ORDER Gaviiformes

FAMILY Gaviidae LOONS

[PACIFIC LOON (Gavia........) HYPOTHETICAL]

A single individual, perhaps of this species, was seen at Port Fourchon, Lafourche

Parish, ......... Photographs were equivocal and observers disagreed over the identification. In any case, given the frequency of records from coastal Texas, observers should be on the look-out for this species, especially in small, clear, coastal bays and lagoons. As may be gathered from the above discussion, identification is not trivial.

[RED-THROATED LOON (Gavia stellata) HYPOTHETICAL (Accidental in Winter)]

The only record of this species is the report of one on Lake Pontchartrain on March 12, 1966 (JK). No details are available on this record and there are but a handful of other records for Louisiana. While it should be looked for on Lake Pontchartrain, great care should be taken in its identification. Of the vagrant loons which might turn up here (including, especially, the Arctic/Pacific Loon) Red-throated would be the easiest to identify; however, Pacific Loon is probably the most likely in coastal or near-coastal waters.

COMMON LOON (Gavia immer) Regular, but uncommon, in winter

The Common Loon can usually be found in small numbers (1-5) along either shore of Lake Pontchartrain in winter, from mid-November on. Some searching may be necessary along the south shore and numbers vary considerably from one year to another. Loons are somewhat more common on the north shore of the lake, e.g., Mandeville harbor or Fontainbleau St. Pk. Often one or two can be found on Bayou St. John adjacent to City Park. Although most individuals are gone by mid-March, late April or early May records are not extraordinary. "Large" movements have occasionally been noted in early November. Common Loons are also encountered over or near the gulf, especially at Grand Isle, but frequently on the river or over large bays in the Buras-Venice area. On several occasions, Common Loons have been heard calling in Southeast Louisiana. In basic plumage, Common and Pacific Loons are superficially similar, especially in size, and given the number of records from the Southeast Texas coast, it may be expected that careful scrutiny of loons in this area will eventually turn up a Pacific Loon.

Records of "summering" loons, while interesting, and nort extraordinary; usually of birds in basic (winter) plumage. The earliest such records were: June 5, 1933 in Breton Sound (AMB--2); May 31, 1957 on Chandeleur Sound (RJN,AD--calling); June 12, 1971, Chandeleur Sound (RJN,MM,RDP); June 22, 1973, North Island (NN,RJN,m.ob.); Aug. 2, 1982, Lake Pontchartrain (MM); Aug. 14, 1987, New Orleans (NN); July 15, 1989, Lake Pontchartrain (RDP); June 30-July 2, 1991, Mandeville (RFC,P. Siegert). The August records are two of perhaps only three or so Louisiana records for that month.

Expected dates of wintering are November 1 to May 1; extreme dates: Sept. 16, 1984 Mandeville (JH) and May 19, 1978 New Orleans (NN).

ORDER Podicipediformes

FAMILY Podicipedidae GREBES

PIED-BILLED GREBE (Podilymbus podiceps) Common in winter; uncommon to rare breeding bird

Although Pied-billed Grebes are not common in summer, their occurrence at this season is frequent enough to make accurate determination of arrival and departure dates for wintering individuals difficult. For example a Pied-billed Grebe summered on Bayou St. John in 1985 (AS) and have sometimes bred successfully in rather large numbers in the ponds on US 11 in the eastern part of the city. One of the more interesting records was of one on the open gulf some 40 miles south of South Pass on Sep. 16, 1995 (SWC,m.ob.).

Expected dates of wintering are September 10 to April 15.

HORNED GREBE (Podiceps auritus) Uncommon to rare in winter

Careful scanning of Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans will frequently yield a Horned Grebe, but the species is much more common on the north shore of the lake, where often small flocks are seen. Very occasionally an individual is seen on Bayou St. John. Although this is the "common" Podiceps grebe in Southeast Louisiana, care should be taken in identification. Maximum concentration: 500+ at Mandeville on March 12, 1995 (DPM, et al).

RED-NECKED GREBE (Podiceps grisegena) Accidental in winter

The only record of this grebe, which in the North America primarily occurs in the Pacific Northwest, Western Canada, and Alaska, is of one seen on March 11, 1995 at Mandeville harbor (SWC,DLD). There are several reports for Sw. Louisiana, some of dubious reliability.

EARED GREBE (Podiceps nigricollis) Occasional in winter

Southeastern Louisiana is near the extreme eastern edge of the Eared Grebe's wintering range; it is regular in other areas of the state, but rare in southeast Louisiana. In New Orleans, most records have come from permanent ponds in residential New Orleans East (essentially annually), but occasionally one is seen on the lake. There are upwards of two dozen records, including the following: Mar. 10, 1961 New Orleans (SAG); Nov. 22, 1969 Mandeville (RJN); Sept. 11, 1976 Fourchon Pass, Lafourche Par. (RH,RJS); Oct. 5, 1976 Reserve (MW); Jan 11-15, 1978 New Orleans (JR); Oct. 8, 1980 Reserve (MW); Dec. 26-31 New Orleans (GS,DM, et al); Nov. 15, 1986 Mandeville (MM,DM); Dec. 28, 1986 New Orleans (RDP,PS); winter 1990-91 Fourchon Rd...; Feb. 22?, 1991, New Orleans (AS,GS,PL,SF); Dec. 26, 1992, New Orleans (....--2); Dec. 23, 1995, New Orleans (DM,KVR)....Dec. 29, 1997 (DM,JR) As mentioned above, care should be exercise in distinguishing this species from the previous one.

Extreme dates are Sept. 11, 1976, Fourchon Pass (RH,RJS) and Mar. 10, 1961 New Orleans (SAG).

WESTERN GREBE (Aechmophorus occidentalis) Accidental in winter

The sole record of this species is of one on the Mississippi River just upriver of the Mississippi River bridge at New Orleans, November 3-6, 1971 (MM,m.ob.), the first record for Louisiana. The photographs (RDP; see AFN 26:74 (1972)) indicate that this was an individual of the dark morph now known as "Western Grebe," the more sedentary light form being "Clark's Grebe."

ORDER Procellariiformes

FAMILY Procellariidae

For information on records of the tubenoses from the northern gulf, one should consult Duncan and Havard (1980), Lowery and Newman (1954), Oberholser's The Bird Life of Texas, and Clapp, et all (1982).

CORY'S SHEARWATER (Puffinus diomeda) Offshore in summer; apparently regular

In spite of the fact that previous records from the 1960s through the 80s were (or were thought to be) of Greater Shearwater, it is not clear which of the large shearwaters should be considered most likely off Se. Louisiana, given that Cory's is regular off the central coast of Texas, that there is a 1991 record off Sw. Louisiana, and that several pelagic trips out of Venice have yielded no Greater Shearwaters. At the very least the possiblity of Cory's has to be taken into account when identifying any large shearwater. For information on occurrence of pelagic birds on the gulf, and of these two species in particular, see the references given in the account below.

GREATER SHEARWATER (Puffinus gravis) Rare to occasional offshore in late summer

Our understanding of the distribution of pelagic species off the Louisiana coast has grown slowly since the early 1970's; yet still relatively little is known about these species, owing to the fact that coverage is infrequent and irregular. Much work needs to be done on the temporal distribution and frequency of this and other pelagics, and on the question of probable distribution over the continental shelf and near-shelf waters off the Mississippi delta. Little is known of the effects of such canyons as Mississippi canyon, cold upwelling, etc. It is possible, however, that the Greater Shearwater is regular in small numbers off the Louisiana coast, a conclusion supported by recent records off the northwest Florida and Alabama coasts (Duncan and Havard, 1980). The reader is reminded that Cory's Shearwater also occurs. Refer to Finch, et al (....) or to Harrison (1983) for identification details. Of 36 records of Greater Shearwaters in Clapp, et al (1982) for the northern gulf, ten are from July and nine each from August and September. Pelagic trips run by the Louisiana Ornithological Society out of Venice since the fall of 1995 have turned up no Greater Shearwaters.

Greater Shearwaters breed in the southern Atlantic, mostly on Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough Islands, and "winter" in the north Atlantic. Their clockwise path carries them past Florida in the spring, so that one might expect them to be most common in the Gulf of Mexico in early summer, even though the records do not bear that out.

Although there are six records from southeastern Louisiana waters, there is some question whether the first four can be said to absolutely rule out Cory's, whose presence was not seriously suspected until recently. Newman (pers. comm.) was, however, very familiar with both species and has commented on the distinct caps of the birds he saw. The is one record of an unidentified large (Cory's/Greater type) shearwater 20 miles southeast of Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River, June 9, 1985 (MM). The records are Jul. 16, 1964 10 miles west of North Is. (LEW,MM,RWS); Sept. 4-5, 1970 35 miles off Southwest Pass (RJN); Aug. 11, 1971 35 miles off South Pass (RJN); May 3, 1972 20 miles off South Pass (RJN); Aug. 25, 1986 62 miles south of Racoon Pt. (MM); Oct. 13, 1998, .....(SWC, et al--coll.).

[SOOTY SHEARWATER (Puffinus g riseus) ] HYPOTHETICAL

Although there is no accepted record of Sooty Shearwater for Louisiana, Duncan and Havard (1980) give a report of one 100 km offshore, "along a grassline." Sooty Shearwaters have been recorded in the northern gulf on five occasions since 1976, and there are five earlier records (Duncan and Havard; Clapp, et al). There was a record from the Mississippi coast in 1985 associated with Hurricane Juan. In short, Sooty Shearwater is a bird to be looked for on pelagic trips or under tropical storm conditions.

AUDUBON'S SHEARWATER (Puffinus lherminiere) Rare in summer offshore

This species is the "common" shearwater off the Louisiana coast; in the course of Bob Newman's trips offshore in 1970-72, up to 15 were seen on a single occasion, and on a Sep. 16, 1995 trip which went 65 miles south from South/Southwest Pass, as many as 18 were recorded. Most of the latter were in 500 fathom water or deeper. Audubon's Shearwater has been recorded in the gulf in every month except December. Of 39 records totalling well over 290 individuals given in Clapp, et al (1982), 8 were from July and 11 from September. When two individuals were collected from a flock of 200 on Aug. 26, 1954, south of Mobile Bay (fide GHL), the nearest land was Southeast Pass of the Mississippi River, 64 miles to the west. Palmer (1962) was quite mistaken when he wrote, of this species, "not seen alive in the Gulf of Mexico since Audubon's time." It is, however, interesting to note that Mac Myers, in 86 days on the gulf between March 29 and Aug. 31, 1985, saw no Audubon's Shearwaters; nor had this writer, in six trips to the edge of the continental shelf prior to spring 1990, seen the species. A trip out of Grand Isle on Oct. ...., 1988 produced two small shearwaters, presumably of this species (DM,NN,MM?,AS?); one seen on May...., 1990 (SWC,DD,DM,RDP), off South Pass was also probably an Audubon's Shearwater. Dwight Peake is of the opinion that Audubon's Shearwater can be expected only over very deep water, perhaps 1000 m or more. Recently pelagic trips out of Venice have found Audubon's Shearwater on three occasions:......

Easily the most remarkable record of Audubon's Shearwater is of one found dead at the corner of Calhoun and Magazine Streets in New Orleans, on July 25, 1981 (specimen to LSUMZ)! The historical records are: Aug. 27, 1954 33 miles off Southeast Pass (SS,HRB); July 3,4,9,15, 1970 30-40 miles off South Pass (RJN); one collected; July 9.; Sept. 3-4, 1970 18-30 miles off South Pass (RJN--12,15); May 3-4, 1972 8-20 miles off South Pass (RJN); July 10, 1977 20-25 miles south of Empire Jetty (MM); July 22, 1978 south of Grand Isle (Clapp, et al, 1982);.......1995-6

FAMILY Hydrobatidae STORM-PETRELS

WILSON'S STORM-PETREL (Oceanites oceanicus) Regular in summer offshore

The maximum numbers recorded are 20 on Sept. 2-3, 1970, 20 miles off South Pass by Bob Newman, who saw as many as 15 at one time. A pelagic trip which reached 60 miles SSE of South Pass on May 27, 1995 netted up to 12 Wilson's Storm-petrels. Earlier, H.C. Oberholser had recorded 13 off the mouth of the river on June 8, 1933. The normal period of occurrence of this species seems to be May through at least early September. [Oct, 1988?]. Wilson's Storm-Petrels are notoriously easy to "chum." The Reserve record is strictly anomalous, having occurred at the time of Hurricane Betsy.

It has become apparent recently that in addition to this species, Band-rumped Storm-Petrel (Harcourt's, Madieran--see below) is regular off the northern gulf coast, based on a number of Texas records and, quite recently, a handful of Louisiana sightings. This, coupled with the two or three Leach's records below, and the fact that Wilson's and Band-rumped are not only the most likely in Louisiana waters but also the most similar, dictate great caution in identifying petrels on the gulf. It goes without saying that storm-petrels at sea can be very hard to distinguish--especially under the trying conditions of pelagic birding and by observers not fully familiar with the three species. Very briefly, Wilson's have a swallow-like flight, often patter with their toes while feeding, and have long legs which often results in the toes extending past the tail; sometimes the yellow webbing between the toes is visible. Wilson's have noticeably rounded wings and a very small bill.

Of 315 northern gulf records in Clapp, et al (1982), 192 were from the month of July, although 19 of 42 Louisiana records were from June. Clapp, et al give 11 records of at least 40 individuals from southeast Louisiana. Recent records include June 10-11,..., 20 miles southeast of Southwest Pass (MM), May 28, 1989, 10 miles of South Pass (MM,DM,RDP), ....1990, and May 27, 1995 40-50 mi SSE of South Pass (RB,CL,DP,DM,MM,RDP, et al--6-10).

The expected dates of summering are approximately April 15 to September 1, with extreme dates of Apr. 3, 1973, 15 miles off Grand Isle and Sep. 9, 1965 at Reserve (RJS), associated with Hurricane Betsy.

LEACH'S STORM-PETREL (Oceanodroma leucorhos) Casual to accidental offshore

The only specimen records are of one collected 41 miles southeast of South Pass on Dec. 5, 1956 (HRB), and another picked up alive on the beach at Grand Isle on Sept. 23, 1972 by Phillip L. Bruner and James Rogers. On the other hand, a bird seen about 40-45 miles SSE of South Pass on May 27, 1995 (RB,CL,DP, et al) is likely to have been of this species, and another was seen.... In the latter case, viewing conditions were excellent, with the bird as close as 30 feet, and there is little doubt of its validity, though the record has not been passed upon by the LOS Bird Records Committee. For identification details, see Harrison (1983), or Naveen, but note the nighthawk-like flight of Leach's Storm-petrel, the very long and angled slender wings, and a rump patch that appears "dirty" or has an indistinct line down its middle. The forked tail is usually not apparent.

BAND-RUMPED STORM-PETREL (Oceanodroma castro) Regular offshore over very deep water

Until very recently there was only a single sight record of a Band-rumped Storm Petrel off Louisiana (SWC,DLD), rejected by the LOS Bird Records Committee as a first state record, but generally assumed to be valid. Recently Dwight Peake encountered this species while accompanying transect studies of marine mammals off the Louisiana coast. Thus stood the situation until May 27, 1995, when a pelagic trip off South Pass, guided by Peake, found up to 24, with 10-12+ actually identified, 45-60 miles SSE of South Pass, in water up to 1000 fathoms deep. It may be true, as Dwight Peake argues, that Band-rumped Storm-petrel is the most common storm-petrel in the waters of the northern gulf in summer.

Apparently Band-rumped Storm Petrel (also known as Madieran and Harcourt's) is a bird of very deep water, perhaps at least 500 fathoms. Distinguishing this and the previous species is challenging, but, under good conditions (which often do not prevail at sea), by no means impossible. Band-rumped Storm Petrels have a large, squarish, "pillow-like" white rump patch, with a lot of black tail aft of it. Their toes do not extend beyond the tail as in Wilson's, and they seem to have a less prominent bar on the wing caused by the secondary coverts. Their wing shape is intermediate between the long, angled wings of Leach's, and the broad, round-tipped, wings of Wilson's, which lack any angle at the wrist. The flight is a distinctive accipiter (or shearwater)-like flight which is quite different from the swallow-like flight of the Wilson's, which also indulges in a characteristic pattering over the waves, and the erratic, nighthawk-like flight of Leach's.

ORDER Pelicaniformes

FAMILY Phaethontidae TROPICBIRDS

[WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD] (Phaethon lepturus) HYPOTHETICAL

A White-tailed Tropicbird was seen in a Fish and Wildlife Service aerial transect study 120 miles west of Grand Isle (29 9.7' N, 92 1.2' W) on Aug. 5, 1980 by Wayne Hoffman (pers. comm.), and a sub-adult was seen 80 miles south of South Pass on July 22, 1995 (CD). While Stanley C. Arthur's claim that they are regular offshore in summer was clearly confused, it may have been based on an actual record, and they in fact do breed rather nearby in Bermuda and the Caribbean. Furthermore, there was a record at Dauphin I., Ala. during the spring of 1989. Dwight Peake has seen this species in waters off the Louisiana coast.......

RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD (.......) Accidental offshore

Dwight Peake was involved in the initial records of the Red-billed Tropicbird in Louisiana waters, notably the first well-documented record, on a Mississippi-sponsored pelagic trip on June 6, 1996, when up to 40 people saw an immature ..... (DP,MM, et al). Slightly less than one year later, an adult was seen 47 SSW of Southwest Pass on May 2...., 1997, in about 3000 ft of water. Then...........In both cases, the birds were watched for about 20 minutes and thoroughly photographed.

FAMILY Sulidae BOOBIES AND GANNETS

MASKED BOOBY (Sula dactylatra) Uncommon to rare offshore in summer

This species (and perhaps the Brown Booby) is the "expected" sulid off the Louisiana coast in summer. Much is yet to be learned about its abundance and temporal distribution, but it is probably regular off the mouth of the Mississippi River, especially near the grasslines or "rips" which mark the interface between blue (very clear, highly saline) and green water. There are at least 15 records for Southeast Louisiana over the last 70 years: July 28, 1926, Grand Gosier I. (ESH--dead); June 4, 1958, 45 miles south of Grand Isle (BMM,MM); July 10, 1970, 38 miles off South Pass (RJN--dead); July 29, 1970, off South Pass (HBH--2); Sept. 3, 1970, off South Pass (Frank Durham, fide RDP); Aug. 26, 1971, 27 miles off South Pass (RJN--2 imm.); Oct. 15-16, 1971, 27 miles off South Pass (....); Aug. 18, 1980, 20 miles off South Pass; Aug. 20, 1983, 25 miles SE of South Pass (John Barber, fide RDP); July 7, Aug. 6, and Aug. 31, 1985, 62 miles S of Racoon Point (MM). On Oct. 22, 1987 a Masked Booby was brought to the Audubon Zoo Bird Rehabilitation Center, where it died. The most recent records are of one well offshore.....on March 11, 1992 (Gary Lester--1a,1i,RM?), an adult on L. Pontchartrain on Aug. 15, 1988 (RDP), after a tropical storm, two on May 27, 1995, 40 miles SSE of South Pass (m.ob.--ph.; la,1i), 5-6 40-60 miles south of South Pass on Sep. 16, 1995 (m.ob.)..........(recent pelagics); Oct. 13, 1998 ..... (SWC, et al, coll.).

BROWN BOOBY (Sula leucogaster) Regular offshore in summer

The number of records of Brown Boobies (12), coupled with the poor coverage given the waters of the continental shelf (and further out) off southeastern Louisiana, suggests that the Brown or "White-bellied" Booby may be rather regular in summer, especially near the Sargassum grasslines which line the transition zones between green and blue-green or blue-green and blue water. It is notable, however, that six LOS-sponsored pelagic trips through fall of 1998 encountered no Brown Boobies.

RED-FOOTED BOOBY (Sula sula) Uncommon to common in winter offshore.

Until recently there was a single record of this species for Louisiana, of one collected at the mouth of Bayou Scofield on Nov. 1, 1940 (fide GHL; AOU Checklist). There are at least six additional sightings for the northern gulf, four from Texas, and one each from Alabama and Florida. Recently a bird thought to be of this species was seen on Baptiste Collette Bayou on May...., 1995 (BR--ph), and in the spring of 1998, a booby identified as Red-footed was seen near an oil rig (Ewing Bank 826) during migration studies (Rick Knight, .....) In light of these records, the Red-footed Booby should be taken into account when identifying any sulid in Louisiana.

NORTHERN GANNET (Morus bassanus) Uncommon to common in winter offshore; occasional in summer

During the past decade it has become clear that Gannets regularly winter off southeast Louisiana in numbers, being most conspicuous in February and March. Whether this reflects a real change in distribution or abundance, or simply the increased patience in looking offshore that results from success, is anyone's guess. In any event, the Gannet has become sufficiently common in March during the past five years that the careful observer might see dozens several hundred yards off the beach from Grand Isle and especially Fourchon Beach. The highest count of all is of 270 off Fourchon Beach on Feb. 26, 1989 (DM,LO'M,RDP); 235 were seen there on Feb. 4, 1990 (RDP,NN,MM). The total number of records now exceeds 30, and grows with every winter. Other high counts include 54 between Chandeleur Is., La. and Ship I., Miss. on Mar. 15, 1960 (JMV,JRW), and 50 off Fourchon Beach on Feb. 28, 1982 (DH,KH). With the exception of February and March, when they are obviously regular, distribution of records by month is as follows: Nov. (1), Dec. (5), Jan. (4), Apr. (4), May (1), June (1), July (1). A pelagic trip on April 17, 1999 off Fourchon Pass yielded about 20 Gannets between 10 and 33 miles from shore. Most Gannet records have been since 1978, including the 1985-87 Grand Isle CBC's. A bird found dead on Apr. 26, 1970 ....had been banded on Sep. 7, 1968 at Balochrois, Canada. The only "summer" record is of a bird found dead on the beach at Grand Isle on July 16, 1995 (MP,GP). DPM? , but it should be noted that Gannets are not infrequently seen off the coast of the Florida panhandle in summer (fide DPM).

Expected dates, somewhat uncertain, are December 1 into April; extreme dates are November 22... to May 5...

FAMILY Pelicanidae PELICANS

AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN (Pelecanus erythrorynchus) Common in

Winter, non-breeders present in summer.

The White Pelican is a common winter resident, mostly along the coast. It regularly lingers well into, or even through, the summer in near-coastal regions (near the mouth of the river, Fourchon Road) and their are records for every month. Although there has never been any suggestion of nesting in Louisiana, the fact that they do (have) bred on the Texas coast is worth keeping in the back of one's mind. The largest "summer" concentrations have been 1000 on La. 3090 ("Fourchon Road") on June 20, 1982 (RDP,DM,MM) at least 1500 at the same spot on June 17, 1989 (RDP,DM), and 1000 there on July 16, 1989 (GC,MM,NN,RDP).

Expected dates of occurrence: September 15 to April 15

BROWN PELICAN (Pelecanus occidentalis) Local resident, increasing in numbers

The Brown Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana. Sadly, especially in view of this fact, the Brown Pelican was extirpated in Louisiana during the 1960's, and present populations derive from birds introduced from Florida. While not everyone agrees that this is good biology, most observers enjoy the presence of the Brown Pelican, in good numbers in the vicinity of Grand Isle, which is near the Queen Bess Island nesting site. Other major colonies now exist, including a new one on Curlew Island, first noted in the summer of 1991, on Grand Gosier I. (perhaps 3000 pairs in summer 1998).

The Brown Pelican declined precipitously during the late 1950's, and while that decline did not go unnoticed, it was mistakenly blamed on a variety of factors such as the occurrence of Hurricane Audrey, which devastated southwestern Louisiana in 1957. The last known nesting was on the Chandeleurs in 1961, and the last records of native birds were in the summer of 1967: June 28 on the Chandeleurs (SAG, RDP, et al) and June 30 on Lake Pontchartrain (Kenneth Hughes, fide JLD). Records from Grand Gosier Island on June 8, 1973 and just to the north, in the Chandeleur Chain June 21-23, 1973 may or may not have been of Florida birds. On the heels of successful nesting around the periphery of the delta during the last decade or so, there have been irregular sightings of single Brown Pelicans on the New Orleans lakefront, since the late winter of 1988, and now Brown Pelicans are almost commonplace along the lakeshore after the breeding season.

Historically, as many as 75-80,000 individuals bred along the Louisiana coast. Important concentrations were on islands in Timbalier Bay and on the mud lumps at the mouth of Pass-a-Loutre, etc. An important colony was on North Island, near the north end of the Chandeleurs.

The contemporaneous decline of Brown Pelicans on the California coast, and the documentation of the cause as being persistent chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, made it immediately clear that a similar fate had befallen the Louisiana Brown Pelicans; this was pointed out by Norman and Purrington in ..... Brown Pelicans are now nesting on Queen Bess I. in Barataria Bay, in the Chandeleus, and perhaps elsewhere. Since the early 90s, Brown Pelicans have returned to Lake Pontchartrain in small numbers.

The failure of a late winter nesting on Queen Bess Island in 1990-91 was possibly due to exposure to heavy January rains. At least 60 dead nestlings were found on Feb. 2 and only two live fledglings (CF,BA,NN,RDP). Other winter kills, mostly of first year birds, were noted in 1996 and 1997. Estimates of the total Louisiana population reached 35,000 in 1997!

FAMILY Phalacrocoracidae CORMORANTS

[GREAT CORMORANT](Phalcrocorax carbo) HYPOTHETICAL]

There have been six reports of Great Cormorants from the vicinity of Grand Isle, all of immature birds, all in flight. Full acceptance of the species awaits further substantiation, based at the very least on a perched bird, preferably photographed. There are a number of records for the gulf coast to the east of Louisiana, including Mississippi. Vagrants to this area would likely be immatures.

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax auritus) Common in Winter.

The Double-crested Cormorant is a characteristic bird of coastal and near-coastal parts of the checklist area. It is common on Lake Pontchartrain, with concentrations of resting birds as high as 100-150 quite ordinary on the New Orleans Lakefront. Although Lowery (1974) reported no recent nesting in Louisiana, the Louisiana Breeding Bird Atlas program found nesting...... and local summer records are of increasing frequency. Historically, summer records include August 24, 1970, June 23, 1983 in Metairie (SP), June 22, 1985 on Fourchon Road (AS,GS,JS), summer 1985 at the western edge of the lake (MW,RJS), during the summer of 1988, and two records in the summer of 1992: July 6 in Jefferson Parish (GO) and July 31 in St. Charles Parish (RJS). (Aug. 30, 1998 RDP,DPM)

On New Orleans Christmas Counts, the Double-crested Cormorant has increased dramatically: while there were a total of 16 recorded on the 11 counts between 1960 and 1974, typical numbers in the mid-1980's were 200 or more per count. Numbers continue to increase as the species recovers from the effects of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides which decimated the population in the 1950s and 60s. The largest concentration recorded appears to be approximately 600 at Grand Isle on March 3, 1985 (NN,MM,RDP). Increasing numbers and breeding in northern Louisiana and Mississippi has led to an increase in summer or very early fall migration records.

OLIVACEOUS CORMORANT (Phacrocorax olivaceous) Casual Vagrant

This cormorant, whose alternative (and preferable) name is Neotropical Cormorant, has been recorded in Southeastern Louisiana on only five occasions: March 27 and April 14, 1959 at New Orleans (SAG), Aug. 9, 1986, (DM,RDP), Aug. 20, 1995 (RDP,GG), and March 28, 1997 (MM,PW), the last three records being from Fourchon Rd. (Lafourche) According to Portnoy (1976), Olivaceous Cormorants were reported during the breeding season at Delta NWR during the 1960's; it is not known whether the identifcations were correct. Any cormorant suspected to be of this species should be identified with great caution, even though it is abundant in Southwestern Louisiana. The best field-mark is the dirty yellow gular pouch which has an angular rather than rounded rear margin, but the long-tailed look in flight is quite distinctive. The gular pouch is edged with white in breeding condition. While a few Double-crested Cormorants can be found in summer near the coast, and perhaps on Lake Pontchartrain, it may be as likely that summering cormorants would be of this species....[Aud. bird rehab?]

FAMILY Anhingidae ANHINGAS

ANHINGA (Anhinga anhinga) Uncommon in breeding season, uncommon to rare in winter.

A denizen of the true swamp, the Anhinga is most often found north of U.S. 90 during the breeding season, and is mostly likely to be seen near the cypress swamps on the east or west sides of Lake Pontchartrain, i.e., the Bonnet Carre Spillway, Manchac-Pontchatoula, and the Pearl River bottoms. During migration in late March and April, and in September and October, it may be seen anywhere, soaring singly, or in small numbers. Winter records have become increasingly common, so that it is now expected on a New Orleans Christmas Count; typical spots will be wet woods along canals, near Recovery I landfill, etc. Given this fact, extreme dates of occurrence may be somewhat arbitrary.

Expected dates of occurrence are April 1 to November 1. Extreme dates are March 11, 1991 near des Allemandes (NN,MM,RDP) and Nov. 23, 1984 at New Orleans (DM).

FAMILY Fregatidae FRIGATEBIRDS

MAGNIFICENT FRIGATE-BIRD (Fregata magnificens) Uncommon to locally common summer visitor (non-breeding).

Although this extraordinary bird is not known to breed in Louisiana, it is present from April to November along the coast, sometimes in large numbers. It is not a true pelagic bird, being always found near the coast, albeit not often on the coast proper and never inland except during tropical storms (when they are often seen on Lake Pontchartrain). Historically, the largest concentrations have been in the vicinity of North Island in the Chandeleurs, near the site of the old Brown Pelican colony. The demise of the Brown Pelican and the killing of the black mangroves on which they roosted raises questions about their continued presence in such numbers. Esimates of 3-10,000 near North Island were routine through the 1960's. Since Hurricane Camille in 1969, most visits by Louisiana observers have been from the south, i.e., from Hopedale or Venice, rather than from the north, as was the case when Gulf Islands (or Breton Island) NWR headquarters were in Ocean Springs, Miss. The result is that little current information is available on the size of the North Island "colony." On Aug. 1, 1969, this writer estimated a maximum of 1000 at North Island. It is, however, common to seen Frigate-birds numbers in the tens to dozens over Breton and Chandeleur Sounds, and at the nearby marsh edge, during the summer.

Although the breeding of this species at Marquesas Keys, Fla. since 1970 at least raises the possibility of nesting in Louisiana , the report by Stanley C. Arthur (1918) that Colonel Theodore Roosevelt removed an egg belonging to this species from a nest on Grand Gosier Island in 1915 has no independent substantiation.

Expected dates are mid-to-late April until about November 1. Extreme dates are Mar. 3, 1992 at Grand Isle (JW) and Nov. 21, 1982 at Venice (MM,RDP). There is one mid-winter record, from Grand Isle, on ......

ORDER Ciconiformes

FAMILY Ardeidae HERONS AND BITTERNS

An invaluable source of information on coastal nesting of all heron species is Portnoy (1977).

AMERICAN BITTERN (Botaurus lentiginosus) Uncommon to rare winter resident

Although the American Bittern can be expected throughout the coastal marsh, its numbers have so declined markedly since the 1960s, that it can be considered almost rare. G.E. Beyer claimed that this species bred at Madisonville in 1891, but there has been no other hint of breeding in southeast Louisiana, nor any recent nesting records for Louisiana.

The expected dates of wintering are October 10 to April 15; the extreme dates of occurrence are Sept. 19, 1957 on Fourchon Rd. (SAG?) (PW,CS?) and Apr. 25, 1976 at Venice (RH,MM,NN)

LEAST BITTERN (Ixobrychus exillis) Uncommon to sometimes common summer resident

Least Bitterns are most numerous in fresh to brackish or intermediate marshes and seem to prefer cattail, bullrush, or roseau cane, although their numbers have also declined in the past two decades. Territories are on the order of 2 acres in extent. Expected dates of summering are April 15 to September 15, and extreme dates of occurrence are Mar. 11, 1870 at the Rigolets (HWH) and Nov. 4, 1961 at Triumph (SAG). There are however at least four winter records: Dec. 20, 1958, New Orleans (SAG); Jan. 17, 1971, Venice (RJN,DN); Dec. 28, 1972, Venice (RDP, et al); Feb. 18, 1973, Venice (RDP,RJN); Dec. 29, 1991 at Venice (......--2)......

GREAT BLUE HERON (Ardea herodias) Common resident

While the Great Blue Heron may be found wherever there is marsh or on the shore of lakes and even the gulf, it is primarily a fresh marsh and swamp nesting species, its colonies typically measuring 50-200 pairs. New Orleans Christmas Count data indicate an increase in numbers since the early 1970's. There are three records of the white morph, the "Great White Heron": one at New Orleans' Lakefront Airport Oct. 31-Nov. 15, 1981 (DM, m.ob.), photographed by the author, but at considerable distance; Mar. 21, 1982 at Delta NWR (JS); and Feb. 25-...., 1987 at Grand Isle (AS,GS, Kenn Kaufman), phtographed by Mac Myers and the author. A well-known and easily viewed nesting colony of the Great Blue Heron is at the Bald Eagle nest site near White Kitchen, St. Tammany Parish.

GREAT EGRET (Casmerodius albus) Common to abundant resident in coastal marsh and other wetland types.

The Great Egret nests in all weland habitat types, including the barrier islands. Its nests are usually on the highest point of the woody vegetation or in the tree canopy. The largest breeding concentration found by Portnoy (1977) was a colony of nearly 4000 adults.

SNOWY EGRET (Egretta thusla) Common to abundant resident

The Snowy Egret is one of the most characteristic birds of the coastal marsh. It nests abundantly in marsh and swamp habitat. In 1976 one colony on Delta NWR in Phragmites contained 12,000 adults. Numbers on New Orleans Christmas Bird Counts have increased since the early 1970's. At least 1000 were seen on Fourchon Rd., Lafourche Par., on June 17, 1984, and nearly twice that number there on June 17?, 1989.

LITTLE BLUE HERON (Egretta caerulea) Common to sometimes abundant resident

The Little Blue Heron nests most commonly in swamps and fresh-water marshes, often with Snowy Egrets. According to Lowery (1974), many leave Louisiana to winter in Central America. Since 1970, numbers on the New Orleans CBC have ranged from 7 in 1974, to 3247 in 1985, owing in part to their gregariousness. Usually one will see a few to several on a trip to the coast.

TRI-COLORED HERON (Egretta tricolor) Common resident

The preferred habitat of this species, which is better (more properly?) known locally by its former name, Louisiana Heron, is salt marsh, but it breeds in fresh and brackish areas as well. In 1976 two colonies in Barataria Bay totalled 33,000 adults (Portnoy, 1977). Typically the Louisiana Heron occupies the lowest of the available nesting sites. An increase in numbers since the early 1970's is indicated by the New Orleans CBC data.

REDDISH EGRET (Egretta rufescens) Uncommon resident

The Reddish Egret nests on the islands adjacent to the Mississippi delta, and especially in the Chandeleur chain (see Portnoy, 1977). It formerly nested in Black Mangrove thickets on Freemason Island, with Louisiana Herons, but several freezes since 1962 have caused Black Mangrove to retreat to about 29 latitude at it northernmost. In the summer of 1976, the largest colony found by Portnoy was on Lonesome I., where 210 breeding adults were counted. In recent years this island has been shrinking drastically because of the susidence of the delta, and the rich heron colony there may soon be a thing of the past.

Although white-phase individuals are relatively rare in Louisiana, there are well over a dozen records for southeast Louisiana, and perhps one or two are recorded annually, usually near Grand Isle. Of 41 adults seen on the Chandeleurs June 21-23, 1973 (RJN,RBH,AWP,HDP), 5 were white-phase. Away from their small nesting colonies, Reddish Egrets are most frequently seen in the Fourchon-Grand Isle area, and most commonly in fall. Outside the nesting areas, the largest number recorded is 15 in Lafourche Par. on Aug. 22, 1977. There are at least seven New Orleans records of this primarily coastal species, all or almost all associated with tropcial storms. These include Sept. 4-Oct. 2, 1977 (RDP,MM), a product of tropical storms "Anita" and "Babe," fall 1981 in Metairie (FB--photographed), and Aug. 6-15, 1982 in New Orleans (DM,MM,RDP). While an Aug. 16, 1985 record was associated with Hurricane Danny, records on Sept. 5-7, 1986 on Highway 11 and Feb. 8, 1987 at Lafitte NP were unrelated to any storm activity. The latter record is the only non-coastal record after October. One in New Orleans on Aug. 26 (DM,PY) was a direct result of Hurricane Andrew, one there on Sep. 2, 1998 (DPM,PY) was a product of Hurricane Earl, and another, on Sep. 9?, 1998 at Irish Bayou (RDP) followed Tropical Storms Francis and. Hermine. One on Sep. 29 (PY,DPM,BR) New Orleans--Georges.

On Sept. 30, 1978, a color-banded individual was observed at Grand Isle (MB) that had been banded during the summer of 1977 at Rockport, Texas.

CATTLE EGRET (Bubulcus ibis) Common to abundant resident

Cattle Egrets first appeared in Louisiana in the fall and winter of 1955-56. They nest mainly in fresh water swamps and marshes, often in huge colonies, but will nest on marshy islands at the edge of the delta as well (e.g., Lonsome I.).

GREEN HERON (Butorides striatus) Üncommon to common summer resident; rare, but regular in winter near the coast.

Small numbers of Green Herons (briefly Green-backed) are recorded in winter, mostly in the vicinity of Venice. Although they are primarily solitary nesters, colonies are not extraordinary, e.g., 25+ nests in the oaks at Ft. Jackson, May 17, 1983 (Joe Neal). Expected dates are March 25 to October 25; extrreme dates of occurrence are Mar. 2, 1956 at Venice (JPG) and Nov. 9, 1958 at New Orleans (SAG). Keep in mind, however, that winter records are rather common, with one to a few occurring on every Venice CBC, for example.

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax) Uncommon to common resident, mostly near the coast.

This species favors brackish or salt water and is less common in the immediate vicinity of New Orleans than in or near the coastal marsh. It nests commonly on the Chandeleurs, including Curlew and Breton Islands, has nested on marshy islands such as Lonesome I., and in large heronries with White Ibis and various herons on Delta NWR. It is also common in Barataria Bay, where colonies may contain up to 4000 adults.

YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (Nycticorax violacea) Common summer resident, rare winter resident locally.

Although less frequent in the coastal marsh and on offshore islands than the previous species, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron is more widely distributed and more likely to be seen near inhabited areas and in bottomland hardwoods or cypress-tupelo swamp. Frequently its calls are heard overhead at night during migration. Although there are at least twenty winter records, and although the Yellow-crowned Night Heron seems to be more regular in winter than previously, it should nonetheless be considered unexpected. Immatures, especially, should be identified with care. Note the eye color, if possible, and especially the rather grayish body plumage of this species, compared to the rather brown, buffy coloration of the young Black-crowned Night Heron.

Expected dates are March 20 to October 10; extreme dates of occurrence are Mar. 10, 1968 at Venice (YB) and Nov. 26, 1978 at Reserve (MW).

FAMILY Threskiornithidae IBISES AND SPOONBILLS

WHITE IBIS (Eudocimus albus) Common to abundant resident

The White Ibis is common in or near the marshes and swamps of southeastern Louisiana. While it may be found anywhere, from hardwood bottoms to the coast (and even the barrier islands), it is most frequently seen along the west side of Lake Pontchartrain, from near the Bonnet Carre Spillway to Manchac, to Pontchatoula. The largest known White Ibis colony in Louisiana, near the north shore of Lake Manchac, contained 60,000 breeding adults in 1976 (Portnoy, 1977).

GLOSSY IBIS (Plegadis falcinellus) Uncommon resident near the coast

Southeast Louisiana is the only place where the two species of plegadis breed, so that it is here that the identification is most immediate. Because of the similarity of the two species, it is difficult to be sure about relative abundance. Generally, it seems to be true that the Glossy Ibis is the more common of the two in Plaquemines Parish, in the vicinity of Venice, and that, as is true of the distribution on the large scale, the balance begins to shift to the north and west. Neither species is frequently seen near the coast in the vicinity of Grand Isle, although they breed together on islands in Barataria Bay. Plegadis ibis are often seen west of the city along the west side of Lake Pontchartrain and along U.S. 90. In the immediate vicinity of New Orleans, they are most likely seen along U.S. 11 in the eastern part of the city.

While identification of immatures should not generally be attempted, adults are not especially difficult to identify if seen well. The White-faced Ibis shows a white fringe of feathers around the "face" , but only in breeding season. Nonetheless, the red eye and reddish facial skin are diagnostic of the White-faced Ibis, in contrast to the bluish-gray facial skin of the Glossy Ibis, and especially the bluish to almost gray-white lores. The eye is brown.

Plegaids colonies vary in size from less than 100 to more than 5000 breeding pairs.

WHITE-FACED IBIS (Plegadis chihi) Uncommon to common resident in marshy habitat

On the whole, the White-faced Ibis is the most likely of the two species to be encountered in southeast Louisiana, but not by a large margin. To the east, the opposite is true, and toward southwest Louisiana, the Glossy Ibis almost disappears altogether. A 1974 die-off of this species in Texas was attributed to high levels of DDE, dieldrin, and aldrin (all chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides).

ROSEATE SPOONBILL (Ajaia ajaia) Uncommon to rare ost-breeding wanderer in summer and fall

Although Southeastern Louisiana is much to the east of the main populations of this species and it is usually only encountered in the late summer or early fall, after breeding, spoonbills are now breeding at the lower end of Bayou Lafourse near Belle Pass, based on observations in April 1999. They may also nest, as they have in the past, on Isle Derniere, or neighboring islands in Terrebonne Parish.

Beginning with a record in September 1981 (Sept. 6, Grand Isle (RDP,NN,JR,SN)) sightings in coastal Southeast Louisiana have become almost routine, usually from Fourchon Rd., with records in every year except 1982. Also of f historical interest are the records of 6 at Venice on Sep. 26, 1987 (NN,RDP), and another there on Oct. 3, 1993 (RDP); summer records have significantly increased in the Venice area (Tiger Pass) in recent years; There are now over 60 records for this area, all but one since 1959. There are also at least 11 records for the immediate vicinity of New Orleans: Aug. 10, 1968 (WW,LW,JK) and July 3-.August 13, 1989 (....) both on US 11 in New Orleans East, one at Slidell, .... 1989, July 5, 1992, Bayou Sauvage NWR (AS,GS--7) one on the 1992 New Orleans CBC, Dec. 26, 1992 (GS,RSe), the only winter record away from the coast, and August, 1995 on the Metairie lakefront (...).; Sep. 19, 1998, City Park (...), in the wake of Francis; 9/29? from Georges (2 records); Lafrenier Pk, Sept.-Oct. 1998 (GO).

There is one indication of nesting at the edge of the area, May 26, 1970, on Isle Dernieres (JMV), and nestlings were brought to New Orleans' Audubon Zoo from Terrebonne Bay in 1980 and 1982. A Roseate Spoonbill was captured on the gulf 40 miles south of Grand Isle on Apr. 7, 1951 (J.N. Gowanloch, La. Conserv. 3, 4, 24 (1951)). Spoonbills are thought to nest on .........

FAMILY Ciconiidae STORKS

WOOD STORK ( Mycteria americana) Casual post-breeding wanderer

The paucity of records of this species is a little surprising; post-breeding dispersal takes it into wooded river valleys in East Texas through Arkansas in late summer, and it is regular at that time of the year in southwest to central Louisiana, e.g., the Morganza Spillway. It may occur in the lower Pearl River drainage in late summer and early fall., but there are no data to substantiate that conjecture. In any case, there are but eight records for southeastern Louisiana. G.E. Beyer, in the early part of the century, claimed to have found Wood Storks nesting in St. Tammany Parish, in two colonies of 40 birds each on the Bogue Chitto and Bedico rivers. While these may in fact have simply been post-breeding wanderers, one should read the description by Beyer, et al (1908) before making up his mind. The records are: Jan. 21, 1932, Point-a-la-Hache (HCO--15); Dec. 19, 1932, Main Pass (HCO); July 24, 1978, Labranche (FB); Nov. 21-Dec. 13, 1978, New Orleans (Jim Whelan,NN,et al); Aug. 18, 1980, near Honey Island Swamp (JR); and Oct. 5, 1985, Goose Point (AS,GS--9). Finally, four were seen over the New Orleans lakefront on Nov......., 1989 (AS,GS), and one was seen on Fourchon Rd...... More recently, ten were seen over New Orleans on July 19, 1992 (GS,AS) and there were at least three records in late summer 1993 over New Orleans and Metairie.

ORDER Phoenicopteriformes

FAMILY Phoenicopteridae FLAMINGOS

[GREATER FLAMINGO (Phoenicopterus ruber) ] HYPOTHETICAL

The single record is of one found dead in St. Bernard Par. on Jan. 9, 1962 (DWG,LO). Although the possibility that the bird was an escape certainly cannot be ruled out, the observers judged that it showed no signs of having been in captivity (Aud. Field Notes 16, 337 (1962)). There is one other putative record for Louisiana, from Cameron Parish in 1910. The LOS Bird Records Committee (LBRC) has recently rejected both records on the grounds that the origin of the birds is uncertain.

ORDER Anseriformes

FAMILY Anatidae SWANS, GEESE, DUCKS

FULVOUS WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna bicolor) Casual winter visitor

Although the Fulvous Whistling Duck (formerly "Tree-Duck") is a common summer resident of the rice fields of south-central and southwest Louisiana, it is rarely encountered this far east. Except for an undated December record of a bird shot near Labranche in the early 1970's (fide RJS), this species went unrecorded from 1934 until February 1978. The records are Jan. 22, 1870, New Orleans (fide HCO); Oct. 1892, Lake Catherine (fide GEBin HCO); Jan. 1900, Rigolets (fide GEB in HCO); Nov. 2, 1934, in the delta (AD--captured); Feb. 12-14?, 1978 New Orleans (JW,m.ob.--45) and Mar. 12, 1978, White Kitchen (MM,NN,JR,RDP--45), almost certainly the same flock; ....at Venice. (NN,RDP, GC); Sep. 9, 1990 Bayou Sauvage? (JHa); Dec. 23, 1990 Orleans Parish (DM--).....; Dec. 26, 1992, New Orleans (RH,JHa--13)....

BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK (Dendrocygna autumnalis) Accidental

The only definite record of this species is of one killed by a hunter in St. Charles Parish on Nov. 28, 1983 (fide RJS). It is, however, becoming increasingly common in southwestern Louisiana, where free-flying flocks from Rockefeler Refuge have been known for some time. Recent records have come from areas far from the refuge, e.g., Sulphur, La. and make it apparent that Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks are breeding in that area or are being moving in from Texas.

TUNDRA SWAN (Cygnus columbianus) Casual winter visitor

There are eight records of Tundra Swan (previously Whistling Swan) from Southeastern Louisiana. Although not all of the sight records can definitely be assigned to this species (rather than the next), it is more than reasonable to assume that they all are of C. columbianus. The known records are Jan. 15, 1933, Main Pass (WEN--3, 1*); Dec. 18, 1960, Bosco (fide JLH); Jan. 30-31, .... , Rigolets (SAG); Dec. 31, 1977, New Orleans (JK, et al) and Jan. 14, 1978 (MH), presumably the same individual; Dec. 14, 1980, Gheens, an individual caught in a Nutrea trap and brought to Audubon Zoo, where it died; Nov. 22, 1984, Labranche (fide RJS) 12 birds of which one was shot, and the head delivered to Stein; Dec. 2, 1984 to at least Jan. 1, 1985, Madisonville (RDP,DM,MM,NN--3). Photographs of the latter bird (American Birds....) show it to have been a Tundra Swan. Subsequently, two Tundra Swans, assumed to be part of the earlier group, were present near Folsom into February (fide CS), and on April 16, 1999 two swans, assumed to be of this species and definitely not Mutes, were seen at Caminada Pass, Grand Isle (MG,JK).

TRUMPETER SWAN (Cygnus buccinator) FORMERLY

The evidence for the occurrence of this species in Southeastern Louisiana comes from the young swan which Audubon painted in New Orleans and which he claimed was short near Barataria on Dec. 16, 1822 (Ornithological Biography, Vol IV, p. 541). The LOS Bird Records Committee has recently reaffirmed the status of the Trumpeter Swan on the Louisiana list, largely because of this record. In Birds of America , Vol. VI, Audubon wrote "At New Orleans, where I made the drawing of the young bird here given, the Trumpeters are frequently exposed for sale in the markets, being procured on the ponds of the interior, and in the great lakes leading to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico." Arthur gives another record for Louisiana, which probably deserves little credence.

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (Anser albifrons) Uncommon to rare in winter

Although quite common in southwest Louisiana, the White-fronted Goose is not often encountered in this area. No doubt it is more common than actual records indicate, since few winter trips are made to likely feeding areas--Delta NWR, for example. This species is probably less common than formerly, but has reported increased since the 1950's in southwest Louisiana. White-fronted Geese arrive as early as about Oct. 20 and depart in late March to early April; the earliest fall record is Oct. 13, 1959.

SNOW GOOSE (Chen caerulescens) Common to uncommon in winter in the delta.

Although significant numbers of geese--mostly Snow Geese--winter in southeast Louisiana, they are usually not accessible to the birder without the means to venture well into the marsh to favorite feeding locations. Hundreds, at least, will be seen on a boat trip to Delta NWR. Otherwise, records are simply opportunistic, of small flocks seen amost anywhere below U.S. 90, and especially in fall migration, which takes place from mid-October through November. One can hope to encounter Snow Geese in the Bonnet Carre Spillway or near Grand Isle. In southeast Louisiana the blue morph ("Blue Goose") is considerably more common than the white.

Observers should look for Ross's Geese, which are now being found regularly in southwest Louisiana. There is, in fact, one record of what was probably the rare blue morph of Ross' Goose and a definite record of the species from south of Houma.

Expected dates of arrival and departure are October 15 and April 15; the earliest fall date is taken to be Oct. 12, 1986 at Grand Isle (JS), but there is an Aug. 8, 1974 record from Reserve (28???), and a report of a flock at Pass-a-Loutre on Sept. ..., 1994 (fide DM).

BRANT (Branta hernicla) Accidental

There is a single record, of a bird present in New Orleans' City Park Nov. 27-30, 1960 (WJG,SAG,MEL,m.ob.), which was almost certainly the one seen on the New Orleans lakefront in January 1961 (B.Ward). Motion pictures were taken of the City Park bird.

CANADA GOOSE (Branta canadensis) Occasional to uncommon locally in winter, perhaps regular in delta

While formerly numerous in the delta in winter, Canada Geese now reach Southeastern Louisiana in only small numbers, e.g., approximately 15 at Delta NWR during the winter of 1982-3 (fide Sam Henson). Perhaps typical of earlier numbers is the figure of 1578 recorded on the Delta NWR Christmas Count on Dec. 23, 1940. Audubon wrote that they were "one of the commonest of the geese in the New Orleans markets during the winter." They have reportedly been seen near Madisonville in recent winters (fide Taylor Guste). Other recent records are: Oct. 12, 1958, Reserve (RFC); Dec. 24, 1960, Venice (fide SAG); Sep. 18, 1965, New Orleans (JK); Dec. 26, 1983, New Orleans (MM,RDP,et al); .....at New Orleans (NN,RDP,...)? Aproximate expected dates are October 1 to April 15.

WOOD DUCK (Aix spons) Common denizen of swamps and flooded woodlands

The Wood Duck is a rather common inhabitant of bottomland sloughs and swampy woodlands. Winter populations in Louisiana are greatly increased by the arrive of over half of the Wood Ducks which breed in the interior of the United States (Bellrose, 1976). The maximum concentration known to this writer is 200+ near Madisonville in December 1984.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Anas crecca) Common winter vistor

About 600,000 Green-winged Teal (one-fifth of the total population) winter in Louisiana. According to Bellrose (1976), they tend to occur in larger flocks than other species. In Southeast Louisiana the Green-winged Teal is most often encountered in rather small numbers, but sometimes in large concentrated flocks. It is the smallest of North American ducks. Expected dates of occurrence are October 15 to April 5. Extreme dates are Sep. 13, 1975, Reserve (MW,RJS--6) and Apr. 23, 1978, Venice (RDP,NN,MM). Perhaps the largest concentration of Green-winged Teal on record is of 2500 on U.S. 11 on Dec. 10, 1989 (NN,RDP).

[BAIKAL TEAL (Anas formosa) HYPOTHETICAL]

The sole record of this Eurasian species, of a bird shot by a hunter on Nov. 17, 1974 near the mouth of the Pearl River, must be looked upon with some skepticism. Although there is no direct evidence that the bird was an escape, it is thought that the species has been kept in captivity in the area. This record has been rejected by the LOS Bird Records Committee on the grounds of uncertain origin of the bird.

AMERICAN BLACK DUCK (Anas rubripes) Rare to occasional winter visitor

The difficulty of distinguishing the Black Duck from the Mottled Duck makes the status of the former uncertain at best, and, along with the apparent rarity of Black Duck in Southeast Louisiana, has led to a paucity of records. Although kills by hunters seem to suggest that the Black Duck is uncommon, but not rare, in winter, there have been few credible sightings by area birders in recent years. Perhaps the only "reliable" field-mark, in addition to the subjective information given in the field guides, is the rather heavy streaking on the throat, head, and neck. The available records span the period November 5 (1926, at the Rigolets) to March 12 (1966, at Cubit's Gap).

MOTTLED DUCK (Anas fulvigula) Common resident

The Mottled Duck is a conspicuous inhabitant of the coastal marsh at all seasons, and is usually seen in pairs or in very small groups. It is the only duck likely to be encountered, away from Wood Duck habitat, in mid-summer. The Mottled Duck nests most in Spartina patens meadows and marshes. Studies indicate that it is very sedentary.

There has been a significan increase in numbers recorded on New Orleans CBC's since the mid-1960's.

MALLARD (Anas platyrhynchos) Uncommon winter visitor

Although on the order of 400,000 Mallards winter in Louisiana (Bellrose, 1976), the center of concentration is in the west-central part of the state, and it is a somewhat uncommon bird in Southeast Louisiana, one that is often seen singly or in very small numbers. Sometimes one can be found in the ponds along U.S. 11 in eastern New Orleans, on Bayou Sauvage NWR near the Recovery I landfill. Other places include the Fourchon Rd.--Grand Isle area, and Venice. . Maximum number is 556, on the New Orleans CBC Dec. 26, 1992.

NORTHERN PINTAIL (Anas acuta) Uncommon to occasionally common winter visitor

Although formerly one of the most common and characteristic puddle ducks of the coastal marsh of Southeast Louisiana, it has declined substantially in the past 20 years. Its numbers also fluctuate considerably--it was quite common in the fall of 1988, after very lowe numbers for several years--and it is usually more common during the fall than midwinter. Recent reports from the breeding grounds have been very discouraging, however. A pair was seen at Labranche, St. Charles Parish, on June 23, 1973 (fide RJS). The expected dates of occurrence are September 1 to April 25; the extremes are Sep. 6, 1981 and April 16, 1917 at Chef Menteur Pass (AMB). A sighting on US 11 in the easter party of the city on July 28, 1991 (NN) is difficult to classify. Was the bird summering, an early migrant, or a cripple?

BLUE-WINGED TEAL (Anas discors) Abundant migrant and common winter visitor. Occasional in summer.

The Blue-winged Teal is often present in enormous numbers in spring and fall as birds pass through to the north or sourth. According to Bellrose (1976) there was a great increase in wintering of Blue-winged Teal in coastal Louisiana from the 1950's on. This was attributed to the effect of hurricanes in opening up the coastal marsh. On the other hand, Gosselink, et al (1979) remark that numbers have since reverted to something like pre-Hurricane Audrey (1957) numbers.

Although summer records are not extraordinary, and breeding should be looked for, the Blue-winged Teal is the earliest of the migrant ducks to reach coastal Louisiana in fall. Expected dates of occurrence are September 1 to April 15; extreme records are August 6, 1959, New Orleans (SAG) and May 20, 1979, Grand Gosier Island.

CINNAMON TEAL (Anas cyanoptera) Occasional to accidental in winter.

Even in southwestern Louisiana this beautiful duck is quite rare; in Southeast Louisiana it is rarer still, with fewer than a dozen records, and only five? in the last three decades, and less than a half-dozen since the early years of this century. Stein reports that the Cinnamon Teal is in fact occasionally taken by hunters in the Laplace-Reserve-Labranche area, where it is known as "gingerbread duck." The known, dated records are: Dec. 1884, Point-a-la-Hache (fide HCO--2*); Dec. 1884, Lake Pontchartrain (fide HCO*); Dec. 1893, Lake Catouache (A. Perilliat--2*); Ec. 1896, Lake Catouache (fide HCO--2*); Jan. 5, 1900, Lake Borgne (Rafael Robin*); Jan. 15, 1911 in the delta (JD*); Dec. 20, 1956, Plaquemines Parish*; Dec. 28, 1986, New Orleans (SAG,BC,CL); Mar. 5, 1987, Fourchon Rd (Lafourche) (CK,PW). An apparent hybrid Blue-winged X Cinnamon Teal was seen on Blind Lagoon in New Orleans East on ..... and .... 1995 (PW--ph.). (1996?PW?); A bird which wintered in New Orleans East in 1997-8 (Gousett) and was recorded on t he 1997 CBC, returned the next winter (GO).

NORTHERN SHOVELER (Anas clypeata) Common winter visitor

While not as common as it was just 10 years ago, the Shoveler is one of the more familiar and common puddle ducks wintering in the coastal marsh. It primarily inhabits fresh and brackish estuarine marshes and bays, and is not one of the puddle ducks likely to be seen on the waters of the gulf. Expected dates of occurrence are from October 10 to April 20 and extreme records are Sep. 15, 1979 ... (JR,MB) and May 29, 1967, New Orleans (RDP). There are also at least two summer records: Jun. 17, 1978 at Reserve (MW) and Jun. 16, 1982 at New Orleans (DM).

GADWALL (Anas strepera) Common winter resident

The Gadwall is one of the most common dabbling ducks in winter in Se. Louisiana, being exceeding in numbers in midwinter mainly by the American Wigeon and N. Shoveler.

Expected dates are October 20 to about April 15, with extremes of Oct. 5, 1980 at New Orleans (RDP, et al) and Apr. 19, 1969 at Grand Isle.

EURASIAN WIGEON (Anas penelope) Accidental in winter.

There are two records of this species, the only records of live birds ever seen in Louisiana (except over the sights of a shotgun). The first sighting, the first accepted Louisiana record, came from the eastern part of New Orleans ("Recovery I"), between Dec. 14, 1980 and Feb. 8, 1981 (RDP,NN, m.ob.--photos RDP). The other record is of a bird seen on Fourchon Rd, Lafourche Parish, between Jan. 10? and at least Feb. 4, 1990 (GC,m.ob.). Both records were of drakes.

AMERICAN WIGEON (Anas americana) Common to abundant in winter.

Although the wigeon or "baldpate" is one of the commoner wintering puddle ducks in Southeastern Louisiana, it may have been somewhat more common during the 1960's, as a result, according to Bellrose (1976) of hurricanes breaking up the coastal marsh. Expected dates of occurrence are October 1 to April 25; extreme dates are Sept. 3, 1977 at Grand Isle and May 8, 1978 at New Orleans (NN,JR,MM).

CANVASBACK (Aythya valisineria) Uncommon to rare in winter.

It is sad to write of the plight of the Canvasback, surely the best-loved of all the ducks. While only a few years ago one or several might be found in deep ponds in the eastern part of the city, urban sprawl and the decline in the Canvasback population have made this duck almost a thing of the past. It is not unusual for a winter to go by without a report of a Canvasback from Southeast Louisiana. Expected dates are November 15 to March 20; while the earliest date of fall arrival is Oct. 29, 1978 (NN,RDP), and latest in spring is May 27, 1995 at Tiger Pass. There is one "summer" record, July 12, 1973 at Venice (RJN,RSK).

REDHEAD (Aythya americana) Quite uncommon in winter.

The fate of the Redhead is only slightly less depressing than that of its congener, the Canvasback. It will, however, be encountered occasionally in winter, usually on Fourchon Rd. in Lafourche Parish, but might be found almost anywhere. Like the Canvasback, although a diving duck, it will often be seen feeding in shallow water in the manner of a puddle duck. Flocks are reported to occur in the Chandeleurs in winter (Smith, 1961); Bellrose gives 20,000 as a typical wintering population for Chandeleur Sound.

Expected dates are November 10 to April 15; estreme dates are Oct. 25, 1969 at Grand Isle (RDP,RJN,DN) and May 4, 1969 at Ft. Jackson (WW).

RING-NECKED DUCK (Aythya collaris) Common to uncommon winter visitor.

Often found on inland fresh-water lakes and ponds, this species also inhabits brackish estuarine waters. In the city, the best place to find it is in City Park, especially the lagoons off Harrison Ave. It will sometimes be seen on Lake Pontchartrain or along Fourchon Road in Lafourche Parish. Expected dates are November 5 to April 1 and the earliest date of fall arrival is Sept. 24, 1956 (RF,BMM). There is one summer record, June 28, 1973 on Lake Pontchartrain (MW).

GREATER SCAUP (Aythya marila) Uncommon (to rare?) in winter.

Because of the difficulty of distinguishing the Greater Scaup from its more common cousin, less is known of the wintering population in this area than one would like. Similarly, it is difficult to assess the differences in relative numbers offshore vs. inshore. Gosselilnk (1979) quotes a figure of about 2% Greater Scaup in southern Lousiana, while Bellrose (1976) calculates a 6.6% figure for Louisiana. Taylor Guste says that Greater Scaup are not infrequently shot on his lands on the lakefront near Madisonville.

The identification problem is difficult, but by no means hopleless. Adult male Greater Scaup are large, white-sided, heavy-billed, and have rounded-looking heads which are irridescent green when seen in good light. The wing stripe extends all across the primaries to the tip of the wing. Usually a combination of characters will be needed to cinch an indentification. Brilliant, clean white sides are suggestive, but by no means are all white-sided scaup are Greaters.

The available records span the period November 2 to March 23.

LESSER SCAUP (Aythya affinis) Very common to abundant in winter.

The Lesser Scaup is usually very common, sometimes abundant, on Lake Pontchartrain; it is far and away the dominant species of duck on the lake. Indeed, it is often the only species to be found from the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Often it occurs in large numbers on the near -shore waters of the gulf as well. Approximately 50% of all Lesser Scaup winter in Louisiana (Bellrose, 1976); reported something like 500,000 winter on Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. Although Stanley C. Arthur claimed that an adult with young were found in Lake Borgne in 1915, his reports are not always reliable. Expected dates of wintering are October 25 to May 15; extreme dates are Sep. 16, 1983 on Lake Pontchartrain (RDP) and May 28, 1967 at New Orleans (RDP). Summer records in the New Orleans area--especially City Park--are rare, but not unprecedented. They include the following: summer 1958 (SAG),;June 29, 1959 (SAG); June 16, 1982 (DM).

KING EIDER (Somateria spectibilis) Accidental

The first record of this species, or of any eider, for Louisiana, was of a young male, apparently flightless (molting), present at the west end of Grand Terre Island. The bird first noted (but not identified) by John.... on April 9, 1994, was identified as an eider by Bob Russell a few days later, and as this species by many observers (DM,CS, et al; ph.) on April 14-17. It was present until at least May (21-22 or 14-15?) (JVR,DLD,SWC). Quite amazingly, the second record was hardly over a month later: a female seen and photographed by O'Meallie on Curlew Island on June 11, 1994.

HARLEQUIN DUCK (Histrionicus histrioniucs) Accidental.

There is one record of this beautiful duck, of a pair reported by Audubon on April 1, 1837 at Southwest Pass. Although this record has some sceptics (including the LOS Bird Records Committee?), there is a recent sight report from the Florida panhandle.

OLDSQUAW (Clangula hyemalis) Uncommon to rare in winter.

There are about two dozen records of this somewhat erratic species from November 24 to February 28. In recent years it has been most frequently recorded from either shore of Lake Pontchartrain, often as a result of Christmas Count coverage, but it might be seen on any of the larger bodies of water: the gulf, Chandeleur Sound, Lake Borgne, etc. It is reportedly regular offshore in Mississippi Sound. In some years none are seen at all and in others there may be several records. Few adult males are seen. Extreme dates of occurrence are Nov. 15, 1986 at Fontainbleau St. Pk (MM,DM--3) and May 11, 1988 ...(NN,DM).

BLACK SCOTER (Melanitta nirgra) Rare winter visitor.

Although none of the scoters are common, of the three , the Black and Surf Scoters are seen much more frequently than the White-winged. Most of the records are from about November 20 through the Christmas Count period. The fact that there are few late winter records may mostly reflect lack of coverage, since they are seen regularly in spring on the gulf off Cameron Parish.

In addition to the records quoted here, there is one undated record of Black Scoter from Lake Catherine by Gustav Kohn. In principle, good places to look for scoters would be off Grand Isle or from Fourchon Beach, and, in fact, the latest record of any scoter for Southeast Louisiana was of one seen on April 9, 1977 off Grand Isle, not identified as to species (but not white-winged).

There are ten records spanning the period Oct. 25-Apr. 8: Nov. 11, 1941, St. Charles Par. (fide GHL); Nov. 29, 1952 on Lake Borgne (fide GHL); Oct. 25, 1969 on Lake Pontchartrain (RJN,RJS); Nov. 23, 1970 at the mouth of the Empire Canal (RJN,LO'M); Mar. 13, 1971, Lake Pontchartrain (HDP); Apr. 8, 1973, 25 miles off Grand Isle (RBH,RJN); Nov. 27-Dec. 16, 1977 on Lake Pontchartrain (JR,m.ob.--photos RDP); Nov. 13-Dec. 25, 1981 at New Orleans (JR,DM, et al); Nov. 23, 1981, Fontainbleau St. Pk. (NN,SF); Dec. 1-...., 1985 at New Orleans (RDP,m.ob.); New Orleans, Dec. 19, 1991 (NN--2).

SURF SCOTER (Melanitta perspicillata) Rare winter visitor.

Most of the scoters of this species, and of the others as well, have been in female/immature plumage, which suggests that they are birds of the year. Surf Scoters ordinarily winter on either coast and breed in northern Canada. There are at least 17 records of Surf Scoter from the period Nov. 22-Mar. 20: Mar. 20, 1890, New Orleans (fide HCO); Dec. 26, 1950, Grand Isle (JLC); Nov. 29, 1953, Lake Borgne; Dec. 1958 at Myrtle Grove (fide GHL); Nov. 28-..., 1977 in Metairie (JG, m.ob.--photos RDP); Nov. 13, 1981, New Orleans (MM); Nov. 21, 1982, Labranche (fide JRS--killed by hunters); Nov. 26, 1982, New Orleans (RDP,NN--2); Jan. 2, 1984, Fourchon Rd. (NN,RDP,DM); Nov. 22?, 1984, Mandeville (CS?); Dec. 27, 1987, New Orleans (RDP,MK, SH); winter 1988-89......; winter 1989-90; ....., 1991 New Orleans (NN); Dec. 26, 1992 (...)..Fourchon beach 1998. June 10, 1998, Curlew (SWC,DLD)

WHITE-WINGED SCOTER (Melanitta fusca) Casual winter visitor.

The 10 records of this species make it the least common of the three in recent years; see however, the discussion in Lowery (1974). The dated records are: Mar. 20, 1890, New Orleans (fide GHL); Mar. 27, 1965, Grand Isle (SAG); Dec. 1, 1973, Bonnet Carre Spillway (RJS,MW); Nov. 27-28, 1975, Lake Pontchartrain (NN,m.ob.); Nov. 23, 1982, New Orleans (MM);Nov. 19, 1989, Lake Catouatche (DM); Nov. 29-...1989, Lake Pontchartrain (DM,NN,RDP,GG); Dec. 21, 1991, L. Pontchartrain (RDP,NN,GG), Nov. 5, 1995 (PW,CK,Bill Wayman?).

COMMON GOLDENEYE (Bucephala clangula) Uncommon to rare winter visitor.

Although this species is never common, often one or two can be found after patient searching on Lake Pontchartrain, on the deeper ponds in the eastern part of New Orleans (now disappearing), or on Bayou St. John. Although goldeneyes depart rather early in spring, there are two interesting late records from the area or near it: May 5, 1986, by Kopman, without specific location, and June 15, 1894 on Cat Island, MS, collected by Blakemore. Expected dates are November 15 to March 1 and extreme dates of occurrence are Nov. 3, 1991 on U.S. 11 (RDP) and Mar. 22, 1970 at New Orleans (RDP).

BUFFLEHEAD (Bucephala albeola) Regular winter resident, more common on north

shore of Lake Pontchartrain

While the Bufflehead is not often seen on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain except in the extreme eastern part of the city ("South Point"), it is quite regular, even common on the north shore, as at Mandeville and Fontainbleu St. Park, and may be encountered almost anywhere where diving ducks might be expected. Buffledheads may be expected between.....

HOODED MERGANSER (Lophodytes cucullatus) Uncommon winter visitor,

The Hooded Merganser is one of those species which are not actually rare in Southeast Louisiana but are nonetheless difficult to find. It is often found on isolated wooded ponds and sloughs, but only rarely in the open water situations characteristic of its cousins, the Red-breasted and Common Mergansers. Although it has been regular on certain ponds off Airline Hiway in Reserve, an opportunistic or random sighting is the most likely, if one knows what a Hooded Merganser looks like in flight. High count is 170 on a residential lake in eastern New Orleans on the 1998 CBC (DPM).

The extreme dates of occurrence are October 21, 1965 on Lake Pontchartrain (BMM) and April 23, 1994 at Port Sulphur (NN,RDP).

COMMON MERGANSER (Mergus merganser) Casual winter visitor.

There are about 17 records of the Common Merganser, which is slightly more common inland and in north Louisiana. The dozen reports in the last four decades probably accurately reflect its true abundance in Southeast Louisiana. Allthough identifcation is not particularly difficult, for either sex, its rarity should engender caution.

The records span the period Nov. 11-Apr. 19, with an anomalous June 3, 1933 record. The records are: Jan. 21, 1932, Point-a-la-Hache (HCO); Jan. 24, 1932, Myrtle Grove (HCO--2); June 3, 1933, Lake Borgne (HCO); April 19, 1936, Grand Isle (AD); Dec. 28, 1957, Grand Isle (SAG); Feb. 6, 1960, Slidell (SAG); Nov. 22, 1969, Mandeville (RJN); Dec. 8, 1977, Reserve (MW); Nov. 11, 1978, Laplace (RJS,MW); Nov. 18, 1978, Bonnet Carre Spillway (RJS,MW); Jan. 8-Feb 2?, 1980, Metairie (...); Dec. 26, 1982, New Orleans (MW--5); Jan. 10-Mar. 3, 1985, Mandeville (PS,JH?); winter 1986-87, Mandeville (JH,m.ob.); Mar. 5, 1987, Fourchon Rd. (CK,PW); ......(NN,RDP); Dec. 23, 1990-[Feb. 22?,1991] New Orleans (AS,GS, et al).

RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (Mergus serrator) Common winter visitor.

This species can be found regularly on Lake Pontchartrain, close to shore, and throughout coastal Southeast Louisiana on deep lakes, ponds, and open water. Expected dates of occurrence are November 20 to May 1; extreme dates are Oct. 25, 1928 at Main Pass of the Mississippi River (AMB) and May 20, 1967 at Grand Isle (SAG). There are at least two later records in spring or early summer: one at North Island in the Chandeleurs: June 11, 1971 (RDP,RJN,MM), and another on Fourchon Rd., June 1, 1997 (DM,RDP).

RUDDY DUCK (Oxyura jamaicensis) Uncommon winter visitor.

The Ruddy Duck is most often found on deep ponds in residential areas of the eastern part of New Orleans. Otherwise, it may be found almost anywhere there are other diving ducks--occasionally on the lake, occasionally on Fourchon Road. The Ruddy Duck went essentially unrecorded on New Orleans Christmas Counts before 1973, and has evidently increased due to the availability of these newly-dug artificial lakes in New Orleans. Expected dates are November 5 to April 10; extreme dates are Sept. 2, 1986 at New Orleans (CL,DM) and May 22, 1977 at New Orleans (RDP,SP). Although there are no records of the very similar Masked Duck for this area, the possibility should be kept in mind.

[MASKED DUCK (Oxyura dominica)] HYPOTHETICAL

There is one report of this congener of the Ruddy Duck from the western edge of of the checklist area: Jan. 19, 1992 near Thibodeaux? (GW). Recent population increases in Texas make it worthwile to look for this species, which is easily identified by the striped face, especially in Southwest Louisiana, but in this area as well.

ORDER Facloniiformes

FAMILY Cathartidae VULTURES

BLACK VULTURE (Coragyps atratus) Uncommon to common resident and breeding bird.

While the Black Vulture is not uncommon south of New Orleans and north of Lake Pontchartrain, it is not especially common elsewhere and seems rarely to be found over the coastal marsh. Brown and Amadon (1968) remark that the Black Vulture is probably the most common of all western hemisphere birds of prey, largely because of large Mexican populations. Recent biochemical taxonomic research places the vultures in the stork family.....

TURKEY VULTURE (Cathartes aura) Common resident and breeding bird.

The number of Turkey Vultures recorded on New Orleans Christmas Counts has risen since the early 1970's, a fact which may simple reflect changing land use patterns. Turkey Vultures nest on the ground in brushy tangles and briar patches, or in hollow logs or stumps. They common sleep in roots of significant size.

FAMILY Accidpitridae HAWKS, HARRIERS

OSPREY (Pandion haliaetus) Uncommon migrant, regular in winter near Venice, rare in winter elsewhere; undoubtedly breeding.

This beautiful hawk may be seen anywhere in migration, but is regularly found in winter mainly in the vicinity of Venice. There have, however, been several recent winter records from the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain and winter records near the south shore of the lake, formerely virtually unknown, have been more frequent. The question of breeding is a difficult one. There is at least one definite nesting, represented by a nest active in the breeding season for at least seven years, from March 30, 1974 (MM,m.ob.) through the summer of 1980. In addition, Donald Bradburn reports that he observed nesting near Lacombe in the 1930's, through 1942. Ospreys nest in numbers on Horn Island, Miss., and a few apparently nest on Ship Island as well. Nesting has been confirmed elsewhere in Louisiana, and an abundance of summer records for the Venice/South Pass/Tiger Pass area strongly indicates regular nesting. Among the first records suggestive of breeding were: June 23, 1974 in St. Bernard Parish (RJN, et al), and on the Mississippi River below Venice on Aug. 9, 1985 (DM,RDP--2). Several were seen on May 26-7, 1995 from Ft. Jackson south to Tiger Pass, and there was a nest at Venice in May 1997.

Although the Osprey is found on virtually every winter trip to Venice, with numbers of three or four not unusual, and there are several winter records from the Reserve-Spillway area, winter occurrences near New Orleans are rare. They include Dec. 26, 1983 (FB,CK); one on US 11, Feb. 4, 1984 (DM,NN); Dec. 27, 1993 (DM).... Expected dates are March 25 to May 1 and September 20 to November 25, although the numerous winter records the late fall and early spring dates uncertain. Extreme dates of occurrence in spring are Feb. 26, 1967 at Venice and May 28, 1984 at Venice (NLN,DM); in fall the dates are Aug. 11, 1957 at New Orleans (SAG) and Dec. 7, 1958 at Ft. Jackson (DS).

AMERICAN SWALLOW-TAILED KITE (Elanoides forficatus) Uncomon to rare summer, mostly in Pear River bottoms.

The Swallow-tailed Kite is one of the best-loved birds of Southeastern Louisiana; one of the high points of spring is the sight of the first migrating Swallow-tailed Kites in late March. They breed in the Pearl River basin, and perhaps elsewhere--in or near Lafitte NP perhaps, or north and west of Lake Pontchartrain. They can be found in Honey Island Swamp, for example, from May through some time in August, but are rarely seen anywhere in fall migration. Jennifer Coulson has recent found a number of nests in the Pearl River bottoms and elsewhere. George Beyer wrote, in 1879, that "During the early part of September, it may be seen on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne, etc., in flocks of fifteen or twenty individuals." Currently one of the best places to see a Swallow-tailed Kite is near old US 11 in the Honey Island Wildlife Management area, especially on the dirt roads which go south from it. Even more profitable recently has been the stretch of Interstate 59 between the Pearl River and the Mississippi line. It is sometimes seen by canoers in the area, and ought to be found in the new Bogue Chitto NWR. The call is a short, sharp kleet!, kleet-kleet! (most often), or kleet-kleet-kleet! (RDP).

In recent years, Jennifer Coulson has located many nests in the Pearl River basin (west to Mandeville), banded young, and attached radio transmitters to some which have been followed to South America.

Expected dates are March 15 to about September 1; extreme dates of occurrence are Feb. 27, 1993 in Plaquemines Parish (JS) aand Feb. 28, 1959 at Grand Isle (ART,EDL,MEC) and Aug. 31, 1972 at Pontchatoula (AWP,Ted Joanen). Apparent migrants have been seen as late as the end of May in lower Plaquemines Parish.

WHITE-TAILED KITE (Elanus caeruleus) Rare vagrant or winter visitor

It is difficult to know exactly what the status of this kite (now White-tailed Kite again, after briefly being lumped with Black-shouldered Kite) is in Southeastern Louisiana; what is written today may be proved wrong tomorrow. Before 1983 there were but two records for this region, nearly a century apart: Oct. 11, 1890 at Kenner (GEB) and Nov. 27, 1977 near Raceland (NN,RDP). Up to that time, there was only one other record for Louisiana, but that was of a nesting in north Louisiana. Then, in the fall and winter of 1982-83, two pairs wintered in Southwest Mississippi near US 90 and the Louisiana border, and apparently two separate pairs nested in St. Tammany Parish the following summer, including one north of La 36 near the St. Tammany townsite, discovered on June 5 (RDP). This pair apparently nested twice and fledged young in late August (JH,JFH,HP), with an adult seen as late as Sep. 5 (JH). Records during December 1983 and January 1984 near Abita Springs may have been of one or more of these birds. There was a sighting at White Kitchen in February 1985 (Krista Morgan) and there have been one, possibly two sightings at the "Turf Farm" south of La 36 between the intersection of La 1088 and Abita Springs. The large open fields north of the lake resulting from clearcutting offer exzcellent habitat for these birds. More recently, single birds were seen near Alliance and near Myrtle Grove during the spring of 1989, and then again in September and October (three occasions, Sep. 17-Oct. 7 NN,RDP,m.ob.), 5 -1/4 miles south of Lake Hermitage Road. This drained area, almost prairie-like, is again excellent habitat for Black-shouldered Kites; they may very well have nested there, since as many as four were seen in September 1989. There were additional records in the fall of 1993: Nov. 21 at Alliance (NN,RDP,GG) and Nov. 26 at Myrtle Grove (NN,DM,PY..--2). More recently, there was a record from near Bohemia, on the east bank of the river, Jan. 16, 1999 (GO).

In the last 15 years, this species has become regular in Southwest Louisiana, especially from Lake Arthur west to Holly Beach, and nesting is documente there.

MISSISSIPPI KITE (Ictinia misissippiensis) Common summer resident.

The Mississippi Kite is a conspicuous summer resident of sizeable deciduous woodlands in Southeast Louisiana. It still nests within the city limits of New Orleans, expecially on the west bank of the river and in the eastern part of the city. Good places to look for it are on the Mississippi River batture above New Orleans, along I10 in New Orleans East, near Paris Road, in the Bonnet Carre Spillway, and so on. There is some indication that numbers are declining locally, but it is difficult to sort out the effects of a true decline from the massive changes in habitat near the city, which makes them hard to find in areas where they were once common. In fall, Mississippi Kite migration becomes conspicuous after about August 1.

Expected dates are April 20 to September 1, although an occasional individual will be seen well into September. Extrerme dates of occurrence are Mar. 4, 1956 at New Orleans (SAG) and Oct. 9, 1989 at Grand Isle (AS,GS).

BALD EAGLE (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Rare breeding bird (September-March) and rare to casual winter visitor.

There may be more than a dozen active Bald Eagle nests in Southeast Louisiana, one of the best known and most accessible to viewing being at White Kitchen, St. Tammany Par., just east of the intersection of US 90 and 190, on land now owned by the Nature Conservancy. Other nests are on Lake Salvador, near Jesuit Bend, north of Paradis, below Lafitte, and in the Good Hope oil field. Nesting birds arrive in late September and depart by about the first of April, as soon as young are fledged. Wintering individuals may be seen occasionally, almost anywhere, but especially in the Bonnet Carre Spillway area.

Some typical arrival dates are Sept. 16, 1973 in the Pearl River bottoms, Sept. 16, 1976 at Lafitte (FB), Oct. 2, 1977 at White Kitchen (PS), and Sept. 22, 1989 at Paradis. The latest record is May 13, 1984 near des Allemandes (RDP,DM). One of the few summer records for the area is of one in the summer of 1991 at Bayou Sauvage NWR.

NORTHERN HARRIER (Cicus cyaneus) Common winter visitor to the coastal marsh.

The Northern Harrier ("Marsh Hawk") is a familiar sight coursing low over marshes and fields in winter, easily identified by its somewhat "rocking" flight on dihedral wings, and white base of the tail. It should be noted that the much rarer Black-shouldered Kite often can be mistaken for a Marsh Hawk, although its greater inclination to hover often will give it away. New Orleans Christmas Cout data indicate a decline in the mid-1960's, a slight recovery around 1970 followed by further decline into the early to mid 1970's, and finally a peak in the late 1970's.

Expected dates are October 10 to April 5; extreme dates of occurrence are Sept. 5, 1993 at Grand Isle (RDP) [previously Sept. 20, 1987 at Grand Isle (MM,AS,GS)] and Apr. 15, 1961 at Venice (SAG).

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (Accipiter striatus) Uncommon winter resident.

This small woodland hawk is much the commoner of the two regular accipiters in Southeast Louisiana; it is occasionally seen in large numbers during fall migration, following a cold front around the end of September. On such occasions, perhaps dozens might be counted, although vastly greater numbers are sometimes noted in coastal Southwest Louisiana. The "sharpy" can usually be recognized by its combination of a long tail with sharp "corners" and a head which projects only modestly beyond the wing. The male is only about the size of a blue jay, but the female is considerably larger, making confustion with male Cooper's Hawk possible. Although there is concern over the status of this hawk--as there should be with all raptors--its number have held relatively constant over the past 20 years. A winter day a-field will usually yield one or more Sharpys..

Expected dates of wintering are October 5 to April 15; extreme dates of occurrence are Sep. 21, 1960 in Lafourche Par. (RDP,MM,NN,SP) and May 17, 1976 (NN). Out of season records include: Aug. 5, 1890 at Mandeville (GEB) and July 14, 1962 at Reserve (RJS). Summer?

COOPER'S HAWK (Accipiter cooperii) Quite uncommon winter visitor, erratic in breeding season, but apparently becoming more common.

Cooper's Hawk breeds sparingly in the area, although definitive evidence is quite skimpy. It is definitely known to have nested near Livingston, just west of the checklist area, and has been found in the breeding season near Empire and Laffite (fide DM), and has recently bred in the city itself (fide PY). Tom and Jennifer Coulson... also claims to have evidence of nesting or summering. George Beyer claimed to have shot a female on Aug. 2, 1890 and a male on Aug. 11 of the same year, on "Pine Island," near Madisonville. A recent August record is Aug. 8, 1988 at Grand Isle (RDP,MM?). etc

Expected dates of wintering are October 5 to April 1; extreme dates of winter occurrence are Aug. 19, 1958 (SAG) and Apr. 25, 1976 at Venice (MM,NN,RH).

NORTHERN GOSHAWK (Accipiter gentilis) Accidental in winter.

There is one record of this magnificent raptor from the edge of the checklist area. It is of a bird shot at Amite on November 30, 1972. The bird had been banded near Duluth, Minn. on Aug. 30 of the same year.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (Buteo lineatus) Common resident.

The Red-shouldered Hawk is the standard breeding buteo of deep woods and swamp throughout the area. Its loud and distinctive cry carries a long distance, making it possible to hear one of these birds almost anywhere in Southeast Louisiana. There is even a record of one soaring over Curlew Island in the Chandeleurs. Red-shouldered Hawks are probably most common in cypress-tupelo swamp, where they commonly nest--as they do in other deep woodland areas, near the top of a large tree. The population declines which occurred in the 1960s and 1970s in the northern U.S. were not experienced in southern Louisian, with numbers on New Orleans Christmas Bird Counts remaining essentially constant since the 1950's at about 0.5 individuals per party hour. The essential field marks, often easier to see in flight than those given in the field guides, are the crescent-shaped "windows" near the wing tips (base of primaries). Red-shouldered Hawks are relatively long-winged and long-tailed, and of course one can often see the red shoulder or the tail stripes of the adult.

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (Buteo platypterus) Common migrant, regular (uncommon to common) local breeder, and casual winter visitor near the coast.

This small buteo is encountered in Southeast Louisiana mainly as a migrant, though rarely in the kinds of numbers that are typical of its favorred migration routes (including southwest Louisiana, in fall). It does, however, breed regularly north of Lake Pontchartrain in mixzed pine-deciduous woods, often near creek or river bottoms. In summer its thin whistled call will often be heard even when the bird cannot be found (take care, however, not to confuse it with the similar call of the Mississippi Kite). It continues to be found in the breeding season in small numbers south of the lake as well, as evidenced by records by Yaukey in June of 1995 from Jean Lafitte NP (June 6) and in Metairie near the Earhart Expressway (June 12 and 15). It is also common enough on the coast in winter so that it has virtually come to be expected at Venice and Grand Isle. This should by no means lull one into careless identification of a Broad-wing in winter. In spite of more than two dozen well-documented winter records, including some calling birds, Broad-winged Hawks in winter should be assumed to be extraordinary and should be reported, with careful details. Many of the birds seen in the winter are immatures and can be identified by their small size, broad wings, brownish striped tail, prominent superciliary stripe, and, especially, the dark trailing edge of the wing (not a unique feature, but a very helpful one). Most birds will be immatures, which have a tail with is a chocolate color with narrow darker transverse bands; from below the tail is grayish, again with narrow dark bands. There are at least two excellent photographs of winter Broad-wings from the lower delta (RDP,DM).

Expected dates of migrants are April 1 to May 5 and August 10 to November 15; extreme dates of occurrence in spring are March 26, 1978 at Grand Isle (MM,NN,JR), and in fall, July 28, 1979 at New Orleans (JR--4) and Dec. 2, 1961 at Triumph (SAG). There is no way to know whether the latter bird was overwintering.

SWAINSON'S HAWK (Buteo swainsoni) Casual fall migrant or winter visitor.

There are at least 16 records of this western raptor, all but one prior to December 2. The most likely time to encounter a Swainson's Hawk in the area is from mid-October to the end of November near the coast, preferably near Venice. The distribution of records is as follows: Sept. (3), Oct. (2), Nov. (6), Dec. (1), Jan. (1), and Feb. (1). A Swainson's Hawk, apparently captured in New Orleans East in 1980, was in the New Orleans Zoo through March 1983 (RDP, Bill Clark; photos AS). The records are: Jan. 5-7, 1969 at Reserve (RJS), Sep. 7, 1970 at Golden Meadow (RJN,RJS), Sep. 11, 1978 at Leeville (RJS,RH); Nov. 26, 1978 at Ft. Jackson (JR,NN,RDP); Oct. 14, 1979 at Venice (RDP,MB,JR--5); Nov. 10, 1979 at Laplace (MW,RJS); Sep. 30, 1980 at Reserve (MW); Nov. 5, 1982 in Bonnet Carre Spillway (RJS); Dec. 2, 1984 at Madisonville (MM,DM,NN,RDP); Nov. 16, 1986 at Venice (JW,GC); Feb. 7, 1987 at Venice (SWC,DLD,DM); Nov. 8, 1987 at New Orleans (RDP--2); Nov. 19, 1987 at Port Sulphur (...); Oct. 6, 1988 Port Sulphur to Venice (NN,RDP--7); Nov. ..., 1989 (RDP,NN); Dec. 23, 1990 (GC,NN,RDP--ph); Oct. 29, 1992 at New Orleans (KVR). 1998? (PW--photo?)

ZONE-TAILED HAWK (Buteo albonotatus) Accidental

The single record of this species remains one of the most remarkable birds ever recorded on a New Orleans Christmas Count; it is of a female found on Dec. 23, 1985 by Tristan Davis and others and identified the next day (SAG,NN,RDP, PW, CK,CS,JH, JHSr,GO). It was captured later in the day (Dec. 24) by Davis and Nancy Newfield (et al), and was taken to New Orleans' Audubon Zoo Bird Rehabilitation Center. The bird, which was found to have been shot, eventually died while being exercised in anticipation of release. Excellent photographs were obtained in the field (RDP) and in the hand. This is the only record for Louisiana.

RED-TAILED HAWK (Buteo jamaicensis) Common winter visitor, breeding sparingly in the Florida Parishes

The Red-tailed Hawk is the common wintering Buteo of Louisiana. It can be found anywhere there are reasonably open fields for hunting. Especially large flights of Red-tails might be seen on the heels of cool fronts in middle to late October. Red-tailed Hawks evidently breed sparingly north of Lake Pontchartrain; certainly there have been recent summer records from that general area. Red-tails vary from the very dark melanistic birds (including the rare race harlani , "Harlan's Hawk, which has been recorded on at least six occasions between Oct. 29 and Jan. 16) to the very light krideri ("Krider's Red-tail"). Two invariant characteristics are the blotched or patchy back and the dark leading edge of the wing. The distinct petagial marks help distinghish the Red-tail from some other buteos. The Red-tailed Hawk has held its own on New Orleans Christmas Bird Counts since 1960 at about 0.6 birds per party hour.

The expected dates of occurrence are October 1 to April 1; extreme dates are Aug. 13, 1959 at New Orleans (SAG) and Apr. 25, 1976 at Venice (MM,NN,RH). The "summer" records include June 22, 1957 at Covington (SAG).

FERRUGINOUS HAWK (Buteo regalis) Casual to accidental winter visitor.

This large, light-plumaged buteo has declined over much of its breeding range. It is casual in Louisiana and records can be expected primarily from the western or southwestern part of the state, in areas such as Gum Cove or the rice fields of south-central Louisiana. Because of the great variation in plumage of the Red-tailed Hawk, observers should be extremely cautious about identifying a buteo thought to be of this species. It is big-headed and short-necked, it has prominent wrist marks, and darkish-feathered tarsi. The white wing "patches" are distinctive, but are similar to those sometimes seen in light phase Red-tails. Although there are four records of Ferruginous Hawk for Southeast Louisiana, only the first record is thoroughly satisfactory. The records are Nov. 1, 1957 to Feb. 2, 1958 near Slidell (SAG,MEL,BM,BJD); Feb. 23, 1971 at the Rigolets (JK); Dec. 7, 1974 at Ft. Jackson (LS); and Nov. 19, 1978 at Venice (BC?).

ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK (Buteo lagopus) Casual winter visitor.

There are at least nine records of the Rough-legged Hawk , which only rarely makes it into Southeast Louisiana. Although care is essential in its identification, it is, nonetheless, a rather distinctive hawk. Long-winged, with a long tail which is white at the base but has a rather large dark terminal band, and characterized by a prominent dark band on its lower belly, the Rough-legged Hawk appears light headed when perched or flying (the Red-tail is usually dark-faced). Note, of course, that the Red-tail shows a white base to the tail. Rough-legs like to hover, but so do Red-tailed Hawks.

The records, which span the period October to March, but which concentrate in December and January are: Mar. 12, 1933 at Grand Isle (GH*); Jan. 27, 1937 at Grand Isle (GLT); Dec. 14, 1968 at New Orleans (DS); Dec. 27, 1977 at Reserve (MW--2); Feb. 8, 1981 at New Orleans (NN, et al); Jan. 30-Feb. 14, Bayou Sauvage (DM,m.ob.); late Oct., 1982 in Tangipahoa Par. (fide NLN); Jan. 1984 on US 11 (DM, et al); Nov. 22, 1988 at Lacombe (AS,GS,CK).

GOLDEN EAGLE (Aquila chrysaetos) Accidental in winter.

Although Oberholser (1938) reported Golden Eagles shot near Bogalusa and Maringouin prior to 1930, the only definitive recent record is of one which was shot in the Pear River bottoms during November 1975. Since the Golden Eagle does wander widely and occurs erratically in southwest and central Louisiana, it might be expected to occur here occasionally, and there are reports suggestive of that.

AMERICAN KESTREL (Falco sparverius) Common winter resident; uncommon to rare breeding bird mostly north of Lake Pontchartrain.

The Kestrel is the commonest of the hawks of Louisiana, though primarily present only in winter, and will be seen hovering over prey or watching from a telephone wire or branch of a dead tree, almost anywhere away from the immediate crush of civilization. It is, in fact. the only hawk--except perhaps for migrating Mississippi Kites, that is likely to be seen in or near the typical residential neighborhood--along a drainage canal, or on a transmission tower. Kestrels do breed north of Lake Pontchartrain, but in numbers small enough to be rather inconspicuous. Although it has been known to breed in uptown New Orleans, that was surely unusual. Though the Kestrel may have declined since the 1950's, Christmas Count data accumlated since 1960 indicate essentially constant numbers (0.6 birds per party-hour). Based on the AOU Checklist, two subspecies occur, F. s. sparverius and F. s. paulus. The latter is the breeding form.

An interesting record is May 16, 1985 off Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River (MM). The expected dates of wintering are September 1 to April 5; extreme dates away from breeding areas are July 24, 1982 at Irish Bayou (MM) and May 31, 1978 at New Orleans (JR).

MERLIN (Falco columbarius) Uncommon to almost rare winter visitor.

After a low in the 1960s, Merlin numbers have increased significantly; a fall or winter trip to Grand Isle or especially Venice will generally yield one or more of these magnificent, if small, falcons. Beginners often have trouble separating them from the smaller and narrower-winged Kestrel, but to those familiar with them, they are very different birds--very strong fliers and very agressive birds of prey, with relatively broad wings and a distintive flight. During the 1970's and 1980's, a good place to find a Merlin was on the East Campus of UNO.

Expected dates of wintering are October 1 to April 15, while extreme dates of occurrence are Sep. 5, 1984 at New Orleans (NN) and June 1, 1932 at Grand Isle (fide HCO).

PEREGRINE FALCON (Falco peregrinus) Uncommon winter visitor.

The Peregrine is unquestionably the most magnificent of the birds of prey which winter in Louisiana. Peregrines evidently establish wintering territories and can often be found on favorite perches and rooting locations: water towers, radio antennae, high-rise buildings, etc. In Southeast Louisiana, a good place to see this bird is in the vicinity of Fourchon Road, or the nearby beach, an especially on the watertower along the road. Sometimes the one will be found on a communications tower instead, or near the beach. Fortunately Peregrine populations have recovered significantly as a result of the protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act and the removal of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides from the environment, so that seeing one is considerably easier than 20 years ago when any observation was exciting, and three in one day, as in the .Fourchon area on Sep. 30, 1978 (MB,JR), was extraordinary.

Peregrines are most often seen on migration--except for those which hang around all winter. Even with increased numbers, it is unusual to see more than one or two in. One wintered in the New Orleans CBD for several years--and may still--beginning in the winter of 1981-82. An injured Peregrine found in lower Lafourche Parish in the winter of 1984-85 had been banded earlier in the year in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska.

Expected dates are October 1 to April 15; extreme dates are Sep. 7, 1959 at Reserve (RFC,MW) and May 9, 1987 at Grand Isle (MM,DM).

[PRAIRIE FALCON (Falco mexicanus) HYPOTHETICAL]

The only record of this falcon for Se. Louisiana, and perhaps for the state, is of one seen in downtown New Orleans, as close as 40-45', on Sep. 28, 1995 (MM). This record has yet to be examined by the LOS Bird Records Committee, which will have to consider the liklihood of an escape.

ORDER Galliformes

FAMILY Phasianidae QUAIL, PHEASANTS, GROUSE

WILD TURKEY (Melagris gallopavo) Common to resident of deciduous and pine flat woodlands with adjacent open areas.

The secretive habits of the turkey make estimates of its numbers difficult. They are rarely, if ever, encountered south of Lake Pontchartrain, being most common in pinewoods with adjacent fields into which they will venture to feed. Recently turkeys have been most often seen by birders near the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area and at the Mid-South Turf Farms on La. 36 between Abita Springs and St. Tammany. Occasionally, when the Pearl River is in flood, the Honey Island stretch of old U.S. 11 can be a good place to see turkeys. Most areas have been restocked with turkeys by the LWFC.

NORTHERN BOBWHITE (Colinus virginianus) Common to uncommon resident.

The familar Bobwhite quail is somewhat common in open, grassy areas with scrub or brush for cover, and along woodland edges. Observers generally agree that the Bobwhite has declined significantly in numbers during the past twenty years, at least near New Orleans. It is hard to know whether this only reflects habitat loss near the city, or a more general decline, due to peticides, or some other cause.

ORDER Gruiformes

FAMILY Rallidae RAILS, GALLINULES, COOTS

YELLOW RAIL (Coturnicops novaboracensis) Rare and secretive winter resident.

Although there are 13 records of this elusive rail from Southeast Louisiana, there are but three since 1928, certainly a tribute to the intrepid observers of a half-century ago. On the other hand, there may have been significant declines on the wet prarie nesting grounds of this rail which have affected its abundance here. The Yellow Rail is one of the most sought-after "regular" species of Southeast Louisiana--to little avail. In recent years there have been scattered opportunistic records from Southwest Louisiana, and quite recently, records accumulated during rice mowing operations in southwest-central Louisiana, near Crowley. It is not really known whether the occurrence of Yellow Rails in inland tall grass fields is only a feature of migration, with winter taking place on the coast, or whether they perhaps winter somewhat inland as well. Should one encounter mowing operations from mid-October on, or perhaps marsh burning near the coast, he should stop and watch for the possibility of flushing of Yellow Rails. All of this applies, of course, to the Black Rail as well, which is more secretic yet. Of the Yellow Rail, Beyer wrote that "hunting dogs very frequently catch them alive." Specimens of several of the records listed below still survive in the Tulane collection.

The records of Yellow Rail span the period November 5 to April 8. There are no January records, perhaps only reflecting reduced field work during this month. The known records are: Nov. 19, 1865, New Orleans (fide HCO)*; Apr. 4, 1874, New Orleans (fide HCO)*; Mar. 14, 1891, New Orleans (fide HCO)*; Nov. 5, 1892, New Orleans (fide HCO)*; Dec. 26, 1893, Diamond (fide HCO); Dec. 15-25, 1901, Plaquemines Par. (HLB); Feb. 25, 1902, Plaquemines Par. (HLB); Mar. 26, 1926, Grand Isle (ESH)*; Apr. 4, 1926, Grand Isle (ESH)*; Apr. 8, 1926, Grand Isle (ESH)*; Mar. 31, 1928, Grand Isle (ESH)*; Dec. 31, 1977, New Orleans (SAG); Dec. 23, 1978, Laplace (RBH,BC); Nov. 8, 1982, New Orleans (TB).

BLACK RAIL (Laterallus jamaicensis) Rare and secretive winter resident.

There seem to exist few verifiable records of the Black Rail in Southeast Louisiana, including an undated one mention by Lowery (1974), and an individual collected at Grand Isle on Apr. 1, 1937, reported by Oberholser (1938). There is a recent sight record from the spring of 1995 at Grand Isle (fide DW). This paucity of records presumably can be attributed mainly to the near impossibility of flushing the Black Rail. There are several recent sight records from Southwest Louisiana and some from Dauphin Island, Al. There is even a report of extensive nesting in Brazoria Co., TX, though some skepticism may be warranted. Black Rails are probably most common in Spartina patens meadows, which unfortunately offer fabulous cover, or perhaps in saltgrass-salicornia salt marsh (Bent, 1926). Stewart and Robbins (1958) describe the habitat in Maryland as "a mixture of salt-meadow grass (Spartina patens) and spike grass [saltgrass, Distichlis spicata]." In the salicornia-saltgrass habitat, as on Grand Terre Island, for example, they might be much more easily flushed than in S. patens. They are known to sing at night during the breeding season, perhaps after 10 p.m., and are readily attracted to a recorded version of their "song." Audubon, in his Ornithological Biography, wrote "I have received a letter from my friend J. Trudeau, M.D., in which he says that his father shot a considerable number of these rails last winter (1836-37) in the vicinity of New Orleans."

CLAPPER RAIL (Rallus longirostris) Common resident of mostly saline marsh.

Although especially common in salt marsh, where the King Rail rarely if ever occurs, this species will intrude into the coastal brackish marsh, where it may interbreed with Rallus elegans. It may be that all of the "Clapper Rails," including this species and the next, willl be merged. Because Louisiana Clapper Rails have a very rich coloration, one cannot distinguish these species on the basis of the supposed rich color of the King Rail. On the other hand, the Clapper Rail will always have a grayish face. Other characters, such as the less dramatically contrasting white and black of the flanks, are less useful. The calls are more similar than some think, although the King Rail does have a richer, fuller call, contrasing with the sharper kik-kik-kik of the Clapper Rail. Typical habitat is the Spartina alterniflora salt marsh which is so ubiquitous along the coast.

KING RAIL (Rallus elegans) Rather common resident of intermediate and brackish marsh, mostly near the coast.

There is some feeling that perhaps the King Rail has declined in numbers in recent years, by comparison with its cousin, the Clapper Rail, but there are no data to support this conclusion. The Clapper Rail is more likely to found near New Orleans, where the marsh is less saline than nearer the coast. For information on the life histories of the King Rail and the previous species, consult the AOU Monograph by Meanley (1969), which is based in considerable measure on observations made in Louisiana.

VIRGINIA RAIL (Rallus limicola) Uncommon winter resident.

To some extent the Virginia Rail looks like a diminutive version of the King Rail, and often is found in the same brackish habitat. It is far more often heard than seen, and often its vocalizations go unrecognized. One of its called resembles a long, slow, drawn-out King Rail call; another is a harsh ":rare-ick' " , and there are other assorted noises. There is a report of nesting, with young photographed, from below Leevile, on May 25, 1969 (JK,WW). This writer has not seen the photographs. Another report of a juvenal bird also suggested nesting (NLN). The maximum number recorded is 31 on Apr. 10, 1983, near the Pearl River at U.S. 90, during flood conditions. Virginia Rails not infrequently turn up in residential backyards during fall migration.

The expected dates of occurrence are October 1 to April 15; extreme dates are Sep. 4, 1981 at New Orleans (JR--dead) and Apr. 22, 1989 in St. Tammany and Lafourche Parishes (DM,NN,RDP).

SORA (Porzana carolina) Uncommon to fairly common winter visitor.

The Sora is found mostly in fresh to brackish marsh, where it can be quite common. There has been some decline in numbers during the past two decades, but there is disagreement on how great that decline has been. The only quantitative inforemation is that numbers recorded on the New Orleans Christmas Bird Counts have dropped since the late 1960's and early 1970's. In evaluating these data, one has to take into account the destruction of wetlands near the city. Often a vigorous clap will cause Soras to begin calling. There is one "out-of-season" record, June? 28, 1992 at Bayou Sauvage Ref. (NN,RDP).

Expected dates of occurrence are September 10 to April 15, while extreme dates are Aug. 23, 1956 at New Orleans (SAG) and May 6, 1971.

PURPLE GALLINULE (Porphyrula martinica) Uncommon summer resident of mostly fresh marsh.

Although fairly common in the fresh water marshes of Southwestern Louisiana, the Purple Gallinule is often difficult to find in this part of the state. Most of the recent records have come from the Venice area, from the marsh just east of White Kitchen, and from along Paris Rd. in eastern New Orleans. The latter habitat has largely been destroyed. Maximum number recorded is 20 on Paris Rd. on July 25, 1982 (RDP). The Purple Gallinule will only be found on ponds overgrown with aquatic vegetation (water lilies, water hyacinth, etc.). On Lacassine NWR in Southwest Louisiana, nests were mostly in maidencane, with densities of 0.5 individuals per acre.

Expected dates are April 15 to about September 15; extreme dates of occurrence are Apr. 6, 1936 at Grand Isle (AD*) and Oct. 7, 1983 at Chalmette (fide CM).

COMMON MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus) Locally common resident.

The Common Moorhen ("Common Gallinule") primarily inhabits freshwater ponds and marshes, often with cattails, rushes (Juncus, sp.), and reeds. It seems to be comfortable with deeper water than the Purple Gallinule, which is not often seen swimming. It is also apparently more tolerant of salinity than its showier cousin. Good places to find this species are below Venice along the road to Tidewater and on US 11 in the eastern part of the city. Although relatively uncommon, moorhens might be found in the vicinity of Grand Isle, especially on Theriot Rd. at Port Fourchon.

AMERICAN COOT (Fulica americana) Common to abundant winter resident, rare to uncommon summer resident.

The American Coot is present in large numbers from about September 1 to May 1. The frequency of summering makes more definite conclusions hazardous. Breeding should be looked for. American Coots have increased since the mid-1960's on New Orleans Christmas Bird Counts. Upwards of one million coots winter in Louisiana.

FAMILY Gruidae CRANES

SANDHILL CRANE (Grus canadensis) Rare to accidental winter visitor.

There are three records of the Sandhill Crane for Southeast Louisiana, all since 1957. It could be expected occasionally in open, wet fields, most likely north of Lake Pontchartrain, since it winters regularly in small numbers in north-central Louisiana near Cheneyville. It is perhaps a little surprising that it is seen no more frequently in Southwest Louisiana than here, in spite of the numbers which winter from Houston down along the central Texas coast.

There are two records twenty years apart: Oct. 19, 1957 at White Kitchen, St. Tammany Parish (SAG,RF), Nov. 12, 1977 at Reserve (MW), plus records at Covington, presumably of the same or related birds, beginning with Feb. 3..., 1988 (JH,m.ob.), and ....Dec. 26, 1991 (JH--4); etc.........1992.[The most amazing report was of two birds flying along a canal in suburban Metairie on Aug. 30, 1994 (GS)].

WHOOPING CRANE (Grus americana) FORMERLY

The only evidence of the occurrence of the Whooping Crane in Southeast Louisiana