Lots of Spring Migrants on Catahoula NWR, 4/19/15

male Painted Bunting amid muscadine vines,
 Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Overnight, in the predawn a.m., there were some short but strong thunderstorms that came through La Salle Parish. These, perhaps, helped to persuade some migrants to land and contributed to the good variety of neotropic song birds (many of them personal overall FOS or FOS for the location/region of the state) that filled the woods when morning came.

Soggy at sunrise,
 area near entrance to the refuge

The Swainson's Warbler was singing from the woods just beyond the fence.

  I arrived at the Headquarters Unit of Catahoula NWR shortly before seven a.m. and one of the first sounds to greet me after stopping inside the entrance gate was the sweet song of a Swainson's Warbler. For various reasons I have a special fondness for SWWA and for the past few years it has been a species that I look forward to with special interest come spring. If not for the recent rainfall events likely making Snyder Road a bit tricky, I'd probably have gone to that location instead of the refuge that morning specifically to check for Swainson's at their traditional territories.


male Indigo Bunting, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Soon Black-and-white Warblers and Tennessee Warblers were making their presence known, as well as the much awaited Indigo and Painted Buntings. These two bunting species were a common sight and sound during the rest of this trip and will be a staple of any trip to the refuge from now until they depart in the autumn.

   Rather than heading for the north end of Duck Lake first, as I usually would, I continued south at the fork past the HQ buildings area and started scanning the trees in that stretch or road immediately south of the fork. For whatever reason, the first 1/3 of a mile or so of this road is always the most reliable place to find peak migration season warblers and some other neotrops. It proved its worth again today, bringing in more Black-and-whites and Tennessees as well as several Black-throated Green Warblers, Yellow-breasted Chats, a Yellow Warbler, and a pair of Baltimore Orioles.


male Baltimore Oriole, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

 I thought I heard two or three of the 'squeaky sneaker' calls of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at one point, but was not able to confirm this. I also started getting flycatchers -- Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Great Crested Flycatcher, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Further south, into the woods, I added Acadian Flycatcher and Summer Tanager and continued to get Red-eyed Vireo and other woodland birds. No Kentucky Warblers yet at the traditional locations and no Hooded Warblers, which are occasionally found there.
   I'm making a point this spring to begin learning to correctly identify Louisiana wildflowers and to learn more of the natural history of those already familiar to me. As of now, I'm still quite ignorant in many respects, but its proving to be a fascinating subject. I'll be going back and editing incorrect and incomplete information in these posts as I learn. Right now I'm in the beginning phase, so bear with me! : )

Erigeron species? (Daisy sp., Fleabane) or is it Anthemis cotula (Mayweed)?

Vetch (Vicia villosa)

   Turning around, I retraced my route to the fork and took the north leg of the refuge loop to do my traditional stand-around at the north end of Duck Lake. Along the way I had a singing Worm-eating Warbler near a group of chickadees and titmice on the north side of the loop. This bird, though a fairly common breeder in the region, would have been just passing through. They prefer moist, shady, areas in upland woods, rather than bottomland forests, for their breeding territories.

Spider Lilies (Hymenocallis liriosme) grow in wet areas on the refuge, 
especially along woodland roads with ditches.
 

   The water is still seasonably high but dropping (40.9' on the marker at north end of Duck Lake). A pair of Tree Swallows and a few Barn Swallows were swooping about over the lake. Its possible that the Tree Swallows will nest in one of the dead snags out in the water. In the distance, to the east, lots of Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures could be seen soaring (probably including birds seen feeding on the ground earlier that morning). Among them were some definite Buteo species (a genus of medium-to-large hawks), but at the great distance it was too difficult for me personally to make the call on which species they were. I noticed a smaller raptor with a long/narrower tail chasing and harassing one of the large hawks. I was wishy-washy on whether it could be a Mississippi Kite or an accipiter species (a genus of small-to-medium sized hawks). Remember, the bird was a long way away! A little later I noted a bird, possibly the same individual, who was a little bit closer and had more obviously pointed wings who's profile strongly suggested Miss. Kite.

north end of Duck Lake

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), roadside at north end of Duck Lake.
At this location I heard the sounds of young mice or young rats
 (Hispid Cotton Rat? Fulvous Harvest Mouse?) in the grass and saw quick
movement from an adult animal, but was unable to see the presumed nest.

   A few Savannah Sparrows are still present in the grassy area along the road/levee at the end of the lake and a small group of Cedar Waxwings flew over and White-throated Sparrows were seen at several spots during the trip. Vestiges of the refuge's winter avifauna. The highlight of the winter birds was the single male Canvasback seen in the lake. A small and ever-shrinking flock of this species has been lingering here over the past few weeks, and this week I only saw the one.


male Canvasback caught in the act of taking a dive,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Dickcissels near Duck Lake

   I turned around at Cowpen Bayou, having observed two Lesser Yellowlegs along the way. No Yellow-throated Warblers heard at the bayou, but a few of the more common Prothontary Warblers and Northern Parulas were encountered there and elsewhere along my route. Driving back towards the lake I noted two interesting birds fly up from the roadside wildflowers and land in a small tree. The two became three and turned out to be FOS Dickcissels. I had heard what I thought was one earlier and would hear another a little later, but this was confirmation.

male Dickcissel in his distinctive plumage

These striking finch-like birds are locally common breeders in undisturbed weedy fields and similar habitats in the area. The birds I saw may have been some of the first to arrive in the area but just passing through, perhaps to nearby Willow Lake Unit where they are regular breeders.

Dickcissels, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Golden Groundsel (Packera obovata) are common,
growing in wet areas, sometimes
alongside the Spider Lilies.

   I left the refuge (the Swainson's Warbler was still singing, though not as frequently) and headed west/north on Hwy 84. At the bridge over Old River I noticed four Mallards in the middle of the river. They looked wild enough, though whether they were wild birds or strays from some nearby house or campground I can't say. Cliff Swallows, which nest in a colony under the bridge, were swooping about here and there.
   All in all, I count this an excellent morning of birding. It is always a treat to find numerous new arrivals on one day and really feel the seasonal shift as evidenced by what birds are now present as well as other aspects of the flora and fauna. The woods are green, wildflowers are blooming everywhere, and the reptiles and amphibians are active (Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, Southern Leopard Frog, American Bullfrog, Snapping Turtle, turtle species (probably Pond Slider)).
   A complete list of the bird species encountered, with additional photos, is below.
  

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Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

4/19/2015

6:53 am to 10:10 am

Conditions: 63 to 71 degrees f., varying mix of cloud and sun, near calm becoming breezy.

2.5 miles by vehicle with numerous stops and stand-around periods

64 species plus one other taxa

Wood Duck - 4
Blue-winged Teal - 1
Canvasback - 1

Canvasback (male)

Pied-billed Grebe - 1

Double-crested Cormorant - 2
Anhinga - 2

Great Blue Heron - 4
Great Egrte - 4
Little Blue Heron - 4

Black Vulture - 24
Turkey Vulture - 10

Black Vultures feeding on carrion (hog? deer?)

Mississippi Kite - 1
buteo sp. - 4

American Coot - 1

Lesser Yellowlegs

 

Lesser Yellowlegs - 2

Mourning Dove - 6

Eastern Screech-Owl - 1 Calling north of Duck Lake

Chimney Swift - 1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2

Lesser Yellowlegs

Belted Kingfisher (male)

Belted Kingfisher - 1 male

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 4
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Hairy Woodpecker - 1 male
Pileated Woodpecker - 1

Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 1
Great Crested Flycatcher - 5

Hairy Woodpecker (male)

White-eyed Vireo - 6
Red-eyed Vireo - 9

White-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 8

Tree Swallow - 2
Barn Swallow - 3

Carolina Chickadee - 6
Tufted Titmouse - 8

Carolina Wren - 6

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 4

Gray Catbird - 3
Northern Mockingbird - 1

Cedar Waxwing - 14

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Worm-eating Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 3
Prothonotary Warbler - 3
Swainson's Warbler - 1
Tennessee Warbler - 6

Tennessee Warbler (male)

Northern Parula (female)

Common Yellowthroat - 1
Northern Parula - 3
Yellow Warbler - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 2
Black-throated Green Warbler - 4
Yellow-breasted Chat - 4

Yellow-rumped Warbler (male)

Indigo Bunting (male)

Savannah Sparrow - 2
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 8

Summer Tanager - 4
Northern Cardinal - 13

Painted Bunting (male)

Indigo Bunting - 10


Painted Bunting - 11
Dickcissel - 3

Dickcissels (male)

Red-winged Blackbird

 

Red-winged Blackbird - 5
Common Grackle - 4
Brown-headed Cowbird - 13
Orchard Oriole - 1
Baltimore Oriole - 2

American Goldfinch - x (heard as flyover)

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Searching for Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-will's-widows in the Chalk Hills and Manifest

  Whip-poor-wills are one of those birds that everybody knows of, but few really get to know. Admittedly, this is a species with which I have very limited experience. For us Louisianans, the Whip is a bird that can only be expected to be present during a narrow window each spring and fall, when they pass through our state going between their breeding grounds and their winter homes. Given that they are nocturnal and much more often heard than seen, the best time to try for them is during the spring migration when they are gearing up for breeding season and likely to be vocalizing. Moonlit nights just at nightfall and again before daybreak are said to be the best times to hear them. Inspired by another, more experienced Louisiana birder's successful attempts to locate migrant Whips, Beth Willis and I decided to get out in the woods and try for ourselves on the night of the full moon with hopes of filling in some of the gap in the locations where these birds have been recorded.

Habitat along Posey-Webb Camp Road.

   On April 3rd Beth and I set out to find Whip-poor-wills in the Chalk Hills of northern Catahoula Parish. The birds should start singing around dusk, so we took the opportunity to do a little daylight birding on the drive along the back roads that would take us to an area of what I thought could be potentially good Whip-poor-will habitat that I had picked out. Though we didn't find anything too unusual, there were some highlights worth mentioning. In woods along Posey-Webb Camp Road and Posey-Webb Camp Highway there were a total of four singing Black-and-white Warblers.

I managed to snap one pic that had one of the Black-and-white Warblers in it.
The bird is center-left, tail in the air, head behind a limb.

 Further along Posey-Webb Camp Highway we found a Broad-winged Hawk. The hawk was first heard vocalizing from a perch somewhere in the pine trees, but it took us some time to finally see the bird. In the past I/we have seen multiple individuals and pairs of this species in this area during the summer, so this seems to be a local breeding hotspot for these hawks.

A fumbling attempt at photographing the Broad-winged Hawk before it flew.

   Birding was somewhat lackluster as we drove further north, eventually reaching the area I had picked out just around sundown. The location, a (unnamed?) gravel road north of the upper end of Rawlson Creek and south of Old Columbia-Harrisonburg Road, is in the Chalk Hills. The starting point had a cutover with numerous standing trees on one side and young pine woods on the other. The route, traveling back west and south, soon enters woods of pine with a strong mix of hardwoods thanks to the numerous hardwood gullies that head-up near the road. I had first visited the location a few years ago and had such species as Wood Thrush and Hooded Warbler on that trip.

Moonrise as we approached the point where we'd turn around and begin night birding.

 

   At our first stop we had a pleasant surprise. Our first of season Chuck-will's-Widow! This close relative of the Whip-poor-will is a common summer resident in our region, where it breeds and fills the evening and pre-dawn woods with its repetitive call. A short distance further along we stopped to get a closer listen to the bird, who was down in the thick pines. At another stop not far away we had not one but two Chucks calling somewhat close together, one noticeably closer to us. Once into the larger woods with the promising Whip-poor-will habitat we heard one more Chuck. That would be the last we'd hear that evening. Despite using a recording of Whip-poor-will's call and making frequent stops we struck out and heard none of our target species. This did not mean that we had a bad trip, and in fact the Chucks were a treat, coming as they did on the leading edge of when we'd expect the species to appear in our area. We did make some more stops on the drive back south, but with prime Whip and Chuck time drawing to a close for the evening and the forecasted storm front already flashing distant lighting to our west, we didn't linger long in any area.

Moonlit locations in the area where we tried for Whip-poor-wills.

 

   Back on P-W Camp Highway we had an rather intense frog chorus in a small swampy patch where the road crossed a tributary of Hawthorne Creek. The vocalizations of numerous Spring Peeper, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green Frog (Bronze), and Fowler's Toad combined to make quite an impressive ruckus!

Full moon from Posey-Webb Camp Road.

   That trip ended with mixed results, but we were quite happy with it. Another trip was planned for Monday, 4/6/15.

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   On the April 6th trip we were joined by Tom Pollock and, as before, decided to bird some of the area in daylight first. This time we had chosen to check for Whips and Chucks at several locations around the Manifest community, south of the previous Friday's area. Among the daylight finds were some recently arrived Cattle Egrets along Highway 8 and a Wilson's Snipe flying over and landing in a marshy area off of Highway 126 south of Hwy 8.

Since we had time, we decided to do a short trip to the area of Bushley Bayou Unit of Catahoula NWR accessed from Hwy 126. Expected species, such as Prothonotary Warbler and Eastern Towhee were common, and Loggerhead Shrike and American Kestrel were nice additions to the day's list. It was getting time to head back to our potential Whip-poor-will locations.

   Suffices to say that we struck out again. But this time, there were no Chuck-will's-widows either. We stopped at a number of locations along Highway 8 and Highway 126 north of Hwy 8 and played audio of Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will's-Widow at each. No luck. No luck with Eastern Screech-Owl or Barred Owl either. Despite the failure to locate any of the target species, it was an enjoyable outing.

   With the full moon not close by and the string of days with high rain chances in the coming week, it may be unlikely that we'll get back out and search for Whips again soon. But perhaps we could find time for at least one more trip before they will have departed from our area.

Trout Creek area 3/31/15

 

White-eyed Vireo, Snyder Road

Habitat at south end of Snyder Road.

   With Spring finally here and the first few of what will be many Spring and Summer bird species having already arrived, it was about time to do the first of the season's trips to Snyder Road. Tom Pollock and I birded Snyder Road, from south to north, then made a short trip to Sparrow Street. Both roads cross Trout Creek, and Snyder especially offers some excellent opportunities for the roadside birder.
   The area we were in is in central La Salle Parish, a few miles west of Jena. Though the roads go through private land and there are no opportunities for birding on foot away from the road, the roads themselves take one through diverse habitat and, for me, have always been good for birding and wildlife watching.

habitat along southern part of Snyder Road

 

   The woods immediately north of Hwy 8, along the south part of Snyder Road, are a mix of pine and hardwoods and pure hardwoods with, for the most part, fairly dense understory. There's a rich, ecologically promising feel to the place, especially around the little spring. We began by getting the usual sorts of birds. We also had a couple of Pine Siskins heard and glimpsed as a flyover, only i.d.-ed by their call. A nice surprise was a FOS Eastern Kingbird heard in flight over the trees. It seemed to be moving in an arch from and back towards the highway and the more kingbird-friendly pasture habitat on the other side.

woods south of Trout Creek

As we traveled closer to the creek, we had a nice chance to photograph a White-eyed Vireo. Though very common and often heard, they are usually reluctant to come into the open for long, preferring the cover of briar patches and brushy areas. Thanks to audio playback, though, we managed to get some decent White-eyed Vireo pics under our belt.

White-eyed Vireo, Snyder Road

   A group of Broad-winged Hawks was spotted very high up and heading northeast. They disappeared over the trees and though we only counted three, they could have been the trailing edge of a larger kettle.

White-eyed Vireo, Snyder Road.

  

Trout Creek,
looking upstream from Snyder Road bridge.

At the Trout Creek bridge we encountered a richer assortment of birds, though many were only heard. A Black-and-white Warbler was heard singing frequently on the north side of the creek, upstream (east) of the road. This is probably the bird that, last year, was routinely found at a point in its territory just north of here along the road. A Northern Parula was singing upstream as well. We saw an Orange-crowned Warbler that was making its way along the vegetation that hangs out over the creek. A Barred Owl was heard, and unexpectedly for this specific spot, Chipping Sparrows were seen in a large Loblolly Pine near the creek.

Trout Creek, looking downstream from Snyder Road bridge.

   From the bridge it was possible to observe some of the fish in the stream below. Using binoculars and focusing on the clearer, shallower area, I could see Striped Shiners quite clearly. Blackspotted or perhaps Blackstripe Topminnows were obvious without binoculars, and occasionally a sunfish, such as a colorful male Longear Sunfish or Dollar Sunfish would be glimpsed chasing this or that other fish from its little patch of the creek. As is so often the case at a creek crossing, someone had dumped 'the gut bucket'. In this case, it was a pile of filleted catfish carcasses.

In the lower right part of the image is either a Blackspotted Topminnow or Blackstripe Topminnow.

 



male Hooded Warbler
(Photo by Tom Pollock)

   Driving north we encountered the first of several Hooded Warblers that would be heard that day when we were alerted to its presence by its distinctive song. This one we also got to see, though mostly in fleeting glimpses. Tom managed to get some photos. These little yellow songbirds with an olive green back and wings and, in the male, a solid black hood that goes from crown to neck to throat, encircling its bright yellow face, will be one of the most commonly detected birds in the forest over the course of the spring and summer.

Snyder Rd. through pine woods

      Further along we spotted Wild Turkey tracks in the sandy road bed. They seemed to be of a single female that followed the course of the road for a little ways. These areas, where the road has a lot of soft sand along the sides, are excellent for looking for animal track. One might not see many mammal species on an outing like this, but their tracks in the sand let one know that they are around. White-tailed Deer, Nine-banded Armadillo, Coyote, and squirrel species were noted as we traveled down the road.

A series of Wild Turkey tracks

close-up of a Wild Turkey track from Snyder Road

 

cutover habitat along Snyder Road

   We had no luck when checking for an early Prairie Warbler or Indigo Bunting in the cutover section of the Snyder Road route. It was worth checking, though. Soon, these weedy and brushy areas will be busy with Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak and Prairie Warbler. For now, the frequently heard Eastern Towhee will do. In this area we also got a single Broad-winged Hawk, flying fairly low, and a Red-tailed Hawk that flew from along the road.

cutover habitat along Snyder Road

   We got Pine Warbler and Brown-headed Nuthatch in the area of pines approaching the Placid Oil facility, and we heard Northern Mockingbird and Chipping Sparrow singing at the park-like oil company yard.

Habitat near Placid Oil

   At the very north end of the road, where it meets Highway 500, we spotted at least three more Broad-Winged Hawks, again very high up and moving NE. If I hadn't have been watching some crows in flight with my binoculars, the hawks, which happened to appear in the background, would have been overlooked.
   We had a little time to kill and decided to continue birding. I suggested a short trip to Sparrow Street, a rural road that connects the Goodpine community to Highway 8 a couple of miles to the south.
   The road mostly runs through wooded/pine plantation habitat. At one stop first Tom, then I, heard what we feel confident was a Summer Tanager. These tanagers will be a common bird in the area in a couple of weeks, but for now most of them should be far to the south. Unfortunately we were unable to get it to respond to playback and failed to see the bird, so the veracity of the report (submitted on ebird) is pending. (Edit 4/7/15: with additional details, the observation was accepted into database).

A "click bug" (I don't know the correct name) on Sparrow Street at the Summer Tanager spot.

   Unfortunately, the woods as we get closer to the creek had been logged, and a nearly fresh cutover along the west side of the road offered little habitat for birds. In a couple of years, though, it should start to be in good form for buntings and some others. At one point we had three Red-eyed Vireos singing from three directions as we approached the down hill to the creek.

habitat along Sparrow Street

Trout Creek at Sparrow Street Bridge

   The creek is the south fork of the upper part of Trout Creek, and fortunately there was a healthy corridor of hardwoods left standing along the stream course. I was also pleased to see that, apparently along with the new and improved bridge, that a sign had been erected pointing out Trout Creek's position as one of the Louisiana Natural and Scenic Rivers. A place it rightly deserves.

Trout Creek is part of the Louisiana Natural and Scenic River System.

   The birding ended at Highway 8. Overall, a productive trip, as we got some FOS, and confirmed the presence of others that we'd already found elsewhere. Hearing the singing of the warblers and vireos and knowing that this is just a prelude to the diverse assortment of neotropical songbirds that the month of April will bring to our neck of the woods, I found myself excited for the spring/summer birding season to come!
   Complete lists of species from the two locations are below.

eBird location name: "Trout Creek (area of Snyder Road bridge)" (I'll probably change the awkward name to something more accurate and succinct, but its been that for a long time.)

Date: 3/31/2015

Time: 9:06 am to 11:50 am

Distance: approx. 4 miles

Conditions: mix of cloud and sun, mild, light breeze. Windier and sunnier towards end.

Black Vulture - 1
Turkey Vulture - 12
Accipiter sp. - 1
Broad-winged Hawk - 7
Red-tailed Hawk - 1

Morning Dove - 3

Barred Owl - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 4
Northern Flicker - 1

Eastern Kingbird - 1

White-eyed Vireo - 9
Red-eyed Vireo - 2

Blue Jay - 4
American Crow - 8

Barn Swallow - 2

Carolina Chickadee - 6
Tufted Titmouse - 7

Brown-headed Nuthatch - 1

Carolina Wren - 6

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 4

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 7

Northern Mockingbird - 1

Black-and-white Warbler - 3
Orange-crowned Warbler - 1
Hooded Warbler - 5
Northern Parula -  1
Pine Warbler - 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - 9

Eastern Towhee - 7
Chipping Sparrow - 3
White-throated Sparrow - 13

Northern Cardinal - 17

Brown-headed Cowbird - 1

Pine Siskin - 2
American Goldfinch - x (heard as flyovers, not seen)

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Red-eyed Vireo along Sparrow Street.  He was a tough one to photograph!

eBird location name: "Trout-Goodpine area" (I consider Sparrow Street to be part of this eBird personal location)

Date: 3/31/2015

Time: 11:58 am to 12:28 pm

Distance: approx. 2 miles

Conditions: Sunny, breezy, mild.

Red-shouldered Hawk - 1

Downy Woodpecker - 1

White-eyed Vireo - 8
Red-eyed Vireo - 3

American Crow - 1

Tufted Titmouse - 5

Carolina Wren - 1

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 2

Eastern Bluebird - 1

Hooded Warbler - 4
Pine Warbler - 2

Eastern Towhee - 2
Chipping Sparrow - 1

Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 2