October Odds and Ends; 10/30 and 11/11 on Catahoula NWR

   I didn't get much real birding done during October, but noted FOS arrivals when I could. This year's fall migration season has been noteworthy for its slow birding; an observation mentioned by birders from around the state.
   Many species arrived later than usual. To illustrate the point, here are a few personal FOS (first-of-season) observations in La Salle Parish:
*Eastern Phoebe arrived in second week of October, usually FOS is somewhere in late Sept to early Oct.
*White-throated Sparrow FOS was October 21 this year. The usual FOS is during the first two weeks of Oct. Unusually late.
*Ruby-crowned Kinglet FOS on Oct. 22. Again, unusually late FOS; usually shows up by early Oct.
*Yellow-rumped Warbler FOS Oct. 25. Another unusually late FOS; usually present in first week or two of October.
*Yellow-bellied Sapsucker FOS Oct. 27. Once again, quite late for FOS.
   Not catching them immediately is to be expected when not birding every day, but not hearing or seeing these common fall-winter birds until sometimes weeks after they would normally have become a daily occurrence is notable. 

   October 12 was my last observation of the summer's Chimney Swifts.

Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus), Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, La Salle Parish

   Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get out to Catahoula NWR during most of October, but I couldn't let the whole month slip past without a single trip to the refuge. So, I made an afternoon visit to the NWR on October 30. Things were dry, dusty; dead-seeming at first glance. A closer look and listen showed that some life was going on as usual despite the drought.

Tropical Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus oileus), Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

    The most productive bit was a walk down the gated road that leads to the east side of Duck Lake. Flower diversity was low, but the butterflies were out and taking advantage of what was available. Tropical Checkered-Skippers and Common/White Checkered-Skippers were numerous.

Common/White Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis/albescens), Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

Pearl Crescent, Phaon Crescent, Little Yellow, Viceroy, Red Admiral, and Carolina Satyr were also present.

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus), Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

I was very pleased to find at least one (possibly two or three) Least Skipper. Thanks to Craig Marks for verifying this i.d. via photos. The species was a new one for La Salle Parish list.

Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor), Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

An even bigger highlight for me was a lifer Long-tailed Skipper. Though a common species, I had yet to see one of these in my year-and-a-half of butterflying.

a beautiful Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus), Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

a closer look at the Long-tailed Skipper

this moth species (species TBD) was abundant down the walk-in road, especially around the flowers w/ the butterflies

   While down this road I lucked into my FOS Sharp-shinned Hawk, Hermit Thrushes, and Orange-crowned Warbler. The Barred Owls were hootn'-and-hollerin'; it's always fun to hear them interact. Two can be heard in this video:

   After this, I rode around to the north end of Duck Lake. The dust clouds from vehicles on the road made it impractical to get out and bird, but I lingered a while in the truck (mostly with the windows up!) and was rewarded with sightings of four Bald Eagles and my FOS Northern Harrier.

dusty road near north end of Duck Lake (Bald Eagle in Bald Cypress)

   Over all, bird diversity and numbers were low for this point in the season, even for an afternoon trip, and several common/expected species went unrecorded. 
   Other wildlife included American Alligator and Eastern Fox Squirrel. 
   Complete list of birds from this visit is below, followed by account of my Nov. 11 trip to the NWR.

Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, La Salle Parish
10/30/16
3:40 pm to 6:13 pm
Conditions: 83 to 72 degrees f., sunny, calm, dry and dusty.
Protocol: driving about 1.7  miles with a number of stops, walking about 0.3 miles.

Northern Shoveler - 30

Northern Shovelers, Duck Lake

Great Blue Heron - 7
white wader sp. - 3 (distant, could be Snowy Egret or young Little Blue Heron)
Glossy/White-faced Ibis - 17

Turkey Vulture - 5
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Bald Eagle - 4 (2 adult, 2 immature)

Bald Eagle in silhouette, seen through dust cloud

Killdeer - 20
Long-billed/Short-billed Dowitcher - 3
Greater Yellowlegs - 5
shorebird sp. - 20

Barred Owl - 3 (possibly 4)

Belted Kingfisher - 1

Downy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 1

American Kestrel - 1

Eastern Phoebe - 2

American Crow - 12

Carolina Chickadee - 4

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1

Hermit Thrush - 3

Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2

Eastern Towhee - 1

Northern Cardinal - 5

Red-winged Blackbird - 2
      

11/11 dawn over Duck Lake

    The morning of November 11 on Catahoula NWR HQ Unit brought several more belated FOS winter species. With cloudy skies and a chill to the air, it was finally feeling like the fall-winter season. I birded a 1.5 mile stretch of the refuge loop; the north part. Water in Duck Lake was lower still and this provided mudflats and shallows for shorebirds including Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Killdeer, dowitchers, Least Sandpiper, and Greater Yellowlegs.

American Avocets foraging in Duck Lake

Ducks were present in decent numbers, but nothing spectacular. Northern Pintails and FOS Mallards and FOS Ring-necked Ducks were probably the most numerous, though many of the 900 or so ducks seen were far out in the lake or high in flight and were simply recorded as "duck species".

north end of Duck Lake, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Other FOS included American White Pelican, Cedar Waxwing, Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and American Goldfinch.

Bald Eagle and Bald Cypress silhouetted against red dawn sky

   Bald Eagles continued to be present, with two seen on this visit. American Robins were on the move, with two large flyover groups and occasional individuals, all seen/heard as flyovers. It's always nice to hear one of the Eastern Screech-Owls calling.

Bald Eagle, Duck Lake, Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

   Non-avian wildlife included Pond Slider and Eastern Fox Squirrel. So, not much stirring besides the birds.
   Full bird list for his trip is below.

Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, La Salle Parish
11/11/16
5:58 am to 7:58 am
Conditions: 48 to 53 degrees f., calm, mostly cloudy.
Protocol: driving with a number of stops and long stand-around/walk-around period at north end of Duck Lake.

Wood Duck - 15
Mallard - 20
Northern Shoveler - 36
Northern Pintail - 25
Ring-necked Duck - 50
duck sp. - 800

Double-crested Cormorant - 2

American White Pelican - 29

American White Pelicans, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Great Blue Heron - 9
Great Egret - 3
Snowy Egret - 2

Black Vulture - 6
Turkey Vulture - 1
Bald Eagle - 2

Black-necked Stilt - 3
American Avocet - 27

American Avocets, Duck Lake, Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

American Avocet, Duck Lake

Killdeer - 8
Least Sandpiper - 9
dowitcher sp. - 17
Greater Yellowlegs - 3
shorebird sp. - 50; seen in distance, most or all were probably dowitchers

Eastern Screech-Owl - 1

Belted Kingfisher - 1

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

Eastern Phoebe - 8

Blue Jay - 5
American Crow - 13

Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 3

House Wren - 2

House Wren, Catahoula NWR Hq Unit

House Wren, Catahoula NWR

Carolina Wren - 3

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3

Eastern Bluebird - 2
Hermit Thrush - 2
American Robin - 125

Cedar Waxwing - 8

Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 7

Dark-eyed Junco, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 4
Savannah Sparrow - 1
Song Sparrow - 3

Northern Cardinal - 10

Red-winged Blackbird - 2
blackbird sp. - 10

American Goldfinch - 3

Other FOS heard or seen in La Salle Parish that day, but not on the NWR, included Snow Goose and American Pipit. American Goldfinch also seen off-refuge.

*I'd like to mention that I still plan on doing the two big summary posts about observations made on Catahoula NWR this July-September (Bushley Bayou Unit) and August-Sept (HQ and Willow Lake Units). I haven't had much time to focus on the blog in recent weeks, but there's a lot of observations and fun info from the many visits I made to the refuge during those months and I'd hate not to include them on the blog. Good stuff. Those will be up soon. *crosses fingers*
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