Birding Southwestern Louisiana, 1/9/2016

immature White Ibis, south of Hwy 14, west of Lake Arthur

   So, this takes us a little outside of the blog's "Central Louisiana" purview, but I thought it worth sharing. Tom Pollock, Beth Willis, and I made a trip to the SW part of the state to try and see the Pyrrhuloxia that had been reported south of Welsh, Jefferson Davis Parish (really unfortunate name that parish has). The flat prairie region of the state - with its numerous wetland areas (both natural and man-made) - is home to a nice diversity of birds, some of which are hard to find in the state outside of this region. We ended up birding a fruitful route in the farm country southeast of Fenton and northwest of Welsh that morning before trying the PYRR spot on Wild Road during midday. After that, we birded some more locations in the rice-growing prairie region and marshlands of J. Davis and Cameron Parishes, including the Lacassine Pool section of Lacassine NWR and Pintail Loop on Cameron Prairie NWR (where a Cinnamon Teal had recently been reported).
   I'll go ahead and kill the 'suspense' and say that neither the Pyrrhuloxia or the Cinnamon Teal were seen, and it seems that the PYRR may no longer be hanging around (not seen since 12/31/15, I believe). But there were loads of other things to see, some of them pretty surprising themselves.

habitat shot: rice fields along Hwy 102 east of Fenton

   The first area was Hwy 102 east of Fenton and some of the network of gravel roads south/west of Hwy 102 and north of I-10. There were loads of Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds and significant groups of Snow Geese in the rice fields and pastures along Hwy 102. An immature Bald Eagle and the day's first Crested Caracara were highlights. Savannah Sparrows were very abundant, as they would be in many places that day, and the melodious whistling of Eastern Meadowlarks filled the gray-sky-and-dead-grass landscape with summery birdsong.

Snow Geese east of Fenton

   On Estes Road there was a large flock of Black-necked Stilt. About halfway between the east end of the road and the junction w/ Rostrom Road we encountered FIVE "Krider's" Hawks.

Red-tailed (Krider's) Hawks, Estes Road SE of Fenton

These are a form of Red-tailed Hawk with much white in the plumage and an overall 'washed-out' or faded appearance. I'd only seen these hawks in a couple of places before, so observing this many of them gathered at the same location was curious, for sure.

Red-tailed (Krider's) Hawk, Estes Road

Red-tailed (Krider's) Hawk, Estes Road

The clouds began clearing unevenly around this time, and much of the following areas were birded in mostly sunny conditions.

habitat shot: Estes Road

Sandhill Cranes, Oilfield Road

   South on Rostrom Road we began seeing more Tree Swallows here and there and picked up a good variety of the woodland birds in the patches of trees and brush as well as shade trees around the houses/buildings along this road. The road becomes Oilfield Road at some point, and it was in this section that we spotted a small flock of Sandhill Cranes. The eighteen birds were flying low, possibly having recently risen from one of the pastures or fields near the road. In a pasture nearby was another Crested Caracara on the ground with two Turkey Vultures. The grass was too thick to tell for sure, but it appears they may have been gathered around some carrion.

Turkey Vultures and Crested Caracara, Oilfield Road

habitat shot: Miller Oilfield Road

   In the winter of 2011-2012, Miller Oilfield Road hosted both a Green-tailed Towhee and a Lark Bunting. These two species, very rarely found in Louisiana, were no where to be seen this year, of course, but revisiting the location did, I have to admit, raise the inkling of a hope in the back of my mind. There was water over the road in several places this time, and where the bunting was then, a Belted Kingfisher was hunting this time. There was a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow associating with the GT Towhee when it was here, so seeing an adult WC Sparrow in the towhee spot on this trip made me wonder if it could - maybe, possibly, maybe - be that same bird. Hey, its possible. There were three WC Sparrows seen along the road this time.

adult White-crowned Sparrow, Miller Oilfield Road

Three more Caracaras were visible north of the road. In the distance to the SE were visible numerous gulls swarming some promising spots on "Mount Trashmore" - the landfill hill that rises conspicuously from the flat terrain.

gulls at Jeff. Davis Parish landfill as seen from Miller Oilfield Road

    South on Turf Grass Road we encountered a hoard of Killdeer at the turf grass farm. In with them were a few other shorebirds such as Black-bellied Plover, Western Sandpiper, and Dunlin. The highlight, however, was a Long-billed Curlew. They aren't commonly encountered up in inland areas in the winter, so it was unexpected. We made sure to take a few photos and this short video of the bird.

   The next area, after an all-business drive down a few highways, was Wild Road, east of Hwy 99, south of the Bayou Chene bridge, about 6 miles south of Welsh. Conditions were pretty sunny and warming noticeably by this point (70-ish degrees f.?), though the breeze persisted. We spent an hour and a half along the short stretch of the road where the Pyrrhyloxia had been seen by numerous birders during December.

looking west along Wild Road from the Pyrrhuloxia spot

As said above, the PYRR was a no-show, but we ended up with a nice list to add to the hotspot. Bald Eagle, a pair of Inca Doves, a King Rail (heard only), and flyover (also heard only) Sandhill Cranes were some of the highlights. The King Rail - which I at first mistakenly thought was Clapper Rail, despite the wrong habitat - can be heard in this short video. While on foot at that locale, I found three butterfly species: Little Yellow, Gulf Fritillary, and Common Buckeye.

Little Yellow, Wild Road

Herps included Pond Slider, Blanchard's Cricket Frog, and Southern Leopard Frog. Eastern Fox Squirrel made sure the mammals didn't go unrepresented. Back on Hwy 99 just south of Wild Road we spotted a Caracara on the ground amid feathers, probably from a Snow Goose.

   After this, we birded while driving the Marceaux Road and Watkins Road area west of Hwy 99. Lots of distant shorebirds in rice fields along Marceaux, the closer ones included Long-billed Dowitcher and Western Sandpiper. There were some impressive groups of Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese here as well.

tentative i.d.: Pig Frog, near Hwy 14 west of Lake Arthur

American Alligator, Lacassine NWR, one of several gators seen that day

Lacassine Pool area of Lacassine NWR

   After attempts to find somewhere to bird west of Lake Arthur, we decided to head back west on Hwy 14 and visit the Lacassine Pool area of Lacassine NWR. Here, lots of American Coots and several duck species (including Gadwall, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Ring-necked Duck) bobbed in the open marsh pools as the wind continued to blow and the sky gradually began to get cloudy once again.

Neotropic Cormorant, Lacassine NWR

Gadwalls, cormorants, Ring-billed Gulls at Pintal Loop

 

   We went west from there to try for the Cinnamon Teal that had been seen at Cameron Prairie NWR. Though the teal eluded us, we got the day's final Crested Caracara, heard two more King Rails, and saw lots more coots and ducks.

American Coot flock, Pintail Loop, Cameron Prairie NWR

The wintery evening closed in as we headed back north. No Pyrrhuloxia. No Cinnamon Teal. But a great day of birding and a nice change of scenery and birdlife from our usual Cenla surroundings.

American Coots, Pintail Loop, Cameron Prairie NWR

Lantana - many were blooming along Pintail Loop

   I recommend a well-planned (look up what's been seen where on ebird and bring a good road atlas, at the least) trip to this part of southwestern Louisiana for any Louisiana birders who haven't already familiarized themselves with it. Lots to see.
   Below is a list of birds from that day, including birds seen while driving to and from the areas that we took the time to actually bird. Numbers of individuals aren't given as we didn't always keep track of that for casual observations.





Daylight hours in parts of Rapides (just passing through), Allen (just passing through), J. Davis, Cameron, and Calcasieu Parishes.

                                              (geese in video)
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Mottled Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck

Pied-billed Grebe

Neotropic Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
American White Pelican

Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Cattle Egret

White Ibis
White-faced Ibis
pleg sp.
Roseate Spoonbill (video: Roseate Spoonbills foraging, Watkins Road)

immature Bald Eagle, Hwy 102 southeast of Fenton

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

King Rail
Common Gallinule
American Coot

Sandhill Crane

Black-necked Stilt
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew
Dunlin
Western Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher

Long-billed Curlew, Turf Grass Road

Ring-billed Gull

Eurasian Collared-Dove
Inca Dove
Mourning Dove

Belted Kingfisher

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker

Crested Caracara, Hwy 102 east of Fenton

Crested Caracara
American Kestrel

Eastern Phoebe

Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow

Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse

House Wren
Carolina Wren

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Eastern Bluebird
American Robin

Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

American Pipit

American Pipit, Turf Grass Road

Orange-crowned Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler

Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

blackbirds (Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird and possibly others), Hwy 102 southeast of Fenton

Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Great-tailed Grackle
Great-tailed or Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
blackbird sp.

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

female House Sparrow, Hwy 102 southeast of Fenton

Pintail Loop, Cameron Prairie NWR, Cameron Parish