Chalk Hills afternoon, other Catahoula and La Salle Parish observations

Phlox blooming in the Chalk Hills

   On April 3rd I joined Beth Willis and Tom Pollock for some birding. The final goal was to search for Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-wills-widows at nightfall along Posey-Webb Camp Highway in and around the Chalk Hills, but first we did a little birding elsewhere in La Salle and Catahoula Parishes. We heard a Black-and-White Warbler (first of season for me) and saw a soaring Bald Eagle near the Whitehall community in La Salle. We checked out the flood waters along Hwy 126 between Manifest and Sandy Lake, including where it cuts across the Bushley Bayou Unit of Catahoula NWR. Though water levels are dropping, the water is still high and there's a couple-of-mile stretch where the water is up by the road. Here we saw a few Blue-winged Teal as they swam from the roadside and off into the woods.

water over the road at one of the entrances to Catahoula NWR Bushley Bayou Unit along Hwy 126,
a typical scene along this stretch of highway at this time

   Lots of Phlox (which species, I can't say) were in bloom along Hwy 126 where it climbs into the Chalk Hills between Manifest and Aimwell. These bright purple flowers were also seen along P-WC Hwy. A few of the other wildflowers seen during this outing, in various locations, include Common Vetch, False Garlic, and Viola species (maybe Sweet White Violet? Bog White Violet?).

tentative i.d.: Common Vetch

Louisiana Waterthrush habitat
along Posey-Webb Camp Hwy

   Driving Posey-Webb Camp Hwy (just a narrow blacktop road) west-to-east, we found only the expected species until we stopped at the little creek east of the junction with Posey-Webb Camp Road (a tributary or branch of Hawthorn Creek, I believe). Here we heard at least one Wood Thrush, which was a first-of-season for us and saw and heard three Louisiana Waterthrushes, which were also FOS. The LAWA were very vocal; two singing and all calling as they made their way up the creek and crossed back-and-forth over the road several times. The birds were vocalizing on their own at first, then responded to playback that we used briefly to get them into view. However, when the audio was ended they continued to chase each other back and forth and vocalize enthusiastically. My guess is we were witnessing a territorial male, with his mate nearby, drive off another male.(?) Vocalizing can be heard in the video.
   Other birds heard and seen at that stop included Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, an assortment of the expected woodland birds, and some flyover Great Egrets.
   Back at the cutover at the junction of the road mentioned above we spotted a Great Horned Owl scanning the grass and brush for prey from it perch at dusk. This was our first stop to listen for Chuck-wills-widow and Whip-poor-will. The method we used was to listen, then use playback to try to illicit a response, then listen again before moving to the next promising spot, listening w/ the windows down as we went. We worked our way back to the west end of the road at Aimwell, but didn't get any definitive Chuck or Whip vocals. However, we thought that we may have heard one or the other very distant and calling only a few times when we were at the owl location.
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   On April 6 I joined Tom for a trip out to Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit. As we suspected, the unit was closed from high water (word from refuge staff is that it will likely be a month before water levels are low enough and roads dry enough to open the refuge).  So, we made a visit to the nearby Little River Recreation Area (Catahoula Parish). Here I had my FOS Prothonotary Warbler.

Prothonotary Warbler at Little River Recreation Area

We stopped near the Hwy 84 bridge over Old River (La Salle Parish) to watch the Cliff Swallows that have a nesting colony there. We couldn't locate a single Barn Swallow in the mix. During the last few years the Cliffs seem to have incrementally replaced the Barns, which used to be the dominant swallow species nesting at the bridge. Video is of Cliff Swallows at the bridge.
   We made token attempts at the Stephenson Rd and Bursley Bayou Rd entrances to the Bushley Bayou Unit of the refuge (yeah, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the spelling/pronunciation of the name of the bayou... lol. I usually heard "Burshley".) in Catahoula Parish. Both were closed because of the flood, but the wildflowers along these roads were nice to see, including lots of Spider Lilies along BB Rd and some Swamp Leatherflower along Stephenson Rd and loads of Ranunculus (buttercups) everywhere.

Swamp Leatherflower, entrance to Catahoula NWR Bushley Bayou Unit on Stephenson Road

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   Tom also reports that on a short visit to Snyder Road west of Jena in La Salle Parish, also on 4/6, that he heard Red-eyed Vireo, but no Hooded Warbler or other of the several neotropical warbler species that will be present here for the breeding season (this is one of the best places to find Swainson's Warblers in this area, April-July).
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   Some neotropical migrants that I have found to have arrived already in La Salle and Catahoula Parishes include Green Heron, Mississippi Kite (one seen briefly in flight, earlier than I usually see them), Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo (though they are occasionally found wintering here), Purple Martin, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (though they are moderately common wintering birds in some places in the southern part of the parish), Wood Thrush, Gray Catbird (though a small number winter in the area), Black-and-White Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula, Prothonotary Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Orchard Oriole (one male seen, earlier than expected). Likely, many more species have also arrived.

   Butterflies I've seen so far this season in the same region include Horace's Duskywing, (Common) Checkered-Skipper, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, either Spicebush or Pipevine Swallowtail (forgot to record which), Red-banded Hairstreak, Clouded and/or Cloudless Sulphurs, a possible Monarch, Common Buckeye, Pearl Crescent, Carolina Satyr (glimpsed), ...and probably more that I am forgetting. Video is of Red-banded Hairstreak nectaring on False Garlic.
   Spring has sprung - looking forward to much more as the season progresses.