So, I'm playing catch-up before I post a more timely blog entry that is nearly finished. I thought it'd be a shame to forego doing this post as there were some good moments on Catahoula NWR in La Salle and Catahoula Parishes and on several trips to locations off-refuge in La Salle Parish this late May through June.
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| Great Blue Heron patiently fishing where water is released from Duck Lake |
Catahoula NWR (Headquarters, Willow Lake, and Bushley Bayou Units):
Breeding birds settled in, and here are a few observations. A Swainson's Warbler was heard singing in the same area on many of the trips to the Headquarters Unit
, suggesting that the species was breeding there this year. On the Willow Lake Unit, Swainson's, Hooded, and Kentucky Warblers were heard repeatedly in the young, thick hardwoods. It appears that that area of reclaimed land is successfully transitioning into woods once again, with the approval of these forest-dwelling songbird species. A similar situation appears to be unfolding on the Bushley Bayou Unit, involving those species.
Painted Buntings and Acadian Flycatchers both seemed especially numerous this breeding season. On the other hand, I didn't hear a single Yellow-throated Warbler on the refuge this breeding season.
(Video: Prothonotary Warbler at the Headquarters Unit)
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| a school of young catfish on Catahoula NWR |
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| immature White Ibis with something plucked from the water |
As water levels came down, post spring flood, more areas became accessible that had been off limits for significant chunks of this year. Many pools and ditches held stranded schools of tiny catfish fry. Stranded, concentrated schools of fish made easy prey for wading birds and watersnakes. Repeated visits to a particular shrinking slough on Willow Lake Unit afforded good snake watching. Three Nerodia species: Plain-bellied (N. erythrogaster), Southern/Banded (N. fasciata), and Diamond-backed (N. rhombifer) Watersnake were seen, and the Diamond-backs especially were numerous.
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| Plain-bellied Watersnake, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit |
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| Southern or Banded Watersnake, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit |
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| Diamond-backed Watersnake, Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit |
These three species were also seen at numerous locations across the refuge. The occasional Cottonmouth was also on hand to remind me to watch my step!
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| Fiery Skipper nectaring on Justicia, Willow Lake Unit |
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| Monarch butterfly, Hq Unit |
There were a good many butterflies to see beyond the Butterfly Count (see: previous post). The usual butterfly suspects -- Little Yellow, Red-spotted Purple, Question Mark, the Checkered-Skippers, Fiery Skipper, etc -- were common sights. I found a Southern Dogface down Bursley Bayou Rd, on the banks of the Bayou.
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| Red Admiral, Dry Bayou Rd |
Red Admiral was quite common on a visit to Bushley Bayou Unit (Minnow Ponds and Dry Bayou Roads) in the later part of June, and Horace's Duskywing and Fiery Skipper seemed especially common there as well. I also started noticing Goatweed Leafwing there.
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| Cross-lined Waved (Timandra amaturaria)_ |
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| a pair of Cross-lined Waved |
As far as moths go, Cross-lined Waved must surely be the most frequently encountered moth species on the refuge. One morning I counted 155 from a moving vehicle along a couple of stretches of the refuge loop. Goodness knows how many were actually present. They are most often seen resting on roadside vegetation in the mornings. Lychnosea intermicata seemed to be quite common, on the Hq unit especially. Ditto for Vetch Looper Moth, but on all three units visited during this period. A small number of Lucerne Moths were seen, too.
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| Lychnosea intermicata moth, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit (Gotta love that face!) |
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| Lychnosea intermicata moth, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit |
A Reticulated Fruitworm Moth (or I think that is the correct i.d.) was seen in the edge of Bushley Bayou Unit at Stephenson Rd on 6/23, as was a
possible Large Lace Border.
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| tentative i.d.: Reticulated Fruitworm Moth (and jumping spider), Bushley Bayou Unit |
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| Luna Moth, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit |
The star moth encounter, though, might be the Luna Moth I spotted on the edge of the refuge loop on the Hq unit on 6/5. These must be one of the most recognizable moth species: their grand size and pale green coloration, marked with pink and yellow, make them easy to i.d. and familiar even to the disinterested. They are a truly beautiful and strange creature of our hardwood forests. Finding one always seems like a special wildlife encounter.
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| Luna Moth, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit |
Another notable moth sighting on the Hq unit was the Withered Mocis Moth shown in the photo below.
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| Withered Mocis Moth, Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit |
Wildflowers. Where do I begin?... To be "brief", I'll just include photos of a few of the many that were seen in bloom on the refuge during this period.
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| Carolina Nightshade (Solanum), Hq Unit |
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| Waterwillow (Justicia), Hq Unit |
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| Waterwillow (Justicia), Hq Unit |
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| Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes), Willow Lake Unit [edited for typo in plant name] |
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| Ladies' Tresses (Spiranthes), Willow Lake Unit [edited for typo in plant name] |
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| Fanpetals (Sida), Hq Unit |
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| Bluestar (Amsonia), Hq Unit |
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| Bluestar (Amsonia), Hq Unit |
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| Germander, Hq Unit |
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| Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias), Bushley Bayou Unit |
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| Cross-lined Waved moth (Timandra amaturaria), Hq Unit |
Upland La Salle Parish:
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| north section of Snyder Rd |
Snyder Road was visited a couple of more times after the visits covered in a post from this spring. Other locations where I birded, etc., included Zimmer Creek Road and Blade Loop, among other more casual observations.
I took my nephew Evan birding down Snyder Rd on the afternoon of 5/29. Despite not being the morning, there was a respectable amount of singing from the birds. Swainson's Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Wood Thrush, etc. Lepidoptera from that outing included Horace's Duskywing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Gray Hairstreak, Common Buckeye, and Vetch Looper Moth.
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Snyder Road |
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| Gray Hairstreak on Tephrosia, Snyder Road |
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| Vetch Looper Moth, Snyder Rd |
An Ebony Jewelwing damselfly was seen at the little spring water gully south of Trout Creek.
Lots of wildflowers were in bloom, including Gentian (Sabatia), Goatsrue (Tephrosia), Winecup (Callirhoe), Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Coreopsis, Lizard's Tail (Saururus cernuus), Lobelia, and Yucca.
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| Sabatia, Snyder Rd |
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| Callirhoe, Snyder Road |
A solo trip on 6/11 down the north part of Snyder Rd followed by the entire length of nearby Zimmer Creek Road produced two good snake observations: a Southern or Banded Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata) in a flowing ditch on Snyder and a Western Ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoletus) on a roadside embankment in a hilly cutover on Zimmer. Swainson's Warbler was heard singing at two spots on Zimmer Creek Rd (see: video), and a flyover Common Grackle there seemed slightly out of place this time of year.
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| Southern or Banded Watersnake (Nerodia fasciata), Snyder Rd |
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| Western Ratsnake, Zimmer Creek Rd (also in video below) |
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| Blade Loop |
Blade Loop (SE of Jena) on the morning of 6/23 gave me a good, though brief, look at a Worm-eating Warbler. Other warblers heard on that trip were Swainson's, Black-and-white, Hooded, Pine, Prairie Warblers, Louisiana Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat. We visited part of Blade Loop during the Catahoula NWR Butterfly Count on 6/25 (this location is not on the refuge, but the count is conducted everywhere within a circle that we centered on the refuge). The butterflies from that visit are chronicled in the previous blog entry. Some birds from that outing included Wood Thrush; Hooded and Prairie Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow-breasted Chat.
Some random observations from La Salle... These two moths pictured below. The first is a Ochre Euchlaena Moth (Euchlaena marginaria),
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| Ochre Euchlaena Moth, La Salle Parish |
the second I have tentatively i.d.-ed as Lost Owlet Moth (Ledaea perditalis),
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| tentative i.d.: Lost Owlet Moth, La Salle Parish |
though I am not sure about that one yet.
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There'll be a couple of posts at the end of this month dealing w/ the refuge during July. One will be focused on Hq and Willow Lake Units, the other (which should be particularly interesting) will cover numerous trips that I took (and continue to take) to Bushley Bayou Unit where I attempted to do a more thorough job than usual of seeking out and documenting a wide variety of animal and plant groups. That entry will be lengthy and relatively detailed, but well worth looking at ...or so I hope : )
Also, the very next post after this current one (which will hopefully be up within a couple of hours of this one) will cover a visit I undertook to a location that I have not blogged about before. Not everything is about Catahoula NWR or La Salle Parish, you know! lol.
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| Yucca flowers, La Salle Parish |
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