Alexandria Lakes District field trip with Loose Alliance birding club

  On September 16, 2017, the Loose Alliance bird club of central Louisiana hosted a field trip to The Lakes District in Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The outing was organized and guided by Jay Huner, who frequently birds this location. A total of 9 birders participated. We birded from 7:20 am to 11:00 am, and walked a couple of miles. We started at the west side library, then down Provine St and Ansely Blvd to the walking trail, and followed the trail and powerline right-of-way to beyond the natural cypress slough, then back up the trail. Habitat shots below, then the bird list, and butterfly list, and a few other notes.

field along Provine and Ansley

walking trail alongside one of the retention ponds (the "Lakes") -- Birds in this area included White-winged Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, and Baltimore Oriole.

one of the retention ponds

swampy cypress slough -- Birds here included Wood Duck, Green and Little Blue Herons, Great Egret, Cooper's Hawk.

power line right-of-way -- lots of Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo Buntings in this area; most of the warblers were found along it

power line right-of-way

coming back along wooded section of the trail -- There were several huge, grand old pecan trees in these woods. Birds seen here included Acadian Flycatcher and Hooded Warbler.

Birds:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 22

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks

Canada Goose (feral) - 65

Canada Geese

Wood Duck - 9

Wood Ducks

Anhinga - 1
Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 4

Great Egret

Little Blue Heron - 3
Green Heron - 2

Green Heron

Turkey Vulture - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Killdeer - 1
Rock Pigeon - 30
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 9
White-winged Dove - 10

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove - 7
Chimney Swift - 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3
Belted Kingfisher - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 5
Northern Flicker - 6

Northern Flicker, hard at work

Acadian Flycatcher - 1
Loggerhead Shrike - 3
White-eyed Vireo - 4
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue Jay - 12
Barn Swallow - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Carolina Wren - 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
American Robin - 8

American Robin

Brown Thrasher - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 15
European Starling - 25
Northern Waterthrush - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 2
Hooded Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 3
*probably also Northern Parula
Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 7
Blue Grosbeak - up to about 50
Indigo Bunting - 15
Painted Bunting - 3

Painted Bunting

Baltimore Oriole -1

Baltimore Oriole high up in a pecan

Common Grackle - 3
House Finch - 2

House Finch

House Sparrow - 12

*A large bird that flew into the woods before anyone could get a good look at it might have been a Barred Owl or a Great Horned Owl.

Thanks again to Jay and all of the participants for coming up with this list: Scott Delaney, Kathy Kingsley, Tom Pollock, Janine Robin, Claire Thomas, Betsy and Sonny Trammel, and Jonathan Clark. 

Butterflies:

Silver-spotted Skipper - 1

Silver-spotted Skipper

Long-tailed Skipper - at least 7

Long-tailed Skipper

Long-tailed Skipper nectaring on White Morning-Glory

Tropical Checkered-Skipper -3

Tropical Checkered-Skipper

Clouded Skipper - roughly 25

Clouded Skipper

Cloudless Sulphur - a few - 3 or so
Gulf Fritillary - 2

Gulf Fritillary

Viceroy - 1
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple - 1
Painted Lady - 1

Painted Lady

Moths included Black-bordered Lemon Moth, Ailanthus Webworm Moth, a Bird-dropping Moth (Acontiinae) of some sort, and a few others that went unidentified.

Black-bordered Lemon Moth

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

We obtained pics of this caterpillar, but I haven't attempted to i.d. it yet.

"When I grow up, I want to be a __?"

   Other wildlife included Pond Sliders, numerous Eastern Fox Squirrels, and a Nutria. ... and fire ants with a taste for birders' ankles!

Nutria

   Among the wildflowers in bloom were Cotton Morning-Glory, ...

Cotton Morning-Glory

Could the blue flowers be Ivy-leaved Morning-Glory?

...White Morning-Glory, some kind of Fabaceae sp., ...

Fabaceae sp. (some kind of Desmodium, maybe??)

...Ludwigia sp., Buttonbush, False Daisy, Halberdleaf Rosemallow, and Bear's Foot (*edited: I couldn't i.d. the Bear's Foot until after posting this entry, when Jay pointed out the mystery plant's i.d), just to name those that I can recall seeing.

Bear's Foot or Hairy Leafcup (Smallanthus uvedalius)

Bear's Foot or Hairy Leafcup (Smallanthus uvedalius)

   If you spot any incorrect i.d. or have a suggestion for an i.d. (especially for the plants), feel free to leave a comment and let me know.

   This was my first time birding this location, and I was impressed. I'm hoping to make more visits in the future. I'm also looking forward to the next Loose Alliance outing, whenever and wherever that might be.