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| Flock of Snow Geese, one of several headed south that morning. |
Hoping to generate a list of what fall and winter species have arrived at one of my less formal eBird locations (in other words, not a NWR or other such location), I settled on Snyder Road. Snyder Rd., one of my favorite spring and summer birding locations, is located in central/west-central La Salle Parish, a few miles west of Jena. The south end of the road meets Louisiana Hwy 8 near the Eden community, and the north end is on Louisiana Hwy 500 between the Trout and Searcy communities. The road, near its southern end, crosses Trout Creek, a medium-sized spring-fed stream on the list of Louisiana Scenic Rivers and Waterways. The woods near Trout Creek are relatively lush and feature plenty of hardwoods, while most of the habitat along Snyder Rd. is pine plantations in one stage or another of development, including young cutovers along the mid-northern part of the road. Snyder Road becomes impassable along certain stretches during and after rainy weather, making it impossible to travel the entire length of the road. I picked this location for this day to make sure I got in a mid-to-late autumn list before some forecasted rainfall events.
Though I most often bird Snyder Rd starting from the south end, this time I decided to enter from the north and spend some time trying for interesting sparrows and other skulkers in the cutovers and thickets.
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| Habitat shot showing cutover around where I started the list that morning. |
With the fairly recent addition of a couple of homes near the road's northern terminous --the road used to be completely uninhabited-- and the lack of any bird vocalizations along that stretch, I didn't start birding until shortly after passing the Placid Oil yard and entering the "cutover district" of the route. The first species to make the list was Snow Goose, the first of several flocks that would be seen and/or heard as flyovers along the road. These first ones may have been the same flock I noted to the south while still driving hwy 500 a little ways before reaching Snyder Rd.
The flocks of blackbirds --from what I could tell, probably all Red-wingeds-- were a wintery touch to the pine-land scenery. Typically scarce in these upland areas during the warmer months, flocks of Red-wings and Common Grackles become a common sight in the area during winter. Small groups of American Goldfinch were heard then seen, and were the first definite appearance of the species that I had so far this fall.
White-throated Sparrow and Northern Cardinal were common enough in the roadside bushes and tangles. While at one stop in the cutover area I had a poor look at a duck fly past pretty low. Unfortunately I was in the truck and the bird passed behind me at some distance in dull light, so i.d.-ing it was tough. Normally, one would only expect Wood Duck in that scenario in such a location, but my best brief glimpse of it as a silhouette against the sky, suggested the rather distinctive profile of a Northern Shoveler. Not a species I'd expected to see looking at home in this upland pine-plantation setting, with only a very small pond and some creeks nearby.
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| Habitat shot from House Wren and Sedge Wren location. |
Eventually, the harsh calls of two House Wrens in a weedy cutover and the pine thicket across the road from it gave me a promising stop to spend more than a few minutes. I hoped to get a good photo of the species, but after drawing them into view with a bit of pishhing and screech-owl imitations, I found that my camera's batteries had finally died.
I could hear the call of a Sedge Wren coming from nearby, but it never came to the spot I was stopped, so I drove a little further along and tried again. Sure enough, a House Wren (possibly one of the same individuals) came to my calling, soon followed by a Sedge Wren. I had only a brief look at the Sedge, but it was a nice clear view. That, though certainly not a rare bird, would prove to be the highlight of the trip. Birding was hit and miss as I made my way into older pine plantation, some of it you could properly call young pine woods. At a favorite spring-and-summer stop of mine where, in that season, I get Swainson's Warbler, Wood Thrush, and the like, I found a decent little mixed flock. From here on, Hermit Thrush would prove to be one of the more ubiquitous species at such stops. Oddly enough, I didn't record any Yellow-rumped Warbler, though they are usually one of the most common small land birds in the area in fall and winter. The species has seemed somewhat less common than expected thus far this fall.
Things were slow by the time I got to the most fertile woods, near Trout Creek, and I only had a few expected species at the stop on the bridge. By then the wind was starting to pick up and I was needing to get back to town. So, I left on hwy 8 with a modest but satisfying list. Some FOS birds and the first list for this location so far this fall/winter season made the short drive more than worth while.
The complete list from the trip is below.
eBird location name: Trout Creek (area of Snyder Road bridge)
11/15/2014
8:02 am to 9:30 am
Traveling count, 3.4 miles
Conditions: 34 to 37 degrees f., cloudy/overcast partly clearing by end, calm at first with breeze developing.
Snow Goose - 260 (possibly more)
duck sp. (Norther Shoveler??) - 1
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| One of the Snow Goose flocks heading south. |
Turkey Vulture - 5
Morning Dove - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Eastern Phoebe - 1
Blue Jay - 4
American Crow - 18
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 1
House Wren - 2
Sedge Wren - 1 (FOS)
Carolina Wren - 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Hermit Thrush - 6
American Robin - 3
Pine Warbler - 1
Eastern Towhee - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 11
Northern Cardinal - 6
Red-winged Blackbird - 100
American Goldfinch - 14 (FOS)
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