Rare Bird Alert Wednesday, 23 September 1998 Baton Rouge Audubon Society Rare Bird Alert for Baton Rouge and the state of Louisiana. Compiler: Karen Fay Home phone # : 225-763-6805 RBA phone # : 225-768-9874 Email address: lamskite@aol.com Highlights: SABINE'S GULL *(Louisiana Bird Records Committee review list) (probably gone) SOOTY TERN (seen migrating) BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD BRONZED COWBIRD Others birds mentioned: cory's shearwater (dead) audubon's shearwater (dead) masked booby (dead) osprey whimbrel long-billed dowitcher american golden-plover lesser black-backed gull bridled tern (dead) eurasian collared-dove rufous hummingbird eastern kingbird gray-cheeked thrush purple martin prothonotary warbler ovenbird Transcript: Welcome birders to the BRAS' rare bird alert. The following was recorded on Wednesday September 23. Highlights include BRONZED COWBIRD in New Orleans, SABINE'S GULLS in Red River Parish, SOOTY TERNS in NW LA and a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD in LaPlace. For those of you who do not live near New Orleans and are not regularly treated to sightings of a different cowbird, 50 BRONZED COWBIRDS were seen feeding in a vacant lot around 4:30 pm in Lakeview, a suburb of New Orleans, on 9/20. Only spotty observations have been made; the lot was empty 2 hours later. Lakeview is just west of City Park (surrounded by Lake Ponchartrain, Wisner Blvd, I-610 and Ponchartrain Blvd, NESW respectively - refer to a city map of New Orleans). The lot is on General Diaz St. Look for Lakeview Fine Foods on the corner of Harrison Ave and Gen Diaz as you're heading north on Harrison towards Lake Ponchartrain. Other, possibly more reliable, locations include Lafrenier Park (south of I-10 near the Veterans Blvd exit) and the Audubon Park golf course or the riverview area behind Audubon Park Zoo. 2 juvenile SABINE'S GULLS were still present at Lock and Dam # 4 on the Red River in Red River Parish as of 9/18. Unfortunately they were not seen on 9/19 or 9/20 despite an exhaustive search. If you would like to check it out anyway, take I-49 north past Alexandria. Exit at Ajax/ Lake End on LA 174 near milemarker 154. Head east on LA 174 for about 5 miles until it ends at LA 1. Turn left on LA 1 and head north for about ¼ mile and turn right just past the brown sign that says Lock and Dam # 4. The gulls were seen flying over several stone revetments where the road begins paralleling the river. And a juvenile SOOTY TERN was seen along the Red River just south of Shreveport on 9/16. NW LA's first ever SOOTY TERN was seen the day before on 9/15 at Lock and Dam # 4. Tropical Storm Frances left a fair amount of devastation behind on the beaches in Cameron Parish. 23 SOOTY and 4 BRIDLED TERNS, 2 subadult MASKED BOOBIES and a CORY'S and an AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER were all found dead, presumably washed up on the beaches on 9/16. The BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD that has been coming to LaPlace for 6 years is back. Take Airline Hwy to LaPlace and turn south on Elm Street just past the Billy Hart Restaurant (at least I think it's still there). The buffy is at 800 Fagot Loop, which is the northwest corner of Elm and Fagot Loop. He likes the feeders in the back. Also a number of RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS are in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette. Call if you would like directions. My number is at the beginning of this message. Lots of migration reports are coming in, but I only mention ones that constitute late or early dates, high numbers or are unusual for the locale. Sightings from 9/21: a late PURPLE MARTIN in New Orleans. Sightings from 9/20: a PURPLE MARTIN and 250 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES behind the Audubon Park Zoo in New Orleans. Sightings from 9/19: 3 OSPREYS and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER along the Red River in NW LA; and a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH in St. Gabriel. Sightings from 9/18: 6 PURPLE MARTINS over New Orleans. Sightings from 9/16: from an oil rig out in the gulf right before evacuation - 3 million PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, over 1 million OVENBIRDS and hundred of thousands of EASTERN KINGBIRDS; 2 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS at the I-49 borrow pits at Powhaten; and 6 WHIMBRELS and 3 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS in Cameron. Thanks for calling the Baton Rouge rare bird alert and good birding. RARE BIRD ALERT ARCHIVE