Left Behind

It's the season of the Left Behinds on Southwest Louisiana beaches.  By now, just about every bird that spent the winter here should be back home, far from the heat of our harsh summer.  Those that haven't left yet have a hard reckoning ahead of them.  I'd like to respectfully disagree with Tolstoy that all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way; these poor fellows all seem to suffer from similar maladies.  Most of them simply can't fly, or at least, can't fly far enough north to do themselves any good.  

From scoters without flight feathers to Herring Gulls with skeletonized wings, these birds are washed up, washed out, and probably waiting in vain.  I'd say the chances are slim of many of them surviving for long.  

These birds were all found by Mac Myers and me as we surveyed beaches yesterday in Cameron Parish.  Finding beached Black and Surf Scoters and Lesser and Greater Scaup, and bleached Herring Gulls is an annual rite of late spring on these beaches.  While we hoped for a little unexpected variety, seeing 11 scoters and both scaup species was interesting.  

click on me...

Lesser Scaup always outnumber Greater Scaup in south Louisiana, so more Lessers are expected as laggards.  However, a few Greater Scaup usually turn up each late spring.  In the ragged state of most of these birds, I'm not sure I trust all of the field marks we normally use to tell them apart.  

More Black and Surf than White-winged Scoters turn up every winter, so more individuals of the former two species are typically found left behind.

No doubt more surprises (or more surprising species) await lucky finders on the Cameron beaches.  Good luck to those who seek them.  Bring sunscreen and plenty of water.

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

 

David Muth, Mac Myers, Dave Patton, Dan Purrington, Curt Sorrells, Phillip Wallace, and I lucked onto this Ladder-backed Woodpecker, a first for the state, on Saturday 5/14, in western Cameron Parish.

What I've Seen in My Sleep the Past Two Nights

Red-eyed Vireos were abundant to the point of overdose over the weekend in coastal Cameron Parish.  The north wind grounded many migrants, including these vireos.  In single woodlands we had counts of 70 or so Red-eyeds.  Everywhere I looked was a Red-eye.

Gray-cheeked Thrush

This tired Gray-cheeked Thrush spent the entire day of May 14 in a little bare patch in back of the camp where I was staying.  It hopped and scratched, looking for food, and even shared space with the wild rodents who were doing the same.  When I approached, it didn't seem to mind, and even hopped my way.

Normally Gray-cheeked Thrushes are harder than this to get a good look at.  However, normally these birds don't migrate across the Gulf of Mexico into a cold north wind in the middle of May.  This bird was probably pushed to its limit, and upon arriving just needed to rebuild energy.

Cassin's Sparrow

Thanks to Terry Davis for finding this, the second state record of Cassin's Sparrow.  Terry found the first record, as well.
I went up to Bossier City this morning with Dave Patton to see the sparrow.  I was pretty knocked out by allergy pills, but was awake long enough to hear this bird sing and skylark.

Whoso List to List

I had a nice, spirited discussion with a good birding buddy on our way to Holly Beach a while back.  I shared my opinion that hardcore birding competition was something that I find pretty mindless, and that I wouldn't want to see it creeping into Louisiana birding.  My buddy scoffed, pointing out that I keep a list every year, that I keep lists for multiple parishes, and that I recently even designed a type of birding game based on points for calculating the quality (versus quantity) of a birder's year list.  And he was absolutely right; all of that's true. 

Many of us participate in year listing and parish listing games either among friends or, say, when the LOS sponsors such a game.  These reindeer games can be fun, and should be fun.  I recall the epic year-list battle between Charlie Lyon and Mark Swan a few years ago in which both birders racked up record year lists.  I also recall the LOS's great parish listing game that boiled down to a tilt between maestros David Muth and Phillip Wallace.  What I can't remember is who won either contest.  The real fun was watching the battles develop throughout the year.  What made both battles so much fun was that none of the birders involved played dirty pool; there was far more cooperation than competition all around.  Everybody enjoyed seeing the mutual respect between the parties involved.

My listing games are also designed for fun.  My state list is in the 390s.  Think I'll ever catch the all-time mark of 425+?  Not unless Mac Myers stops birding before we all start counting Muscovies.  My Cameron Parish list is at 347.  I take it pretty seriously.  As for the competition, well, I'm not sure who the competition is--I don't have a clue what anyone else's Cameron list is.

I have birding goals: 400 species for LA, 350 for Cameron Parish--and those numbers are my competition.  My yearly goal has always been 300 species. If I get some lagniappe, that's even better.  Saying that my goals are impersonal  may seem hypocritical or like a naive rationalization, but that's the way it is.

Yet Another White Bird

Bill Vermillion and I had this partial albino Stilt Sandpiper near Gueydan on 4/29 during the 2011 Shorebird Blitz.  This bird has a broad collar of white with normal color on the rear part of the body and a normal crown color.

Albinism seems fairly regular in shorebirds, although that may just be because it's possible to see and study thousands of shorebirds in a day.  I've probably seen half a dozen or more partially albino Stilt Sandpipers over the years, with the white usually located on the mantle and/or neck.