It's Getting Better

During rain delays on the Lacassine-Thornwell CBC yesterday, Mike Musumeche and I had a nice discussion about birds that used to be difficult to impossible to get within the past decade or two that are now "gimmes," or pretty close.  We came up with a list that included some of the following birds:

Black-bellied Whistling Duck (taking over)
Ross's Goose
White-tailed Kite
Crested Caracara (how cool is that?)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (probably present the year around)
Eurasian Collared-Dove (from 0 to 60, and then some)
Inca Dove (from rare to a backyard near you)
Calliope Hummingbird
Cave Swallow (taking over)
Clay-colored Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
House Finch

At the same time, it seemed to us that some rare or uncommon birds have also become much more regular.  We tossed a few names around, but never settled on a list.  I've cobbled one together, including the following:

California Gull
Glaucous Gull*
Great Black-backed Gull*
Allen's Hummingbird*
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (not a Review List bird, but not quite a gimme)
Broad-billed Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Say's Phoebe*
Ash-throated Flycatcher (not a Review List bird, but not quite a gimme)
Great Kiskadee*
Bell's Vireo*
Black-whiskered Vireo
Black-headed Grosbeak*
Bullock's Oriole*

All of these birds are still good finds, but if the trends continue, I think it's possible at least some of them (*) will be removed from the Review List.

Different drivers seem to be responsible for different species becoming easier to find here.  Some of these birds are introduced and have invaded Louisiana.  Some are "Texas" birds that are expanding into Louisiana.  Others are birds that are expanding on their breeding grounds.  Whatever the reason for their increase, it's nice to see.

Oh, and by the way, Mike and I didn't find many of these birds on the CBC.  We stunk it up, but seeing a White-tailed Kite flying over the cold rainy fields was a nice sight!