Frogmore BBS Route 2016, Concordia Parish, Louisiana

Dunbarton, looking south along hwy 566 -- some of the species found in this area include Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Loggerhead Shrike, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow

    My sister joined me for the Frogmore Breeding Bird Survey on the morning of June 8. This was my second year to do this route. The route runs from the north end of Bob Rife Road at the point where it meets hwy 566 and follows the highway west then south to Frogmore, takes Hwy 84 west to hwy 129, follows 129 south, then west on Ames Road, south on Gallup Road, west a short ways on hwy 565, then south on Deadening Road. The route lies in the Tensas and Black River alluvial plain and habitats include agricultural land, some bottomland hardwood forests, brush/second-growth areas, some areas of rural homes/buildings and pastures, some swampy areas and small bodies of water. Some habitat shots below, listing some species associated w/ that area of the route:

hwy 566 between Dunbarton and Frogmore -- some of the species found in this area were Red-winged Blackbird, Dickcissel, Barn Swallow

cypress slough at Frogmore, Hwy 84 -- some of the species found in this area include Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Cattle Egret, European Starling, Common Grackle

hwy 129 where it passes through hardwood forest -- some of the species found in the area were Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo and Painted Buntings, Blue Jay

in the woods on Ames Road -- some of the species found in this area were Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Barred Owl, Acadian Flycatcher, Hooded and Prothonotary Warblers

one of the stops on Gallup Road -- species in the area included Cattle and Snowy Egrets, Killdeer

   Disappointingly, we didn't have some of the species this year that were found last year, including Northern Bobwhite, Swainson's Warbler, Mississippi Kite, and Red-tailed Hawk. We did, however, have multiple Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks again this year, and it was nice to see American Kestrel. Between stops on Ames Road, we got to see a Barred Owl (my sister was hoping we'd see an owl). Lots of flyover water birds were seen, with Little Blue Heron and Cattle Egret being the most frequently seen, and a scattering of Great Egret, Green Heron, plegadis ibis sp., and Anhinga, as well.

Loggerhead Shrikes near Dunbarton, hwy 566, Concordia Parish

American Kestrel, Hwy 84 near Frogmore, Concordia Parish

   Non-avian critters included rabbit sp., Eastern Fox Squirrel and Eastern Gray Squirrel, Green Treefrog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Green (Bronze) Frog, and American Bullfrog, which were heard at a lot of locations. We didn't get to spend time trying to get good looks/photos of butterflies, because of the BBS protocol, but some that we saw as we traveled along appeared to be duskywing sp., Orange Sulphur, yellow-colored sulphur sp., Little Yellow, Giant Swallowtail, and possibly Gulf Fritillary and others. I did snap a few photos of what I think is a Vetch Looper Moth at stop 49 on Deadening Road.

tentative i.d.: Vetch Looper Moth, Deadening Road

   Wildflowers included Commelina (dayflower) sp., Helenium sp. - "probably" Helenium brevifolium (Shortleaf Sneezeweed), Coreopsis tinctoria (Plains Coreopsis), Tradescantia (spiderwort) sp., Justicia (waterwillow) sp., Verbena brasiliensis (Brazilian Verbena), to name a few.
http://southeasternflora.com/

tentative i.d.: Helenium sp.

tentative i.d.: Plains Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria), hwy 129, Concordia Parish, Louisiana

tentative i.d.: spiderwort sp. (Tradescantia), hwy 129, Concordia Parish, Louisiana

  Passing trough Jonesville after the count was over, we made a stop near the junction of hwy 3037 and Hwy 84 to check for the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers that had been present in previous years. Unfortunately, we didn't see them this time, but it was a brief stop and they certainly could be present on this territory again this breeding season.

...along Ames Road

Enterprise BBS Route 2016, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

Catahoula Church Road near Haggerty Creek (or is this one Hooter Creek?... I've seen conflicting maps)

  This year I ran the Enterprise route on the morning of May 30, accompanied by my teenage nephew and promising young birder, Evan, who manned the stopwatch and helped keep track of birds between the stops for the complete trip list.

habitat shot: looking back along Catahoula Church Road as it climbs further into the hills (C. Church Road runs through some interesting, if now often disturbed/fragmented forest that have a heavy mix of deciduous trees in with the pines)

  The route starts where Catahoula Church Road turns off highway 124 between the hwy 559 Ouachita River duty ferry turn off and Enterprise. Route climbs into the hills along C. Church Road, heading south, and takes a series of roads -- including Old Columbia Rd -- crossing the Chalk Hills, takes Posey-Webb Camp Road south to Highway 126 around Manifest; comes down from the hill country on hwy 8 east and hwy 126 south where it enters the floodplain region, crosses Bushley Bayou unit of Catahoula NWR; turn off on highway 923 south through rural residential areas and scatterings of pastures and patches of woods, and ends in a soybean field within sight of where the highway ends and becomes a little road on the north side of Little River. Some more habitat shots below:

habitat: Old Columbia Road by pastures in the hills between Haggerty and Sugar Creeks

Chalk Hills south of Sugar Creek (the photos I took just don't do the views in this area justice!)

 roadside geology in the Chalk Hills (the eponymous white stone isn't actually chalk, its volcanic ash -- Geochemisty of Chalk Hills and Soil Survey of Catahoula Parish)

piney-woods habitat south of Rawson Creek and north of Posey-Webb Camp Highway

end of the route: a field in the alluvial plain just north of Little River

 Highlights were two singing Chuck-will's-widows (at stops 2 and 3, respectively), and a gobbling Wild Turkey further south along C. C. Road. I had a turkey gobbling at the same stop a few years ago (6/3/12) and I find it interesting that it would happen again. Video: Chuck-will's-widow can be heard, among other birds.

   My general impression was that both Swainson's Warbler and Kentucky Warbler numbers were higher than usual this year. Total warbler list includes Louisiana Waterthrush (which was between stops at an upper branch of Rawson Creek, so not on official count list), and Black-and-white, Swainson's, Hooded, Pine, Prairie, Worm-eating, and Prothonotary Warblers; Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat.
   Lowlights this year: we didn't get Louisiana Waterthrush at any of the stops, and didn't get American Redstart anywhere along the route. Broad-winged Hawk is usually seen at one or more locations along a certain general area of the route -- maybe between stops 19 and 28, sometimes not at the actual stops -- but we didn't get that species, either. A logging/thinning operation was taking place between stops 24 and 25 and much of the general area around those stops had already been thinned, so bird life along that stretch was at a minimum (and what an unfortunate time of year to be doing it, given the nesting and all that!). I was cautiously hopeful that we'd get Northern Bobwhite, after hearing them on this route last year, but no such luck this time. No Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at stop 49 this year, and we didn't see a Loggerhead Shrike along hwy 923 until the count had ended and we were on the way back out.

Green Anole on pine, north of Posey-Webb Camp Road

   Beyond birds...

Pearl Crescent, between Rawson Creek and P-W C Hwy.

   Several White-tailed Deer crossed the road while at stop 3 -- some as we approached, some after I got out and started the count.
   Herps included Green Anole and vocalizing Green (Bronze) Frog, Green Treefrog, and Cope's Gray Treefrog. No snakes were noticed this year, though in past years I've had some good snake sightings along the backroads of the upland section.
   There were very limited chances to get a good look at butterflies, given the BBS protocol, but I noticed Pearl Crescent (stopped briefly and got photo) and Common Buckeye and what appeared to be either Clouded or Cloudless Sulphur or a similar species, as we drove along, and apparent duskywing sp. at one or two stops. 

tentative i.d.: Vetch Looper Moth, P-W Camp Rd.

Asclepias tuberosa (Orange Milkweed, Butterfly Milkweed), Chalk Hills, Catahoula Parish

    There was a nice variety of wildflowers to see, including some that are seen at the same spots each year. (Note that I am a novice at plant i.d., you can check i.d.'s for yourself at http://southeasternflora.com/ and http://www.wildflower.org/plants/.)These include Cnidoscolus texanus (Bull Nettle) on Catahoula Church Road

Bull Nettle (Cnidoscolus texanus), Catahoula Church Road

, Echinaceae (cone flower) in Chalk Hills section of Old Columbia Rd, and a large patch of Orange Milkweed at a location south of there (one of many places where the milkweed grows along this route). This year I didn't notice the Coralbean that I usually see growing in the vicinity of the large patch of milkweed. Dayflower (Commelina, possibly Commelina erecta) were seen again at one of the stops on Posey-Webb Camp Road, as well as a new location on Cat. Church Rd.

Commelina sp. (maybe Commelina erecta?) Dayflower, P-W Camp Rd., Catahoula Parish

The Cherokee Roses near Rawson Creek are covering a significant patch on both sides of the road and had blooms everywhere.

Passiflora incarnata (Maypop, Purple Passionflower), growing adjacent to the roses

Tephrosia, south of Rawson Creek

   Hoarypea (probably Tephrosia spicata) were common, and at one stop in the piney woods south of Rawson Creek and north of Posey-Webb Camp Rd we found a patch of Larkspur ("probably" Delphinium carolinianum).  Additional photos from this outing below...

 

Larkspur, probably Carolina Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum), piney-woods between Rawson Creek and P-W C Hwy

Larkspur, probably Carolina Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum), piney-woods between Rawson Creek and P-W C Hwy

Larkspur, probably Carolina Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum), piney-woods between Rawson Creek and P-W C Hwy

Larkspur, probably Carolina Larkspur (Delphinium carolinianum), piney-woods between Rawson Creek and P-W C Hwy

woods along Catahoula Church Road

view from Catahoula Church Road near Haggerty Creek

view from Catahoula Church Road near Haggerty Creek

another Chalk Hills vista... sorta

Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) in bloom, Chalk Hills, Catahoula Parish

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