Not Singing the Delta Birding Blues: Rough-legged Hawk and NE Louisiana -- 2/20/2018

Rough-legged Hawk beside Highway 65 south of Transylvania, East Carroll Parish, Louisiana

   On February 13, a Rough-legged Hawk was reported from East Carroll Parish by Dr. Van Remsen. In the following days birders from around Louisiana traveled to the northeast corner of the state to see the rare vagrant. Tom Pollock and I decided to make the pilgrimage to see the bird for ourselves. Too often, in my unlucky experience, the rare bird at the end of a long trip doesn't show up until after you've given up, if ever again. Jinxed, maybe I am. haha. Well, not this time. Our target bird was present where reported by previous observers, and it stuck around a while in spots where we could observe it at our leisure and take plenty of photos.
   The specific location of the Rough-legged Hawk (about 32.653, -91.182) was along US-65, on either side of Washington Street, just south of the community of Transylvania. The hawk hangs out in trees, on fences and poles, both north and south of Washington Street, which goes east from the highway. The bird, when seen, is visible from the highway. Our observation started when, after an initial pass, we turned around in Transylvania and passed back along the highway. Tom spotted the hawk in a lone tree on the east side of the highway a little ways south of Washington Street at 10:55 am. See the habitat shot below. We turned around down the highway and approached again from the south.

US-65, looking north toward Transylvania, which is the area with trees in far distance. The Rough-legged Hawk is in the nearest, lone, tree on right/east side of highway. Washington Street is the row of 5 trees in middle distance.

   We observed the hawk from the road shoulder for a few minutes before it flew north/northeast into the area of farm buildings north of Washington St. We drove up the highway, pulled over again, and watched the hawk as it sat for a long time on a rusted metal fence (part of a cow pen, I guess you'd call it). This was more distant from the highway, but we had an unobstructed view.

view from shoulder of US-65 north of Washington St -- This is the second location where the hawk perched. The bird is on the distant rusty fence left of the little white shed in center of photo. The rise in the background is the Mississippi River levee.

Rough-legged Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk

   While we were watching it, a "Krider's" Red-tailed Hawk landed on part of the fence/pen just a few yards from the Rough-legged Hawk. What a sight! -- Two such interesting hawks "hanging out" like that for several minutes.

Rough-legged Hawk on left, Red-tailed Hawk (Krider's) on right

The Krider's eventually moved a little ways to another part of the fence, but still a stone's throw from the Roughie.

Roughie on left, Krider's on right -- a few minutes later once they'd moved apart

The Krider's eventually flew away, and a few minutes later so did the Roughie. The total observation period was close to 40 minutes.

Rough-legged Hawk

   Of course, this was just one spot of birding among many strung along the highways and back roads from Harrisonburg (Catahoula Parish) to Lake Providence (East Carroll Parish). Below is a composite list of birds observed that day (including details for some observations, and photos), plus a separate list for Tensas River NWR, which we went by on the way back south. First, some location/habitat shots:

ponds along LA-8 across Ouachita River from Harrisonburg -- DC Cormorant, EC-Dove, Euro. Starling among species present

Transylvania in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana. We went through many small towns and rural communities, and kept a bird list for most of them.

view of Lake Providence from Grant's Canal Park in Lake Providence. Birds here included American Coot, Purple Martin, and Rusty Blackbird

Sky near sunset over ag. fields south of Gilbert. The general terrain that we traveled through and birded in (w/ the exception of hilly parts of La Salle and Catahoula Parishes that we passed through early and late and did not bird in) included the northeast Louisiana delta, farm country -- flat muddy fields that in the growing season would have been planted with soybean, cotton, corn, etc., broken up by swamps and patches of bottomland hardwoods, and crisscrossed and and spattered with a maze of muddy bayous, rivers, sloughs, oxbows, brakes, and lakes.

Birds from numerous locations in Catahoula, Franklin, Richland, East Carroll, and Madison Parishes, from early morning to late afternoon. 
*Canada Goose - feral/introduced

Canada Geese -- highway 17 at Poverty Point Reservoir near Delhi, Richland Parish

Mallard -
Northern Pintail -

Northern Pintail -- LA-580 in East Carroll Parish

duck sp. -
Double-crested Cormorant -

Double-crested Cormorants and European Starlings -- LA-17 at Poverty Point Reservoir near Delhi, Richland Parish, Louisiana

For goodness sake, people, discard your fishing line responsibly. I see this kind of thing too often. -- Double-crested Cormorant, Poverty Point Reservoir at LA-17 near Delhi, Richland Parish

American White Pelican -

American White Pelican -- LA-17 at Poverty Point Reservoir near Delhi, Richland Parish

Great Blue Heron -
Great Egret - 
Turkey Vulture -
Northern Harrier -
Red-tailed Hawk -
Red-tailed Hawk (Krider's) - the bird seen w/ the Rough-legged Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk (Krider's) -- south of Transylvania, East Carroll Parish

Rough-legged Hawk on left, Red-tailed Hawk (Krider's) on right -- south of Transylvania, East Carroll Parish, Louisiana

Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan's) - LA-580 in East Carroll Parish, see: photos for details

Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan's) -- along Louisiana highway 580 in East Carroll Parish, at about 32.611, -91.304

Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan's) -- LA-580 in East Carroll -- Thanks to Dr. Remsen and Bill Clark for having a look at the photos and settling i.d. questions

Red-tailed Hawk (Harlan's) -- LA-580, East Carroll Parish

Rough-legged Hawk -

Rough-legged Hawk -- south of Transylvania, East Carroll Parish

American Coot -
Killdeer -
Ring-billed Gull -

2 Ring-billed Gulls amid the Double-crested Cormorants -- Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish

*(and possibly a Bonaparte's Gull over the water at Lake Providence)
Forster's Tern -
Rock Pigeon -
Eurasian Collared-Dove -
Mourning Dove -
Belted Kingfisher -
Red-bellied Woodpecker -
Downy Woodpecker -
American Kestrel - 
Loggerhead Shrike - 
Blue Jay -
American Crow -
Fish Crow -
Purple Martin - a few at martin boxes in a yard along LA-580 in East Carroll Parish; one at Grant's Canal Park in Lake Providence.
Carolina Chickadee -
Carolina Wren -
Eastern Bluebird -
American Robin -
Northern Mockingbird - 
European Starling -
Cedar Waxwing -
American Pipit - 
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) -
White-throated Sparrow -
Savannah Sparrow -
Eastern Towhee -
Northern Cardinal - 
Red-winged Blackbird -
Brown-headed Cowbird -
Rusty Blackbird - Grant's Canal Park and Lake Overlook in Lake Providence - flyovers and heard calls coming from across water
Common Grackle -
   *There was a massive gathering of blackbirds -- nearly all were Common Grackles and Brown-headed Cowbirds -- along LA-578 immediately south of Crowville in Franklin Parish when we were on the way back through at about 4:40 pm. We stopped to watch and photograph the spectacle, and make an attempt to count. Tom, who is better at this kind of thing than I am, reckons ~10,000 blackbirds total - roughly 60% C. Grackle, roughly 40% BH Cowbird. There was at least a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds in the mix. With all the coming and going it was a challenge to try and put a number on them, and no doubt many birds were present before and after our roughly 10-minute stop. The birds were gathered at a facility on the east side of LA-578 and in an adjacent field. Birds would depart to land in the road and trees and/or move on beyond, as more blackbirds streamed in from roughly the southwest.
   Below are photos of just a portion of the blackbirds, those landing in an area I could get a clear shot of through window.

The blackbird location -- The field shown in the above photos is to the left of what's shown in this image. The back end of this building was damaged or undergoing repairs of some sort, and many of the blackbirds appeared to emerge from that part of the "pod". Not sure what this is exactly; guessing it must be some sort of agricultural thing, and there was something back there for the blackbirds to feed on?

American Goldfinch -  
House Sparrow -

Tensas River NWR (Madison Parish):

Turkey Vulture - 7
Northern Harrier -  3
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
buteo sp. - 1
Mourning Dove - 5
Barred Owl - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker -  12
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 4
Blue Jay - 1
American Crow -  1
Carolina Chickadee - 20
Tufted Titmouse - 6
Brown Creeper - 1
Carolina Wren - 13
Golden-crowned Kinglet -  6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 3
Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin - 4
Brown Thrasher - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 7
White-throated Sparrow - 5
Savannah Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 1
Eastern Towhee - 1
Northern Cardinal - 16
Eastern Meadowlark - 8
American Goldfinch - 1

Other wildlife encountered that day:
Butterflies -- I think we saw American Snout, Eastern Comma, and Red Admiral, though we didn't stop to get a better look at the butterflies.
Herps -- Heard, I believe: Spring Peeper, Cajun Chorus Frog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, and Southern Leopard Frog. We saw American Alligator, a Western Ribbonsnake (Tensas River NWR), and many Pond Sliders.
Mammals -- Eastern Fox Squirrel (of course), Eastern Gray Squirrel, and an American Beaver.