Birding the Trout and Goodpine communities in La Salle Parish

  

European Starlings with a bit of American flair.

   Wanting to get out and do a little birding but not in the same old spots, I decided that I'd create a new eBird location and do the first of what I hope will be many lists for it. I had been wanting to count the growing little colony of Eurasian Collared-Doves (first located in summer 2011) in the communities of Trout and Goodpine (known as Trout-Goodpine) a couple of miles west of Jena. So, I decided to make that area my morning's birding destination (12/7/14).
   Before leaving my home in Jena, I put out the daily birdseed and while outside noticed at least one flyover Pine Siskin (FOS) calling and seen in silhouette. In fact, birds in general seemed to be pretty active on this chilly, gray, winter-looking morning, so I felt good about the birding I was about to do.

Habitat shot,
area around Sparrow St and Webster Cemetery Rd.

   I birded driving along the Hwy 84 corridor through much of the Goodpine and Trout area and took several side trips. Mostly, the places I birded I had already gotten used to birding during the Louisiana Bird Atlas, as part of the Jena West quad. However, I hadn't birded in the Trout-Goodpine area in a while. The habitat is a mish-mash of residential, business/industrial, rural, and wooded. This is an unincorporated area of houses, pastures and hayfields, some businesses and such places as a lumberyard, school, and hospital, as well some woodlots and thickets and a large pond (Mill Pond, an old impoundment on the upper Trout Creek). I ventured a little into the pine plantation type wooded areas outside of the populated parts. Here's some of the (relative) highlights and a general summary of the area's "birdy-ness". Also, a complete list of species will follow.
   One of the tricky things about birding in somewhat populated areas is to avoid lingering around or looking toward homes or other private settings, or indeed avoiding being in the way of other drivers, and just generally not make oneself a nuisance. I want to stress that its important to remember that not everyone's a birdwatcher, and so taking the people factor into account is always important. Also, avoid any activity that might be a traffic violation. Find safe places to park.
   Chipping Sparrows were likely much more numerous than the number recorded suggests, but were mostly just heard. Presumably where one or two are heard from the road, there are more present but not calling or simply not heard. The same that can be said for the Chippers that morning could also be applied to the American Goldfinches (some seen, some only heard) and possibly the one or two Pine Siskins heard nearby but not seen.
   I managed an out-of-the-way spot at the place where Webster Cemetery Rd. meets Sparrow Street. The pine thicket/young pine woods with some larger deciduous trees and weedy briar patch areas there gave me a chance to stop and pick up such species as Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, and Brown Creeper.

Northern Cardinal (male),
junction of Sparrow St and Webster Cemetery Rd.

Habitat shot,
looking south toward Mill Pond

   Dark-eyed Junco flew up from the road in a couple of spots. While pulled over at the Trout Creek Baptist Church, adjacent to Mill Pond, I noticed a number of small birds sometimes making themselves visible in the grassy roadside. Those that I was able to get a good look at showed themselves to be American Goldfinch. Passing vehicles stirred them up at one point, including some larger number on the far side of the highway and a little ways down from me. Those I couldn't see once they landed in nearby trees. These kinds of flocks of Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Warbler, and American Goldfinches and sometimes other finches are often found along roadsides and in parking areas during the winter months and are sometimes startled into flight by passing traffic.
   A Great Blue Heron was spotted in the Mill Pond in the larger, main body of the pond, south of the Hwy 84 bridge. A group of at least eight Wood Ducks, a mix of male and female, were seen swimming in the narrower part of the pond, north of the bridge.

Eurasian Collared-Dove,
most of the individuals of the first group.

Eurasian Collared-Doves,
part of the first group

   The first group of Eurasian Collared-Doves seen were where I had last spotted them while driving past some weeks ago --the power lines and utility poles across highway 84 from the veterinary clinic and art gallery building. I parked there across from them and tallied 23 birds. Always a treat to watch, I took a few minutes to observe them and snap a lot of photos.
While there, I could see groups of what looked to be Red-winged Blackbirds passing in the background. Some came closer and showed to be Red-wings.

Eurasian Collared-Doves buffetted by a gust of wind.

   Down past there, in the trees of the residential blocks across from the Trout post office / between the split of highways 84 and 772, there were large numbers of American Crows in the trees and
swirling around in groups in the air under the sheet of gray cloud. A very evocative, wintery scene.

European Starlings, 
Hwy 84 in Trout

   Pulling in at the tiny church across from the body shop a little ways down hwy 84, I noticed a fun photo op. European Starlings were perched on the handle bars and seat of a star-spangled motorcycle displayed atop a sign pole on the roadside in front of the body shop. I snapped a few decent photos of these charismatic birds sitting cockily atop their sweet ride. haha.
   I ended the birding at one of the other spots where I expected to find some of the Eurasian Collared-Doves, the area around the Jena Band of Choctaws tribal center and the south end of McClendon Lane. I spotted three of the doves here. This was also the spot where I got the day's Brown-headed Nuthatches, giving their distinctive calls from the pines nearby.

Eurasian Collared-Dove
One of the three from the second group.

   Its worth noting some common expected species went undetected. Some examples would be Eastern Phoebe, Northern Flicker, Mourning Dove, and American Robin. Some others that I had hoped or half-expected to find that didn't show include American Kestrel, Loggerhead Shrike, more variety of blackbird species/large ground-feeding flocks of blackbirds (crossed fingers for Rusty Blackbird).
   One doesn't have to head out to an especially "birdy" location or go seeking a hard-to-find species to have a satisfying and constructive time birding. Sometimes these modest, close-to-home areas can fulfill that urge we have to get outside and find some birds. I hope to continue making regular lists for this location and to add a few more new personal eBird locations in familiar areas that, until now, have only been birded as part of some larger project (i.e. Louisiana Bird Atlas, Christmas Bird Count, etc.).
The list of birds for this trip is below...
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Eurasian Collared-Doves

eBird location name: Trout-Goodpine area

Parish: La Salle

12/7/2014

7:38 am to 8:45 am

Protocol: Traveling, 3.9 miles

Conditions: 45 to 47 degrees f., overcast, breezy.

Eurasian Collared-Doves

Wood Duck - 8

Great Blue Heron - 1

Turkey Vulture - 7

Eurasian Collared-Dove - 26

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2

Downy Woodpecker - 1

American Crows

Blue Jay - 5

American Crow - 100

Carolina Chickadee - 7

Tufted Titmouse - 2

Brown-headed Nuthatch - 2

Carolina Wren - 2

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2

Eastern Bluebird - 5

Northern Mockingbird - 5



European Starlings

European Starling - 27

Pine Warbler - 3

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 15

Eastern Towhee - 2

Chipping Sparrow - 10

Song Sparrow - 2

White-throated Sparrow - 8

Dark-eyed Junco - 5

Northern Cardinal - 7

Red-winged Blackbird - 50

Pine Siskin - 2

American Goldfinch - 10

House Sparrow - 4

European Starling

Best and happy birding!
Jonathan Clark

Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 12/3/14

Eastern Phoebe,
woods along refuge loop.

Golden-crowned Kinglet,
part of a mixed flock along refuge loop

   After not making a trip to the refuge for the final week of November, I was eager to get out there and see what the first week of December had in store. Woodland bird activity was up from previous trips, and I was almost immediately greeted by the passerine welcome wagon when I entered the gate. There were a number of Yellow-rumped Warblers, among others, in the trees along the road by the headquarters area. This was the first trip this season where Yellow-rumped numbers would be as high as expected. After seeing seemingly few during the preceding weeks, it was good to have our "butter-butts" back as the ubiquitous woodland songbird of the season.
   Small mixed flocks and individual passerines were heard and seen all along the road to the north end of Duck Lake. These included Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Phoebe, cardinals, titmice and chickadees, and Carolina Wren.

Approach to Duck Lake.

A flock of Northern Pintail in flight.

   Duck numbers at Duck Lake appeared to be at or near their highest thus far this season. Though most were in very distant groups out on the lake, smaller groups close shore at the north end afforded some good looks at several species. Among the nearer ducks, Mallard seemed the clear winner. Most of the ducks out on the lake that I could see clearly enough to id were also Mallard. However, several sizable groups of Northern Pintail flew over after having risen from farther out on the lake, making it reasonable to suspect that that species made up a significant portion of the masses of ducks in the distance.


A pair of Canvasbacks preening
 (female on left, male on right).

Though there were some flyover Ring-necked Duck, I was still unable to id large groups on the water, though this species will be one of the, or likely the most numerous duck species at this location a little later into the winter. The Ruddy Duck that has been noted at the north end of the lake in previous weeks continues to be present.
   Raptors would be fairly well represented at the north end of the lake with Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, and at least three Bald Eagles present. The Red-tailed was a boldly marked individual first spotted perched in the tree that sports the water level marker in the north end of the lake. The Sharp-shinned was eventually noticed perched in the trees on the far side of the shallow water north of the road.

Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk

One Red-shouldered was seen, the other heard. The Bald Eagles all stayed very far away this time, perched in the cypress trees well out where the lake bends southwestward. They were best identified by their great size and recognizable silhouette, especially when the profile of the head and bill could be seen. The hazy light made it tough to be absolutely positive of age (white-headed and white-tailed adult vs messy brown youngsters) except when one individual took flight. This bird was not an adult, showing copious amounts of whitish mixed into the brown plumage of the underparts and wings and the subtly different shape of the wings. This bird seemed to be making repeated passes at some duck/ducks in the water, but I couldn't make out the intended prey clearly at the great distance.
   Of note was the near lack of shorebirds at the north end of the lake on this week's trip. Perhaps the

Immature Bald Eagle in Bald Cypress,
 Duck Lake

later date and the slightly higher water had pushed the avocets and dowitchers (on the most recent trip before that, 11/18/14, Long-billed Dowitcher was already down from around 100 to just one counted) out of the location, or perhaps they were just concentrated in the shallower end of the lake down to the southwest. Killdeer and Greater Yellowlegs were the only shorebird species noted.
   Passerines noted around the lake included Savannah and Song Sparrow and Eastern Phoebe. I potentially had a single call note from a Field Sparrow at the northeast corner of the lake, where I had had the species on a date in November, but I couldn't confirm this. Flyover passerines included American Robin, American Pipit, and American Goldfinch.
   A few Great Blue Herons were present, but oddly there were not Great Egrets. This might well be the first time I have visited this location without seeing a single Great Egret. In fact, the Great Blue Herons were the only wading birds recorded.

Eastern Phoebe, woods along refuge loop.

Eastern Phoebe

   Driving back toward the entrance I found myself back among the mixed flocks. I was cautious in recording the birds as I wanted to avoid re-counting individuals heard or seen on the drive in, so I may have actually encountered more individuals of some species that what the numbers show. I was lucky to get an especially cooperative Eastern Phoebe who spent some time perched on a vine just outside the passenger side window where I could easily photograph it.
   I left the refuge with a list of 45 species and 3 other taxa. It was notable that ducks were present in greater numbers now and the small sylvan passerines seemed either more numerous or more active (more active because of slightly warmer conditions?). Other than a few fish splashes on the water, the only non-avian wildlife encountered was Eastern Fox Squirrel.
The complete list of bird species from this trip is below.

Red-tailed Hawk at north end of Duck Lake

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eBird location name: Catahoula NWR -- Headquarters Unit

Parish: La Salle

12/3/2014

7:35 am to 9:36 am

Protocol: Traveling, 1.3 miles.

Conditions: 44 to 50 degrees f., overcast becoming mix of cloud and sun, calm to light breeze. Water level marker at north end of Duck Lake (hard to read) showed a little over 34 feet (just slightly up from previous trip).

Wood Ducks

Ruddy Duck

Snow Goose - 92
Wood Duck - 7
Gadwall - 32
American Wigeon - 5
Mallard - 325
Northern Shoveler - 7
Northern Pintail - 268
Green-winged Teal - 10
Canvasback - 2
Ring-necked Duck - 32
Ruddy Duck - 1
duck sp. - 4000

Great Blue Heron - 3

Great Blue Heron

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1

Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult)

Bald Eagle - 3
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Killdeer - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 1

Mourning Dove - 11

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 5
Northern Flicker - 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (male)

                                                                 

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe - 5

Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 4
crow sp. - 47




Carolina Chickadee - 7
Tufted Titmouse - 4

Carolina Wren - 4

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 3 (possibly more)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3

Hermit Thrush - 3
American Robin - 20

Northern Mockingbird - 1

American Pipit - 3

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 20

Chipping Sparrow - 17
Savannah Sparrow - 5
Song Sparrow - 3
White-throated Sparrow - 4

Northern Cardinal - 5

Red-winged Blackbird - 30
Common Grackle - 3
blackbird sp. - 22

American Goldfinch - 25

 

 

Happy Birding!

Jonathan Clark

Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 11/18/14

North end of Duck Lake on a frosty November morning.

Chipping Sparrow seen along south part of refuge loop.

This season's theme of frosty cold mornings continues with this post. I would end up driving the entire 9-mile refuge loop, as I sometimes do, and generating a decent list and a few nice photos to boot.
   There were some woodland passerines to be seen and heard between the entrance and the lake, one mile in. Among them were American Goldfinch, FOS for the location.
   There was decent duck diversity at the north end of Duck Lake where I did my traditional stand-around/walk-around stop. Among them was the continuing Ruddy Duck, hanging out in the very northern edge of the lake as usual. While sifting though a group of Mallards, it was nice to see a few American Wigeon. These handsome ducks - the males decked out in buff, green, and white, the females more subdued but reflecting the same pattern as the male - never seem to be among the more abundant duck species, but they are fairly reliable at this location and always one of my favorites to pick out among the groups of ducks
on the lake.

Mostly Mallards, but a careful scan reveals American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, and Ruddy Duck as well.

Mallards were likely the most abundant species of duck present, though many very distant ducks, especially those in tight rafts, were recorded simply as "duck sp.". There were likely more individuals of most of the documented duck species present among these distant groups, especially Ring-necked Duck, Northern Pintail, and Green-winged Teal. Perhaps other species such as Gadwall were overlooked in the distant groups.

Mallards and American Avocets in north end of Duck Lake

   A small flock of American Avocets, easy to spot in their elegant white-and-black winter plumage, were hanging around the north end of the lake, sometimes flying across the road to the shallow water on the north side of the levee. I never tire of watching their group foraging behavior; heads down, bills being swiped through the water, walking forward as a group, perhaps as a coordinated effort. It seems likely that the group's movements stir up the tiny aquatic organisms that are the avocets' primary food source.
   The entry of American Avocet was flagged by eBird as late for this area. They do stay around to that time and later, but likely aren't recorded in many other locations in the area this late in the season.

American Avocets in flight.

Anhinga against a backdrop of Cowpen Bayou.

   Continuing west to Cowpen Bayou, then south along the west side of the loop, which parallels the east side of the bayou, I kept my ears open for the various calls one hears from typical woodland mixed flocks. I did find some with many of the typical species such as Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Blue-headed Vireo, Brown Creeper, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and woodpeckers such as Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The overall numbers of Yellow-rumped Warbler were still low on this date.
   Whenever taking this part of the loop, I always make a point to drive slowly with one eye regularly checking out the (typically partly obscured) Cowpen Bayou for Anhinga. Though hard to find in this region of the state during the wintery parts of the year, they are reliably found each winter along this stretch of the bayou. I ended up counting two, one posing for a few photos at one of the few places with a clear view from the road.

Anhinga at Cowpen Bayou

   While stopped along this stretch of the loop I first heard then saw a nice large flock of Common Grackle winging their way east. They were coming from the direction of Catahoula Lake, which lay about a mile to my west over the bayou and through the woods. The long string of raucously calling blackbirds took some time to pass the narrow corridor of open sky along the road. I did a rough count as they flowed past like a great undulating ribbon, and came up with approximately 4,600, though I tend to aim for erring on the low side with tricky counts such as this. There must be massive roosts of not only Common Grackles, but also other blackbird species in trees and brush at Catahoula Lake as they are often seen, (sometimes counting over ten thousand) when birding in areas surrounding Catahoula Lake during the winter and can be seen going towards the lake in the late afternoon, and coming from the lake in the morning.

Chipping Sparrow,
one of a flock seen along south part of the refuge loop.

   As I headed up the east side of the loop, taking me more-or-less north toward the refuge entrance, I picked up a flock of Chipping Sparrows, a Pied-billed Grebe, and a very cooperative Red-shouldered Hawk that allowed me to take a number of photos at fairly close range.

Red-shouldered Hawk poses for photos
along south part of refuge loop.

Also a couple of Greater Yellowlegs at the slough by the northern most of what I refer to as "the three big culverts".

Greater Yellowlegs,
one of two seen at northernmost of the "three big culverts".

A glimpse of Duck Lake from the north "big culvert" area.

   Though more often than not these I do not take the entire refuge loop, its always worth the drive when I do. This morning's trip seems to have given us a pretty good sampling of the variety and relative abundance of the species found on the HQ unit at that time.
   A complete list of the species recorded that day is below.
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Ruddy Duck taking a break,
north end of Duck Lake.

eBird location name: Catahoula NWR -- Headquarters Unit

Parish: La Salle

11/18/14

6:49 am to 9:16 am

Protocol: Traveling, 9.2 miles

Conditions: 29 to 36 degrees f., cloudy and mostly cloudy then varying degrees of mixed cloud and sun, calm to light breeze.

Snow Goose (both "white" and "blue" morphs)

Ring-necked Duck (male)

Snow Goose - 130
Wood Duck - 2
American Wigeon - 18
Mallard - 125
Northern Shoveler - 22
Northern Pintail - 27
Green-winged Teal - 20
Ring-necked Duck - 11
Ruddy Duck - 1
duck sp. - 150

Pied-billed Grebe - 1

Pied-billed Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Anhinga - 2
American White Pelican - 14

Great Blue Heron - 8
Great Egret - 6
Snowy Egret - 2
White Ibis - 1

Red-shouldered Hawk

Accipiter sp. - 1
Bald Eagle - 1 (juvenile/immature)
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Greater Yellowlegs

American Avocet - 15
Killdeer - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 2
Long-billed Dowitcher - 1

Mourning Dove - 5

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 7
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 5
Pileated Woodpecker - 1

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (male).

Eastern Phoebe - 13

Blue-headed Vireo - 1

American Crow - 5

Carolina Chickadee - 15
Tufted Titmouse - 6

Brown Creeper - 1

Carolina Wren - 7

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 6

Eastern Bluebird - 1
Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin - 10

American Pipit - 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler ("Myrtle") - 8

Chipping Sparrow - 14
Savannah Sparrow - 5
Song Sparrow - 3
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 5
Dark-eyed Junco - 2

Northern Cardinal - 12

Red-winged Blackbird - 7
Common Grackle - 4600

American Goldfinch - 4

passerine sp. - 50 (Flock of small, apparently sparrow-like passerines seen as silhouettes in flight while driving. Stopped and found Chipping Sparrows nearby. The pass. sp. could have been more Chippers.)

Greater Yellowlegs and its reflection