Upcoming Events:

 Check out these birding related events:

Summer Bird Study Group By David Booth, Topic: Owls and Such 

Event by David Booth and Gulf Coast Bird Club Calcasieu Parish Library on Ernest Street in Lake Charles Price: Free · Duration: 2 hr (1:00 am to 3:00 pm). Dates are June 11, 18, 25 and July 2 and 9.  Class is limited to 22. Reservations appreciated. First meeting of a five week study on Owls. Will be a self-guided group study with Special Speakers, presentations and research by participants. Will focus on Louisiana Owls. Text book is What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman. Order your copy early through on-line book stores. 

Contact David Booth with any questions at 337-526-0837 or to reserve a spot. Start reading your text as soon as you can.  

LOS Spring Meeting in Hackberry April 26th and 27th 

Migrate down to Cameron Parish for our Spring, 2024 meeting!  We will be based in the town of Hackberry on the west side of the Calcasieu River, about 25 miles from the coast.  Our host hotel will again be the MainStay Hackberry Sportman’s Lodge.  Meetings take place at the "old” Hackberry Community Center.  Meeting registration is $15 online at www.losbird.org.  You don’t want to miss this one – great speakers and field trips. 

St. Bernard’s Bird Festival  May 3-4, 2024 

This year’s St. Bernard Bird Festival will be held on Friday, May 3rd and Saturday, May 4th from 9:00 a.m. till 4 p.m. at the Los Islenos Museum Complex, located at 1357 Bayou Road, St. Bernard, LA 70085. 

Dr. Erik Johnson, Ph. D. from Audubon Louisiana will lead a well-qualified team of birding experts.  They will be capturing neo-tropical migratory birds to study them, record important data, band and release them back into the wild. These birds are known for their beauty and distinct color.  They are a “must see” for every nature lover. 

Glenn Ousset, is the chief guide for the birding tours.  Glenn has had world-wide birding experience.  Krista Adams, an expert on Purple Martins, will be available to answer questions regarding this visitor from the Amazon Valley.  Linda van Aman will again give several walking tours along the Nature Trail, identifying native plants and their importance.  Charlotte Clark, representing Common Ground Relief, will have saplings available.  She will discuss the useful of these trees in our environment.  Several woodcarvers will again display their beautiful work depicting local birds. 

On Friday our presentation will focus on Purple Martins and their habitat in the Amazon Valley.  The presenter, Krista Adams, will reveal her findings during her recent trip to Brazil.  Saturday’s presentation will focus on our smallest and most beautiful bird, the hummingbird.  Our resenter will be Dr Erik Johnson.  He will include all things we need to know about this beautiful bird in our south Louisiana habitat. 

 Beginner's  Bird Walk

The Beginner’s Bird Walk occurs on the Fourth Saturday of the month. We will start at 8 am and bird for about an hour,  everyone is invited.  For inquiry, contact David Booth, 337-526-0837. 

If anyone has any ideas for events, or outings or if you have a special bird at your feeder and want to invite others. Please contact us and we will be happy to work them into the calendar. Thanks.

RESOURCES

Here are a few excellent sites on how to handle a baby bird.

http://www.brooklynfeed.com/2014/06/dont-pick-up-that-baby-bird/

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/i-found-a-baby-bird-what-do-i-do/

https://blog.therainforestsite.greatergood.com/what-to-do-baby-bird-on-ground/

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2012 Club Activities

Gulf Coast Bird Club participated in the SW La  Garden Festival  on Friday March 23 and Saturday March 24.  Here are two pictures from the event.

Two fledgling birders( third graders) visited the club table and between them they were able to name ten birds.                 

Club member Gene is busy trying to help a visitor identify a bird she saw in her yard.

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Pictures from the 2012 Christmas Dinner Meeting held at Gatti's Pizza on Ryan St. in Lake Charles.

Noteworthy past events: 

 35th Anniversary Celebration

Gulf Coast Bird Club Announces 

New Feature: “35 Years Ago” by David Booth 

As I dig through the historical box of GCBC information, I am finding memories of friends, meetings, field trips and birds seen, some forgotten. On March 16, 1983, Charlotte Tucker and I conducted the formative meeting for the club. We had gotten tired of only having the semiannual LOS venue in Cameron and wanted to have something local so we could interact more and pursue more birding opportunities with others. We put out fliers and had a temporary meeting room at the (then) ABC Bank at Lake and Country Club. We showed a film (yes real film, reel to reel) titled “Waterbirds of Louisiana”. There were about 60 folks at that first meeting many of which joined the club and helped make it what it is today. We had temporary officers who set up field trips and monthly meetings, much as we enjoy today. 

Noteworthy events and outings during the 1983 to 1986 span of time included the following: 

•  Charlotte Tucker made a Birding Tour of Australia. 

• The first state record of Willow Flycatcher occurred in Monroe, LA.  

• Several members attend the North American Bluebird Society (NABS) meeting in Jackson, MS.  

• A Hawkwatch was conducted at several locations in Southwest Louisiana by the GCBC members.  

• The original six acres of Peveto Woods was ‘saved’ (purchased) from very cooperative Lake Charles resident Bob Holleyman by the Baton Rouge Audubon Society. Many GCBC members contributed to that purchase. 

• Nancy Newfield gave a fabulous Hummingbird talk which drew our largest crowd in history: 92 people. 

•  Club held a field trip to Aransas, Texas for the Whooping Cranes. 

•  Gene Doland had a big clean out project for the Purple Martin House Tower on the lake front.  The first state record of Inca Dove nesting was documented in Lake Charles. 

• Paul Yakupzack spoke to the group on the new Cameron Prairie NWR. Paul was the Refuge Manager visionary who developed the original idea for Pintail Drive. What we enjoy so much now is owed to Paul and the NWR system. He is retired and happily living in Houma. 

As I look over the information from the 1980’s what stands out the most are the names of those friends who volunteered their time and efforts to help start the GCBC and keep it moving during its formative years. We are now enjoying the fruits of their labors, and others will someday enjoy the fruits of your labors and contributions no matter how great or small. Thank you all.

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Noteworthy past events:

 Southwest Louisiana Garden Conference & EXPO 2018

The GCBC booth at the 2018 Southwest Louisiana Garden Conference and Expo at Burton Coliseum was a resounding success thanks to the hard work of Charlotte Pookistan-Chehotsky. The event took place Friday March 23rd thru Saturday March 24th from 9AM to 5PM each day. Our Thanks go out to Charlotte and all the volunteers that helped out at the booth. We had lots of Garden Festival participants stop by our booth and talk to the volunteers. Charlotte had a children’s center with wonderful activities to promote and encourage young birders.

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Lake Charles Christmas Bird Count Summary by Irvin Louque

On December 30, 2016, 15 birders tallied 108 species during the 7th Lake Charles Christmas Bird Count. The Lake Charles CBC Birders included members of the Gulf Coast Bird Club and certified Southwest Louisiana Master Naturalists. The participants were split into 5 teams to cover the 15 mile diameter circle. The Lake Charles team led the count with 63 species seen, followed by the Intracoastal Park team (61 species), Gulf HWY/Deatonville (59 species), Carlyss/South Sulphur (57 species), and Westlake/North Sulphur (49 species). 

Some of the great observations from the count include 4 White-tailed Kites, huge flocks of blackbirds (estimated 100,000 birds), 1,500 Tree Swallows, 1 Great Horned Owl, 1 Crested Caracara, 1 Peregrine Falcon, and flock of 20 Ruddy Ducks. The Lake Charles CBC is one of many Christmas Bird Count circles in Southwest Louisiana. 

Last year we recorded 108 species including Painted Bunting, Great Kiskadee, and Vermilion Flycatcher. 

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Pictures from Arbor Day at Tuten Park   March 12, 2016