Trout Creek area, La Salle Parish, May 20 and 21 -- warblers, wildflowers, etc.

   On 5/20 I birded three routes in central/west-central La Salle Parish, all of them including the common thread of crossing Trout Creek. I would return to some of the same areas and adjacent areas the following day. These are some of my favorite areas for springtime birding, and as always there's other wildlife and interesting plantlife to come across while you're out there. The wood warblers are particularly interesting to me, and I'll place emphasis on them in this post. A complete bird list for each of the two days, with numbers for all the species, will follow that day's account.

Sparrow Street habitat shot

   The weather on the morning of 5/20 was cloudy and foggy, starting temperature was about 63 degrees f., little or no wind at beginning, and things were wet from the previous day's rain. The first location I birded was Sparrow Street (around 2 miles, by vehicle), between Goodpine and highway 8. This road crosses an upper branch of Trout Creek which bears a sign designating Trout Creek one the Louisiana Scenic River Systems. There was a decent variety of warblers on this first route: Black-and-white Warbler - 3, Swainson's Warbler - 2, Kentucky Warbler - 1, Common Yellowthroat - 1, Hooded Warbler - 4, Pine Warbler - 6, Yellow-breasted Chat - 5.
   Wildflowers in bloom included, but weren't limited to, Coreopsis, Lobelia, fleabane/daisy species, Rudbeckia, Helenium (H. brevifolium?? or H. flexuosum??), Ruellia, Prunella, Clintonia, Venus's Looking-glass (Triodanis), and Southern Arrow-wood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum).

habitat shot: southern part of Snyder Rd

   Next, I headed downstream and birded the southern section of Snyder Road and a side road, Choctaw Cemetery Road. These rich, diverse woods make this part of Snyder one of my favorite birding spots. I birded here from 7:14 am to 8:14 am; conditions were 64 to 66 degrees f., overcast with some fog, near calm; and distance was about 1.1 mile. Warblers at this location that morning were Worm-eating Warbler - 1, Black-and-white Warbler - 1, Swainson's Warbler - 1, Hooded Warbler - 6, Northern Parula - 1. The list is shorter than I'd expected for this location, though likely there were two or three more species around that I'd have heard if I'd hung around longer. Swainson's Warbler can be heard once in the video.

   Green (Bronze) Frog and Cope's Gray Treefrog were heard along Snyder Road that morning.


Little Wood-Satyr (Megisto cymela)

   The butterfly highlight of the day for me was the Little Wood-Satyr (Megisto cymela) that I spotted just south of the junction w/ Choctaw Cem. Rd. This was my first Little Wood-Satyr of the year.

Coreopsis sp.

   Coreopsis, Lobelia, and sensitive briar (Mimosa) were common wildflowers here, as well, and I also found some Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and Winecup or Poppy-Mallow (Callirhoe species, maybe C. digitata?). There were also Carolina Nightshade (Solanum carolinense) blooming. Flowering shrubs and trees included the Viburnum, as well as huckleberry, and Mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin). Blackberry/dewberry ranged from still in bloom to having some near-ripe fruit. Yucca of some species was also seen with blooms. These are just of few of the diverse flowering plants growing in this location.

Lobelia species found along Snyder Road 



Searcy-Eden Rd beside Trout Creek

   The final route of the day's Trout Creek area trilogy was Searcy-Eden Road and Mt Sinai Road, which I drove from south to north, taking the Mt Sinai Rd shortcut. This route is about 5.2 miles; conditions were: temperatures in the upper 60's f., overcast, some light breeze. I birded it from 8:15 am to 9:38 am.
   At Trout Creek I heard a Louisiana Waterthrush. I was beginning to worry I'd not have Swainson's Warbler along this route, but finally heard one from Searcy-Eden Road someplace north of Mt Sinai Road. The warbler list for this route is as follows: Worm-eating Warbler - 1, Louisiana Waterthrush - 1, Black-and-white Warbler - 1, Swainson's Warbler - 1, Kentucky Warbler - 2, Hooded Warbler - 12, Pine Warbler - 14, Prairie Warbler - 1, Yellow-breasted Chat - 8.
   Kentucky Warbler and Black-and-white Warbler can be heard singing in this video, as well as an Eastern Towhee's "drink-Teeeaa!" song and a constantly calling Northern Cardinal.


 

Pine Warbler, Mt Sinai Road, La Salle Parish

   At some point along the road one crosses from the Trout Creek watershed to that of Bayou Funny Louis. The road crosses several small tributaries of BFL before reaching its northern terminus at hwy 500. At one of these creek crossings I spotted what I think is an Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata). I have no experience identifying damselflies, but I am considering starting to learn, and the insect (seen in video, the only photo I got was of even poorer quality) seemed pretty distinctive. Obviously, my i.d. might be incorrect, but hey it's my first attempt at damselfly i.d.! lol. There will be much to learn, that is for sure.

wildflowers along Searcy-Eden Rd, La Salle Parish

Orange Milkweed or Butterfly Milkweed
 (Asclepias tuberosa)

   There was a lot of wildflower diversity to take in. In addition to the ubiquitous Coreopsis, Lobelia, sensitive briar, Rudbeckia, etc., I spotted a few new species for the season including a species of Beebalm (Eastern Beebalm - Monarda bradburiana is my tentative i.d.), Bitterweed (Helenium; H. amarum?), and coneflower species (Echinacea). Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and Poppy-Mallow (Callirhoe) were here as well. Along one stretch in the northern part of the route, there was a lot of Clintonia. Enough that I found it noteworthy.

 beebalm species (possibly Monarda bradburiana -- Eastern Beebalm?)

Clintonia, Searcy-Eden Rd, La Salle Parish

   Combined bird list from that morning is below, followed by an account of birding the Trout Creek area on 5/21.

"TG" = Trout-Goodpine (Sparrow St), "SnRd" = Snyder Road (and Choctaw), "SE" = Searcy-Eden Rd (and Mt Sinai), followed by number of individuals of that species from that location

Red-shouldered Hawk, Searcy-Eden Road

Red-shouldered Hawk - SE 1

Mourning Dove - TG 1,  SE 3,

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - SnRd 2

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - SE 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - SE 5
Pileated Woodpecker - SE 3

Eastern Wood-Pewee - SnRd 1
Acadian Flycatcher - TG 1,  SnRd 2,  SE 3
Great Crested Flycatcher - TG 2,  SnRd 2,  SE 1
Eastern Kingbird - TG 2,  SE 1,

White-eyed Vireo - TG 10,  SnRd 4,  SE 12
Red-eyed Vireo - TG 5,  SnRd 4,  SE 6

Blue Jay - TG 3,  SnRd 3,  SE 2
American Crow - TG 3,  SnRd 3,  SE 8

Purple Martin - SE 3
Barn Swallow - SnRd 1

Carolina Chickadee - TG 3,  SnRd 3,  SE 9
Tufted Titmouse - TG 2,  SnRd 6,  SE 13

Carolina Wren - TG 7,  SnRd 3,  SE 13

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - TG 5,  SnRd 3,  SE 8

Eastern Bluebird - TG 3,  SE 2
Wood Thrush - SnRd 2,  SE 1

Brown Thrasher - TG 1
Northern Mockingbird - TG 1,  SE 3

Cedar Waxwing - TG 6,  SE ? (calls of one or more heard, but bird/flock not seen)

Worm-eating Warbler - SnRd 1,  SE 1
Louisiana Waterthrush - SE 1
Black-and-white Warbler - TG 3,  SnRd 1,  SE 1
Swainson's Warbler - TG 2,  SnRd 1,  SE 1
Kentucky Warbler - TG 1,  SE 2
Common Yellowthroat - TG 1
Hooded Warbler - TG 4,  SnRd 6,  SE 12
Northern Parula - SnRd 1
Pine Warbler - TG 6,  SE 14
Prairie Warbler - SE 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - TG 5,  SE 8

Chipping Sparrow - SnRd 1,  SE 1
Eastern Towhee - TG 2,  SnRd 1,  SE 3

Summer Tanager - TG 3,  SnRd 1,  SE 2
Northern Cardinal - TG 13,  SnRd 4,  SE 27
Blue Grosbeak - TG 2,  SE 3
Indigo Bunting - TG 4,  SE 10
Painted Bunting - SE 1

Brown-headed Cowbird - SnRd 1,  SE 3
Orchard Oriole - TG 2,  SnRd 1,  SE 1

morning, north section of Snyder Rd

   I returned to Snyder Road the next morning, 5/21, but this time started in the north and drove the entire length of the road. The weather was clear, sunny, drier than the day before. Birds were very active, especially early on. While on the northern section of the road, I spotted several flyover herons including 5 Cattle Egrets, a Green Heron, and 2 Yellow-crowned Night-Herons.

habitat shot: cutover section of north part of Snyder Rd

 

   There were Brown-headed Nuthatches in the pines along this north part of the route in the vicinity of Placid Oil, where I also heard Chipping Sparrow calling. A Loggerhead Shrike and a Northern Flicker were nice finds in the cutover section of the northern part of the route. A Northern Mockingbird harassing a Red-shouldered Hawk was an interesting bit of behavior to watch.

   The habitat gets progressively more wooded and richer as you head south from there, passing from cutovers and younger pines, to middle-aged pine woods, to dense mixed thickets/woods, to the mature woods, especially the hardwood creek bottoms, around Trout Creek.
   The warbler list for Snyder Road this morning is as follows: Worm-eating Warbler - 3, Black-and-white Warbler - 3, Swainson's Warbler - 1, Kentucky Warbler - 2, Common Yellowthroat - 2, Hooded Warbler - 12, Northern Parula - 1, Pine Warbler - 8, Prairie Warbler - 8, Yellow-breasted Chat - 10.

Little Wood-Satyr

   Funny enough, a Little Wood-Satyr was at the same spot I had seen one the previous day. I assume it's probably the same individual.
   Among the flowers seen, (which were mostly the same species seen on the previous day's lists) were a lot more Callirhoe and Echinacea, and a small patch of what I think is Hoary Skullcap (Scutellaria incana), which would be a new one for me, if that is the correct i.d. (I still consider myself a novice at flower identification! Could be incorrect, but at least should be correct on genus.)

Callirhoe species (Winecup, Poppy-Mallow), Snyder Rd, La Salle Parish, Louisiana

coneflower species (Echinacea)

Scutellaria species: my best guess at this point is maybe Scutellaria incana -- Hoary Skullcap?

   After this, I made a pass along Sparrow Street, going from south to north this time, and continued birding into parts of Goodpine and Trout. There was a Louisiana Waterthrush where Sparrow Street crosses Trout Creek. The bird wasn't singing, but called a few times. I saw it twice, each time when it landed down in the creek near the bridge. Warbler list for this 'Goodpine' area visit follows: Worm-eating Warbler - 2, Louisiana Waterthrush - 1, Black-and-white Warbler - 1, Swainson's Warbler - 1, Kentucky Warbler - 1, Common Yellowthroat - 2, Hooded Warbler - 5, Pine Warbler - 2, Prairie Warbler - 1, Yellow-breasted Chat - 5.

habitat shot: Louisiana Waterthrush location

   In the inhabited parts of Trout-Goodpine, I found a few species that you don't find out in the wilder places, including European Starling, House Sparrow, and Eurasian Collared-Dove. Eastern Meadowlarks were singing in a couple of places -- around a cow pasture and a hay field.

   Combined bird list for 5/21 morning is below, w/ some photos and vids:

female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and flowering Mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin), Snyder Road

"SnRd" = Snyder Road, "TG" = Trout-Goodpine, followed by number of individuals of that species from that location

Cattle Egret - SnRd 5
Green Heron - SnRd 1
Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron - SnRd 2

Turkey Vulture - TG 1
Red-shouldered Hawk - SnRd 1,  TG 2

Eurasian Collared-Dove
 Goodpine, La Salle Parish, Louisiana

Red-tailed Hawk - SnRd 1

Eurasian Collared-Dove - TG 2
Mourning Dove - SnRd 4,  TG 2

Yellow-billed Cuckoo - SnRd 2,  TG 1

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - SnRd 1

Red-bellied Woodpecker - SnRd 3
Downy Woodpecker - SnRd 1,  TG 2
Northern Flicker - SnRd 1
Pileated Woodpecker - SnRd 1

Eastern Wood-Pewee - SnRd 2
Acadian Flycatcher - SnRd 1,  TG 2
Great Crested Flycatcher - TG 2
Eastern Kingbird - SnRd 1,  TG 2

Loggerhead Shrike - SnRd 1

White-eyed Vireo - SnRd 18,  TG 8
Red-eyed Vireo - SnRd 8,  TG 3

Blue Jay - SnRd 8,  TG 3
American Crow - SnRd 5, TG 4

Carolina Chickadee - SnRd 8,  TG 7
Tufted Titmouse - SnRd 10,  TG 7

Brown-headed Nuthatch - SnRd 2

Carolina Wren - SnRd 6,  TG 4

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - SnRd 7,  TG 4

Eastern Bluebird - SnRd 2,  TG 1
Wood Thrush - SnRd 2

Brown Thrasher - SnRd 1,  TG 1
Northern Mockingbird - SnRd 3,  TG 3

European Starling - TG 4

Worm-eating Warbler - SnRd 3,  TG 2
Louisiana Waterthrush - TG 1
Black-and-white Warbler - SnRd 3,  TG 1
Swainson's Warbler - SnRd 1,  TG 1
Kentucky Warbler - SnRd 2,  TG 1
Common Yellowthroat -  SnRd 2,  TG 2
Hooded Warbler - SnRd 12,  TG 5 (a pair of Hooded Warblers from SnRd are in the two brief vids - female in the first, male in the second)
Northern Parula - SnRd 1
Pine Warbler - SnRd 8,  TG 2
Prairie Warbler - SnRd 8,  TG 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - SnRd 10,  TG 5

Eastern Towhee - SnRd 6,  TG 6

Summer Tanager - SnRd 1,  TG 1
Northern Cardinal - SnRd 18,  TG 15
Blue Grosbeak - SnRd 1,  TG 1
Indigo Bunting - SnRd 3,  TG 4

Eastern Meadowlark - TG 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - SnRd 3,  TG 2
Orchard Oriole - SnRd 6,  TG 2

House Sparrow - TG 3

female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and flowering Mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin), Snyder Road

Sicily Island Hills, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana (5/7/2016)

   I made an afternoon trip to Sicily Island Hills WMA on Saturday afternoon. I didn't have time to explore too far on foot, but its always nice to get out there and enjoy the interesting, unique forest. (WMA regulations can be found here: LDWF S. I. Hills aka Sonny Gilbert WMA, and remember that to use a WMA you must posses a Wild Louisiana Stamp or a Louisiana hunting or fishing license and check in and check out at the self-clearing station.)

Rock Falls trailhead

   The geography and geology of Sicily Island Hills itself is pretty fascinating. "The Island" is a roughly circular area of upland that rises from the floodplain on the east side of the Ouachita River, NE of Harrisonburg. Essentially, its the far eastern tip of the Kisatchie Wold that long ago got cut off from the rest of the hill country by erosion and the shifting river channels. (Further info can be found here: SCS Soil Survey of Catahoula Parish). I entered on the road that comes from the south, which rises steeply into the hills. Forest type is upland hardwoods and mixed pine-hardwoods, generally.

looking across Rock Creek at the falls

 

    The star attraction in this part of the hills is Rock Falls (at 17 feet, its probably the tallest waterfall in Louisiana). The falls is accessible from a trail that makes the steep, twisting descent from the ridge-top road to follow Rock Creek upstream a short distance to the falls. There's a small foot bridge over the little springwater stream, just upstream of the falls, and the trail continues on through the impressive woods, crossing small branches of the creek and offering excellent viewing opportunities for those interested in native forest plants and a variety of wildlife.

Rock Falls

Rock Falls

   Common woodwarblers found here during the spring and summer include Hooded Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, and Northern Parula; all of which were around during this trip. Pine Warblers are common and present year-round. Though I haven't encountered Louisiana Waterthrush on my limited visits here, the habitat in some parts seems perfect for them and I don't doubt that they can be found there.
   Wood Thrush, Summer Tanager, Acadian and Great Crested Flycatchers, Red-eyed and White-eyed Vireos, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos are among the other common neotropical species that make these woods their home for the breeding season.
   Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were found around the Red Buckeye, which are common and in bloom this time of year.

Red Buckeye, Sicily Island Hills, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

part of a patch of Indian Pink growing along the road south of the Rock Falls trailhead

Indian Pink

   There were a few wildflower species in bloom other than the iconic Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia). The highlight for me, personally, were the two significant patches of Indian Pink or Woodland Pinkroot (Spigelia marilandica). This is not a flower I've encountered since I began seriously attempting to identify and record wildflowers last spring. As you can see in the pictures below, the flowers are trumpet-shaped and red with split, five-lobed bells that curl back and expose the yellow underside.

close-up of Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica), Sicily Island Hills, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

The plants were low-growing (a foot or so tall) and were found in the narrow road margin in the edge of the trees.

Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica), Sicily Island Hills, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

   Other wildflowers in bloom that day included Coralbean (Erythrina herbacea), Verbena (V. halei or V. officinalis?), Lobelia sp., Viburnum sp., Ruellia sp., Black-eyed Susan sp., Fleabane sp., Buttercup (Ranunculus sp.), Phlox sp., Buttonweed (Diodia virginiana). Again - still learning my wildflowers, so the identifications should be treated as those of an enthusiastic amateur! : )  (http://southeasternflora.com/)

   With any luck, I'll make a longer trip to SI Hills later this spring or summer. There's a lot to see out there. I've never visited the trails north of Big Creek, and I'm thinking that would be a fine all-day trip!

first step of Rock Falls

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