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| Bayou Kisatchie at campground |
same location this June: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/06/kisatchie-national-forest-natchitoches.html
other Loose Alliance trips: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/05/loose-alliance-field-trip-to-kisatchie.html
& http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/05/loose-alliance-field-trip-to-sicily.html
& http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/09/alexandria-lakes-district-field-trip.html
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There were seven intrepid birders who participated in our bird club's September field trip: Starla Clark, Jackie Duncan, Anne Gaiennie, Connie Guillory, Harriett Pooler, Jay Huner, and myself. We met up at the Longleaf Vista Recreation Area, situated just north of the Longleaf Scenic Byway ("the byway") in the Kisatchie Ranger District of Kisatchie NF. After birding the grounds of the rec area, we rode west down the byway, making a stop at Forest Road 381 (or 382?).
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| vista rec area |
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| pathway at vista rec area |
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| stone gazebo at vista |
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| woods at road 381 or 382 -- pretty typical of what's along the byway |
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| In addition to the water seeping naturally from the hillside, there are also a couple of pipes that allow folks to gather water more easily. |
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| hillside pitcher plant bog fed by springs |
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| ... |
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| Bayou Kisatchie |
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| woods at edge of campground complex |
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| trail along bayou, near campground |
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| Kisatchie Bayou |
The campground and surrounding area was a productive spot to look for Leps, Herps, mushrooms, and some interesting plants. Kisatchie Bayou itself is a beautiful stream and spending some time on its banks is itself worth the trip.
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| ... |
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| Little Bayou Pierre and tributary |
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| Little Bayou Pierre |
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| Little Bayou Pierre |
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| Little Bayou Pierre |
(video: Little Bayou Pierre)
*If visiting the spring and bog, please be considerate of the fragile nature of this habitat (don't walk out into the pitcher plants and spring water and such; watch your step in general -- here there be salamanders!).
* two-dollar daily use pass per vehicle at the sign-in kiosk before entering campground
Bird activity all day was very low -- low even by the standards of this part of the season in this kind of habitat -- but there were a few things around that we lucked into. Below is a combined list of birds from all the places we birded in the National Forest that day.
Kisatchie NF Kisatchie Ranger District
Natchitoches Parish
September 29, 2018
~8:00 a.m - ~ 3:00 p.m.
~20 miles driving around; maybe a half-mile on foot all together, but taking up the majority of the time.
Mourning Dove - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Snowy Egret - 1 (flying up Bayou Kisatchie)
Eastern Screech-Owl - 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 5
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 2
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 4
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| Brown-headed Nutchatch |
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 3
Common Yellowthroat - 1 (calls heard at bog/spring area)
Pine Warbler - 9 (plus a handful of possible/probable Pine Warblers poorly seen/heard at various locales)
Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 4
Indigo Bunting - 2
As my sister commented, we saw more birds on the drive there and back than while actually birding. A couple of productive stretches of road for drive-by bird spotting were LA-119 in Natchitoches Parish -- the ~ 1 mile or so from I-49 exit 119 south to edge of hills/woods (~100 Cattle Egrets, 1 Red-shouldered Hawk, 2 Am. Kestrel, ~10 R. Pigeon, 1 Mourning Dove, 1 L. Shrike, 1 possible kingbird/flycatcher sp., 1 Red-winged Blackbird), and the 8 to 9 miles of LA-8 in Grant Parish between Colfax and the Red River Bridge (Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Great Horned Owl, Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, American Crow, Northern Mockingbird, Red-winged Blackbird, European Starling, Northern Cardinal, ...).
In addition to birds, field trip participants also sought out or took note of Herps, Lepidoptera, Odonata, flowers and plants in general, and mushrooms. Below are accounts of what types from those groups we encountered (based largely on memory and what I got photos of, so probably none are complete lists, but this'll give you an idea of what was around).
Herps (Amphibians and Reptiles):
Blanchard's Cricket Frog -
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| Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus consobrinus) at Little Bayou Pierre |
Timber Rattlesnake -
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| Timber Rattlesnake, aka Canebrake Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) |
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| Timber Rattler (Crotalus horridus) |
Butterflies:
closed-winged skipper sp. (brown and orange-ish, seen briefly before it flew away), Palamedes Swallowtail...
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| Palamedes Swallowtail at road 381 or 382 |
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| Palamedes Swallowtail (same one as above photo) |
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| Gray Hairstreak -- Kisatchie Bayou Campground |
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| Southern Pearly-eye -- one of three seen at Bayou Kisatchie Campground |
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| another Southern Pearly-eye at Kisatchie Bayou Campground |
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| Epipagis fenestralis (aka E. huronalis) |
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| Looks like a Vetch Looper, but could also be one of the other similar species. |
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| ... |
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| ... |
(caterpillars -- species of butterfly or moth undetermined, but I will update this post as that changes):
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| caterpillars (TBD) -- Kisatchie Bayou Campground |
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| caterpillar (TBD) -- Kisatchie Bayou Campground |
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| caterpillar (TBD) -- Kisatchie Bayou Campground |
Damselflies:
Ebony Jewelwing -
Seepage Dancer -
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| Seepage Dancer -- woods near spring -- There were several in this area. |
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| (Familiar?) Bluets at the small pond -- several seen here |
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| female Citrine Forktail at the small pond -- several seen here |
Dragonflies:
Common Green Darner, Eastern Pondhawk, Carolina Saddlebags, and others
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| a pair of Common Green Darners at the small pond -- There were several of this species at this location. |
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| Common Green Darner at pond |
plant stuff:
Wildflowers in bloom included: Liatris sp., purple asters and yellow asters, false foxglove sp./spp.(Agalinis)...
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| false foxglove sp. (Agalinis), road 381 or 382 -- these and the type of Agalinis shown in the photo below were both pretty common at this location. |
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| false foxglove sp. (Agalinis) -- Ones like this were growing alongside the ones with the larger, pinker flowers shown in the photo above at road 381 or 382. |
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| Aureolara sp. -- side of the creek bank at Kisatchie Bayou |
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| Forked Bluecurls -- hillside near the spring/bog |
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| flower of pitcherplant (Sarracenia) |
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| pitcherplants (Sarracenia) |
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| Lobelia sp. (Lobelia puberula??) |
.............................
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| ... -- Little Bayou Pierre |
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| ... -- Kisatchie Bayou |
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| crabapples -- Little Bayou Pierre |
mushrooms:
I know nothing about mushroom i.d., but several of the folks who participated in the field trip are quite interested in mushrooms and have varying levels of experience identifying them, some apparently well-versed in mushrooms. This piqued my interest to something more than casual "Those look cool, wish I knew what they were." Maybe I'll try to begin learning about mushrooms in the near future. But for now, I still no nothing.
(All of those pictured below were found around Bayou Kisatchie and the campground. The first one might be some kind of "coral mushroom" and the orange ones might be "orange chanterelle", but I might have misunderstood.)
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***As always, if you spot any incorrect i.d. for any of the organisms pictured or have suggestions for any that I'm not sure about, feel free to let me know.***
This area of Kisatchie NF is just awesome and I hope to make frequent trips there in the future.
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| Bayou Kisatchie |
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