January 2015 on Catahoula NWR

This year has been a slow one for birding so far. I'm not getting out in the field as much these days, largely by design, but I still want to keep making regular posts and certainly haven't given up on birding entirely or any thing like that.
   Here's a somewhat tardy summary of the two (only two) trips I made to HQ unit of Catahoula NWR during January of this year. The first was me alone, the second trip was with Tom Pollock and Beth Willis. Though neither trip offered up anything terribly spectacular, they both had some interesting finds, some somewhat unexpected species.

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Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters Unit, 1/10/2015

Looking back at entrance to the refuge loop off Hwy 84 just before sunrise.

   The morning was cold and started off with little bird activity. Things picked up when I got to the usual stand-around location at the north end of Duck Lake. Though there were a good many ducks
present on the lake, most were quite distant and in groups making it hard to i.d. them. However, the closer ducks included Mallard and Gadwall and Canvasback and a good number of Green-winged Teal, all of which were likely indicative of much of what was present among the 'duck species' recorded.

Looking W/SW along refuge loop at north end of Duck Lake.

   At least nine Ring-billed Gulls were counted flying over the lake, more could have been present further down the lake and out of sight. A Bald Eagle was present perched in a tree far out in the lake and Northern Harrier was another nice addition to the day's raptor list, which also included Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawk and Turkey Vulture.

White-throated Sparrow near HQ buildings,
Catahoula NWR

   Sparrows in the weeds along the edge of the lake were hard to come by, likely staying largely inactive in the early morning due to the cold. Swamp and Song Sparrow were noted, though, along with a small number of Savannah Sparrows. Chipping Sparrows were observed in flocks along the road.
   The three otters that had been present on several of the most recent trips were around again on this morning, fishing in the slough that goes north out of Duck Lake. Other non-avian wildlife, besides these Northern River Otters, included Eastern Fox Squirrel and White-tailed Deer.

Male Rusty Blackbird,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Driving back toward the entrance I could see large numbers of geese in flight, often too distant to accurately identify. The geese were definitely on the move that morning. I picked up Golden-crowned Kinglet and a few other woodland species as well.
   Arriving back at the area around the buildings and info kiosk, I parked to look and listen and wait, hoping that the Rusty Blackbirds that had been around on a couple of the December trips would appear this week as well. Sure enough, after a few minutes of watching White-throated Sparrows and Mourning Doves I thought I heard a Rusty Blackbird vocalize somewhere in the trees near the office. After a few more vocals, I noticed one or two had joined the Morning Doves foraging under the trees beside the road. Soon more started streaming in and a total of approx. 130 or 140 RUBL had gathered to forage.

Rusty Blackbirds (female and male) foraging, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit.

Female Rusty Blackbird,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit.
Notice the rusty color on the upper parts, light eye,
and light 'eyebrow'.

They seemed to be eating from crushed and chopped pecans (and acorns?) that had been run-over or busted up by mowing equipment. These birds are a pleasure to watch, charismatic and relatively tame they put on a show strutting around, energetically searching the leaf litter and short grass for food.
   After deciding to go ahead and leave the blackbirds be after a short disturbance from cranking up the truck, I left the refuge having had a short but fruitful morning of birding.
A complete species list for the trip is below.






Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

La Salle Parish

1/10/15

7:06 am to 8:29 am

1.1 miles by vehicle

Conditions: 32 to 35 degrees f., mix of cloud and sun, light breeze. Water level marker showed approx. 35 feet.

Greater White-fronted Goose,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Greater White-fronted Goose - 203
Snow Goose - 75
goose sp. - 400
Gadwall - 5
Mallard - 107
Green-winged Teal - 55
Canvasback - 2
duck sp. - 1,000

Mallards (female and male), across the road from Duck Lake,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Double-crested Cormorant - 40

Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 1

Turkey Vulture - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Bald Eagle - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Ring-billed Gull over Duck Lake

Killdeer - 1
shorebird sp. - 12

Ringed-billed Gull - 9

Mourning Dove - 8

Mourning Dove (upper right) and
Rusty Blackbirds

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 1

Eastern Phoebe - 3

Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 8

Carolina Chickadee - 4
Tufted Titmouse - 1

Carolina Wren - 4

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2

American Robin - 2

American Pipit - 7

Common Yellowthroat - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 4

Chipping Sparrow - 40
Savannah Sparrow - 3
Song Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 12

Northern Cardinal - 3

Rusty Blackbird (male), Catahoula NWR HQ Unit
Note the namesake "rust" in the otherwise green-blue
iridescent black plumage.

Red-winged Blackbird - 100
Rusty Blackbird - 135

Rusty Blackbird flock, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

American Goldfinch - 7

Rusty Blackbird flock (both sexes),
Catahoula NWR

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Birding Catahoula NWR HQ Unit with Tom and Beth, 1/29/2015

North end of Duck Lake

Anhinga, Cowpen Bayou

   Beth, Tom, and I started birding at 9:00 am at the entrance are to the refuge. We'd take the loop going north, west, south, and back north to entrance (counter-clockwise). After a few woodland species, we arrived at the north end of Duck Lake where there were disappointingly few ducks to be seen and no Bald Eagles or other raptors. We didn't linger long here and continued west to Cowpen Bayou.

Cowpen Bayou,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Traveling southerly along the bayou-side leg of the loop, we encountered many woodland mixed flocks of little passerines and woodpeckers, and on the bayou itself found Anhinga and Great Egret.

White-eyed Vireo (first of two seen that day),
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

The same White-eyed Vireo. It proved difficult to photograph.
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   In mixed flocks along the west side of the loop, paralleling Cowpen Bayou, we had not one but two White-eyed Vireos! Though they do winter in the region in small numbers, they are not a species I really expect to find on any given outing during the winter months. Finding two individuals in two separate spots was a nice surprise. Nearby was also a Blue-headed Vireo in one of the many mixed flocks.
   Golden-crowned Kinglets were in good numbers along with many of the other expected woodland mixed flock species. A Hairy Woodpecker here was also nice, not a species that I/we get on most trips here, though they certainly are present if you look and listen closely in the right areas.

Past the three big culverts, headed north on the southeast side of the loop were at least two Vesper Sparrows. A flock of sparrows, probably mixed species flew up and were present but hard to spot in the trees and brush between the road and the ag field across the refuge boundary. We sussed out two Vespers in the trees, but I would not be surprised if there were more. The location on French Fork Rd where the species can be reliably found each winter (see the previous blog post about the CBC) is roughly a mile or so across the fields from this spot.

Slough along east side of refuge loop where some of the frogs were chorusing.
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

We picked up some of the expected species on the stretch where the road goes through the woods, but nothing unusual. Besides the birds noted this day, there were three frog species heard: Spring Peeper, Cajun Chorus Frog, and Southern Leopard Frog. The peepers and chorus frogs are often heard in and around the numerous small sloughs and temporary pools in the woods along the refuge loop during this time of year. Sometimes Red-shouldered Hawks and Barred Owls can be seen perched over these spawning locations watching for amphibian prey. We ended the day back at the info board by the HQ buildings and entrance gate. All in all, a good birding trip with good company and a few interesting finds.
Complete species list is below.

Catahoula NWR -- Headquarters Unit

La Salle Parish

1/29/2015

9:00 am to 12:18 pm

9 miles by vehicle

Conditions: cloudy becoming sunny, mild, near calm becoming light wind. Water level marker at north end of Duck Lake showed approx. 36 feet.

Greater White-fronted Goose - 75
Wood Duck - 1
Mallard - 14

Mallards (males and female),
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Canvasback - 20
duck sp. - 5

Canvasback (male), Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Pied-billed Grebe - 1

Double-crested Cormorant - 6
Anhinga - 2

Great Blue Heron - 3
Great Egret - 3

Great Blue Heron,
Cowpen Bayou, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Black Vulture - 1
Turkey Vulture - 7
Northern Harrier - 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1

Killdeer - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 9
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 2
Downy Woodpecker - 8
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 4
Pileated Woodpecker - 1

Eastern Phoebe - 7

White-eyed Vireo - 2
Blue-headed Vireo - 1

American Crow - 9

Carolina Chickadee - 33
Tufted Titmouse - 8

House Wren - 2
Carolina Wren -15

Golden-crowned Kinglet - 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 11


Northern Mockingbird,
 along refuge loop and Cowpen Bayou,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin - 10

Northern Mockingbird - 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 23

Chipping Sparrow - 7
Vesper Sparrow - 2
Savannah Sparrow - 7
Song Sparrow - 2
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 18

Northern Cardinal - 23

Red-winged Blackbird - 3
Common Grackle - 5

Mallards (females and males),
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit