Central Louisiana Birding & Wildlife: Catahoula NWR - January, February, and early March, 2018

Catahoula NWR Willow Lake Unit - 1/4/2018

Related Posts: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/04/hills-and-high-water-catahoula-parish.html
and http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/12/catahoula-nwr-december-2017.html
and http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/12/catahoula-nwr-autumn-2017.html
and http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/09/catahoula-nwr-spring-summer-2017.html
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The water was high and still rising on my last visit to Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit, which was on March 9 (similar conditions on March 6). Only about 1.5 miles of the 9-mile refuge loop was still open, and the water was up to the road in places, so it might all be closed by this point. Willow Lake Unit was clearly flooded, as seen from US-84, and entrances to Bushley Bayou Unit were closed. I've not been by French Fork Unit since the water got high. As of ~ March 19 - 20 both Catahoula Lake and Black River are supposed to be cresting. So, while we wait for the water to drop and allow us to pass once again, lets look back on the past two-and-a-half months of observations from the refuge.
First: some habitat shots, and shots showing the icy conditions in January and the high water in March.

Willow Lake Unit -- 1/4, La Salle Parish

Willow Lake nearly iced over -- 1/4, La Salle Parish

ice on cypress knees -- Willow Lake Unit, La Salle Parish, 1/4

Willow Lake Unit -- 1/4, La Salle Parish

ponds on Willow Lake Unit -- 1/4, La Salle Parish

Headquarters Unit -- La Salle Parish, 1/15

French Fork Unit (Muddy Bayou entrance off LA-28) -- 1/27, La Salle Parish

Minnow Ponds Road on Bushley Bayou Unit -- 2/4, Catahoula Parish

impoundments near Minnow Ponds Road on Bushley Bayou Unit -- 2/4, Catahoula Parish

north end of Duck Lake on Headquarters Unit -- 2/12, La Salle Parish

very low water in Cowpen Bayou -- 2/12, La Salle Parish (that water thing'll change soon enough)

HQ Unit -- 2/12, La Salle Parish

impoundments near Minnow Ponds Road on Bushley Bayou Unit -- 2/16, Catahoula Parish

one of the forks of Flat Creek at Minnow Ponds Trail on Bushley Bayou Unit -- 2/16, Catahoula Parish

Green's Creek at Dry Bayou Road on Bushley Bayou Unit -- 2/16, Catahoula Parish

a swampy thicket near Dry Bayou Rd on Bushley Bayou Unit -- 2/16, Catahoula Parish. This was a very bird-y spot, with Fox Sparrows, Winter Wrens, Brown Thrashers, Hermit Thrushes, kinglets, gnatcatchers, Pine Warblers...

Catahoula NWR HQ Unit entrance area -- 3/6, along the La Salle - Catahoula Parish line. This is a popular hangout for grackles, robins, juncos...

water's rising -- refuge loop along La Salle - Catahoula Parish line on HQ Unit, 3/6

HQ Unit -- same as above

HQ Unit -- 3/6, La Salle Parish

Compare this next image, taken on February 12, with the one that follows it, taken at same location on March 9:

refuge loop along La Salle - Catahoula Parish line -- HQ Unit, 2/12

refuge loop along La Salle - Catahoula Parish line -- HQ Unit, March 9

Below are lists for Birds, Herps, Mammals, and Butterflies. Each list is a composite list of species recorded during 10 visits to the refuge during this period. These are the dates of my visits to Catahoula NWR during this period:
Willow Lake Unit - 1/4/18; HQ Unit - 1/15/18; HQ Unit - 1/27/18; French Fork Unit - 1/27/18; Bushley Bayou Unit - 2/4/18; HQ Unit - 2/12/18; Bushley Bayou Unit - 2/16/18; HQ Unit - 2/21/18; HQ Unit - 3/6/18; HQ Unit - 3/9/18
The January 27 visits to HQ and Fr Frk Units were part of a Louisiana Ornithological Society field trip. The winter meeting was held in Alexandria this year, and one of the four field trip areas was to Catahoula NWR and adjacent locations. Our five-person group went to HQ Unit, Fr Frk Unit, and to the Catahoula Lake Recreation Area by the spillway. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day and bird activity was very low. Still, it was nice to show folks around this typically very bird-y area.

Birds:

Snow Goose -
Greater White-fronted Goose -
Wood Duck -
Gadwall -
Blue-winged Teal - March 6 and 9
Northern Shoveler - 3/9/18
Mallard -

Mallards -- HQ Unit, 2/12

Northern Pintail -
Green-winged Teal -
Canvasback -

Canvasback -- female, male, female - HQ Unit, 2/21

Canvasbacks -- HQ Unit, 2/21

Ring-necked Duck -
Hooded Merganser - Willow Lake and Bushley Bayou Units

Hooded Mergansers - female, male -- Willow Lake, 1/4

Hooded Mergansers -- Willow Lake, 1/4

duck sp. -
Pied-billed Grebe -
Double-crested Cormorant -
Anhinga -
American White Pelican -

American White Pelican and Double-crested Cormorants -- Willow Lake Unit, 1/4

Great Blue Heron -

Great Blue Heron -- HQ Unit, 1/15

Great Egret -

Great Egrets and Great Blue Heron -- Willow Lake Unit, 1/4

White Ibis -

immature White Ibis -- Willow Lake, 1/4

Black Vulture -
Turkey Vulture -
Osprey -

Osprey -- HQ Unit, 2/12

Bald Eagle -
Red-shouldered Hawk -

Great Blue Heron and a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks -- Willow Lake Unit, 1/4

Red-tailed Hawk -

a pair of Red-tailed Hawks -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 2/4

Killdeer -

Killdeer -- Willow Lake Unit, 1/4

Least Sandpiper -
American Woodcock -
Greater Yellowlegs - 3/9/18 - flooded field adjacent to, and visible from, the refuge
Lesser Yellowlegs - 3/9/18 - ditto
Ring-billed Gull -
Mourning Dove -
Barred Owl -
Belted Kingfisher -
Red-bellied Woodpecker -
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -

male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -- HQ Unit, 1/15

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -- HQ Unit, 3/6

Downy Woodpecker -
Northern Flicker -
Pileated Woodpecker -
American Kestrel -
Eastern Phoebe -
White-eyed Vireo -

White-eyed Vireo -- HQ Unit, 1/15

Blue-headed Vireo -

Blue-headed Vireo -- HQ Unit, 2/12

Blue Jay -
American Crow -
crow sp. -
Purple Martin - FOS was on Bushley Bayou Unit, 2/4/18
Tree Swallow - HQ Unit on 1/27 with LOS group
Carolina Chickadee -

Carolina Chickadee -- HQ Unit, 3/6

Tufted Titmouse -
House Wren -
Winter Wren -
Sedge Wren -

Sedge Wren -- Willow Lake Unit, 1/4

Carolina Wren -
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher -
Golden-crowned Kinglet -
Ruby-crowned Kinglet -
Eastern Bluebird -
Hermit Thrush -
American Robin -

American Robin -- HQ Unit, 3/6

Brown Thrasher -
Northern Mockingbird -
European Starling -

European Starlings and Red-winged Blackbirds -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 2/4

American Pipit -
Cedar Waxwing -

Cedar Waxwing -- HQ Unit, 2/12

Orange-crowned Warbler -
Common Yellowthroat -

Common Yellowthroat -- French Fork Unit, 1/27

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) -
Pine Warbler -
Chipping Sparrow -
Dark-eyed Junco -
Fox Sparrow -

Fox Sparrow -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 2/16

White-throated Sparrow -
Savannah Sparrow -

Savannah Sparrow -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 2/16

Song Sparrow -

Song Sparrow -- HQ Unit, 2/12

Swamp Sparrow -
Eastern Towhee -
Northern Cardinal -
Red-winged Blackbird -
Brown-headed Cowbird -
Rusty/Brewer's Blackbird - birds seen poorly in flight at a distance
Common Grackle -

Common Grackles -- HQ Unit, 3/6

American Goldfinch -

Herps:
Blanchard's Cricket Frog - a few calls heard
Spring Peeper - Abundant - frequently heard
Cajun Chorus Frog - Common - frequently heard
Cope's Gray Treefrog - often heard calling on warmer days
*Green Treefrog - I think I heard one call (kind of early in season to be hearing these)
Green (Bronze) Frog - some heard, some seen
Southern Leopard Frog - Common - heard

American Alligator -