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| Mountain Azalea - Forest Service Rd. 131 in Kisatchie National Forest, Grant Parish - 3/26/22 |
- January-Feb. observations, including many of the same locations:
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This post covers a few trips to the field in Catahoula, Grant, and La Salle Parishes during March, 2022. Bird migration is underway, butterfly activity is picking up, wildflowers are starting to bloom and things in general are starting to get a little more interesting after what I have to say was a fairly disappointing winter for birding and wildlife observation in general.
Sicily Island Hills (Catahoula Parish) - March 20, 2022
I planned to meet Craig Marks in Sicily Island Hills (JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA) on 3/20/22 to search for butterflies, especially Pepper and Salt Skippers. I arrived early in the morning and birded driving the length of the main road through the southern part of the WMA, making lots of stops and taking some short walks. I heard or saw several personal First of Season species for the spring, including White-eyed and Yellow-throated Vireos, Worm-eating and Hooded Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Northern Parula. I then met up with Craig, as well as Brad Moon and Phillip Wallace, at 10:30 a.m. at the check-in kiosk/primitive campground area. We walked the campground road and several locations along the main road and observed close to 30 butterfly species. Craig and I found 1 Pepper and Salt Skipper at a location where I'd seen the species in past years during their spring flight (late March and early April). Brad Photographed a Henry's Elfin, a new parish species according to Craig's records, nectaring in a Redbud tree. My bird list and our combined butterfly list and a few other observations are below. First, some habitat shots:
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| creek just inside the WMA |
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| main road through southern part of WMA |
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| check-in kiosk/primitive campground road |
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| main road |
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| next sideroad on left after kiosk - This area was partly logged a few years ago. |
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| main road |
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| ditto |
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| ditto |
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| ditto |
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| main road |
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| The habitat takes on a more piney-woods nature towards the northwest end of the road. |
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| looking out over the Big Creek bottoms at NW end of road |
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Sicily Island Hills
March 20, 2022
6:53 am - 4:10 pm; 4.6 miles
40-75F.; sunny; wind calm to ~5mph
Birds:
Mourning Dove - 14
Double-crested Cormorant - 4
Little Blue Heron - 1
Turkey Vulture - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 11
Downy Woodpecker - 5
Pileated Woodpecker - 8
Northern Flicker - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 1 (FOS)
Yellow-throated Vireo - 5 (FOS)
Blue Jay - 6
American Crow - 8
Carolina Chickadee - 11
Tufted Titmouse - 38
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 12
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Carolina Wren - 15
Brown Thrasher - 2
Hermit Thrush - 2
American Goldfinch - 6
White-throated Sparrow - 7
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Eastern Towhee - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - 13
Worm-eating Warbler - 5 (FOS)
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| Worm-eating Warbler (same in video below) |
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Louisiana Waterthrush - 7 (FOS)
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Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Hooded Warbler - 1 (FOS)
Northern Parula - 5 (FOS)
Pine Warbler - 14
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 5
Northern Cardinal - 17
Craig observed 2 Wild Turkey gobblers fighting in the road shortly after we parted.
Butterflies:
Juvenal's Duskywing - 3
Horace's Duskywing - 2
duskywing sp. (J/H) - numerous
Common Checkered-Skipper - 1
Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper - 5
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| Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper |
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Pepper and Salt Skipper - 1
Clouded Skipper - 1
Pipevine Swallowtail - 12
Spicebush Swallowtail - 3
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 10
Giant Swallowtail - 1
Falcate Orangetip - 11
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| female Falcate Orangetip nectaring on False Garlic |
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Cloudless Sulphur - 5
Sleepy Orange - 3
Henry's Elfin - 1
Red-banded Hairstreak - Abundant
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| Red-banded Hairstreaks |
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Gray Hairstreak - 1
White-M Hairstreak - 1
Spring Azure - 6
Eastern Tailed-Blue - 3
American Snout - 2
Pearl Crescent - numerous (~20?)
Question Mark - 13
Red Admiral - 2
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple - 1
Goatweed Leafwing - 15
Southern Pearly-eye - 2
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| Southern Pearly-eye nectaring on plum blooms |
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Gemmed Satyr - 5
Carolina Satyr - 8
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| Carolina Satyr |
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satyr sp. (C/G) - 4
butterfly sp. - 7
Herps:
Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green Treefrog; Green Anole, Little Brown Skink
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| Green Treefrog |
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Mammals: Eastern Gray Squirrel
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| Eastern Gray Squirrel |
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a few wildflower pics...
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| Eastern Redbud |
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| wild plum sp. |
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| Phlox sp. |
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| Red Buckeye |
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Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit - March 21, 2022
The following day I visited the Headquarters Unit of Catahoula NWR in eastern La Salle Parish. Birding was just okay, but I did add a couple of FOS species to my yearlist: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck and Black-and-white Warbler.
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| east leg of refuge loop |
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| east leg of refuge loop |
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| north end of Duck Lake ("Little Lake" on some maps) |
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Catahoula NWR HQ Unit:
March 21, 2022
8:16 am; 1 hr, 55 mins; 2.8 miles
52-62F.; cloudy; E and SE wind 5-10mph
Birds:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 1 (FOS; a low flyover)
Wood Duck - 6
Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Great Blue Heron - 2
Turkey Vulture - 4
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 8
Downy Woodpecker - 7
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Phoebe - 2
White-eyed Vireo - 1
(video: song of White-eyed Vireo)
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Yellow-throated Vireo - 4
Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 15
Tufted Titmouse - 9
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Carolina Wren - 12
Brown Thrasher - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 3
Swamp Sparrow - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 20
Brown-headed Cowbird - 8
Common Grackle - 9
blackbird sp. - 6
Black-and-white Warbler - 1 (FOS; a male singing and seen)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 8
Northern Cardinal - 16
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Herps:
Cajun Chorus Frog, Spring Peeper, Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Southern Leopard Frog
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(video: song of Cajun Chorus Frogs)
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Mammals: Fox Squirrel
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Kisatchie National Forest, including National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve (Grant Parish) - March 26, 2022
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On March 26 I made a butterfly and birding trip to portions of Kisatchie National Forest Catahoula Ranger District in northern Grant Parish. I began in the eastern part of National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve, along Bear Creek Road (which forms the boundary of Winn and Catahoula Ranger Districts here), the part of Forest Service Road 102 between Lincecum Village Road and Indian Creek (102 is rough and muddy beyond the bridge), and the part of FS Rd. 131 from Lincecum Village Rd. south to the edge of the WMP.
Habitat shots below before we continue.
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| Woods just south of Bear Creek at the WMP boundary (White-breasted Nuthatch heard here.) |
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| NCWMP - Bear Creek Rd. |
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| NCWMP - woods along FS Rd 102 |
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| one of the small streams that FS 102 crosses - NCWMP |
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| NCWMP - Indian Creek at FS Rd 102 bridge, near Swallow-tailed Kite location (photos of bird in bird list below). The road was, as is often the case, rutted and muddy/partly flooded just west of the bridge, so I turned around. |
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| NCWMP - First creek on FS 131 south of Lincecum Village Rd. |
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| woods near FS 131 at southern boundary of WMP |
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After that I continued in parts of KNF south of the WMP along FS Rd 131, to FS 128, 128 to FS 169, 169 south to FS 120, where I walked along the small creek just west of the junction (I know it as "Sandy Branch"), then FS Rd 120 east, spending a good bit of time in the Fish Creek bottoms, and ending at the junction of FS Rds. 120 and 103.
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| FS Rd 131 - Reentering KNF at Indian Creek bottoms ~0.3 miles south of previous habitat shot. |
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| Indian Creek at FS Rd 131 |
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| woods along FS 131 |
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| FS Rd 131 |
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| woods along 131 |
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| FS 128 - The region ~these habitat shots is called John's Hills, I think. |
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| woods along FS 169 |
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| Sandy Branch at FS 120 |
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| woods along south side of FS 120 across from end of 169 |
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| Fish Creek at FS Rd 120 |
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| FS Rd 120 in the Fish Creek bottoms |
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| woods in the Fish Creek bottoms (a lot of trees were knocked down or damaged by Hurricane Laura) |
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| Panther Bayou, a slough in the Fish Creek bottoms |
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| large beaver pond at corner of FS Rds. 120 and 103 |
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Kisatchie National Forest - March 26, 2022
- first number is for eastern parts of National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve along parts of Bear Creek Rd and Forest Service Roads 102 and 131: 10:29am; 2hr, 21mins; 4 miles; ~60-70F., sunny, light breeze
- second number is for parts of Kisatchie NF south of there along FS Rds 131, 128, 169, & 120: 12:52pm; 3 hr, 18min; 6.7; ~70-80F., sunny, some light breeze
Birds:
Black Vulture - 1, 1
Turkey Vulture - 7, 2
Swallow-tailed Kite - 1, 0 (FOS)
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| Swallow-tailed Kite - FS Rd in the Indian Creek bottoms |
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| Swallow-tailed Kite |
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(video: Swallow-tailed Kite)
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Red-shouldered Hawk - 2, 3
Barred Owl - 0, 2
Red-belllied Woodpecker - 5, 2
Downy Woodpecker - 1, 0
Pileated Woodpecker - 0, 3
Northern Flicker - 1, 0
White-eyed Vireo - 10, 2
Yellow-throated Vireo - 3, 0
Blue Jay - 3, 2
American Crow - 4, 8
Carolina Chickadee - 8, 10
Tufted Titmouse - 8, 4
Purple Martin - 0, 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5, 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1, 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - 1, 0
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 3, 7
Carolina Wren - 8, 13
Gray Catbird - 1, 0 (FOS)
American Goldfinch - 2, 16
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| American Goldfinch |
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| American Goldfinch |
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White-throated Sparrow - 0, 1
Eastern Towhee - 5, 1
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1, 0
Worm-eating Warbler - 1, 0
Louisiana Waterthrush - 0, 1
Orange-crowned Warbler - 2, 0
Hooded Warbler - 4, 2
Northern Parula - 4, 1
Pine Warbler - 15, 17
Yellow-rumped Warble (Myrtle) - 3, 2
Yellow-throated Warbler - 0, 1 (FOS; singing in hilly pine forest, FS 131 ~0.25 miles N of FS 128)
Northern Cardinal - 11, 6
Butterflies:
duskywing sp. (Juvenal's, Horace's, and possibly Sleepy) - 7, 14
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| duskywing sp. (Juvenal's DW?) |
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Zebra Swallowtail - 5, 9
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| Zebra Swallowtail nectaring on False Garlic - Indian Creek at FS Rd 131 |
Spicebush Swallowtail - 2, 5
Pipevine Swallowtail - 1, 1
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 1, 2
Palamedes Swallowtail - 0, 1
Orange Sulphur - 0, 1
Cloudless Sulphur - 5, 13
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| Cloudless Sulphur - woods near FS 102 |
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Sleepy Orange - 1,
Red-banded Hairstreak - 1,
Eastern Tailed-Blue - 0, 2
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| Eastern tailed-Blue - FS Rd 120 |
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Pearl Crescent - 5+, 12
Goatweed Leafwing - 5+, 9
Carolina Satyr - 3, 2
Gemmed Satyr - 0, 3
satyr sp. - 0, 4
b/fly sp. - 0, 5
I noted a couple of moth species: Eight-spotted Forester and Figure-seven Moth.
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| tentative ID: Eight-spotted Forester nectaring on Flowering Dogwood - FS Rd 102 |
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| tentative ID: Figure-seven Moth - FS Rd 102 |
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Herps: Cajun Chorus Frog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Blanchard's Cricket Frog; Little Brown Skink, snake sp. (possibly North American Racer)
Fish:
Creek Chub, chubsucker sp., shiner/minnow sp. (Cyprinid), Blackspotted/Blackstripe Topminnow, Western Mosquitofish, darter sp.
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| tentative ID: Creek Chubsucker sp. - small tributary of Sandy Branch |
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...a few wildflower pics...
Flowering Dogwood
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| Flowering Dogwood - FS Rd 102 |
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| Flowering Dogwood - FS Rd 169 |
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Mountain Azalea
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| Mountain Azalea - FS Rd 131 |
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| Mountain Azalea - FS Rd 120 |
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| ditto |
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| tentative ID: Two-wing Silverbell - Fish Creek bottoms along FS Rd 120 |
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| Yellow Jessamine |
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| yellow woodsorrel sp. (Oxalis) |
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| violet sp. (Viola) |
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| violet sp. (Viola) |
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Trout Creek environs (La Salle Parish)
On March 27 I decided to bird along a couple of rural roads west of Jena in La Salle Parish that I'd largely neglected the past year or so but which I used to bird frequently. The first is Sparrow Street, which runs from the Goodpine community south to LA-8. The other is Snyder Road, which runs from LA-8 at the Eden community, north to LA-500 at Searcy. Both pass through upland generally piney-woods settings, with cutovers, thickets, and hardwood creek bottoms, though the habitat along Sparrow St. has become much degraded. Both roads have residential areas at their north end which I avoid birding around. They have in common that they both cross Trout Creek, a stream on the list of Louisiana Scenic Rivers and Waterways, though at the Sparrow Street bridge, near the creek's upstream end, it's quite small and often marred with litter. The Snyder Road bridge environs are quite attractive as a place to watch wildlife, but the land along both roads is PRIVATE PROPERTY, so one cannot venture from the road.
Sparrow Street is paved and always drivable, if bumpy and busy. Snyder Road, however, is gravel and prone to becoming muddy to the point that if it has rained in the past few days, attempting to bird along it would not be advisable as bogging down becomes a real possibility.
On this trip I did Sparrow Street from Webster Cem. Rd. south to LA-8. I did Snyder Road from the south end at LA-8, north to the new cutover about 1.4 miles up it's roughly 3-and-a-half mile length, plus the 0.4 mile paved side road Choctaw Cemetery Road. Below are habitat shots and the bird lists. Few butterflies or other wildlife were observed.
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| new cutover along Sparrow Street |
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| Trout Creek at Sparrow Street |
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| Snyder Rd south of Trout Creek |
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| ... |
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| Trout Creek at Snyder Rd bridge (upstream) - The beavers have been busy since I was last here in August. |
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| habitat along Choctaw Cem. Rd. |
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| Snyder Rd north of Choctaw Cem. Rd. |
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| new cutover on Snyder Road / farthest I went |
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| my FOS Broad-winged Hawk - Choctaw Cem. Rd. x Snyder Rd. |
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Trout Creek environs in central La Salle Parish (Sparrow Street and Snyder Road)
- first number is for Sparrow St.: 7:54am; 21 min; 1.8 miles; sunny, mild, calm
- second number is for south part of Snyder Rd. including Choctaw Cem. Rd.: 8:19am; 1hr, 24min; 1.8 miles; sunny, mild, not much wind
Birds:
Wild Turkey - 0, 1 (gobbled a few times)
Mourning Dove - 2, 0
Killdeer - 0, 1
Turkey Vulture - 1, 2
Broad-winged Hawk - 0, 1 (FOS)
Belted Kingfisher - 0, 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 4, 4
Downy Woodpecker - 1, 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1, 1
Northern Flicker - 1, 0
White-eyed Vireo - 4, 6
Yellow-throated Vireo - 3, 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 1, 1
Blue Jay - 6, 5
American Crow - 2, 2
Carolina Chickadee - 7, 6
Tufted Titmouse - 5, 8
Barn Swallow - 1, 0
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 5, 13
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2, 3
House Wren - 0, 1
Carolina Wren - 3, 9
Brown Thrasher - 0, 1
Northern Mockingbird - 1, 0
Eastern Bluebird - 2, 0
American Goldfinch - 1, 5
Chipping Sparrow - 2, 1
White-throated Sparrow - 5, 3
Swamp Sparrow - 2, 0
Eastern Towhee - 6, 0
Brown-headed Cowbird - 3, 1
Worm-eating Warbler - 0, 3
Louisiana Waterthrush - 1, 2
Black-and-white Warbler - 2, 2
(video: song of B-and-w Warbler - Snyder Rd.)
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Hooded Warbler - 2, 7
(video: song of Hooded Warbler and Northern Cardinal - Snyder Rd.)
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Northern Parula - 1, 2
Pine Warbler - 5, 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 1, 4
Northern Cardinal - 7, 15
As always if you spot any incorrect IDs or have suggestions for those that I'm unsure about, feel free to comment and let me know.
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