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| Trout BBS Route, stop 3 - LA-503 between Nickel and Summerville |
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-Related Post-
2019 BBS Routes:
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It was nice to return to my USGS Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes in 2021. The BBS was suspended during 2020 due to the pandemic. I do three routes: Enterprise, Frogmore, and as of 2019, Trout. A BBS Route consists of 50 predetermined stops at half-mile intervals along a set route. The observer records all birds (except dependent young) detected at each stop during a three minute period before moving on to the next stop. Only birds detected at the stops, during the three minute window, are recorded on the official count. However, on a separate notepad, I also keep track of the other birds detected while on the route for my personal records. The same stops are surveyed each year, and at around the same date if possible, but always within the designated window (which in this area is officially mid-May through June, but preferably not after early-mid June). I aim for ~the beginning of June. Weather is a major factor when deciding what day to run a BBS Route. Winds must be calm to very light; rainy days should be avoided. The point is to maximize the observer's chances of detecting birds, and for the conditions under which the observations were made to be consistent from year to year.
Enterprise BBS:
The Enterprise Route starts at the north end of Catahoula Church Road at LA-124 west of the Enterprise community and not far south of the Ouachita River, in northern Catahoula Parish. It takes Catahoula Church Road, and climbs south through steep hills, including the Chalk Hills, following a series of backroads roads, and comes out on LA-126 near the Manifest community. From here it follows LA-126 to LA-8, then LA-126 south and east through the Catahoula NWR Bushley Bayou Unit to the Sandy Lake community. The route turns south on LA-923, and ends in an ag. field about a half mile north of Little River in central Catahoula Parish.
The Enterprise Route starts at the north end of Catahoula Church Road at LA-124 west of the Enterprise community and not far south of the Ouachita River, in northern Catahoula Parish. It takes Catahoula Church Road, and climbs south through steep hills, including the Chalk Hills, following a series of backroads roads, and comes out on LA-126 near the Manifest community. From here it follows LA-126 to LA-8, then LA-126 south and east through the Catahoula NWR Bushley Bayou Unit to the Sandy Lake community. The route turns south on LA-923, and ends in an ag. field about a half mile north of Little River in central Catahoula Parish.
Because of a road closure probably caused by the spring's excessive/frequent rainfall, the section of Old Columbia Road containing stops 9-12 was off-limits. So, I had to omit those stops, and took a long detour between stops 8 and 13, going back to highway 124, traveling south to Harrisonburg, then along rough backroads that I'd not been on in years, to reconnect with the BBS route at stop 13. Because of the foreseen muddy conditions, I'd not been able to run a scouting trip and didn't know about the road closure ahead of time. The day I did the BBS was one of the few days in the BBS window that I figured the gravel backroads would be passible.
Another major surprise was the large facility for... chemical storage? Something? That had recently been built (still under construction?) in the middle of nowhere just past stop 4 on Catahoula Church Road.
Below are habitat shots for the Enterprise Route, before continuing on to the complete bird list.
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| Catahoula Church Rd - stop 2 |
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| ditto |
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| stop 5 - Catahoula Church Road |
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| Catahoula Church Rd - stop 6 |
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| Chalk Hills - stop 13 |
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| Chalk Hills - stop 16 |
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| stop 18 - immediately south of Rawson Creek |
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| stop 20 - south of Rawson Creek, north of Posey-Webb Camp Hwy |
(video: birdsong at stop 20 - Common Yellowthroat, Northern Cardinal, Yellow-breasted Chat, Indigo Bunting, White-eyed Vireo, Prairie Warbler)
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| stop 24 |
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| Posey-Webb Camp Rd - stop 29 |
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| LA-126 near Manifest - stop 31 |
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| LA-126 at Bushley Bayou - stop 39 |
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| LA-126 in Sandy Lake community - stop 41 |
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| LA-923 in Sandy Lake community - near stop 42 |
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| stop 49 - LA-923 |
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Enterprise BBS Route
June 1, 2021
5:34 am; 4 hrs, 15 mins; 25 miles
lower 70s-81; cloudy, mixed/variable; calm to light breeze
*This list contains birds recorded on the official BBS, as well as the other birds detected on the BBS route that day.*
Mourning Dove - 32
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 10
Chimney Swift - 5
Great Egret - 1
Cattle Egret - 78
Black Vulture - 2
Turkey Vulture - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 3
Barred Owl - 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 11
Downy Woodpecker - 4
Pileated Woodpecker - 5
Northern Flicker - 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 12
Acadian Flycatcher - 17
Great Crested Flycatcher - 2
White-eyed Vireo - 33
Red-eyed Vireo - 29
Loggerhead Shrike - 2
Blue Jay - 17
American Crow - 32
Carolina Chickadee - 11
Tufted Titmouse - 22
Purple Martin - 3
Barn Swallow - 7
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 22
Carolina Wren - 33
European Starling - 8
Brown Thrasher - 1
Northern Mockingbird - 6
Eastern Bluebird - 2
Wood Thrush - 7
Eastern Towhee - 15
Yellow-breasted Chat - 31
Eastern Meadowlark - 3
Orchard Oriole - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 7
Brown-headed Cowbird - 26
Worm-eating Warbler - 11
Louisiana Waterthrush - 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 2
Prothonotary Warbler - 5
Swainson's Warbler - 2
Kentucky Warbler - 4
Common Yellowthroat - 6
Hooded Warbler - 38
American Redstart - 2
(video: songs of Northern Parula, American Redstart, White-eyed Vireo, and Carolina Wren - stop 18 by Rawson Creek)
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Northern Parula - 10
Pine Warbler - 5
Prairie Warbler - 13
(video: singing Prairie Warbler - stop 13 in the Chalk Hills. Also heard in the video: Eastern Towhee, Yellow-breasted Chat, Indigo Bunting, White-eyed Vireo)
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Summer Tanager - 17
Northern Cardinal - 64
Blue Grosbeak - 10
Indigo Bunting - 34
Painted Bunting - 3
passerine sp. - 5
Trout BBS:
The Trout Route winds its way through central La Salle Parish. It starts by the junction of LA-126 and LA-503 in the Nickel community, and follows LA-503 southwest to Summerville. Crossing LA-127, the route takes Taylor Chapel Road to Zimmer Creek Rd, and follows Zimmer Creek Rd south to US-84. The Route takes LA-772 at US-84 in Trout, follows 772 to LA-8, then LA-8 east to Appleby Rd near the Midway community. South of the highway the route returns to the backroads, following portions of Appleby, Tingle, Hangar, Emma, and Fire Tower Roads to come out on the Nebo-Belah Road in the Belah-Fellowship community. From here it's south down Nebo-Belah Road, with the route ending amid pine plantations and oil wells a few stops down that way.
Below are habitat shots for the Trout Route, before continuing on to the complete bird list.
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| stop 3 - LA-503 between Nickel and Summerville |
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| stop 7 - LA-503 |
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| LA-503 |
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| LA-503 |
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| a stop along LA-503 |
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| Zimmer Creek Rd (stop 21, I think) |
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| ZC Rd |
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| ZC Rd (stop 24, I think) |
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| ZC Rd (stop 26? One of many stops along the Trout route that had been logged since last run in 2019) |
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| ZC Rd immediately N of US-84 -- looking down logging road in cutover that has been sprayed with herbicide--one of many such places in the area that are left looking like the dead of winter despite the season -- 6/3/21 |
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| LA-8 (stop 34, I think) -- Northern Bobwhite, Chipping Sparrow, and Swainson's Warbler were among the species heard at this stop. |
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| Emma Rd |
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| Nebo-Belah Rd -- stop 47 |
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| Nebo-Belah Rd -- stop 48 |
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Trout BBS Route
June 3, 2021
5:53 am; 4 hrs, 27 mins; 24.5 miles
65-75 F.; cloudy/mixed, overcast, clearing at very end; calm, very light breeze
*This list contains birds recorded on the official BBS, as well as the other birds detected on the BBS route that day.*
Northern Bobwhite - 1
Mourning Dove- 34
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 5
Chimney Swift - 12
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Killdeer - 1
Great Blue Heron - 1
Little Blue Heron - 1
Green Heron - 1
Black Vulture - 1
Turkey Vulture - 8
Mississippi Kite - 1
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| Mississippi Kite - 6/3/21 |
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Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 24
Downy Woodpecker - 6
Pileated Woodpecker - 6
Northern Flicker - 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 9
Acadian Flycatcher - 1
Great Crested Flycatcher - 8
Eastern Kingbird - 6
White-eyed Vireo - 42
Yellow-throated Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 23
Blue Jay - 23
American Crow - 38
Carolina Chickadee - 17
Tufted Titmouse - 21
Purple Martin - 1
Barn Swallow - 8
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 20
Carolina Wren - 44
European Starling - 5
Brown Thrasher - 6
Northern Mockingbird - 15
Eastern Bluebird - 5
Wood Thrush - 13
Chipping Sparrow - 15
Eastern Towhee - 17
Yellow-breasted Chat - 39
Orchard Oriole - 11
Brown-headed Cowbird - 11
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| male Brown-headed Cowbird - stop 5 |
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Common Grackle - 1
Louisiana Waterthrush - 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 3
Swainson's Warbler - 7
Common Yellowthroat - 4
Kentucky Warbler - 3
Hooded Warbler - 47
Northern Parula - 2
Pine Warbler - 7
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 13
Summer Tanager - 6
Northern Cardinal - 73
Blue Grosbeak - 12
Indigo Bunting - 32
Painted Bunting - 1
passerine sp. - 10
Frogmore BBS:
The Frogmore Route begins on LA-566 at the north end of Bob Rife Road between Clayton and the community of Dunbarton, just south of the Tensas River in northern Concordia Parish. It follows LA-566 west, then south, coming out onto US-84 at Frogmore. Then it's west down 84 to LA-129, then south down 129 to Ames Road. The Route then follows Ames Road west to Gallup Rd, Gallup south to LA-565 in the Lismore community, and the last couple of stops are down Deadning Road south of the highway, in east-central Concordia Parish.
Below are habitat shots for the Frogmore Route, before continuing on to the complete bird list.
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| stop 1 |
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(video: birdsong at stop 2 - Painted Bunting, Wood Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, Prothonotary Warbler, ...)
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| LA-566 - stop 4 |
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| stop 9 - approaching Dunbarton Church |
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| LA-566 at Dickcissel spot - stop 12 |
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| LA-566 at stop 14 - south of Dunbarton (I think the area might be called Cypress Grove) |
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| stop 15 south of Dunbarton ("Cypress Grove"?) - LA-566 - There's the remains of an Indian mound on private land just off the highway. |
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| LA-566 - stop ... 17? 18? After a while all these fields start to look the same. |
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| There are several stops along LA-566 north of Frogmore - ~stops 19-25 - where there's only narrow fields between the road and woods (on one or both sides of the road), making these some of the birdier stops in this area. |
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| stop 26 - US-84 - Frogmore cotton gin; historic plantation visible there just up/across the highway |
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| stop 27 - US-84/small bayou at Frogmore community |
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| stop 29 - corner of LA-129 and US-84 at Stacy |
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| stop 31 - LA-129 south of Frogmore-Stacy |
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| Ames Road - stop 36 or 37 - These first few wooded stops along Ames Road are some of the birdier areas of the Frogmore Route. |
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| woods along Ames Rd |
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| Ames Rd |
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| woods along Ames Rd - Species here included Swainson's, Kentucky, and Hooded Warblers, among others. |
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| Gallup Road, approaching LA-565 |
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Frogmore Route June 12, 2021
6:36 am; 4 hr, 16 mins; 24 miles
mid-70s - 83 F.; mostly clear, then overcast, then sunny; wind S 1-5 mph, light breeze
*This list contains birds recorded on the official BBS, as well as the other birds detected on the BBS route that day.*
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 6
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| Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks - stop 10, Dunbarton |
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| Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks |
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Wood Duck - 2
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 9
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| Eurasian Collared-Dove - stop 26, Frogmore |
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Mourning Dove- 45
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 29
Chimney Swift - 3
Killdeer - 3
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| Killdeer - stop 16, LA-566 between Dunbarton and Frogmore |
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Neotropic Cormorant - 1
Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 13
Snowy Egret - 6
Little Blue Heron - 17
Cattle Egret - 27
white egret sp. - 1
White Ibis - 10
Turkey Vulture - 3
Mississippi Kite - 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Barred Owl - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 28
Downy Woodpecker - 8
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 3
Acadian Flycatcher - 5
Great Crested Flycatcher - 11
Eastern Kingbird - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 23
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Loggerhead Shrike - 5
Blue Jay - 16
American Crow - 20
Carolina Chickadee - 4
Tufted Titmouse - 13
Barn Swallow - 30
Cliff Swallow - 9
swallow sp. - 1
Carolina Wren - 32
European Starling - 22
Brown Thrasher - 4
Northern Mockingbird - 16
Eastern Bluebird - 2
Wood Thrush - 5
House Sparrow - 6
Eastern Towhee - 10
Yellow-breasted Chat - 12
Eastern Meadowlark - 1
Orchard Oriole - 4
Red-winged Blackbird - 128
Brown-headed Cowbird - 29
Common Grackle - 22
blackbird sp. - 2
Prothonotary Warbler - 32
Swainson's Warbler - 3
Kentucky Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Hooded Warbler - 2
Northern Parula - 3
Summer Tanager - 8
Northern Cardinal - 62
Blue Grosbeak - 9
Indigo Bunting - 53
Painted Bunting - 16
Dickcissel - 2
(video: singing male Dickcissel - stop 12 south of Dunbarton)
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passerine sp. - 7
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