Lots of Spring Migrants on Catahoula NWR, 4/19/15

male Painted Bunting amid muscadine vines,
 Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Overnight, in the predawn a.m., there were some short but strong thunderstorms that came through La Salle Parish. These, perhaps, helped to persuade some migrants to land and contributed to the good variety of neotropic song birds (many of them personal overall FOS or FOS for the location/region of the state) that filled the woods when morning came.

Soggy at sunrise,
 area near entrance to the refuge

The Swainson's Warbler was singing from the woods just beyond the fence.

  I arrived at the Headquarters Unit of Catahoula NWR shortly before seven a.m. and one of the first sounds to greet me after stopping inside the entrance gate was the sweet song of a Swainson's Warbler. For various reasons I have a special fondness for SWWA and for the past few years it has been a species that I look forward to with special interest come spring. If not for the recent rainfall events likely making Snyder Road a bit tricky, I'd probably have gone to that location instead of the refuge that morning specifically to check for Swainson's at their traditional territories.


male Indigo Bunting, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Soon Black-and-white Warblers and Tennessee Warblers were making their presence known, as well as the much awaited Indigo and Painted Buntings. These two bunting species were a common sight and sound during the rest of this trip and will be a staple of any trip to the refuge from now until they depart in the autumn.

   Rather than heading for the north end of Duck Lake first, as I usually would, I continued south at the fork past the HQ buildings area and started scanning the trees in that stretch or road immediately south of the fork. For whatever reason, the first 1/3 of a mile or so of this road is always the most reliable place to find peak migration season warblers and some other neotrops. It proved its worth again today, bringing in more Black-and-whites and Tennessees as well as several Black-throated Green Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, a Yellow Warbler, and a pair of Baltimore Orioles.


male Baltimore Oriole, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

 I thought I heard two or three of the 'squeaky sneaker' calls of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at one point, but was not able to confirm this. I also started getting flycatchers -- Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Great Crested Flycatcher, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Further south, into the woods, I added Acadian Flycatcher and Summer Tanager and continued to get Red-eyed Vireo and other woodland birds. No Kentucky Warblers yet at the traditional locations and no Hooded Warblers, which are occasionally found there.
   I'm making a point this spring to begin learning to correctly identify Louisiana wildflowers and to learn more of the natural history of those already familiar to me. As of now, I'm still quite ignorant in many respects, but its proving to be a fascinating subject. I'll be going back and editing incorrect and incomplete information in these posts as I learn. Right now I'm in the beginning phase, so bear with me! : )

Erigeron species? (Daisy sp., Fleabane) or is it Anthemis cotula (Mayweed)?

Vetch (Vicia villosa)

   Turning around, I retraced my route to the fork and took the north leg of the refuge loop to do my traditional stand-around at the north end of Duck Lake. Along the way I had a singing Worm-eating Warbler near a group of chickadees and titmice on the north side of the loop. This bird, though a fairly common breeder in the region, would have been just passing through. They prefer moist, shady, areas in upland woods, rather than bottomland forests, for their breeding territories.

Spider Lilies (Hymenocallis liriosme) grow in wet areas on the refuge, 
especially along woodland roads with ditches.
 

   The water is still seasonably high but dropping (40.9' on the marker at north end of Duck Lake). A pair of Tree Swallows and a few Barn Swallows were swooping about over the lake. Its possible that the Tree Swallows will nest in one of the dead snags out in the water. In the distance, to the east, lots of Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures could be seen soaring (probably including birds seen feeding on the ground earlier that morning). Among them were some definite Buteo species (a genus of medium-to-large hawks), but at the great distance it was too difficult for me personally to make the call on which species they were. I noticed a smaller raptor with a long/narrower tail chasing and harassing one of the large hawks. I was wishy-washy on whether it could be a Mississippi Kite or an accipiter species (a genus of small-to-medium sized hawks). Remember, the bird was a long way away! A little later I noted a bird, possibly the same individual, who was a little bit closer and had more obviously pointed wings who's profile strongly suggested Miss. Kite.

north end of Duck Lake

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), roadside at north end of Duck Lake.
At this location I heard the sounds of young mice or young rats
 (Hispid Cotton Rat? Fulvous Harvest Mouse?) in the grass and saw quick
movement from an adult animal, but was unable to see the presumed nest.

   A few Savannah Sparrows are still present in the grassy area along the road/levee at the end of the lake and a small group of Cedar Waxwings flew over and White-throated Sparrows were seen at several spots during the trip. Vestiges of the refuge's winter avifauna. The highlight of the winter birds was the single male Canvasback seen in the lake. A small and ever-shrinking flock of this species has been lingering here over the past few weeks, and this week I only saw the one.


male Canvasback caught in the act of taking a dive,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Dickcissels near Duck Lake

   I turned around at Cowpen Bayou, having observed two Lesser Yellowlegs along the way. No Yellow-throated Warblers heard at the bayou, but a few of the more common Prothontary Warblers and Northern Parulas were encountered there and elsewhere along my route. Driving back towards the lake I noted two interesting birds fly up from the roadside wildflowers and land in a small tree. The two became three and turned out to be FOS Dickcissels. I had heard what I thought was one earlier and would hear another a little later, but this was confirmation.

male Dickcissel in his distinctive plumage

These striking finch-like birds are locally common breeders in undisturbed weedy fields and similar habitats in the area. The birds I saw may have been some of the first to arrive in the area but just passing through, perhaps to nearby Willow Lake Unit where they are regular breeders.

Dickcissels, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Golden Groundsel (Packera obovata) are common,
growing in wet areas, sometimes
alongside the Spider Lilies.

   I left the refuge (the Swainson's Warbler was still singing, though not as frequently) and headed west/north on Hwy 84. At the bridge over Old River I noticed four Mallards in the middle of the river. They looked wild enough, though whether they were wild birds or strays from some nearby house or campground I can't say. Cliff Swallows, which nest in a colony under the bridge, were swooping about here and there.
   All in all, I count this an excellent morning of birding. It is always a treat to find numerous new arrivals on one day and really feel the seasonal shift as evidenced by what birds are now present as well as other aspects of the flora and fauna. The woods are green, wildflowers are blooming everywhere, and the reptiles and amphibians are active (Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, Southern Leopard Frog, American Bullfrog, Snapping Turtle, turtle species (probably Pond Slider)).
   A complete list of the bird species encountered, with additional photos, is below.
  

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Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

4/19/2015

6:53 am to 10:10 am

Conditions: 63 to 71 degrees f., varying mix of cloud and sun, near calm becoming breezy.

2.5 miles by vehicle with numerous stops and stand-around periods

64 species plus one other taxa

Wood Duck - 4
Blue-winged Teal - 1
Canvasback - 1

Canvasback (male)

Pied-billed Grebe - 1

Double-crested Cormorant - 2
Anhinga - 2

Great Blue Heron - 4
Great Egrte - 4
Little Blue Heron - 4

Black Vulture - 24
Turkey Vulture - 10

Black Vultures feeding on carrion (hog? deer?)

Mississippi Kite - 1
buteo sp. - 4

American Coot - 1

Lesser Yellowlegs

 

Lesser Yellowlegs - 2

Mourning Dove - 6

Eastern Screech-Owl - 1 Calling north of Duck Lake

Chimney Swift - 1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2

Lesser Yellowlegs

Belted Kingfisher (male)

Belted Kingfisher - 1 male

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 4
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Hairy Woodpecker - 1 male
Pileated Woodpecker - 1

Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 1
Great Crested Flycatcher - 5

Hairy Woodpecker (male)

White-eyed Vireo - 6
Red-eyed Vireo - 9

White-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 8

Tree Swallow - 2
Barn Swallow - 3

Carolina Chickadee - 6
Tufted Titmouse - 8

Carolina Wren - 6

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 4

Gray Catbird - 3
Northern Mockingbird - 1

Cedar Waxwing - 14

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 3
Prothonotary Warbler - 3
Swainson's Warbler - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 6

Tennessee Warbler (male)

Northern Parula (female)

Common Yellowthroat - 1
Northern Parula - 3
Yellow Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2
Black-throated Green Warbler - 4
Yellow-breasted Chat - 4

Yellow-rumped Warbler (male)

Indigo Bunting (male)

Savannah Sparrow - 2
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 8

Summer Tanager - 4
Northern Cardinal - 13

Painted Bunting (male)

Indigo Bunting - 10


Painted Bunting - 11
Dickcissel - 3

Dickcissels (male)

Red-winged Blackbird

 

Red-winged Blackbird - 5
Common Grackle - 4
Brown-headed Cowbird - 13
Orchard Oriole - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 2

American Goldfinch - x (heard as flyover)

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