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| King's Hairstreak - Winn Parish |
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Related Posts:
- Kisatchie NF and nearby locations - April-May, 2022:
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This post covers three trips to Kisatchie National Forest in during June and July, 2022. On two of those excursions I also spent some time at nearby locations outside of the National Forest. An account of each of those trips is below.
Kisatchie National Forest, June 14th:
I went to Kisatchie NF on June 14 with a goal of locating King's Hairstreak butterflies in several areas before their May-June flight season petered out. On this trip I made my way up through the heart of KNF in Grant Parish (and eventually into southern Winn Parish), making numerous stops and taking a number of walks into the woods and along the road. My route followed Forest Service Road 119 from its south end, up to FS Rd. 120...
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| south end of FS Rd. 119 |
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| Socia Branch |
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| ... |
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| FS 119 - Worm-eating Warbler was singing in the underbrush here |
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...then taking FS 120 going northwest--crossing LA-123, Fish Creek, LA-472 (here FS 120 becomes Mosley Road while outside the KNF for a little ways in the Williana community), and crossing US-167--all the way to 120's west end at FS Rd 155.
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| habitat along FS 120 south/east of LA-123 |
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| ditto FS 120 |
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| pond at corner of FS 103 and 120 |
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| Fish Creek bottoms along FS 120 |
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| FS 120 in Fish Creek bottoms |
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| Fish Creek |
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| FS 120 at FS 172 |
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| small creek bottom woods along Sandy Branch by FS 120 |
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| Sandy Branch |
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| FS 120 west of 145 |
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| upper fork of Fish Creek at 120 |
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| FS 120 east of LA-472 |
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| creek (tributary of Saddle Bayou) at FS Rd. 120 west of US-167 |
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| FS 120 east of FS 155 |
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Then I took FS 155 north, across Saddle Bayou and into the National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve (part of KNF Catahoula and Winn Ranger Districts).
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| Saddle Bayou bottoms, which were wrecked-up by Hurricane Laura. |
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| Saddle Bayou - FS 155 |
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| Saddle Bayou, a tributary of Iatt Creek - FS 155 |
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Then it was west on FS 558, spending some time on the 0.7-mile stretch where it crosses a gap in the NF (private land) in the Iatt Creek bottoms, before reentering NCWMP/KNF.
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| ... |
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| ... |
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| Iatt Creek |
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| Iatt Creek |
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Then north on FS 530, passing into Winn Parish, and ending at the north end of the drivable section of that road west of Iatt Creek.
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| FS Rd. 530 |
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| FS 530 |
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| ditto |
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| one of several small creeks along FS 530 |
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Afterward, I made my way back along this route to FS 558, and continued east on 558 (making some stops to look for butterflies) to US-167, then east on FS 556 east of US-167, and south down FS 145 to beyond LA-472.
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| FS 558 - a lot of Sweetleaf, but no King's Hairstreaks |
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| an upper fork of Indian Creek - FS Rd. 145 |
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| woods along FS Rd. 145 |
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| a small tributary of Indian Creek - FS Rd. 145 |
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This is when I finished serious birding/butterfly-ing, but I drove FS 120 SE back to US-165 on my way out, passing through many miles of KNF, most of it the route I'd taken that morning.
The areas south of FS Rds. 558 and 556 are in the Catahoula Ranger District, the areas north of those roads are in the Winn Ranger District.
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What did I find?
I stopped at a Red-cockaded Woodpecker colony along FS 119 to listen for not only the woodpeckers, but also Bachman's Sparrow, as the habitat looked promising. For the first time since the summer of 2020 (the first time since the Feb. 2021 ice storm and prolonged period of freezing temps, which I suspect was the cause of a drop in the species' numbers here) I heard a Bachman's Sparrow singing in Grant Parish. Other birders have found them here during that period, but they had seemed to be scarcer than before the ice storm. I walked off into the open mowed area under the pines a ways and stood listening to the bird which would only sing occasionally. The singing was coming from the edge of the thicker undergrowth a good ways down the hill. I finally glimpsed it fly from one spot to another along the edge of the undergrowth, where it resumed singing. I didn't get close enough for a decent video recording of the song.
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| Bachman's Sparrow and Red-cockaded Woodpecker location - FS Rd. 119 |
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Swainson's Warblers hold a particular fascination for me, so I'm always interested in finding these shy, cryptic little songbirds. They appear to be uncommon in the areas of Kisatchie NF that I frequent, but can be found in some locations there if you keep an eye out for appropriate habitat. On this trip I heard one singing at the edge of the creek bottoms along FS. Rd. 120 west of US-167.
(video: Swainson's Warbler song - FS 120 near creek west of US-167)
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Stopping along the off-NF portion of FS 558/Parish Road 599 to look and listen for American Redstarts has become a highlight of breeding season trips to that area. American Redstarts are a common migrant passing through Cenla during the spring and fall, but as local breeders they are not encountered as often as are the other warblers that breed here in this region of the state. At least that's been my experience. So, it's nice to find areas that appear to have breeding populations of American Redstarts. On my previous visit here (May, 2022) I heard 4(!) singing along this stretch of road in the Iatt Creek bottoms, getting a look at one of them. On this June 14th visit I heard three. This location--the stretch of road in the Iatt Creek bottoms--is divided between Grant and Winn Parishes, with the parish line unmarked.
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(video: song of American Redstart, 6/14)
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At the very farthest point of my route--the north end of the section of FS 530 west of Iatt Creek--I heard a Northern Bobwhite. The bird was calling from down the dirt track that extends beyond the road proper. That's just the second time I've recorded that species in NCWMP, the first was during the May 2022 visit.
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King's Hairstreaks are a species of small butterfly who are dependent upon Common Sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria), aka: Horse Sugar, as their only larval host plant. For the past three years I've been making a concerted effort to find colonies of King's Hairstreaks by visiting sites with a lot of Sweetleaf during this butterfly's single annual flight season (roughly mid-May to mid-June in this part of the state).
I found the first King's Hairstreak of the day in Winn Parish. According to Craig Marks (author of Butterflies of Louisiana), this was a new parish record (one of the reasons I was keen to search for the species in that area). I found a second Winn Parish King's HS at another location approximately 0.4 miles north of the first spot.
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| first King's Hairstreak location, Winn Parish (Note the abundance of Sweetleaf in all of the King's Hairstreak locations shots.) |
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| 1st King's Hairstreak of the day - Winn Parish |
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| King's Hairstreak number 2 (Winn) |
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| 2nd Winn King's Hairstreak spot |
Later in the afternoon I visited two sites along FS 145 in Grant Parish where I had found the species last year. I found 3 individuals at the first of these two locations. I found the last KHS of the day at the second of these locations (third year to find this species there), making for a total of 6 King's Hairstreaks on this day, spread across four locations.
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| small part of a large stand of Sweetleaf in woods off FS Rd. 145 - Grant Parish King's HS location no. 1 |
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| part of same Sweetleaf grove off FS Rd. 145 - Grant location no. 1 |
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| King's Hairstreak 3 (Grant) |
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| King's Hairstreak 4 (Grant) |
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| King's Hairstreak 5 (Grant) |
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| King's Hairstreak 6 (Grant) |
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| last KHS location of the day (third year to find the species at this patch of Sweetleaf) |
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King's Hairstreaks are ranked G3, Vulnerable (VU) by NatureServe. So, please respect this species' sensitive status if you encountered it. Also avoid damaging the host plants (Common Sweetleaf), and avoid damaging possible nectar sources such as flowering Sourwood, which may be limited in number in the vicinity of Sweetleaf groves/KHS colonies.
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Butterfly numbers and diversity were modest this day, but a couple of highlights besides the King's Hairstreaks include finding Silvery Checkerspots at four separate locations and finding a Southern Pearly-eye. The So. Pearly-eye was by FS 558 at the first creek west of US-167. I've seen the species ~ that location before.
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| Silvery Checkerspot at Saddle Bayou |
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| Southern Pearly-eye |
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Birds and butterflies usually take the spotlight in these posts, but I am interested in all wildlife that I encounter.
White-tailed Deer had been active since the recent rain; I found fresh tracks at a number of locations along the roads.
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| White-tailed Deer track |
I saw a Common Box Turtle crossing FS 120 west of US-167 in Grant Parish. I saw a Nerodia watersnake, probably a Plain-bellied Watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster), at a puddle on FS 530 in Winn Parish.
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| Common Box Turtle - I think the white marks on it's shell are tooth marks from a dog or Coyote or other predator. |
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| Plain-bellied Watersnake - Winn Parish |
At a small creek on FS 145 I photographed a dragonfly which I knew to be one of the "emerald" species, but not being up to speed on my Odonata ID I didn't know which one. After a little research and with help from Brad Moon, it's looking like the dragonfly may be a Clamp-tipped Emerald (Somatochlora tenebrosa), a species which, as far as we can tell, has not previously been reported from Louisiana. This species is most common well to our northeast, but it has been reported from Mississippi, Arkansas, and east Texas, so it makes sense that it would be turn out to be in Louisiana as well, filling in that gap.
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| likely Clamp-tipped Emerald - FS Rd. 145 in Grant Parish |
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Birds:
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Kisatchie National Forest Catahoula Ranger District - areas south of NCWMP
FS Rds. 119, 120, 155
June 14, 2022
6:23am - 10:23am; 12.6 miles
Mourning Dove - 3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 4
Chimney Swift - 2
Turkey Vulture - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 5
Downy Woodpecker - 3
Red-cockaded Woodpecker - 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 3
Northern Flicker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Acadian Flycatcher - 5
Eastern Kingbird - 1
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| Eastern Kingbird - pond at corner of FS Rds. 120 and 103 |
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White-eyed Vireo - 13
Red-eyed Vireo - 25
Blue Jay - 7
American Crow - 10
Carolina Chickadee - 16
Tufted Titmouse - 24
Purple Martin - 1
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 6
Carolina Wren - 38
Wood Thrush - 6
Bachman's Sparrow - 1
Eastern Towhee - 7
Yellow-breasted Chat - 17
Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Swainson's Warbler - 1
Kentucky Warbler - 2
Hooded Warbler - 47
Northern Parula - 1
Pine Warbler - 36
Prairie Warbler - 4
Summer Tanager - 7
Northern Cardinal - 25
Blue Grosbeak - 3
Indigo Bunting - 12
passerine sp. - 15
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Birds:
National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve (in KNF Catahoula and Winn Ranger Districts)
6/14/22
Grant Parish portions: 10:24am - 10:29am; 11:02am - 11:22am; 1:15pm - 2:02pm; 2:05pm - 3:33pm
Mileage per section: 0.9; 1.5; 3; 3.7; Total distance: 9.2 miles
Winn Parish portions: 11:22am; 1 hr 47 min
3 miles
First number is for Grant Parish portions, second number is for Winn Parish:
Northern Bobwhite - 0, 1
Mourning Dove - 1, 0
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1, 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1, 0
Broad-winged Hawk - 0, 1
Red-headed Woodpecker - 0, 2
Downy Woodpecker - 2, 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1, 0
Acadian Flycatcher - 3, 3
White-eyed Vireo - 2, 0
Yellow-throated Vireo - 0, 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 18, 9
Blue Jay - 1, 0
American Crow - 4, 0
Carolina Chickadee - 9, 4
Tufted Titmouse - 13, 3
White-breasted Nuthatch - 1, 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1, 3
Carolina Wren - 11, 5
Wood Thrush - 1, 0
Yellow-breasted Chat - 3, 0
Kentucky Warbler - 1, 0
Hooded Warbler - 14, 7
Northern Parula - 1, 0
Pine Warbler - 16, 10
Summer Tanager - 5, 6
Northern Cardinal - 8, 3
Indigo Bunting - 3, 0
passerine sp. - 5, 6
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Iatt Creek bottoms (Grant and Winn Pars., not in KNF):
6/14/22
10:29am - 11:02am
0.7 miles
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Acadian Flycatcher - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 3
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Carolina Wren - 1
Kentucky Warbler - 2
Hooded Warbler - 4
American Redstart - 3
Northern Parula - 1
Northern Cardinal - 5
passerine sp. - 3
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At Fish Creek on FS Rd 120 (on the way back out, not detected there that morning):
Little Blue Heron - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
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| Little Blue Heron - Fish Creek |
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Butterflies 6/14/22 (all locations):
duskywing sp. - 1
Clouded Skipper - 1
Dun Skipper - 5
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| Dun Skipper nectaring on Buttonbush - FS Rd. 120 west of US-167 |
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Southern Broken-Dash - 4
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| Southern Broken-Dash, nectaring on mountainmint (Pycnanthemum sp.) - FS Rd 120 west of US-167 |
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So./No. Broken-Dash - 3
skipper sp. - 12
Pipevine Swallowtail - 1
Spicebush Swallowtail - 1
Zebra Swallowtail - 13
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| Zebra Swallowtail nectaring on Water Hemlock - FS Rd 558 west of Iatt Creek |
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Palamedes Swallowtail - 2
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| Palamedes Swallowtail - FS Rd. 120 east of FS 145 |
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Giant Swallowtail- 1
swallowtail sp. - 1
Cloudless Sulphur - 3
Sleepy Orange - 1
King's Hairstreak - 6
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| King's Hairstreak 1 (Winn) |
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| 5th King's Hairstreak - Grant Parish |
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Red-banded Hairstreak -2
American Snout - 1
Pearl Crescent - 1
Silvery Ceckerspot - 8
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| Silvery Checkerspot - FS 558 east of FS 155 |
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| Silvery Checkerspot - FS 558 at first creek west of US-167 |
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Goatweed Leafwing - 1
Gemmed Satyr - 1
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| Gemmed Satyr - near FS 530 in Winn Parish |
Carolina Satyr - 7
Southern Pearly-eye - 1
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| Southern Pearly-eye - FS 558 |
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butterfly sp. - 8
Herps:
Green Treefrog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Little Brown Skink, Green Anole, Plain-bellied Watersnake
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| Common Box Turtle |
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Miscellaneous...
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| sunfish sp., possibly Green Sunfish - small tributary of Indian Creek at FS 145 |
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| crawfish sp. - creek on FS 120 west of US-167 |
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| Eastern Eyed Click Beetle - FS 558 |
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| Bent-shielded Besieger Wasp - FS 120 |
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| Citrine Forktail - FS 120 |
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| Bigroot Morning-Glory - FS 120 |
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| Water Hemlock - FS 558 |
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Grant Parish -- June 29, 2022
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On June 29 I returned to Kisatchie National Forest in Grant Parish. This time I stuck to the southern parts around Pollock and Bentley (all in Catahoula Ranger District). But before birding the National Forest, I made a quick visit to Bodie's Landing on the Grant Parish side of Little River, just down stream from LA-8.
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| Bodie's Landing, Little River |
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| Little River |
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The first area in Kisatchie NF that I went to was the Lofton Road and Big Creek Dam Road area. This is in the southern part of a small tract of NF just northeast of Pollock. I entered via Lofton Road , and went west to the junction with Big Creek Dam Road, and south the short distance down that road to where it ends by the creek.
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| Lofton Road, Kisatchie NF |
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| one of the small streams along Lofton Rd. |
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| Big Creek |
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Bird activity was pretty good, but with nothing unusual to report.
(video: female Ruby-throated Hummingbird - KNF, Lofton Road)
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There were almost no butterflies on the wing. I did however get to watch a juvenile Nine-banded Armadillo foraging beside the road. The little critter was quite tame, allowing me to take pics and videos from just a few feet away.
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| Nine-banded Armadillo |
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| ditto |
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| Horace's Duskywing - Big Creek Road |
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I also saw a Northern Cottonmouth at a small gully at the road.
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After that I went to Stuart Lake Road, FS Rd 146, and Work Center Road (FS 147) and the Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden. This area is located south of LA-8 between Pollock and Bentley.
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| Stuart Lake Road in Kisatchie National Forest Catahoula Ranger District |
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| habitat along Stuart Lake Road... |
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| ditto... |
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| Ironweed - Stuart Lake Rd. |
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| Rough Coneflower |
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| ...Stuart Lake Road |
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| small creek at Stuart Lake Rd near FS 146 |
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| woods along south end of FS 146 (Swainson's Warbler location) |
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| FS Rd 146 through Stuart Seed Orchard - the "meadow" habitat |
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| ditto |
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Bird activity was fair, but I was disappointed not to find Bachman's Sparrows in areas where they were regularly heard (and sometimes seen) a few years ago. I did hear Red-cockaded Woodpeckers along Stuart Lake Road (there are multiple colonies along this road). A Swainson's Warbler singing off in the woods near the south end of FS 146 was a treat, and the calls of Northern Bobwhites and songs of Eastern Meadowlarks rang out in the rolling meadow along the section of FS 146 that passes through the Stuart Seed Orchard.
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(video: vocals of Eastern Meadowlark, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and Northern Bobwhite - FS Rd 146, KNF)
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| Work Center Road (FS Rd. 147) |
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| Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden |
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| ditto |
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| ditto |
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There was a spotted White-tailed Deer fawn beside Work Center Road and a doe crossed W.C. Rd. at the butterfly garden. There were disappointingly few butterflies at the garden compared to what used to be found there at this time of the season in past years, but there were a few other things stirring. A bird box by the parking area housed a brood of Eastern Bluebirds. A Brown Thrasher flushed from an azalea bush when I went to get back in the truck to leave. I peeked in the bush and spotted a nest with at least one very young nesting. I didn't linger more than a few seconds looking at the nest so as not to cause the adult thrasher to stay away from the nest any longer than I already had.
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| Eastern Bluebird nestling |
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| Brown Thrasher nest |
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| Banded Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata)- pond at butterfly garden |
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Lists for birds, butterflies, and herps are below:
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Bodie's Landing (Little River south of LA-8, NOT part of K.N.F.):
8:15am; 23mins; stationary
Inca Dove - 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo- 2
Chimney Swift - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 1
Blue Jay - 4
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 1
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Cliff Swallow - 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Carolina Wren - 3
Eastern Bluebird - 2
Wood Thrush - 1
Orchard Oriole - 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Prothonotary Warbler - 1
Hooded Warbler - 1
Northern Parula - 1
Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 4
Indigo Bunting - 1
passerine sp. - 1
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Kisatchie NF (Lofton Rd. and Big Creek Dam Rd.):
8:52am; 1 hr, 8 min; 1 mile
Mourning Dove - 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Turkey Vulture - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 3
White-eyed Vireo - 7
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 2
Fish Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 4
Barn Swallow - 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Carolina Wren - 4
Wood Thrush - 1
Louisiana Waterthrush - 1
Kentucky Warbler - 1
Hooded Warbler - 8
Northern Parula - 1
Northern Cardinal - 9
Indigo Bunting - 2
passerine sp. - 1
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Kisatchie NF (Stewart Lake Rd., FS Rd. 146, Work Center Rd., Butterfly Garden):
10:13am - 12:30pm
Mileage: 3.0 + 1.0 + 0.7; Total Distance: 4.7 miles
Northern Bobwhite - 2
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(video: call of Northern Bobwhite - FS Rd 146)
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Mourning Dove - 3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Turkey Vulture - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Red-cockaded Woodpecker - 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 3
Acadian Flycatcher - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 2
White-eyed Vireo- 8
Yellow-throated Vireo - 1
Blue Jay - 6
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 7
Tufted Titmouse - 7
Purple Martin - 11
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 10
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2
Carolina Wren - 9
Brown Thrasher - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 5
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| male Eastern Bluebird |
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Wood Thrush - 3
Chipping Sparrow - 2
Eastern Towhee - 6
Yellow-breasted Chat - 7
Eastern Meadowlark - 2
Orchard Oriole - 1
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Swainson's Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 2
Hooded Warbler - 11
Pine Warbler - 8
Prairie Warbler - 1
Summer Tanager - 2
Northern Cardinal - 14
Blue Grosbeak - 3
Indigo Bunting - 16
passerine sp. - 1
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Butterflies (all KNF locations):
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Spicebush Swallowtail - 13
Pipevine Swallowtail - 5
Palamedes Swallowtail - 1
swallowtail sp. - 4
Little Yellow - 2
Gray Hairstreak - 1
Gulf Fritillary - 1
Common Buckeye - 1
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Herps (all KNF locations):
Squirrel Treefrog, Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Frog, Green Anole, Southern Banded Watersnake, Northern Cottonmouth, Pond Slider
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National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve and adjacent parts of Kisatchie National Forest - July 31, 2022:
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| FS Rd. 568, Winn Ranger District (north of LA-500; NOT part of N.C.W.M.P.) |
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| Bear Creek Rd. in NCWMP - This road forms part of the boundary between the Ranger Districts, with Winn on the west/north (right) and Catahoula on the east/south. |
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| American Kestrel spot; timber thinning operation: 5-way intersection of Bear Creek Rd., Lincecum Village Rd., and FS Rds. 131 and 102 - NCWMP - The following areas are south of Lincecum Village Rd., and so in the Catahoula Ranger District. |
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| woods along FS 102 - NCWMP |
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| Indian Creek at FS Rd. 102 - NCWMP |
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| woods in Indian Creek bottoms - NCWMP |
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| pond/swampy area along FS 102 in Indian Creek bottoms - NCWMP |
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| ditto |
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| new cutover on private land along 102 west of Indian Creek |
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| FS Rd. 169 - KNF Catahoula Ranger District outside of NCWMP |
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| FS Rd. 128 - KNF Catahoula Ranger District outside of NCWMP |
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| woods near FS 145 - NCWMP |
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| FS 145 at one of the White-breasted Nuthatch locations - NCWMP |
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| FS 556 at pond between RR trx and US-167 - NCWMP - spot I turned around - This road forms part of the Ranger Districts boundary, with Winn on the north (left in this pic.) and Catahoula on the south |
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I saw White-tailed Deer in a couple of places: a fawn, followed by it's mother, ran across Bear Creek Road; I saw a couple of small does traveling together in the woods near FS Rd. 556.
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| White-tailed Deer fawn - Bear Creek Road |
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| the fawn's mother crossing the road behind it |
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| White-tailed Deer doe - FS Rd 556. If it looks like the deer's body is freakishly long, that's a second deer behind/beside it. |
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One of the more interesting wildflowers that I find in KNF in Grant Parish are Yellow or Orange Fringed Orchids (Platanthera ciliaris). There's a certain area where I find these uncommon flowers, usually starting in August. I found one in bloom there on this outing (July 31).
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| Fringed Yellow or Fringed Orange Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris) |
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Despite the relative abundance blazing-star (Liatris), a favorite nectar source for butterflies, there were disappointingly few butterflies on the wing. They were few and far between, except at one small patch of blazing-star on FS 556, where about 7 species, about 12 individuals, were seen.
Bird lists and butterfly list below:
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July 31, 2022
Birds:
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FS Rd. 568 (Winn Ranger District) - Grant Parish
7:10am; 36 mins; 0.8 miles
75F.; cloudy; calm
Mourning Dove - 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 5
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 3
White-eyed Vireo - 4
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 3
Tufted Titmouse - 2
White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Brown-headed Nuthatch - 4
Carolina Wren - 9
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Hooded Warbler - 2
Pine Warbler - 1
Summer Tanager - 2
Northern Cardinal - 2
Indigo Bunting - 1
passerine sp. - 1
National Catahoula Wildlife Management Preserve - Grant Parish:
- Bear Creek Rd. and FS Rd. 102
7:50am; 1 hr, 3 min; 3.2 miles
warm; mixed/variable; not much wind
- FS Rds. 145 and 556
9:24am; 1 hr, 37 min; 5.0 miles
mostly sunny; hot; light wind
Wood Duck - 0, 3
Mourning Dove - 2, 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1, 0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1, 0
.
 |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird nectaring on Buttonbush - swampy area near Indian Creek at FS Rd. 102 |
.
Anhinga - 0, 1
.
 |
| Anhinga - pond along FS Rd. 556 between RR tracks and US-167 |
.
Great Blue Heron - 0, 1
Green Heron - 1, 0
.
 |
| Green Heron - swampy area near Indian Creek at FS Rd 102 |
.
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1, 0
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1, 0
Downy Woodpecker - 2, 0
Pileated Woodpecker - 5, 1
American Kestrel - 1, 0
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2, 0
White-eyed Vireo - 6, 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 0, 2
Blue Jay - 5, 2
American Crow - 2, 0
Carolina Chickadee - 5, 13
Tufted Titmouse - 4, 2
White-breasted Nuthatch - 0, 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 2, 0
Carolina Wren - 25, 10
Eastern Towhee - 2, 0
Hooded Warbler - 8, 6
Pine Warbler - 0, 2
Summer Tanager - 1, 0
Northern Cardinal - 13, 6
Indigo Bunting - 1, 2
passerine sp. - 1, 3
Kisatchie NF Catahoula Ranger District (NOT in N.C.W.M.P.) - FS Rds. 169 and 128
8:57am; 26 mins; 2.6 miles;
warm; mostly sunny; light breeze
Broad-winged Hawk - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 6
Tufted Titmouse - 2
Carolina Wren - 3
Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 3
passerine sp. - 1
Butterflies (all locations):
Hoary Edge - 1
.
 |
| Hoary Edge nectaring on Liatris (blazing-star) - FS Rd 556 |
.
Silver-spotted Skipper - 2
Confused Cloudywing - 1
.
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| Confused Cloudywing - same location as Hoary Edge pictured above |
.
cloudywing sp. (probably at least one was Northern CW) - 2
Horace's Duskywing - 3
Clouded Skipper - 1
Little Glassywing - 3
skipper sp. - 3
Pipevine Swallowtail - 8
Spicebush Swallowtail - 5
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 1
Palamedes Swallowtail - 1
Giant Swallowtail - 1
swallowtail sp. - 3
Little Yellow - 5
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple - 1
Pearl Crescent - 1
Carolina Satyr - 1
Herps (all locations) - Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green Frog, Green Anole, Pond Slider
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As always, if you spot any incorrect IDs or have suggestions for those that I'm not sure about, feel free to comment and let me know.
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