Central Louisiana Birding & Wildlife: Loose Alliance Field Trip to Sicily Island Hills / Stopping by Harrisonburg Rec. Area

Chestnut-sided Warbler -- photo by Connie Guillory

Related Posts:
Same Locations: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/04/hills-and-high-water-catahoula-parish.html
   & http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/03/sicily-island-hills-harrisonburg.html
Loose Alliance Field Trips: http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/09/alexandria-lakes-district-field-trip.html
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    This April's Loose Alliance birding club field trip, held on Saturday April 28, was to the J.C. "Sonny" Gilbert WMA in the Sicily Island Hills in Catahoula Parish. Participants were Connie Guillory, Wayne Watkins, and myself. Meet-up time for participants was 8:00 am, and I stopped by the Harrisonburg Landing Recreation Area before that. The rec. area is situated on the east bank of the Ouachita River at the NW end of LA-922. This is about 5 miles from the WMA. (H-burg Rec. Area bird list further down post)
   When I got to the WMA, the other participants had already arrived and were enjoying the birds. We started at the primitive campground road by the sign-in kiosk for the south side of the WMA. After walking the ~0.5 mile campground road,

woods along primitive campground road

we road along the main road, making numerous stops and some additional walks.

typical woods along the main road

We walked the Rock Falls Trail (taking the short cut indicated on the map, rather than the entire 1 mile loop).

The trek is steep and tricky in places, but the nature observed in these woods is worth the effort.

Rock Falls

After that, we continued driving to the NW end of the main road, hearing and seeing an impressive array of birds, wildflowers, and more. We ended the group trip shortly before 1:00pm. I decided to continue birding solo on the north side of the WMA, which is accessed from LA-915 after a ~15 minute drive off WMA.
There, I first birded the road that goes south to the biggest of the series of ponds.

I walked the trails around the ponds,

At this spot were Swainson's Thrush, Northern Waterthrush, Tennessee Warbler, and Little Blue Heron. Hogs could be heard by some of the ponds, and there was a lot of tracks and rooting along trail.

turning around at the westernmost of the string of ponds (the one with the bluff).

After this I continued birding driving the main east-west road through the north side of the WMA, making frequent stops.

I walked the St Mary Falls Trail.

This was my first time on this trail, and man was it a doozy! The going is often steep, sometimes rocky, and there's a number of fallen logs, steam crossings, and other obstacles, but it takes you through some beautiful forests and along the scenic Sandy Bayou.

St Mary Falls

Sandy Bayou

After this I continued my birding drive down the main road, stopping at some random spot that looked safe to turn around in, down toward the west end, farther than I'd been on my previous visit to this part of the WMA.

It was getting dark, though, and I decided against continuing into unfamiliar territory along an increasingly rough road.
On the drive back out I made frequent stops to listen for both Chuck-will's-widow and Eastern Whip-poor-will. I used Whip playback at several stops, but never heard one. They may have moved on through by this point in migration. I did, however, hear three unsolicited Chucks calling -- two on the main road, and one back down the road to the ponds.

I ended my day listening to frogs at the big pond around a quarter to 9.

Below is the bird list for the Harrisonburg Rec. Area visit. Following that is the entire bird list for the day on the WMA. The first number represents the group effort in the south part of the WMA, the second number is for birds I saw solo in the north. After that are lists for Mammals, Herps, Fish, Butterflies and Moths, Dragonflies and Damselflies, and Wildflowers.
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Harrisonburg Landing Recreation Area:
6:46 am - 48 minutes
52 - 53 degrees F., sunny, calm, water level in Ouachita River dropping

Wood Duck - 1
Greater Yellowlegs - 1

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs - 1
Mourning Dove - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Great Crested Flycatcher - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 1
Blue-headed Vireo - 1

Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 1
Barn Swallow - 3
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Carolina Wren - 3
Eastern Bluebird - 1
Brown Thrasher - 1
Northern Mockingbird -2
Cedar Waxwing - x
Northern Waterthrush - 2

Tennessee Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 1
Northern Parula - 1
Pine Warbler - 1
Prairie Warbler - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 2
Eastern Towhee - 1
Yellow-breasted Chat - 1
Summer Tanager - 1
Northern Cardinal - 5
Indigo Bunting - 2
Red-winged Blackbird - 4
Brown-headed Cowbird - 3
American Goldfinch - 2

American Goldfinch

________

Sicily Island Hills:

South part of WMA -
7:42am - 4hours, 56minutes
5.3 miles
3 birders
57 - 80 degrees F., sunny, hardly any wind

North part of WMA -
12:56pm - 6hours, 46minutes
*plus: nocturnal listening for Chuck-will's-widow - 8:17-8:43pm
5.8 miles
1 birder
70's and 80's F., sunny, not much wind

Wood Duck - 2, 0
Wild Turkey - 3, 0 - tracks of one also seen in North part of WMA

Wild Turkey track -- St Mary Creek

Little Blue Heron - 0, 1
Green Heron - 0, 1
Black Vulture - 2, 4
Turkey Vulture - 2, 1
Mississippi Kite - 1, 5
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1, 0
Broad-winged Hawk - 3, 0

Broad-winged Hawk - primitive campground road in south part of WMA. Photo by Connie Guillory.

Red-tailed Hawk - 0, 1
Common Gallinule - 0, 2

pair of Common Gallinule at the biggest pond. same in video below.

Common Gallinule

Killdeer - 1 during nocturnal phase, flew from road at end of biggest pond
Mourning Dove - 3, 3
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 0, 1
Chuck-will's-widow - 3 during nocturnal phase
(Chuck-will's-widow can be heard in video below.)

Chimney Swift - 1, 1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 5, 4

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male) - primitive campground road, south part of WMA

Belted Kingfisher - 0, 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 5, 3
Downy Woodpecker - 1, 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 4, 5
Eastern Wood-Pewee - 2, 2

Eastern Wood-Pewee -- primitive campground road in south part of WMA (same in video below). Photo by Connie Guillory

Acadian Flycatcher - 8, 4
Great Crested Flycatcher - 4, 7
Eastern Kingbird - 0, 1
White-eyed Vireo - 8, 9
Red-eyed Vireo - 17, 9
Blue Jay - 0, 1
American Crow - 3, 3
Fish Crow - 1, 0
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 2, 0
Purple Martin - 0, 2
Carolina Chickadee - 6, 14
Tufted Titmouse - 11, 10
Carolina Wren - 11, 24
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 10, 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1, 1
Swainson's Thrush - 0, 1

an ever-shy Swainson's Thrush - trail by ponds, north part of WMA

Wood Thrush - 5, 7

Wood Thrush - north part of WMA

Gray Catbird - 0, 2
Cedar Waxwing - 0, x - calls heard a multiple spots, none seen
Worm-eating Warbler - 6, 4


Worm-eating Warbler -- primitive campground road, south part of WMA (same in above video). Photo by Connie Guillory.

Worm-eating Warbler - St Mary Falls Trail trail head (same individual in video below)

Northern Waterthrush - 0, 2 - brushy margins of one of the small ponds; calling and seen
Louisiana Waterthrush - 2, 2

Louisiana Waterthrush - Rock Falls Trail. Photo by Connie Guillory.

Black-and-white Warbler - 1, 1

Black-and-white Warbler (male) - road to ponds, north part of WMA

Tennessee Warbler - 13, 6

Tennessee Warbler (male) - road to ponds, north part of WMA

Kentucky Warbler - 5, 0
Hooded Warbler - 16, 10

Hooded Warbler (male) - primitive campground road, south part of WMA

Northern Parula - 5, 0
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1, 0

Chestnut-sided Warbler - primitive campground road in south part of WMA. Photo by Connie Guillory.

Chestnut-sided Warbler (male) - primitive campground road, south part of WMA

Pine Warbler - 8, 8
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1, 1
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1, 0
Yellow-breasted Chat - 1, 0
Summer Tanager - 7, 23

Summer Tanager (female) - trail by ponds

Northern Cardinal - 6, 13
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - 0, 1
Indigo Bunting - 17, 3
Red-winged Blackbird - 1, 2
Brown-headed Cowbird - 4, 0
..................

Mammals:
Eastern Gray Squirrel, Eastern Fox Squirrel, ...feral hogs

Please note that I am not an expert and there could be something misidentified in the sections below. Feel free to let me know in the comments and I'll correct that. My i.d.s should be taken as tentative.

Herps:
Fowler's Toad -
Blanchard's Cricket Frog -

Blanchard's Cricket Frog -- Rock Falls Trail

Green Treefrog -
Cope's Gray Treefrog -
Green (Bronze) Frog -
American Bullfrog -

American Bullfrog -- the biggest pond

American Bullfrog -- biggest pond

The frog chorus heard in the video below includes Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, and Green (Bronze) Frog. This was taken from the road at the biggest pond ~ just before 8:40 pm.

Pond Slider -

Pond Slider -- trial by ponds

Little Brown Skink -
(colubrid?) snake sp. - fled from St Mary Falls Trail before I could get a clear look at it.

Fish: Creek Chub, shiner/minnow Cyprinid spp., Western Mosquitofish

Lepidoptera:

Butterflies:
skipper sp. - poorly seen; couldn't tell what they were - 2 or 3 brown skippers, such as Clouded Skipper.
Pipevine Swallowtail -

Pipevine Swallowtail nectaring on thistle -- primitive campground road, south part of WMA

Palamedes Swallowtail -
Spicebush Swallowtail -

Spicebush Swallowtail -- south part of WMA

Orange Sulphur -
either Spring Azure or Summer Azure - These were quite common.

Azure sp. -- south part of WMA

Monarch -
'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple -
Common Buckeye -

Common Buckeye -- north part of WMA

Pearl Crescent -
Red Admiral -
Question Mark -

Question Mark -- south part of WMA

Goatweed Leafwing -

Moths:
Renia-type moths or similar - I think these are Renia, and I think there's a couple of species represented here (next 4 photos), but this is tricky and I'll leave it at that for now.

Renia sp.?

"Looper"-type moth -

something like Vetch Looper or similar sp. -- primitive campground road, south part of WMA

Black-bordered Lemon Moth -
...and this moth -

?moth

POSSIBLY Common Ptichodis Moth (Ptichodis herbarum) --

My best guess is a Ptichodis, specifically P. herbarum, though none of the pictures I've looked at exactly match. -- near St Mary Falls

POSSIBLY Macaria bicolorata --

a Macaria sp., possibly M. bicolorata

...among many other moths.
I'll have to give the moth photos more attention later and try to come closer to a correct i.d. for as many as I can. Some, I'm sure, will be left vague.

Odonata:

Damselflies:
Ebony Jewelwing -

Ebony Jewelwing -- Rock Falls Trail

larger damselfly sp./spp. -

?damselfly -- primitive campground road, south part of WMA

?damselfly sp. -- trail by ponds

small damselfly sp./spp. -

maybe Citrine Forktail? -- primitive campground road, south part of WMA

? damselfly -- trail by ponds. Same in the next pic.

? damselfly -- trail by ponds. Same in above pic.

Dragonflies:
Eastern Pondhawk -
Common Whitetail -
Blue Corporal -

Blue Corporal -- trail by ponds

Swamp Darner -
darner sp./spp. -
clubtail sp./spp. -

clubtail sp. (I think) -- trail by ponds

Wildflowers:

As good as the birding was, the show was very nearly stolen by a flower.

Indian Pink -- south part of WMA

Not only were the exotic-looking, candy-colored flowers of the Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) seen in numerous spots throughout the day, but the plants of the big patch which were only on the verge of blooming when I saw them during my 3/27 visit were now in full bloom, creating a natural flower bed hundreds of feet long.

Indian Pink -- south part of WMA

Indian Pink -- north part of WMA

Indian Pink -- south part of WMA

Indian Pink -- near a tributary of Sandy Bayou

Indian Pink -- St Mary Falls Trail

Phlox of one or more species were found scattered throughout the WMA.

Phlox sp. -- Rock Falls Trail

Phlox sp. - St Mary Falls Trail

Phlox sp. -- St Mary Falls Trail

Another common sight, especially along roadsides, were these Verbena (I think that's what they are).

Verbena sp. - south part of WMA

A couple of individual wakerobins (Trillium) were spotted along the St Mary Falls Trail.

Trillium


Trillium

These Partridgeberry were found along the Rock Falls Trail.

Partridgeberry -- Rock Falls Trail

Bear's Foot was an unexpected sight for me. My experience with this plant is limited, but both of the times that I have seen it before were in bottomland hardwoods during September.

Bear's Foot -- south part of WMA. Photo by Connie Guillory

We paid a visit to the small patch of Green Antelopehorn that I had previously located on 3/27.

Green Antelopehorn - near NW end of the main road in the south part of WMA

One whitish lobelia -- familiar springtime flower, though the exact species is a mystery to me -- was seen.

Lobelia - primitive campground road, south part of WMA

A couple of species of Sisyrinchium (Blue-eyed Grass) were found in open, grassy areas.

Sisyrinchium (Blue-eyed Grass sp.) -- trail by ponds.

Venus's Looking-Glass was also common in open areas.

Venus's Looking-Glass -- trail by ponds, north part of WMA

Beard Tongue (Penstemon) sp. -

Penstemon sp. -- north part of WMA

In a couple of places along the Rock Falls Trail we found fallen blooms from Tulip Poplar trees.

flower of Tulip Poplar - Rock Falls Trail

The Sicily Island Hills are certainly one of the most fascinating ecosystems in our region. They deserve -- and I hope they are receiving -- protection and good stewardship. I look forward to exploring these woods more in the future.
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Central Louisiana Birding & Wildlife

Friday, May 4, 2018

Loose Alliance Field Trip to Sicily Island Hills / Stopping by Harrisonburg Rec. Area

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