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| White-tailed Deer - July 2 |
- S.I. Hills May 2020 post:
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Playing catch-up...
I made a trip to the south side of Sicily Island Hills on June 14 and another trip, this one to the north side, on July 2. These trips were to the JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA, and the July 2nd trip also involved a stop at Norris Spring at the east base of the hills and birding along the part of the road to the north side of the WMA before it enters the WMA.
On the June 14th trip I traveled along the main road in the south part of the WMA, going as far as the Rock Falls Nature Trail, and walking the primitive campground road (side road on left at check-in kiosk) and part of the Rock Falls Trail. Here are some habitat shots.
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| Walking the primitive campground road is a good way to find butterflies. -- 6/14/2020 |
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| woods along primitive campground road |
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| the main road in the southern part of the WMA |
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| woods along the main road |
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| Rock Falls Nature Trail - upstream from Rock Falls |
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| There are small waterfalls where two forks of Rock Creek come together, a good ways upstream from Rock Falls. |
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| gone off-trail -- woods near upper part of Rock Creek |
Below is the bird list for that trip. After that will be the birds lists for July 2, and lists for butterflies and for dragonflies, from both dates, and eventually other groups of organisms from both dates once I have time to review my notes form the field.
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Sicily Island Hills (JC "Sonny" Gilbert WMA) South Side, June 14
8:42 a.m.; 5 hrs, 19 mins; 3.5 miles
80-88 F.; sunny mostly, with periods of part. cloudy; light breeze
Mourning Dove - 6
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 9
Chimney Swift - 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 4
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| male Ruby-throated Hummingbird nectaring on Monarda ("beebalm" sp.) |
White Ibis - 13
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| White Ibises |
Turkey Vulture - 3
Red-headed Woodpecker - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 5
Downy Woodpecker - 6
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 15
Great Crested Flycatcher - 2
White-eyed Vireo - 7
Red-eyed Vireo - 10
Blue Jay - 3
American Crow - 1
Fish Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 10
Tufted Titmouse - 12
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 9
Carolina Wren - 10
Wood Thrush - 6
Eastern Towhee - 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - 1
Brown-headed Cowbird - 3
Worm-eating Warbler -10
Louisiana Waterthrush - 3
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| adult and juvenile Louisiana Waterthrushes - Rock Falls Trail |
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| juvenile Louisiana Waterthrush splashing in the waters of a seep while the adult hunted nearby |
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| juvenile Louisiana Waterthrush |
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(videos: Louisiana Waterthrush fledgling and parent seen foraging, eating, bathing, and generally scurrying around at Rock Falls Trail on June 14)
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| The Louisiana Waterthrush spot - where a small seep comes out of the base of a hill and flows down into Rock Creek. Also a reliable spot for Southern Pearly-eye butterflies when they have a flight active. |
Swainson's Warbler - 1
Kentucky Warbler - 2
Hooded Warbler - 9
Northern Parula - 4
Pine Warbler - 5
Summer Tanager - 11
Northern Cardinal - 11
Indigo Bunting - 3
Below are lists for locations in SI Hills that I visited on July 2nd. These include a stop at Norris Spring beside LA-113 at the east base of the hills, a list of birds detected on the two gravel roads in the hills leading to parts of the WMA, and a list for the two separate lengths of road in the WMA itself that I birded. Here are habitat shots and bird lists for these areas.
July 2 (Norris Spring)
8:58 a.m.; 27 mins; stationary count
habitat shots:
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| ... |
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Mourning Dove - 1
Black Vulture - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Great Crested Flycatcher - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 1
Blue Jay - 3
American Crow - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Purple Martin - 1
Barn Swallow - 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1
Carolina Wren - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Wood Thrush - 1
Hooded Warbler - 1
Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 2
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 1
July 2 (Sicily Island Hills - roads not on WMA)
9:30-9:50 a.m. and 11:50 a.m.-12:10 p.m.; 0.9 miles and 0.7 miles
warm; highly variable sky; not much wind / hot; sky highly variable; brief very light drizzle; some light breeze
Habitat shots:
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| roads between LA-915 and the WMA - The road to the left leads to the WMA headquarters and the ponds (I went this way first), the road to the right goes on to become the main east-west road, going by the primitive camping area and the St Mary Falls Trail and Big Creek Trail trailheads. |
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 0, 1
Downy Woodpecker - 2, 0
Acadian Flycatcher - 2, 1
White-eyed Vireo - 3, 4
Red-eyed Vireo - 5, 2
Blue Jay - 1, 0
American Crow - 1, 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2, 2
Tufted Titmouse - 3, 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 0, 2
Carolina Wren - 2, 1
Wood Thrush - 1, 0
Brown-headed Cowbird - 4, 0
Worm-eating Warbler - 0, 2
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| Worm-eating Warbler |
Hooded Warbler - 3, 3
Northern Parula - 1, 2
Summer Tanager - 2, 2
Northern Cardinal - 3, 3
Indigo Bunting - 2, 0
July 2 (WMA - road to ponds)
9:51 a.m.; 1 hr, 54 mins; 1 mile
hot; highly variable sky; light breeze
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July 2 (WMA - roads to the west)
12:11 p.m.; 1 hr, 37 mins; 3.2 miles
hot; variable sky, mostly sunny; light breeze
Habitat Shots:
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| WMA - road to the ponds |
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| WMA - the big pond |
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| WMA - main east-west road |
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| ditto |
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| woods along main east-west road |
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| a large area along the main road was partly logged a few years ago |
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| down a side road south of main road - more of the logged area |
Mourning Dove - 2, 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2, 4
Chimney Swift - 1, 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 0, 1
Common Gallinule - 2, 0
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| Common Gallinules - at the big pond |
Anhinga - 1, 0
Green Heron - 1, 0
Mississippi Kite - 0, 2
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1, 0
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 2, 0
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| Red-bellied Woodpecker eating wild grapes (Vitis) - big pond, July 2 |
Downy Woodpecker - 3, 3
Acadian Flycatcher - 6, 10
Great Crested Flycatcher - 0, 3
White-eyed Vireo - 5, 16
Red-eyed Vireo - 4, 5
Blue Jay - 4, 0
American Crow - 3, 0
Carolina Chickadee - 9, 6
Tufted Titmouse - 4, 7
Barn Swallow - 3, 0
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 3, 7
Carolina Wren - 7, 10
Wood Thrush - 0, 3
Red-winged Blackbird - 2, 0
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1, 0
Yellow-breasted Chat - 0, 5
Worm-eating Warbler - 0, 3
Prothonotary Warbler - 1, 0
Hooded Warbler - 1, 8
Northern Parula -0, 3
Pine Warbler - 0, 3
Summer Tanager - 6, 15
Northern Cardinal - 4, 13
Indigo Bunting - 0, 3
Butterflies (June)
Silver-spotted Skipper -
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| Silver-spotted Skipper - 6/14 |
Swarthy Skipper -
Clouded Skipper -
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| Clouded Skipper - 6/14 |
Least Skipper -
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| Least Skipper |
Yehl Skipper -
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| male Yehl Skipper (wings ventral surface view) - June |
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| female Yehl Skipper (ventral wing view) - June |
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| male Yehl Skipper (wing dorsal surface) - June |
Northern Broken-Dash -
Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper -
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| Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper |
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail -
Spicebush Swallowtail -
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| Spicebush Swallowtail - 6/14 |
Sleepy Orange -
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| Sleepy Orange - 6/14 |
Pearl Crescent -
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| Pearl Crescent - 6/14 |
Southern Pearly-eye -
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| Southern Pearly-eye - Rock Falls Trail, 6/14 |
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| ditto |
July 2nd Butterflies
Horace's Duskywing
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| Horace's Duskywing (Norris Spring) |
Giant Swallowtail
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| Giant Swallowtail |
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple
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| 'Astyanax' RSP (Norris Spring) |
Common Buckeye
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| Common Buckeye |
...and possibly others (will check notes)
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Dragonflies (incomplete)
Arrowhead Spiketail
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| Arrowhead Spiketail - road to ponds, July 2 |
Halloween Pennant
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| mating pair of Halloween Pennants - big pond, July 2 |
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Banded Pennant
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| mating pair of Banded Pennant - big pond, July 2 |
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Eastern Pondhawk
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| Eastern Pondhawk - big pond, July 2 |
Slaty Skimmer
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| Slaty Skimmer - big pond, July 2 |
Common Whitetail
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| female-type Common Whitetail - road to ponds, July 2 |
Carolina Saddlebags
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| Carolina Saddlebags - big pond, July 2 |
Damselflies:
Blue-tipped Dancer
- photos and videos of crawfish in the stream at Norris Spring -
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| Norris Spring |
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| Norris Spring |
As always, if you spot an incorrect ID feel free to let me know in the comments.
*Next post for SI Hills, covering September 2020, will be up very shortly*
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