Date: 10/4/25 12:31 pm From: Paul Conover via groups.io <zoiseaux...> Subject: Re: [labird] Listing Groups
Mac, Labird,
Dusky-capped is my last flycatcher domino, I think. I'm surprised
it hasn't turned up more than once, but it might be a domino that never
falls.
I'm really hoping the Plaquemines Cassin's returns this winter
and that you get it. Maybe you can find a Dusky-capped in the great
flycatcher wormhole of Diamond while you're at it and drive the
flycatcher Golden Spike.
PEC
On 10/4/2025 1:23 PM, Mac Myers wrote:
> Paul, not quite on the flycatchers. True enough on my nemesis Cassin's
> Kingbird. But I did not see the Dusky-capped. Curt Sorrells and I
> joined Terry Davis to look for it, and heard it several times but
> could never see it.
>
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> On Sat, Oct 4, 2025 at 10:13 AM Paul Conover via groups.io
> <http://groups.io> <zoiseaux...> wrote:
>
> Mac, Labird,
>
> True on the Saw-whet and the Eider, although the Grand Terre Eider was
> seen by quite a few. I'm so far away from a BINGO on the owls that
> many
> seem impossible for me.
>
> If I'm not mistaken, you're a Cassin's Kingbird away from seeing
> all the
> flycatchers. That would be an amazing feat.
>
>
> PEC
>
> Lafayette
>
>
> On 10/4/2025 9:41 AM, Mac Myers wrote:
> > For owls, I'd add Northern Saw-whet in the tough category, but maybe
> > someday somebody will figure out a location where nocturnal
> taping and
> > netting can be at least occasionally successful. Also, in ducks,
> King
> > Eider is had by several, but that's a tough one to expect or hope to
> > get. As for grebes, I doubt that Lowery had Red-necked and Western.
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> > On Fri, Oct 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM Paul Conover via groups.io
> <http://groups.io> > > <http://groups.io> <zoiseaux...> wrote:
> >
> > Labird,
> >
> > In the days when field guides took eternities between
> > editions and
> > birders tended to carry their battered copies of Peterson or the
> > Golden
> > Guide to the edge of doom, it used to be a thrill when I could
> > check off
> > every species portrayed on a page, all the buntings or
> woodpeckers or
> > whatever. I found over the years that I wasn't unique in
> celebrating
> > these small accomplishments, and when I'd compare notes with
> other
> > birders, it was interesting to see whether the blanks on our
> pages
> > were
> > misses in common or just personal nemeses.
> >
> > Nowadays I tend to apply that exercise to groups of
> birds I've
> > seen
> > in Louisiana. Typically there's a species or two in each
> group that I
> > realize have kept most/all Louisiana birders from running
> the table on
> > certain groups. In some cases, it's pretty likely that no
> one will
> > ever
> > be able to complete a group list.
> >
> > Here's a list of groups (fairly arbitrarily grouped in some
> > cases) and my best guess of whether anyone has seen them
> all. Some
> > smaller groupings (swans, jaegers, etc.) I omitted, and I
> also removed
> > extinct or probably extinct species. I'll leave names of
> birders out.
> >
> > Geese: Several birders have seen them all, with the limiting
> species
> > being Brant.
> >
> > Ducks: No one (Origin Hypothetical Baikal Teal is the catch).
> >
> > Grebes: No current birders. Least Grebe! Maybe Lowery had
> them all, if
> > he had Red-necked.
> >
> > Doves and Pigeons: Only those who have seen Band-tailed, the
> only
> > hard one.
> >
> > Anis and Cuckoos: No one (Smooth-billed Ani). Mangrove
> Cuckoo next
> > hardest.
> >
> > Nightjars: Several birders who saw/heard the sole Antillean
> Nighthawk
> > record.
> >
> > Hummingbirds: Maybe one; the speed bump is Lucifer Hummingbird.
> >
> > Rails: Many
> >
> > Shorebirds: Probably; toughest is Siberian Sand-plover, and
> > Black-tailed
> > Godwit also narrows the field.
> >
> > Gulls: No one. Black-headed, Heermann's, and Western make it
> > tough, and
> > Kelp might be hard to get again.
> >
> > Terns: Several birders
> >
> > Loons: Some; not sure how many.
> >
> > Shearwaters: No one; Manx and Sooty are the limiters, and
> Cory's and
> > Scopoli's are probably still only unofficially on lists.
> >
> > Sulids: A few; Red-footed is the hard one.
> >
> > Herons: Many (even if Great White Heron is included).
> >
> > Hawks: No one if Goshawk is included; very few otherwise
> because of
> > Zone-tailed Hawk.
> >
> > Owls: No one, I think. Snowy (did anyone chase it?) and
> Flammulated
> > would be a tough pair.
> >
> > Woodpeckers: No one. No one has all three of Williamson's and
> > Red-naped
> > sapsuckers, and Ladder-backed.
> >
> > Falcons: A few--Those who have seen Prairie Falcon.
> >
> > Flycatchers: None. Many tough ones.
> >
> > Vireos: No one; Plumbeous, Cassin's.
> >
> > Corvids: One birder. Clark's Nutcracker and Chihuahuan Raven the
> > limiting species.
> >
> > Swallows: One birder.
> >
> > Wrens: Many
> >
> > Mimids: Many thanks to stakeout Curve-billed.
> >
> > Thrushes: Probably several. Varied and Townsend's Solitaire the
> > hard pair.
> >
> > Longspurs: Several, I think.
> >
> > Sparrows: No one; Tree Sparrow, Baird's, Brewer's...
> >
> > Orioles: Many
> >
> > Blackbirds: Many
> >
> > Warblers: Probably none. Virginia's and Hermit, followed by
> several
> > other tough ones that were however more widely viewed.
> >
> > Tanagers: Many
> >
> > Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings: None. Varied Bunting, Blue
> Bunting,
> > Pyrrhuloxia...
> >
> >
> > Does anyone see any errors or omissions here?
> >
> > Paul Conover
> >
> > Lafayette
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
