Catahoula NWR, May 2015

Cedar Waxwings, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit. 5/2/2015

A bit late, but here's a summary of birding on Catahoula NWR for the month of May, 2015. This includes highlights for five lists from three days, all in the first half of the month. Hope you find it informative.


5/2/15 - Willow Lake Unit and Headquarters Unit

   Tom Pollock and I made a trip to the refuge on the morning of May 2nd . First to Willow Lake Unit, then Headquarters Unit. On Willow, we got quite a strong list of species for a short drive. An immature Sharp-shinned Hawk, a bit late in the season for its kind, landed in the gravel road ahead of us, flushing the cowbirds and Mourning Doves that it was presumably stalking. The little raptor stayed long enough for us to snap some diagnostic photos.

Sharp-shinned Hawk, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit, 5/2/15

   A little further along, where a side road turns off to the south, we got Northern Waterthrush. The species had been seen very close by on my previous trip and a little brownish bird seen flying into the bushes along the ditch/swampy area was enough to get us to pay close attention. Sure enough, it turned out to be a N. Waterthrush.

Cedar Waxwing, Willow Lake Unit

   Along the road, we could hear the Sedge Wrens still present in the tall grass. The usual breeding species that had already been noted as arriving on the WL Unit were in evidence (Painted and Indigo Bunting, Orchard Oriole, Prairie Warbler, YB Chat, etc.).
   Cedar Waxwings were still hanging around where I'd seen them on other recent trips. This time some of the flock perched in branches right along the road where we parked and gave us a chance to get some decent pictures of these handsome songbirds.

Cedar Waxwing, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit, 5/2/2015

   At the slough down the walking-only path, past the west corner of the main road, we spotted what turned out to be a male Ring-necked Duck sitting in the grass beside the water. Tom got out and walked to get a better look while I snapped some distant pics from the vehicle in case the bird should fly. The RN Duck didn't fly, but instead walked to the water and swam away. Tom, however, was focused on photographing another surprise -- in the slough were three Canvasbacks (one female, two male.) Both duck species were at the late end of when they are expected to be found in the area, and the little slough where they were is not the most typical habitat for either species.

male Tennessee Warbler, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, 5/2/2015

Little Underwing, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   The good birding continued at the Headquarters Unit. Migrants weren't as concentrated as they sometimes are, but we did get several neotrops that don't breed in the area -- lots of Tennessee Warblers and one each of Chestnut-sided  and Magnolia Warblers -- and a Black-and-white Warbler, which breeds in the area but isn't known to do so at this location. A Lincoln's Sparrow was a nice find, the second one of the day (the first being on Willow Lake Unit).
   Numerous wildflowers were in bloom, attracting butterflies. I got pics of a Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly and a Little Underwing moth in the roadside grass and flowers. Many thanks to Rosemary Seidler for correctly i.d.-ing the moth for me, as I am very much a novice at Lepidoptera  identification.

Little Underwing, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/2/2015

Barred Owl, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/2/15

   I decided to do a few Barred Owl calls at a spot along the east leg of the refuge loop, and a moment later we had a pair of the owls checking us out with a third individual heard responding in the distance.
   A Spotted Sandpiper was a nice day bird. It was hanging out by the first of the three 'big culverts' when driving south on the east leg of the refuge loop. Near one of the other three culverts we spotted a Common Gallinule. Though they do breed at some locations in the La Salle and Catahoula Parish area, this is the first gallinule that I've seen on the HQ unit of the refuge.

Common Gallinule, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

   As we traveled north along the west side of the loop, the part following Cowpen Bayou, we continued to get lots of the usual summer birds, as we had throughout the morning. These include Mississippi Kite, Painted and Indigo Buntings, Prothonotary and Kentucky Warbler and Northern Parula, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos, Acadian Flycatcher, and many more. A Yellow-throated Warbler on the banks of the bayou was a nice bird to see. Though they - along with the Parula and Prothonotary - are regular breeders along Cowpen Bayou, the Yellow-throateds do seem to be by far the least common of the three.

Prothonotary Warbler singing at possible nest cavity, Cowpen Bayou,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/2/2015

Green Anole, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/2/15

   At the north end of the lake there was a Tree Swallow seen entering a cavity in one of the potential nest snags out in the water. The bird, however, hasn't been seen there in my subsequent trips during May.
  

displaying male Green Anole (brown phase),
Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, 5/2/15

                                                                               Other wildlife, besides birds, included a variety of anurans including Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, Green Frog, and American Bullfrog. There were two reptile species identified - Green Anole and Pond Slider, and one mammal species - Eastern Fox Squirrel.

male Green Anole (green phase), Mosquito Bend Rd. and Cowpen Bayou, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/2/15

   We finished the day with a total of 38 bird species on Willow Lake Unit and 56 bird species on the Headquarters Unit. The complete lists for those two, respectively, are below, followed by the account for May 12th.
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Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge, Willow Lake Unit

La Salle Parish

5/2/2015

7:00 am - 8:41 am

Conditions: mild, near calm, sunny

Protocol: driving, 1.3 miles, numerous stops

Wood Duck - 2
Canvasback - 3
Ring-necked Duck - 1

male Ringed-necked Duck, Catahoula NWR
Willow Lake Unit, 5/2/15

Anhinga - 1

Great Blue Heron - 1
Snowy Egret - 2

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1

Mourning Dove - 6

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2

White-eyed Vireo - 4

American Crow - 1

Barn Swallow - 2

Tufted Titmouse - 1

Sedge Wren - 7
Carolina Wren - 3

Gray Catbird - 1

Cedar Waxwing - 30

Cedar Waxwing showing the red "drops of wax" that give the species its name. Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit

Northern Waterthrush - 1
Prothonotary Warbler - 2
Kentucky Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 4
Hooded Warbler - 3
Northern Parula - 1
Prairie Warbler - 4 (1 female, 3 males)
Yellow-breasted Chat - 7

Eastern Towhee - 2
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Swamp Sparrow - 3

male Northern Cardinal, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit

Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 8
Blue Grosbeak - 3
Indigo Bunting - 16
Painted Bunting - 7

Red-winged Blackbird - 5
Eastern Meadowlark - 1
Common Grackle - 1
Brown-headed Cowbird - 10
Orchard Oriole - 4





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Catahoula NWR, Headquarters Unit

La Salle Parish

5/2/2015

8:44 am - 1:17 pm

Conditions: warm, sunny, some light breeze. Water level marker at north end of Duck Lake showed approx. 40 feet.

Protocol: driving, 9.5 miles (entire refuge loop plus Mosquito Bend Road), numerous stops and stand-around periods.

Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Anhinga - 4

Great Blue Heron - 4
Great Egret - 8
Snowy Egret - 3
Little Blue Heron - 2
Green Heron - 1

Mississippi Kite, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Black Vulture - 1
Turkey Vulture - 5
Mississippi Kite - 3
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2

Common Gallinule - 1

Spotted Sandpiper, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Spotted Sandpiper - 1

Mourning Dove - 4

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 1

Barred Owl - 3

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 2

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 12
Downy Woodpecker - 6
Pileated Woodpecker - 2

Acadian Flycatcher, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 8
Great Crested Flycatcher - 1

White-eyed Vireo - 8
Red-eyed Vireo - 24

Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 3

Tree Swallow - 1
Barn Swallow - 1

Carolina Chickadee - 4
Tufted Titmouse - 11

Carolina Wren - 14

male Black-and-white Warbler, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 11

Gray Catbird - 7

Black-and-white Warbler - 1
Prothonotary Warbler - 21
Tennessee Warbler - 24
Kentucky Warbler - 2
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Northern Parula - 7
Magnolia Warbler - 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Yellow-throated Warbler - 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - 4

Eastern Towhee - 2
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1

Lincoln's Sparrow, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

male Orchard Oriole, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Summer Tanager - 20
Northern Cardinal - 19
Blue Grosbeak -1
Indigo Bunting - 55
Painted Bunting - 35

Red-winged Blackbird - 10
Common Grackle - 14
Brown-headed Cowbird - 20
Orchard Oriole - 12

male Orchard Oriole, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, 5/2/15

Pipevine Swallowtail on Vetch blossoms, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

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5/12/15 - Headquarters Unit and Willow Lake Unit




female Painted Bunting,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

male Painted Bunting,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   Hoping that conditions were right for some spring migrants to be
seen, I headed out to the refuge. I did a short section of the loop on the HQ unit, starting with the traditional neotrop hotspot on the east leg of the loop, just south of the fork past the HQ building/hunter sign-in. I'm afraid there wasn't much (or any) transient neotrop activity to see, but this did free up my attention to notice the details of the flurry of activity from the breeding birds. Twice I watched the mating behavior of a pair of Painted Buntings, though I didn't see copulation in either instance. I did watch the 'flirtatious' posturing of the female and the excitement this caused in her mate.

American Goldfinch, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   The usual sorts of birds were noted at the north end of Duck Lake, but the highlight of the day was at the NW corner of the loop beside Cowpen Bayou. I stopped for a listen from the truck and heard an American Goldfinch calling from nearby. A scan of the adjacent trees showed the bird to be perched at the edge of the road clearing. Soon, it came down to get grit from the gravel road. The bird was not only late season in the area for its species, but it had a damaged or deformed bill. I was able take numerous photographs from close range, and the condition of the bill is clearly shown in many of them. The bird seemed otherwise plump and healthy, so hopefully the unusual state of the bill was not a hindrance to its ability to feed itself.

American Goldfinch, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/12/2015

  
After leaving the HQ Unit, I made a visit to Willow Lake Unit.

   There was little changed from the previous trip to WL Unit, except that all winter species, with the exception of Cedar Waxwing, seemed to have finally departed for there breeding grounds up north. In other words, no more Swamp Sparrows or Sedge Wrens. There were, however, several frog species heard, including Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, and Green Frog.
   The bird species lists for both units on 5/12 is below, followed by the final May trip -- 5/14/15.
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Catahoula NWR, Headquarters Unit

La Salle Parish

5/12/2015

6:37 am - 8:24 am

Conditions: 69 to 72 degrees f., cloudy, near calm. Water level marker at north end of Duck Lake showed 38.9 feet.

Protocol: 2.4 miles, driving with numerous stops and some stand-around periods.

Wood Duck - 2

Anhinga - 3

Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 5
Snowy Egret - 1
Little Blue Heron - 4
White Ibis - 8

Mourning Dove - 5

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 10

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Pileated Woodpecker - 2

Eastern Wood-Pewee - 1
Acadian Flycatcher - 4
Great crested Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 2

White-eyed Vireo - 8


male Red-winged Blackbird, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Red-eyed Vireo - 5

Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 4

Carolina Chickadee - 6
Tufted Titmouse - 6

Carolina Wren - 16

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 3

male Red-winged Blackbird, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Prothonotary Warbler - 6
Kentucky Warbler - 2
Northern Parula - 3
Yellow-breasted Chat - 2

Eastern Towhee - 1

Summer Tanager - 4
Northern Cardinal - 21
Indigo Bunting - 18
Painted Bunting - 15
Dickcissel - 1

Red-winged Blackbird - 5
Common Grackle - 2
Orchard Oriole - 3

American Goldfinch - 1


American Goldfinch, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/12/15

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Catahoula NWR, Willow Lake Unit

La Salle Parish

8:27 am to 9:27 am

Conditions: 70 to 72 degrees f., on-and-off light drizzle, cloudy, near calm

Protocol: driving, one mile with numerous stops

Anhinga - 1

Great Egret - 2
Little Blue Heron - 1

Mourning Dove - 3

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 7

Great crested Flycatcher - 2

White-eyed Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 3

swallow sp. - 1

Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 1

Carolina Wren - 2

Cedar Waxwing - 20

Prothonotary Warbler - 1
Kentucky Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 2
Northern Parula - 2
Prairie Warbler - 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - 5

male Indigo Bunting, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit

Eastern Towhee - 4

Northern Cardinal - 8
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 9
Painted Bunting - 2

Red-winged Blackbird - 6
Brown-headed Cowbird - 11
Orchard Oriole - 4
blackbird - 2


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 Headquarters Unit, 5/14/2015

   Hoping for one last shot at a good migrant morning this spring, I headed out to the HQ Unit on the morning of May 14. The light showers overnight might have brought some passing migrants to ground, so I headed first for my usual migrant hotspot south of the fork, east side of the loop.

female Black-throated Green Warbler, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

   At the south end of the part that borders the field, where the road passes a willow thicket and turns to enter the woods proper, I found a group of little neotrops. There were several transient species foraging in the willows and adjacent oaks, including Yellow, Black-throated Green, and Tennessee Warblers and American Redstart, as well as a Warbling Vireo (presumably/probably not a local breeder). The highlight of the day was the Mourning Warbler that was part of this group of birds in the willows. The Mourning Warbler is actually a lifer for me. Neoptrops who were in this group but from adjacent breeding territories included Kentucky Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos. Also engaged in foraging in the willows and adjacent oaks were a family of Carolina Chickadees which included the first chickadee fledglings that I'd seen this spring.
   A drive around to the north part of the loop by Duck Lake gave the day's list most of its waterbirds, though the flyover pair of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were at the aforementioned warbler hotspot. There were three Spotted Sandpipers at the boat launch (a favorite spot for the species).

Pond Slider, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit, 5/14/2015

American Alligator, Cowpen Bayou,
HQ Unit of Catahoula NWR

   This was a good morning for hearing and seeing herps (amphibians and reptiles). Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, and American Bullfrog were heard. One of the larger American Alligators that I've seen on the refuge was in Cowpen Bayou.
A Pond Slider crossing the road gave me ample opportunity to take photographs (though I was careful not to hold up the turtle's progress too long, hoping it got off he road and back to water in short order).

Pond Slider, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit (notice the leach on its shell)

A Snapping Turtle was also seen crossing the road in the distance while I was on foot, and some unidentified 'turtle species' were glimpsed in the water (possible Pond Sliders). A watersnake seen in the edge of the water at the north end of Duck Lake was likely a Diamondback Watersnake, a species I see regularly in that area, but in this case I just couldn't get a clear enough look to be sure. The only mammal seen, however, was Eastern Fox Squirrel.

Eastern Fox Squirrel, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

 

   All in all, a good morning out on the refuge and a nice close to my spring migration period birding on the refuge this year. The complete list of bird species from that trip is below.
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Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge, Headquarters Unit

La Salle Parish

5/14/2015

6:43 am - 9:29 am

70 to 77 degrees f., near calm, cloudy with some partial clearing later.

Protocol: driving, 1.9 miles w/ numerous stops and some stand-around periods

Snowy Egret, Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge, Headquarters Unit, 5/14/15

Great Blue Heron, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - 2
Wood Duck - 4

Anhinga - 9

Great Blue Heron - 2
Great Egret - 7
Snowy Egret - 1
Little Blue Heron - 4
Green Heron - 2

Great Egret, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Spotted Sandpiper - 3

Mourning Dove - 6

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 7

Chimney Swift - 2

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 3

Pileated Woodpecker,
Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 1
Great crested Flycatcher - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 3

Eastern Kingbird, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit

White-eyed Vireo - 6
Yellow-throated Vireo - 1
Warbling Vireo - 1
Red-eyed Vireo - 5

Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 2

Carolina Chickadee - 10
Tufted Titmouse - 3

Carolina Wren - 10

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 3

Cedar Waxwing - X (heard but not seen)

Prothonotary Warbler - 9
Tennessee Warbler - 1
Mourning Warbler - 1
Kentucky Warbler - 1
American Redstart - 3
Northern Parula - 3
Yellow Warbler - 1
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - 3

male Painted Bunting, Catahoula NWR HQ Unit

Eastern Towhee - 2

Summer Tanager - 4
Northern Cardinal - 11
Indigo Bunting - 14
Painting Bunting - 14

male Painted Bunting, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, 5/14/15

Red-winged Blackbird - 2
Common Grackle - 5
Brown-headed Cowbird - 12
Orchard Oriole - 4


The next post will cover a recent trip to Catahoula Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden in the Kisatchie National Forest in Grant Parish and a trip to Snyder Road in La Salle Parish.


Snowy Egret, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, 5/14/2015

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