Christmas Bird Count

Orange-crowned Warbler, LACA CBC zone 2

   This winter's Catahoula NWR Christmas Bird Count (LACA CBC) was held a bit later than usual, January 3, 2017. Together, my father and I birded zone 2 and zone 5 of the LACA CBC count circle. In addition to the count day birding, I did some scouting in the count circle on 1/1/17 and got a couple of count week (CW) species -- species that wouldn't be found come count day. Below are lists for the 1/1/17 CW birding (the Nebo and Little River Rec Area lists are located in zone 2 and zone 5, respectively, but the two Catahoula NWR lists are in zones covered by other teams on count day) and the lists for the 1/3/17 CBC itself.

Nebo:
La Salle Parish
January 1, 2017
7:58 am to 9:30 am
about 4 miles, about 0.2 of that was on foot
Conditions: 59 to 60 degrees f., foggy w/ some faint mist of rain, calm.
Habitat shots:

Birds:
Snow Goose (a Count Week species) - x - some flyovers heard, unseen in fog

Red-shouldered Hawk - 2

Mourning Dove - 3

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker -2
Northern Flicker - 3

Eastern Phoebe - 7

Blue-headed Vireo - 1

Blue Jay - 8
American Crow - 10

Carolina Chickadee - 8
Tufted Titmouse - 7

Carolina Wren - 8

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5

Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 2

Northern Mockingbird - 3

European Starling - 2

Cedar Waxwing - 10

Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat (a Count Week species) - 1
Pine Warbler - 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 15

Chipping Sparrow - 50
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) - 6
White-throated Sparrow - 18
Song Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 3
Eastern Townee - 1

Northern Cardinal - 13

American Goldfinch - x -  a few heard as flyovers

Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit:
La Salle Parish
January 1, 2017
10:28 am - 11:59 am
1.5 mile, birded from vehicle
Conditions: 62 to 65 degrees f., foggy/cloudy w/ some faint mist of rain, faint breeze.
Habitat shots:

Birds:
Snow Goose - x - flyovers heard, unseen in fog
Wood Duck - 7

Great Blue Heron - 1
Great Egret - 1

Greater Yellowlegs - 1

Belted Kingfisher - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Norther Flicker - 5
Pileated Woodpecker - 1

Eastern Phoebe - 5

Blue-headed Vireo - 1

Blue Jay - 3
American Crow - 4

Carolina Chickadee - 7
Tufted Titmouse - 5

House Wren - 1
Carolina Wren - 6

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2

Hermit Thrush - 2
American Robin - 1

Orange-crowned Warbler - 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 3

White-throated Sparrow - 15
Song Sparrow -2
Swamp Sparrow - 10 (see: video below)
Eastern Towhee - 2

Northern Cardinal - 4

American Goldfinch - x - flyovers of indeterminate number heard

Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit: 
La Salle Parish
January 1, 2017
12:02 pm - 1:43 pm
2.9 miles, birded from truck along part of refuge loop, plus brief stand around period
Conditions: 63 to 66 degrees f., foggy/cloudy w/ some faint mist of rain, calm. Water level marker at north end of Duck Lake showed approx. feet.
Habitat shots:

Birds:
Snow Goose - x - flyovers heard in fog and clouds
Gadwall - 8
America Widgeon - 10
Mallard - 170
Northern Pintail - 200
Green-winged Teal - 1
Canvasback -5
Ring-necked Duck - 20
duck sp. - 100

Mallard and Gadwall

American Widgeon and Mallard

male Canvasback and female and male Mallards

Double-crested Cormorants

Double-crested Cormorant - 2

Great Blue Heron - 6
Great Egret- 1

Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture - 2
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Killdeer - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 1

Mourning Dove - 8

Belted Kingfisher - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 3
Northern Flicker - 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 3

Eastern Phoebe - 4

Blue Jay - 4
American Crow - 9

Carolina Chickadee - 9
Tufted Titmouse - 7

Carolina Wren - 7

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 4

Hermit Thrush - 1

Cedar Waxwing - 20

Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 3

Chipping Sparrow - 2
White-throated Sparrow -21
Savannah Sparrow -5
Song Sparrow - 1
Eastern Towhee - 1

Northern Cardinal - 8

Little River Recreation Area:
Catahoula Parish
January 1, 2017
1:47 pm - 2:12 pm
Conditions: 65 to 67 degrees f., cloudy, near calm.
Habitat shots:

Birds:
Snow Goose - 40 - flyover flock

Double-crested Cormorant - 1

Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 1

Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 1

Eastern Phoebe - 1

Blue Jay -2
American Crow - 2

Carolina Chickadee - 2

Carolina Wren - 1

Northern Mockingbird - 1

European Starling - 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler - 4

Savannah Sparrow - 5
Swamp Sparrow - 1

Northern Cardinal - 2

**Catahoula NWR Christmas Bird Count**

 Eastern Bluebird atop church steeple in zone 2 -- bird-y & Christmas-y

  Zone 2:
La Salle Parish (general vicinity of Nebo and Shady Grove communities, upland area north of Catahoula Lake)
January 3, 2017
7:02 am - 1:35 pm
about 22 miles by truck, 0.25 on foot
Conditions: 49 to 74 degrees f., mix cloud and sunny becoming sunny, calm becoming breezy
Habitat shots:

Birds:
Great Blue Heron - 2

Black Vulture - 10
Turkey Vulture -23
Red-shouldered Hawk - 8
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Mourning Dove - 2

Eastern Screech-Owl - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 4
Pileated Woodpecker - 7

American Kestrel - 1

Eastern Phoebe - 8

Blue-headed Vireo - 3

Blue-headed Vireo

Blue Jay - 18
American Crow - 70

Carolina Chickadee - 24
Tufted Titmouse - 11

Brown-headed Nuthatch - 1

Brown Creeper - 1

House Wren - 1
Carolina Wren - 11

Carolina Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet -13

Golden-crowned Kinglet (It's like they just won't sit still!)

male Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird - 10
Hermit Thrush - 3
American Robin - 7

Northern Mockingbird - 2

European Starling - 3

Cedar Waxwing - 8

Orange-crowned Warbler - 2
Pine Warbler - 41
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 12

Pine Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

Chipping Sparrow - 47
Field Sparrow - 8
Dark-eyed Junco - 10
White-throated Sparrow - 3
Swamp Sparrow - 5
Eastern Towhee - 4

Northern Cardinal - 22

Eastern Meadowlark - 2
Common Grackle - 65

American Goldfinch - 8
 (video: American Goldfinches and Northern Cardinal foraging on ground, singing Carolina Chickadees and calling N. Cardinal heard in background ...not to mention noisy oil well)

  Zone 5:
Catahoula and La Salle Parishes (general vicinity of Archie and Walters communities, alluvial plain)
1:45 pm - 3:50 pm
6.5 miles by truck and 0.1 mile by foot
Conditions: 73 to 78 degrees f., sunny, breeze
Habitat shots:

Birds:
Double-crested Cormorant - 1

Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 1

Black Vulture - 23
Turkey Vulture - 11
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Mourning Dove - 11

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 1

Eastern Phoebe - 1

Loggerhead Shrike - 1

Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 10

Carolina Chickadee - 7

Carolina Wren - 8

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1

Northern Mockingbird

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2

Eastern Bluebird - 10

Northern Mockingbird - 10

Cedar Waxwing - 2

Orange-crowned Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 16

Chipping Sparrow - 35
White-throated Sparrow - 13
Savannah Sparrow - 4
Song Sparrow - 6
Swamp Sparrow - 4

Northern Cardinal - 19

House Sparrow - 2

Northern Cardinal (female) and White-throated Sparrow

Other CBC Day Wildlife:

   Birds are of course the focus during a CBC, but other wildlife bear mentioning. Several frog species were heard. Typical winter frogs such as Cajun Chorus Frog (Pseudacris fouqettei) and Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) were common, and there were a few Southern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus); but unusually for winter, a few Cope's Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) -- a 'warm weather' frog -- were also heard. Cajun Chorus Frogs can be heard in this video, taken at junction of Hugh Road and Indian Creek Road in zone 2.

   Butterflies were also out during this unseasonably warm period. Gulf Fritillary, Common Buckeye, and what were probably Cloudless Sulphur were seen in various locations, and I even had a very fleeting glimpse of an unidentified brown-colored "skipper" species (possibly a duskywing).