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