Catahoula NWR HQ Unit 10/31/14

Cowpen Bayou viewed from the refuge loop

Halloween 2014 dawned nice and chilly and I was ready to do some birding. Before leaving my home in Jena I had already heard my FOS Hermit Thrush, which seemed a promising sign. Upon arriving at the refuge there didn't seem to be much bird activity. Some, but the one mile section of road between the entrance and Duck Lake gave only a scattering of woodland birds. While at my usual stand-around area at the north end of the lake things began to pick up. Dowithers, most

Long-billed Dowitchers foraging, north end of Duck Lake

identified as the expected Long-billed Dowitchers, were finally present in good numbers. A few Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs were of course present as well, along with a small number of Least Sandpipers. The best shorebirds of the day were a distance flock of American Avocets. This species is regular here on the refuge during the fall, but not always so constant as dowitchers or yellowlegs. A few of the avocets broke off from the main flock and flew closer to my position where I was able to get a few photos.
   Also, there were just a few waders at the north end of the lake, but they included a Tricolored Heron. Finally got a definitive look at a Savannah Sparrow and had unmistakable call notes from some of its comrades hidden in the grass.

A House Wren pauses long enough to have its picture taken.

Song Sparrow (FOS), Swamp Sparrow (FOS), House Wren (FOS), and Common Yellowthroat were among the other skulkers in the grass along the edge of the lake. The number and variety of sparrow species and other birds that use weedy areas in the winter is greatly diminished from what it used to be at this spot by the fact that the management has seen fit to mow the roadsides here regularly. This has destroyed a wonderful little patch of habitat that used to add a little more refuge for a little more wildlife here in this National Wildlife Refuge. The margins that remain that are too close to the water and too steep to be mowed still support some of these birds, but the amount of cover and food is greatly diminished from what it was a few years ago when the road sides were only mowed perhaps once or twice a year and not right at the end of the growing season.

Fall colors reflected on Cowpen Bayou

   I continued west and then southerly along the part of the loop that parallels Cowpen Bayou. Woodland mixed flocks were in evidence and I stopped a number of times when I thought I heard signs of them and was treated to many Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Golden-crowned(FOS) and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, etc.

juvenile American Alligator near Duck Lake

  














   Continuing around the loop I had Wood Ducks and Red-tailed Hawk at some of the backwater ditch/slough type areas --"the three big culverts"-- where the south and southeast side of Duck Lake comes close to the road. In the most northerly one I had the only good look at a non-avian species of wildlife that day: a young juvenile American Alligator. It seemed a chilly day for the little reptile to be out, but not too cold obviously. Also, three Tree Swallows were spotted there, winging their way north towards the lake which is visible nearby through a gap in the trees along a channel. There were two Blue-gray Gnatchatchers calling just past this area, before the mature woods close in. They are a regularly detected bird species in the area south of Duck Lake during the winter, but rarely on the north area of the refuge loop. It seems like the dividing line between where you can expect to find some wintering and where they are almost strictly a summer resident runs right across the HQ unit of the refuge. What a difference a couple of miles can make.

juvenile American Alligator near Duck Lake

   Woodland bird activity was hit and miss as I continued northward through more of the big woods. I had only a few Yellow-rumped Warblers this trip, so this typically abundant species stills seems unusually scarce so far this fall, at least in my experience. A few White-throated Sparrows (FOS for this location) and a Hermit Thrush (FOS for this location) had also been recorded on this trip. I left the refuge with 2 hours and 31 minutes of good birding for the day and a sense that the winter avifauna was finally arriving in force.
   The cold front that was moving this way would make my trip to a very different location on the following morning seem downright wintery. 34 degrees at the start, some really nice FOS species, and more really added to the feeling that the winter birding season is well and truly upon us. That is covered in the next blog post.
   But first, the complete species list from this trip.

ebird location name: "Catahoula NWR--Headquarters Unit"

Parish: La Salle

10/31/2014

7:25 am to 9:56 am

Traveling count: 9.1 miles

Conditions: 46 to 60 degrees f., clear, calm to light wind

Wood Duck - 10
Northern Shoveler - 7
duck sp. - 100

Double-crested Cormorant - 5
comorant sp. - 1
American White Pelican - 3

Great Blue Heron near Duck Lake

Great Blue Heron - 9
Great Egret - 3
Tricolored Heron - 1
White Ibis - 4

Turkey Vulture - 3
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Red-tailed Hawk - 1



American Avocet - 45


American Avocets, Duck Lake

Killdeer - 6
Greater Yellowlegs - 3
Lesser Yellowlegs - 3
Least Sandpiper - 3
Long-billed Dowitcher - 110
dowitcher sp. - 70
shorebird sp. - 47

Belted Kingfisher - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 6
Pileated Woodpecker - 4

Eastern Phoebe - 12

Blue Jay - 4
American Crow - 15

Tree Swallow - 3

Carolina Chickadee - 11
Tufted Titmouse - 4

House Wren - 3 (FOS)
Carolina Wren - 8

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 4 (FOS) I would get FOS for my yard when I arrive back home and stepped out of the truck.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5

Hermit Thrush - 1 (FOS for location)

Common Yellowthroat - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 8 (FOS for location)

Savannah Sparrow - 3 (FOS for location)
Song Sparrow - 5 (FOS)
Swamp Sparrow - 3 (FOS)
White-throated Sparrow - 8 (FOS for location)

Northern Cardinal - 13

Red-winged Blackbird - 17
Eastern Meadowlark - 2
Common Grackle - 3

West side of refuge loop.