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| Zimmer Creek -- March 31 |
This location and the nearby Snyder Road are just naturally paired in my mind. The 'Spring, 2018' blog entry for that location is here: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/06/snyder-road-la-salle-parish-spring-2018.html.
Other Related Posts:
Same Location: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/03/zimmer-creek-road-fall-and-winter-2017.html
& http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/08/zimmer-creek-road-la-salle-parish-2017.html
& http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/07/zimmer-creek-road-la-salle-parish-2017.html
'Spring, 2018' & Other Recent Content: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/05/nature-at-jenas-vision-trail-march.html
& https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/06/catahoula-nwr-la-salle-catahoula.html
& http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/05/loose-alliance-field-trip-to-kisatchie.html
Now, here we go...
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This spring I made seven birding (etc.) trips to Zimmer Creek Road, located a few miles west/northwest of Jena, in La Salle Parish. My usual protocol for birding this location is as follows: bird driving, w/ numerous stops and stand-around periods (and sometimes short walks along road), Fount Cutoff Road from LA-127 to Zimmer Creek Road (~0.75 miles) and Zimmer Creek Road from there to south end at US-84, for a total of 5 miles. This goes basically north to south.
For anyone who might plan to visit this location for birding or other such activities, please remember that the land along the road is all posted/private. The road itself is blacktop in some places and gravel in others, and though often bumpy, is not that bad. The only times it might not be passable is after a heavy rain, as there's a couple of spots that can get muddy (the stretch through the Zimmer Creek creek bottoms can hold onto water for a few days if the ditches get clogged/silted up).
Before we go further, some habitat shots, following the route north to south:
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| Fount Cutoff Road -- several Chuck-will's-widows heard from this stretch of road -- photo 5/13 |
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| The small cutover on the left hosts Prairie Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Blue Grosbeak. The woods around it host Black-and-white Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Great Crested Flycatcher. The creek bottom woods at far side of cutover are along the stream shown in the next pic. -- photo 5/7 |
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| Species found here include Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Swainson's Warbler, Yellow-throated Vireo, Chuck-will's-widow; *Squirrel Treefrog; Zebra Swallowtail -- photo 3/31 |
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| Dickcissel was near here on 5/7. Other species here include Blue Grosbeak, Prairie Warbler, Northern Mockingbird, Mourning Dove, Chuck-will's-widow. -- photo 5/13 |
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| a good area for Prairie Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Red-tailed Hawk --5/13 |
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| The 5/7 Greater Roadrunner was calling just ahead and on the left (before right curve in road). -- photo 3/31 |
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| The Orchard Orioles in the videos and pics used in this entry were here in and around these trees. Also found along this stretch of road: Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Prairie Warbler, Indigo Bunting -- 5/7 |
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| Species here included Blue Grosbeak, Common Yellowthroat, Prairie Warbler; in the adjacent hilltop island of pine woods were Pine Warbler, Summer Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo; Red-tailed Hawk pair seen here. -- 5/7 |
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| Zimmer Creek -- Species found here include Louisiana Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher; Summer Azure, Zebra Swallowtail; Ebony Jewelwing -- 5/15 |
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| Species typically found here include Worm-eating Warbler, Swainson's Warbler, Wood Thrush. The Slowinski's Cornsnake was near here -- 5/15 |
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| species found here include Swainson's, Worm-eating, Hooded, and Pine Warblers; both snakes were found near here -- 5/7 |
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| species found here include Common Yellowthroat, Swainson's Warbler, Indigo Bunting -- 5/7 |
Dates of Birding Zimmer Creek Road:
March 31; April 17, 18; May 7, 13, 15, (19,) 24
-March 31 - 10:08 am, 2 hr 23 min; 5 miles; 63 - 72 degrees F., clear sky, breezy. FOS Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-April 17 - 10:17 am, 2 hr and 3 min; 5 miles; 72 - 78 degrees F., clear, windy.
-April 18 - nocturnal Chuck-will's-widow survey - 7:53 pm, 53 minutes; 68 - 70 degrees F., near calm, basically clear w/ a few scattered clouds. Small crescent moon. 2.8 miles. Vocalizing seemed to be slacking off ~8:30, so I ended it halfway down the 5-mile route. The Pine Warbler, Eastern Towhee, and Northern Cardinal were heard early on, while a few diurnal birds were still stirring. The Y-B Chat was singing after dark.
Birds not detected on this visit get a 'N' rather than a 0 in the numbers column, to denote "nocturnal" (you can't blame diurnal birds for not making an appearance!).
-May 7 - 8:01 am - 4 hr and 21 min; 5 miles; 64 - 86 degrees F., clear, calm at first w/ on-and-off light breeze starting part way through. FOS Dickcissel. New location species this day: Greater Roadrunner, Dickcissel, Baltimore Oriole.
-May 13 - 5:46 am, 4 hr 7 min; 5 miles; 69 - 81 F., partly to mostly cloudy, calm for much of the time w/ light breeze developing about the last hour.
-May 15 - 2 birders - 7:53 am, 3 hr and 11 min; 4.9 miles; 74 - 81 degrees F., very little wind, sky variable from mostly cloudy to mostly sunny. Bird activity just didn't seem up to expected level.
-May 24 - 6:47 am, 2 hr 44 min; 5 miles; 61 - 78 F., partly cloudy to cloudy, often calm w/ some light breeze. Bird activity lower than expected; some expected species went undetected. Flyover flock of White Ibis was a new species for the location list.
In addition to these dates, I made a trip here on March 7 that's already included on my "Fall-Winter, 2017-2018" post. Mostly, that date's birds were the usual winter sort, but a pair of Gray Catbirds and the FOS Louisiana Waterthrush announced that Spring was coming. The waterthrush was actively singing at Zimmer Creek where a pair (especially the singing male) were reliable the previous breeding season, and would turn out to be so this spring as well.
On May 19 I made a trip down Zimmer Creek Road to get a better look at some wildflowers noticed on previous birding trips. I didn't take the time to seriously bird on this trip (and it was in the middle of the day, when bird activity is low) but I did keep a list of what birds I did detect: (12:54 pm, 42 minutes; 5 miles) Mourning Dove - 1, White-eyed Vireo - 3, Red-eyed Vireo - 1, American Crow - 1, Tufted Titmouse - 1, Carolina Wren - 2, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1, Eastern Bluebird - 2, Swainson's Warbler - 2, Common Yellowthroat - 1, Hooded Warbler - 6, Pine Warbler - 3, Prairie Warbler - 3, Chipping Sparrow - 1, Yellow-breasted Chat - 3, Summer Tanager - 1, Northern Cardinal - 4, Indigo Bunting - 7, Orchard Oriole - 2.
Birds:
Little Blue Heron - 0, 0, N, 0, 1, 0, 0
white egret/heron sp.(flyover) 0, 0, N, 0, 2, 0, 0
White Ibis - 0, 0, N, 0, 0, 0, 10
Black Vulture - 1, 2, N, 2, 0, 0, 0
Turkey Vulture - 4, 3, N, 6, 1, 4, 0
Mississippi Kite - 0, 0, N, 2, 0, 1, 0
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1, 1, N, 2, 1, 1, 0
Broad-winged Hawk - 1, 0, N, 1, 0, 0, 0
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| Broad-winged Hawk - 3/31 |
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| Red-tailed Hawk -- Z.C.Rd, 5/7 |
Mourning Dove - 1, 0, N, 9, 12, 6, 6
Greater Roadrunner - 0, 0, N, 1, 0, 0, 0
(video: cooing call of Greater Roadrunner -- Z.C.Rd, 5/7)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 0, 0, N, 1, 4, 1, 5
Barred Owl - 0, 0, N, 0, 2, 1, 0
Chuck-will's-widow - 0, 0, 10, 0, 4, 0, 0
(Alright, let's get this party started. Song of Chuck-will's-widow -- Fount Cutoff Road, 4/18)
(video: songs of Chuck-will's-widows -- Fount Cutoff Road, 4/18)
(video: croaking call of Chuck-will's-widow -- Zimmer Creek Rd, 4/18)
(video: song of Chuck-will's-widow and Carolina Chickadee -- Fount Cutoff Rd, 5/13)
Chimney Swift - 0, 2, N, 6, 2, 1, 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1, 1, N, 3, 3, 0, 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 0, 0, N, 1, 1, 2, 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 4, 1, N, 9, 5, 5, 6
Downy Woodpecker - 0, 0, N, 1, 2, 0, 0
Hairy Woodpecker - 0, 0, N, 0, 0, 1, 0
Northern Flicker - 2, 1, N, 0, 0, 1, 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1, 0, N, 0, 3, 0, 0
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 0, 0, N, 1, 0, 0, 0
Acadian Flycatcher - 0, 0, N, 1, 2, 1, 1
Great Crested Flycatcher - 0, 0, N, 2, 2, 4, 3
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| a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers (one w/ nesting materials) -- Z.C. Rd, 5/7 |
White-eyed Vireo - 14,14, N, 16, 16,17, 16
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| White-eyed Vireo -- 4/17 |
Red-eyed Vireo - 4, 3, N, 5, 7, 6, 5
Blue Jay - 2, 3, N, 9 , 9, 10, 5
American Crow - 5, 7, N, 14, 11, 8, 8
Purple Martin - 0, 1, N, 0, 0, 0, 0
Barn Swallow - 2, 2, N, 6, 0, 2, 0
Carolina Chickadee - 3, 4, N, 11, 8, 8, 2
Tufted Titmouse - 12, 3, N, 2, 5, 2, 6
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 0, 0, N, 1, 1, 2, 0
House Wren - 1, 0, N, 0, 0, 0, 0
Carolina Wren - 9, 9, N, 12, 17,15, 14
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 7, 4, N, 3, 4, 4, 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5, 0, N, 0, 0, 0, 0
Eastern Bluebird - 1, 2, N, 3, 4, 3, 3
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| That's a juvenile Eastern Bluebird on the branch and an adult female on the road. -- 5/13 |
Brown Thrasher - 0, 1, N, 1, 0, 1, 1
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| Brown Thrasher - Z.C.Rd, 5/15 |
Cedar Waxwing - 0, 1, N, 25, 27, 0, 0
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| Cedar Waxwing -- Z.C. Rd -- 5/13 |
(video: a Worm-eating Warbler observed singing -- 3/31/18)
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| Worm-eating Warbler -- 3/31/18 |
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| Worm-eating Warbler -- 4/17/18 |
(videos: song of Worm-eating Warbler -- 5/7/18)
Louisiana Waterthrush - 1, 0, N, 3, 2, 2, 1
(video: a singing Louisiana Waterthrush at Zimmer Creek territory- 5/7/18)
Black-and-white Warbler - 2, 1, N, 2, 2, 3, 0
(video: a singing male Black-and-white Warbler -- //)
Swainson's Warbler - 0, 2, N, 2, 4, 4, 2
(video: song of Swainson's Warbler -- Z.C. Rd., 5/7)
Kentucky Warbler - 0, 1, N, 1, 1, 0, 0
Common Yellowthroat - 1, 0, N, 4, 5, 3, 3
Hooded Warbler - 15, 12, N, 16, 19,18,16
Northern Parula - 1, 0, N, 1, 1, 0, 0
Pine Warbler - 11, 9, 1, 15, 15,10,13
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1, 0, N, 0, 0, 0, 0
Prairie Warbler - 0, 9, N, 13, 9, 7, 5
Chipping Sparrow - 1, 0, N, 0, 1, 0, 1
White-throated Sparrow - 0, 3, N, 0, 0, 0, 0
Swamp Sparrow - 1, 0, N, 0, 0, 0, 0
Eastern Towhee - 2, 6, 1, 6, 6, 6, 6
Yellow-breasted Chat - 0, 5, 1, 15, 20, 16, 17
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| Yellow-breasted Chat -- 5//18 |
Northern Cardinal - 12, 11, 1, 31, 30, 17, 22
Blue Grosbeak - 0, 0, N, 5, 8, 3, 8
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| female Blue Grosbeak -- Z.C. Rd, 5//18 |
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| male Blue Grosbeak -- Z.C. Rd, 5//18 |
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| male Indigo Bunting -- 5//18 |
Dickcissel - 0, 0, N, 1, 0, 0, 0
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| Dickcissel -- Z.C. Rd, 5/7 |
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| 1st year male Orchard Oriole -- 5/7/18, Z.C. Rd -- same individual in video below |
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| adult male Orchard Oriole -- 5/7 |
Baltimore Oriole - 0, 0, N, 1, 0, 0, 0
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| male Orchard Oriole - Z.C. Rd, 5/7 |
Brown-headed Cowbird - 2, 0, N, 4, 6, 5, 3
American Goldfinch - 1, 0, N, 0, 0, 0, 0
A few notes before moving on...
The Chipping Sparrow was always heard singing from pines along a field with a large pond and houses.
After making so many trips to this location during breeding season 2017, it was interesting to see where the same species was showing up again this breeding season, and where they haven't been as reliable as they were last year. We'll see how the comparison/contrasts hold up as the breeding season continues.
***I make no claims at expertise and my experience level when it comes to identifying a species varies depending on what group it's in. Please feel free to leave a comment correcting any i.d. that you see that's incorrect. This especially applies to all of the following groups. You might consider all these i.d.s as "tentative" to some extent, unless they're of something obvious and easy to identify.
Butterflies:
duskywing sp./spp. -
Zebra Swallowtail - Seen on at least 4 dates, multiple individuals on some dates. For me, these are easily some of the most beautiful butterflies. Zimmer Creek Road is the only place where I've encountered them. The ones I saw earlier this spring were smaller individuals, but the one pictured below, seen on 5/15, was a nice large individual. It was in the road (the last bridge before south end of road) and at first I assumed it had been hit by a vehicle. I got out to take pics and see if I could help it, but decided that it might actually that it seemed helpless because it was a freshly emerged adult. After snapping a lot of pics, I picked up the piece of vegetation that it was holding on to and removed it to a safe elevated spot (see fifth pic below). The butterfly flew off when I turned my back, seen flying into the woods by my sister who was birding with me.
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| Zebra Swallowtail -- Zimmer Creek Road, 5/15 |
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| Zebra Swallowtail -- Zimmer Creek Road, 5/15 |
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| Zebra Swallowtail -- Zimmer Creek Road, 5/15 |
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| Zebra Swallowtail -- Zimmer Creek Road, 5/15 |
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| Zebra Swallowtail -- Zimmer Creek Road, 5/15 -- The coloration makes me think mint, chocolate, and cherry. lol. |
Spicebush Swallowtail -
dark swallowtail sp. -
Eastern Pine Elfin - March 31; a lifer for me.
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| Eastern Pine Elfin -- Z.C. Rd, 3/31 |
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| Eastern Pine Elfin -- 3/31 |
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| Eastern Pine Elfin -- 3/31 |
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| Summer Azure -- 5/24/18 |
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple -
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| two 'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purples -- 3/31/18 |
Painted Lady -
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| Painted Lady nectaring on Coreopsis - 5/15/18 |
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| Goatweed Leafwing -- 3/31/18 |
Fish:
Redfin Shiner...
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| male Redfin Shiner -- 5/15 |
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| male Redfin Shiner -- 5/15 |
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| female Redfin Shiner -- 5/15 |
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| female Redfin Shiner -- 5/13 |
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| Striped Shiner -- 5/13 |
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| Striped Shiner -- 5/13 |
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| Striped Shiner -- 5/13 |
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| Creek Chub -- 5/15 |
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| Creek Chub -- 5/15 |
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| some type of "shiner" -- 5/13 |
Herps:
Fowler's Toad, Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, *Squirrel Treefrog...
(video: call of *what sounds to me like Squirrel Treefrog -- Z.C. Rd, 5/7 -- There were a few calling sporadically on this occasion.)
...Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green (Bronze) Frog, American Bullfrog; Slowinski's Cornsnake (the orange-spotted individual in the first few pics below -- edited from my initial i.d. of Prairie Kingsnake on 6/6/18 after Steve Shively (thanks!) pointed out that it was a Cornsnake.), and Prairie Kingsnake (the dark individual a few photos down)...
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| Cornsnake -- Z.C.Rd, 5/13 |
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| Cornsnake -- 5/13 |
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| Cornsnake -- 5/13 |
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| Cornsnake -- 5/13 |
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| Cornsnake -- 5/13 -- The next truck to come along stopped and shot the snake shortly after this picture was taken. The snake is in defensive pose because I tried to nudge it out of the road with my foot, but it was sluggish (probably on the road to warm up in the first place) and I had to leave it be to get out of the way of the coming vehicle. |
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| tentative i.d.: Prairie Kingsnake (2nd individual) -- 5/13 -- This one was about half a mile down the road from the 1st individual. |
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| tentative i.d.: Prairie Kingsnake (2nd individual) -- 5/13 |
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| tentative i.d.: Prairie Kingsnake (2nd individual) -- 5/13 |
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| tentative i.d.: Prairie Kingsnake (1st individual) -- 5/13 |
Mammals:
Eastern Cottontail, Eastern Fox Squirrel, White-tailed Deer
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| Fox Squirrel -- // |
multiple species of violets (Viola), including Birdfoot Violet (Viola pedata), ...
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| Birdfoot Violets (Viola pedata) - 3/31 |
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| Birdfoot Violets - 3/31 |
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| Birdfoot Violets - 3/31 |
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| white violets - In the past, trying to pin down what the small, white violets that I so often encounter in late winter and early spring actually are, species-wise, has proven tricky, fraught with dead ends. So, for now I'll leave it at "Viola sp.". -- corner of Fount Cutoff and Zimmer Creek Road, 3/31 |
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| white violets - corner of Fount Cutoff and Zimmer Creek Road, 3/31 |
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| white violets -- Z.C.Rd, in the Zimmer Creek creek bottoms, 5/13 -- I don't usually see them this late in the spring |
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| Baptisia sp.-- Fount Cutoff Road, 3/31 |
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| Wild Azelea (Rhododendron canescens) - 3/31 |
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| Coral Honeysuckle - 3/31 |
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| Coral Honeysuckle - 3/31 |
Phlox sp. ...
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| Phlox - 3/31 |
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| Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) -- 5/13 -- They've got to be one of my favorite wildflowers. |
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| Indian Pink -- 5/13 |
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| Indian Pink -- Z.C. Rd, 5/19 |
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| Indian Pink -- 5/19 |
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| *tentative i.d.: Fringed Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) -- It's a Lysimachia, but this is my first time encountering this genus, and I'm guessing L. ciliata as the species based on photos of that species I've seen online. -- Z.C. Rd, 5/15 |
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| tentative i.d.: Fringed Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) -- 5/19 |
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| tentative i.d.: Fringed Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) -- 5/19 |
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| tentative i.d.: Fringed Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata) -- 5/19 |
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| Orange Milkweed, aka Indian Paintbrush, aka Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) - Z.C. Rd, 5/13 |
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| Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) -- Z.C. Rd, 5/13 |
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| Orange Milkweed -- 5/13 |
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| tentative i.d.: White-flowered or Redring Milkweed (Asclepias variegata) -- Z.C.Rd, 5/13 |
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| tentative i.d.: Arrowwood sp. (Viburnum; maybe V. dentatum?) -- Z.C.Rd, 5/13 |
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| tentative i.d.: Arrowwood sp. (Viburnum; maybe V. dentatum) -- Z.C. Rd, 5/19 |
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| Yucca -- Z.C.Rd, 5/24 |
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| Yucca -- 5/24 |
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| Scutellaria sp. -- Z.C. Rd, 5/13 |
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| Scutellaria sp. -- 5/13 |
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| *tentative i.d.: Azure Blue Sage -- 5/24 |
Coreopsis sp. ...
Wild Petunia (Ruellia sp.)...
tentative i.d. Carolina Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum)...
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| Larkspur sp. -- my guess is Carolina Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum) -- Z.C. Rd, 5/24 |
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| Monarda sp. -- Z.C.Rd, 5/24 |
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| Rudbeckia sp. -- Z.C. Rd, 5/24 |
...and many others.
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| ? -- So many flowers, so little time to look them all up... |
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| Zimmer Creek -- 5/24 |
Up next: "Catahoula NWR -- Spring, 2018" (should be posted tomorrow)
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