The dynamics of the plume induced during laser excimer ablation of a BiSrCaCuO target was studied by real time emission spectroscopy with spatial resolution. It is found that the presence of oxygen (7 x 10(-1) mbar) enhances the emission line intensity. Although a decrease in species velocity is observed at large distances from the target surface, no clear evidence of the formation of oxide molecules in the gas phase is found. It is also found that the laser energy density plays a significant role in the ablation process since the ratio of ion to neutral populations increases sharply as the energy density is increased.