quads that had paved roads. 2 hours, 48 minutes in Goodwill quad, all in W. Carroll today. Nothing too exciting. One blue-headed vireo and 2 rusty blackbirds. White-crowned sparrows are always nice. I had to drive through some flood water up to the door on the Forester and only after watching a truck go through; I turned around on one road that seemed to be too deeply flooded. Pulling off the road on the already narrow edges was not an option today. Goodwill Quad, West Carroll, US-LA Feb 5, 2012 8:21 AM - 11:09 AM Protocol: Traveling 19.0 mile(s) Comments: Heavy overcast, 47-50 degrees. Driving mainly north of La Hwy 2 between Morgan Rd and 585. Flooded roads, rields, etc. from previous days rain. Fields, pastures, and overgrown areas with some residential areas. 49 species (+2 other taxa) Wood Duck 3 duck sp. 5 too far and too fast for details Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Northern Harrier 2 Red-tailed Hawk 4 2 found on opposite sides of area birded were very dark American Kestrel 1 Killdeer 3 Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 Mourning Dove 25 Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 3 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe 1 Loggerhead Shrike 6 Blue-headed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 22 American Crow 11 Carolina Chickadee 6 Tufted Titmouse 7 Carolina Wren 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5 Eastern Bluebird 19 American Robin 180 One group of 80 sat in the tops of brush in one area; most others were seen 10 at a time. Northern Mockingbird 19 European Starling 20 Cedar Waxwing 17 Orange-crowned Warbler 1 Pine Warbler 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 Eastern Towhee 2 Chipping Sparrow 22 Field Sparrow 2 Savannah Sparrow 16 Song Sparrow 5 Swamp Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 5 White-crowned Sparrow 9 Dark-eyed Junco 6 Northern Cardinal 38 Red-winged Blackbird 230 Eastern Meadowlark 90 Rusty Blackbird 2 Common Grackle 47 Brown-headed Cowbird 32 blackbird sp. 165 American Goldfinch 11 House Sparrow 6 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4791 - Release Date: 02/05/12 Subject: FW: eBird Report - Bear Skin Quad, Feb 5, 2012 From: Roselie Overby <rosebird8791 AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 22:28:01 -0600 1 hr, 10 min. Got interrupted by a guy checking on his cattle who wanted to talk. The 20 white-crowned sparrows were nice. Snow geese are still here. Roselie Overby Bear Skin Quad, West Carroll, US-LA Feb 5, 2012 11:38 AM - 12:48 PM Protocol: Traveling 9.0 mile(s) Comments: Heavy overcast, 51-52 degrees. Pastures, wooded areas. Bayous were out of their banks due to previous day's rain. 23 species Snow Goose 850 750 flying over at different times, others in a distant field. Could not check for Ross's. Red-tailed Hawk 2 American Kestrel 2 Killdeer 6 Mourning Dove 21 Loggerhead Shrike 4 Blue Jay 10 American Crow 2 Horned Lark 2 Carolina Chickadee 1 Eastern Bluebird 3 American Robin 1 Northern Mockingbird 10 Brown Thrasher 1 European Starling 1 Eastern Towhee 4 Savannah Sparrow 16 Song Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 3 White-crowned Sparrow 20 One group of 10 was feeding in small elm trees. Northern Cardinal 12 Red-winged Blackbird 49 Eastern Meadowlark 16 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4791 - Release Date: 02/05/12 Subject: Re: dark canine photos/Little Chenier From: Claire Thomas <claire AT CLAIREDTHOMAS.COM> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 22:13:07 -0600 My guess is dark coyote. Very wolflike also. Claire D. Thomas claire AT clairedthomas.com On Feb 5, 2012, at 10:08 PM, Paul Conover wrote: > Labird, > > This morning, in the marsh off of Little Chenier Road, I had a canine > that stopped me in my tracks. I don't know if it was a dark coyote, a > coy-dog, or a branch of some other canine line, but it was beautiful. > Photos at: > > > > http://swlouisianabirds.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > Paul Conover > > Lafayette > > > > > > Subject: dark canine photos/Little Chenier From: Paul Conover <zoiseaux AT LUSFIBER.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 22:08:36 -0600 Labird, This morning, in the marsh off of Little Chenier Road, I had a canine that stopped me in my tracks. I don't know if it was a dark coyote, a coy-dog, or a branch of some other canine line, but it was beautiful. Photos at: http://swlouisianabirds.blogspot.com/ Paul Conover Lafayette Subject: Re: Creole & Grand Chenier Quad birds From: Erik Johnson <ejohn33 AT TIGERS.LSU.EDU> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 21:49:59 -0600 Paul/LAbird, Your Green-tailed Towhee east of Muria Rd. is new as far as I am aware. The one that Michael Seymour, Eric Liffmann, and I saw during the Creole CBC was well west of Muria Rd. on Little Chenier Rd. This is some winter! Today, David Ringer and I put in just over an hour into the Creole Quad, so it should be at 20+ hours now. David spotted a Spotted Towhee at Oak Grove Sanctuary and we both eventually got great, but fleeting looks. A singing Western Meadowlark originally found by Jay Huner and Michael Musumeche during the Creole CBC was still at Domingue Rd., just west of Creole. Moving up to Boudreaux Lake Quad, we had a Wilson's Warbler, Crested Caracara, and a male CINNAMON TEAL at the Cameron Prairie NWR Headquarters. We couldn't relocate the reported Say's Phoebe at the Pintail Loop boardwalk, but the winds were wicked. Happy birding, Erik Johnson S Lafayette, LA ejohnson AT audubon.org ejohn33 AT lsu.edu Subject: eBird Report - Laurel Hill Quad, Feb 5, 2012 From: Bob & Karen Pierson <piersor AT COX.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 22:31:36 -0500 > > Laurel Hill Quad, West Feliciana, US-LA > Feb 5, 2012 7:05 AM - 1:00 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 33.8 mile(s) > Comments: Bob & Karen Pierson and Harriet Pooler, 33.1 miles driving & 0.7 miles walking, Cloudy & light wind, 54-58F, Slow birding > 43 species (+2 other taxa) > > Double-crested Cormorant 1 > Great Blue Heron 2 > Great Egret 1 > Black Vulture 25 > Turkey Vulture 16 > Cooper's Hawk 1 > Red-shouldered Hawk 2 > Red-tailed Hawk 3 > Killdeer 15 > Mourning Dove 3 > Red-headed Woodpecker 3 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 14 > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3 > Downy Woodpecker 5 > Northern Flicker 1 > Pileated Woodpecker 7 > Eastern Phoebe 4 > Loggerhead Shrike 2 > Blue Jay 30 > American Crow 92 > Fish Crow 1 > crow sp. 9 > Carolina Chickadee 19 > Tufted Titmouse 49 > Carolina Wren 6 > Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8 > Eastern Bluebird 12 > Hermit Thrush 2 > American Robin 175 > Northern Mockingbird 12 > European Starling 5 > Cedar Waxwing 62 > Orange-crowned Warbler 2 > Pine Warbler 21 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 35 > Eastern Towhee 9 > Chipping Sparrow 8 > White-throated Sparrow 78 > Dark-eyed Junco 18 > Red-winged Blackbird 7 > Eastern Meadowlark 1 > blackbird sp. 315 > American Goldfinch 27 > House Sparrow 2 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Creole & Grand Chenier Quad birds From: Paul Conover <zoiseaux AT LUSFIBER.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 21:25:40 -0600 Labird, Put the following amounts of time into the following quads today: Creole-5:00 (in two installments) Grand Chenier-5:45 I believe this puts Grand Chenier into the 20-hour category, and leaves Creole just short of it. I'll probably put an additional hour into Creole next weekend. The weather was kind of unpleasant today, especially in the early morning and late afternoon. In the middle of the day, it seemed a little warmer and I had a little wind block. The wind and overcast affected my work in the Creole Quad the most. Landbirds that can hide did hide. It took me over 2.5 hours to get my first Savannah Sparrow of the day. By the time I got to the Grand Chenier Quad, birds were coming out to feed. Sparrows, etc., were especially active. I had good numbers of Field Sparrows, a Vesper (I thought that was pretty good for a road through the marsh), a Fox, a nice male Painted Bunting, and a Towhee trifecta. Spotted and Eastern were together on Little Chenier Road E of Muria Road. A Green-tailed was also on this stretch, 2.7 miles E of Muria. I don't know if this Green-tailed Towhee location is new. Erik Johnson et al. had a Green-tailed on Little Chenier Road for the Creole CBC. Paul Conover Lafayette Subject: Green-tailed and Spotted Towhees! - Eros Quad, Feb 5, 2012 From: Stephen Pagans <slp_4-7 AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 18:19:10 -0800 For sure this was an above average day for me to find both rare towhees.  I really had trouble getting out of bed this morning but glad I did. With this survey I added 7 hr 9 min and nine species.  New totals should be 15 hr 53 min and 52 species.   Eros Quad, Jackson, US-LA Feb 5, 2012 8:13 AM - 3:22 PM Protocol: Traveling 7.8 mile(s) Comments:    Weather was overcast, breezy and cold.  I worked the north part of the quad.  Of the distance covered, I walked 1.0 miles. 40 species (+2 other taxa) Black Vulture  3 Turkey Vulture  21 Buteo sp.  1 Killdeer  1 Mourning Dove  12 Red-bellied Woodpecker  7 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  4 Downy Woodpecker  2 Northern Flicker  2 Pileated Woodpecker  1 Eastern Phoebe  1 Blue Jay  7 American Crow  37 Carolina Chickadee  4 Tufted Titmouse  10 Brown-headed Nuthatch  2 Carolina Wren  8 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  5 Eastern Bluebird  25 Hermit Thrush  4 American Robin  44 Northern Mockingbird  2 Brown Thrasher  3 Pine Warbler  16 Yellow-rumped Warbler  10 Green-tailed Towhee  1    Heard it calling.  Played back call, got multiple answers.  It hid from me.  I played Spotted Towhee song/call, and the Green-tailed Towhee revealed itself for photos. Spotted Towhee  1    It first showed itself after some pishing.  I then played its song/call, and it revealed itself for photos. Eastern Towhee  13 Chipping Sparrow  8 Field Sparrow  1 Vesper Sparrow  5 Fox Sparrow  1 Song Sparrow  11 Swamp Sparrow  2 White-throated Sparrow  74 Dark-eyed Junco  21 Northern Cardinal  11 Red-winged Blackbird  4 Eastern Meadowlark  1 blackbird sp.  35 Purple Finch  6 American Goldfinch  2 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Shreveport American Redstart photo'd 2-05-12 From: Terry Davis <trdavis22 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 17:48:40 -0800 Hey y'all, The Calliope still hasn't shown and the feeders look untouched- but we'll definitely give it more time. The Wilson's Warbler was a no-show today as well. The adult male American Redstart took his time today, not showing until around 2:40 p.m., then announcing his presence with a few chips while I was busy working. I called Charlie, Jeff and Rosemary. Rosemary arrived and and waited a good while but the bird didn't show. Charlie arrived later to have a look and Rosemary left. Before Rosemary could get out of the driveway, Charlie and I spotted the bird working it's way back toward us on the edge of the alleyway from the east. The bird approached closely but seemed hesitant at AMRE playback, then finally coming in for super-close looks from 6-15 feet away and staying close by for a considerable amount of time in response to Wilson's Warbler playback. Rosemary obtained some photos. I've noticed that the Wilson's Warbler and American Redstart seem to show best on warmer calm days or light south winds. The redstart didn't show until a warmer, calmer period this afternoon. The day began rather cold with north winds. There were few birds for most of the day until afternoon when things became fairly busy- just before the bird showed. The immediate location is on a somewhat level ridge/narrow plateau of a gradually sloping hill a few hundred feet east of the top. It also slopes off fairly abruptly to the north and south. I'm betting the thicket west of Alexander between E Linden and E Stephenson, which is low and near the bottom of the hill to the east, facing east/ southeast and most likely out of the north wind, had all the activity this morning. I'm gonna try there early one cool morning. More later, Terry Subject: White Castle Quad, Feb 5, 2012 - lots of Palm Warblers! From: Jane Patterson <japatter AT COX.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 19:00:13 -0600 Comments: LWBA. 1 observer, 4 hrs 45 m, 34 miles of roadside birding with frequent stops but little walking. Route was all on west side of river. Mostly cutover ag fields. Raptors were expected and found in good numbers. Plenty of Shrikes! Palm Warblers were great -- 3 separate flocks; one flock of 10 associating with a flock of 20+ Bluebirds. Wilson's Warbler, Cooper's Hawk, Red-headed WP, Golden-crowned Kinglet new for quad bringing it to 74 species. White Castle Quad, Iberville, US-LA Feb 5, 2012 8:18 AM - 1:03 PM Protocol: Traveling 34.0 mile(s) 56 species Double-crested Cormorant 4 American White Pelican 15 Great Blue Heron 1 Black Vulture 21 Turkey Vulture 25 Bald Eagle 1 Northern Harrier 4 Cooper's Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 13 American Kestrel 8 Killdeer 63 Ring-billed Gull 2 Rock Pigeon 3 Eurasian Collared-Dove 2 Mourning Dove 24 Red-headed Woodpecker 1 on Augusta Rd Red-bellied Woodpecker 5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 Downy Woodpecker 7 Eastern Phoebe 2 Loggerhead Shrike 21 Blue Jay 18 American Crow 107 group of 60 in one field Carolina Chickadee 21 Tufted Titmouse 20 Carolina Wren 5 House Wren 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10 Eastern Bluebird 36 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 33 Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 11 Brown Thrasher 1 European Starling 122 American Pipit 119 Cedar Waxwing 55 Orange-crowned Warbler 5 Common Yellowthroat 6 Palm Warbler 21 first group of 10 w/ 20+ bluebirds, 2nd group of 6 also w/ another group of bluebirds, 3rd group w/ other warblers, including Wilson's Yellow-rumped Warbler 23 Wilson's Warbler 1 Eastern Towhee 14 Savannah Sparrow 13 Song Sparrow 6 Swamp Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 27 Northern Cardinal 18 Red-winged Blackbird 535 Eastern Meadowlark 12 Common Grackle 31 Brown-headed Cowbird 150 American Goldfinch 7 House Sparrow 15 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Ball Quad, Feb 5, 2012 From: Jay V Huner <jvh0660 AT LOUISIANA.EDU> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 16:36:33 -0600 Simply cannot get away from home early. Took me over an hour to get to 15 day birds but actually wound up with a decent list and added several new combined WBA-SBA birds as well as half a dozen or so WBA birds. Nice to add Rusty Blackbird to the quad WBA list. It will certainly be interesting to see what Emma DeLeon's thesis generates in terms of a picture of the status of wintering rustys in this region. Jay Huner > Ball Quad, Grant, US-LA > Feb 5, 2012 10:10 AM - 1:25 PM > Protocol: Traveling > 9.4 mile(s) > Comments: Ball Quad. Mostly Grant Parish. Stuart Lake - NF - area and Air Base Road area - west side. 1 observer, start 10:10 AM, duration 3 hr. 15 min., distance 9.4 miles. Quad lacks 3/4 hour of having 10 WBA hours. See comments about Rusty Blackbirds. 50s F, north wind, overcast, wind 10-15 mph. Yucky day. > 40 species > > Mallard 2 > Black Vulture 1 > Turkey Vulture 1 > Red-tailed Hawk 1 > American Kestrel 1 In same area near Stuart Lake where apparent nesting bird found during Summer Bird Atlas. > Killdeer 4 > Mourning Dove 2 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 6 > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 > Downy Woodpecker 2 > Red-cockaded Woodpecker 1 > Northern Flicker 7 > Eastern Phoebe 2 > Blue Jay 35 > American Crow 50 > Carolina Chickadee 8 > Tufted Titmouse 24 > Brown-headed Nuthatch 2 > Carolina Wren 2 > House Wren 1 > Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 > Eastern Bluebird 3 > Hermit Thrush 2 > American Robin 250 > Northern Mockingbird 3 > Brown Thrasher 1 > Cedar Waxwing 20 > Orange-crowned Warbler 1 > Pine Warbler 5 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 > Eastern Towhee 4 > Vesper Sparrow 1 > Savannah Sparrow 4 > Fox Sparrow 1 > White-throated Sparrow 55 > Dark-eyed Junco 4 > Northern Cardinal 26 > Red-winged Blackbird 450 > Rusty Blackbird 35 Flock feeding in hilly, green wet pasture within several hundred feet of a creek-marshy area near several rural homes. In company with at least 100 American Robins and 150 Red-winged Blackbirds. Nearest address 2369 Airbase Road - just east of intersection of Airbase Road and US 167. > American Goldfinch 6 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Robert Quad, Feb 5, 2012 From: Mary Mehafey <m11mehaffey AT ATT.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 14:12:39 -0800 ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: "do-not-reply AT ebird.org" < ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: "do-not-reply AT ebird.org" To: m11mehaffey AT att.net Sent: Sun, February 5, 2012 1:33:00 PM Subject: eBird Report - Robert Quad, Feb 5, 2012 Robert Quad, Tangipahoa, US-LA Feb 5, 2012 9:45 AM - 12:15 PM Protocol: Traveling 4.3 mile(s) Comments:    Cloudy, 60o; Mary and Cham Mehaffey; 2 observers; drove Turnpike Rd, Heart of the Forest Blvd, Sullivant Rd, Old Uneedus Rd, C. Populis Rd, and Wilson Rd for total of 4.3 miles; total of 2 1/2 hrs. 34 species (+2 other taxa) Black Vulture  2 Turkey Vulture  7 Red-shouldered Hawk  1 Red-tailed Hawk  1 Merlin  1 Killdeer  3 Red-bellied Woodpecker  4 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  1 Downy Woodpecker  1 Pileated Woodpecker  1 Loggerhead Shrike  1 Blue Jay  7 American Crow  14 crow sp.  5 Tree Swallow  20 Carolina Chickadee  7 Tufted Titmouse  6 Brown-headed Nuthatch  3 House Wren  1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  3 Eastern Bluebird  9 Hermit Thrush  1 American Robin  260 Northern Mockingbird  8 American Pipit  100 Cedar Waxwing  12 Pine Warbler  5 Yellow-rumped Warbler  25 Eastern Towhee  2 Savannah Sparrow  1 White-throated Sparrow  3 Dark-eyed Junco  10 Northern Cardinal  4 Red-winged Blackbird  600 Eastern Meadowlark  30 blackbird sp.  150 This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org/content/la/) Subject: Fwd: Haynesville West Quad February 5, 2012 From: John Dillon <kisforkryptonite AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 15:24:12 -0600 I only covered a very small area in this quad today because I was concentrating on some private land that I scored access to. After Terry Davis and Jeff Trahan did such a good job with it a couple weeks ago, it only needed about 4.5 hrs to go red, so I had the luxury of slow, methodical birding on private lands and took advantage. Had some good results. I birded a large cutover with plentiful smilax thickets along Winn Bottom road and had 45 Fox Sparrows (conservative!), 1 Lincoln's Sparrow, and yet another 1st winter Harris's Sparrow. Been an excellent winter for HASP in Claiborne Parish. This HASP was new to the quad, and I added a couple Winter Wrens later that were also new. 24 Field Sparrow also not bad and 1 perky Sedge Wren in runoff between 2 private ponds. NO water birds of any family; 1 goldfinch (in town). Odd day but not a wash. John Dillon Athens, LA Sent from my iPhone 7:15-1:00; 15.8 mi; 43 species > > Black Vulture 2 > Turkey Vulture 18 > Red-shouldered Hawk 3 > Red-tailed Hawk 3 > Mourning Dove 99 > Eurasian Collared-Dove 1 > Red-bellied Woodpecker 3 > Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3 > Pileated Woodpecker 3 > Eastern Phoebe 2 > Blue-headed Vireo 1 > Blue Jay 17 > American Crow 27 > Carolina Chickadee 15 > Tufted Titmouse 14 > White-breasted Nuthatch 1 > Brown-headed Nuthatch 3 > Carolina Wren 2 > Winter Wren 2 > Sedge Wren 1 > Golden-crowned Kinglet 2 > Eastern Bluebird 4 > Hermit Thrush 4 > American Robin 162 > Northern Mockingbird 2 > Brown Thrasher 4 > European Starling 12 > Cedar Waxwing 125 > Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 > Pine Warbler 4 > Eastern Towhee 10 > Field Sparrow 24 > Fox Sparrow 45 > Song Sparrow 9 > Lincoln's Sparrow 1 > Swamp Sparrow 3 > White-throated Sparrow 55 > Harris's Sparrow 1 > Dark-eyed Junco 91 > Northern Cardinal 21 > Red-winged Blackbird 210 > House Finch 3 > American Goldfinch 1 > ----------------------- > sent via birdcountr > > > Sent from my iPhone Subject: Union P. farm pond eagle From: miriam <athena_9 AT BELLSOUTH.NET> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2012 12:57:12 -0600 Labird Rex's cousin just phoned this morning from Haile in rural Union Parish to say they've been delighting to the sight of an adult Bald Eagle fishing in their 2-acre backyard farm pond. MiriamLDavey BatonRougeLA