Catahoula NWR (La Salle & Catahoula Parishes) -- Spring, 2018

HQ Unit -- 3/27

Related Posts:
   Same Location:
   https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/04/hills-and-high-water-catahoula-parish.html
  & http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/03/catahoula-nwr-january-february-and.html
  & http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/12/catahoula-nwr-december-2017.html
  & http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/12/catahoula-nwr-autumn-2017.html
  & http://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2017/09/catahoula-nwr-spring-summer-2017.html
   'Spring, 2018':
   https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/06/zimmer-creek-road-la-salle-parish.html
  & https://falloutbird2014.blogspot.com/2018/06/snyder-road-la-salle-parish-spring-2018.html
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   This Spring started out with high water that only rose from there. For some weeks, parts or all of the Headquarters, Willow Lake, and Bushley Bayou Units of Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge were closed because of water over the road or the roads being in need of repair once the water resided.

flooded woods along refuge loop, HQ Unit -- 3/6

   So, I wasn't as active on the refuge this spring as I might have been, but I did find some birding opportunities out there where and when the water wasn't keeping me out. Below are descriptions of conditions for each visit to Catahoula NWR Headquarters Unit this March, April, and May, followed by the composite bird list for the Headquarters Unit (combining all sightings from visits there this spring, with numbers of individuals from each visit given in chronological order). Following that are separate lists for the May 23 visits to Willow Lake Unit and Bushley Bayou Unit. High water and closed roads kept me out of those two areas entirely for most of the spring. I was limited in what parts of HQ Unit I could access, but some of it was always open except on my March 27 visit, when everything beyond the info kiosk, situated just inside the entrance, was closed. I still include birds from that visit in the list below, but the * denotes that the numbers or absence of a species was influenced by not accessing the areas usually included on the other date's visits.
   After the bird content, there will be sections for Mammals, Herps, Fishes, Butterflies, and Odonata.

HQ Unit (primarily in La Salle Parish) - March 6, 9, 27*; April 23; May 4, 23
Willow Lake Unit (La Salle Parish) - May 23
Bushley Bayou Unit (area visited is in Catahoula Parish) - May 23

HQ Unit:
3/6 - 7:08 am, 2 hr 48 min; 1.6 miles; 49 - 54 degrees F., partly cloudy, becoming clear, wind ~ 0 - 5 mph.

3/9 - 6:54 am, 2 hr 25 min; 1.5 miles; 46 - 52 degrees F., sunny, calm to light breeze.

3/27 - 8:35 am, 23 min; 0.2 miles; 73 degrees F., cloudy, light breeze. FOS: Little Blue Heron

4/23 - 6:48 am, 4 hr 8 min; 1.6 miles; 55 - 57 degrees F., overcast, on and off light breeze. FOS: Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Solitary Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Prothonotary Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Rose-breasted Bunting, Painted Bunting

5/4 - 7:24 am, 2 hr 40 min; 2 miles; 68 - 74 degrees F., cloudy, very little wind.

5/23 - 6:32 am, 1 hr 26 min; 1.6 miles; 70 - 73 degrees F., sunny, near calm.

Habitat Shots:

photo: 3/6 -- This, and the next five pics, show the stretch of road immediately south of the fork at the sign-in board and port-a-potty (just past entrance area). This straight, north-south stretch runs basically along the parish line between La Salle and Catahoula, and next to the refuge boundary. The change in water levels is nicely illustrated by pics of this spot over the course of  the season. This stretch of road is also my traditional spring honey hole for finding neotropic migrants on the refuge. For whatever reasons, I usually have luck finding more transient warblers, vireos, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks, thrushes, etc., along this stretch of road than anywhere else on the 9-mile refuge loop. Many of the warblers from 4/23 where here, and the shorebirds from that date were in the flooded/muddy field that's visible in some of these these pics. 

3/9

3/27

4/23

5/4

4/23

through the woods on refuge loop -- 4/23

through the woods on refuge loop -- 5/4

approaching north end of Duck Lake -- 5/4

road past north end of Duck Lake -- 5/23

north end of Duck Lake -- 5/23

area just inside entrance gate -- 4/23

HQ Unit Birds:

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck -  0,  0,  *0,  2,  0,  0
Wood Duck -                             14,  6,  *0,  3,  4,  4

male Wood Duck -- 5/4

Blue-winged Teal -                      2,  2,  *0,  3,  0,  0
Northern Shoveler -                     0,  3,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Mallard -                                      4,  3,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Canvasback -                               2,  0,  *0,  2,  0, 

Ring-necked Duck -                    2,  0,  *0,  0,  0,  0
duck sp. -                                     9,  0,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Pied-billed Grebe -                      1,  0,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Anhinga -                                     0,  0,  *0,  1,  6,  2
Double-crested Cormorant -        2,  3,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Great Blue Heron -                      2,  2,  *1,  3,  3,  4
Great Egret -                                1,  2,  *3, 12,10, 3
Snowy Egret -                              0,  0,  *0,  1, 14, 2
Little Blue Heron -                      0,  0,  *11, 8,  6,  6

adult Little Blue Heron -- 5/4

Tricolored Heron -                       0,  0,  *0,  0,  1,  0
Cattle Egret -                               0,  0,  *0,  10, 0, 0
Green Heron -                              0,  0,  *1,  0,  3,  7
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron -   0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  4

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron -- 5/23

White Ibis -                                  0,  0,  *0, 330,50,13

White Ibises -- 5/3

Black Vulture -                            7,  18, *3,  1,  0,  0
Turkey Vulture -                          4,  10, *2,  2,  1,  0
Red-shouldered Hawk -              1,  1,  *0,  2,  0,  0
Killdeer -                                     1,  4,  *0,  3,  0,  3

baby Killdeer -- 5/23

two baby Killdeer -- 5/23

adult Killdeer, parent to the youngsters in the other pics -- 5/23

Least Sandpiper -                         0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Long-billed Dowitcher -              0,  0,  *0,  22, 0, 0

Spotted Sandpiper -                     0,  0,  *0,  0,  4,  0

Spotted Sandpiper -- 5/4

Solitary Sandpiper -                     0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0

Solitary Sandpiper -- 4/23

Greater Yellowlegs -                    0,  3,  *0,  3,  0,  0
Lesser Yellowlegs -                      0,  0,  *0,  5,  0,  0
yellowlegs sp. -                            0,  0,  *0, 30,  0, 0
Mourning Dove -                         1,  2,  *1,  2,  3,  1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo -                0,  0,  *0,  1,  6,  4
Barred Owl -                                 2,  1,  *0,  2,  0,  0
Chimney Swift -                            0,  0,  *0,  2,  0,  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird -      0,  0,  *0,  3,  1,  1
Belted Kingfisher -                        0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Red-bellied Woodpecker -            11,  8,  *1,  9,  6,  2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -            1,  2,  *0,  0,  0,  0

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -- 3/6

Downy Woodpecker -                    8,  6,  *0,  3,  3,  1
Northern Flicker -                          1,  1,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Pileated Woodpecker -                   5,  2,  *0,  2,  3,  1
   (video: agitated male Pileated Woodpecker w/ another individual calling and drumming off-screen -- 5/4)

Eastern Wood-Pewee -                   0,  0,  *0,  1,  1,  1
Acadian Flycatcher -                      0,  0,  *0,  4,  7,  2
Eastern Phoebe -                             1,  1,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Great Crested Flycatcher -              0,  0,  *0,  2,  3,  2
Eastern Kingbird -                           0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  1
White-eyed Vireo -                          1,  0,  *1,  5,  8,  4
Blue-headed Vireo -                         0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Red-eyed Vireo -                              0,  0,  *0,  9,  6,  4
Blue Jay -                                         2,  5,  *0,  2,  2,  1
American Crow -                             4,  5,  *0,  3,  6,  9
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - 0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Purple Martin -                                 0,  1,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Tree Swallow -                                 0,  0,  *0,  3,  0,  0
Barn Swallow -                                 0,  0, *0,  2,  2,  0
Cliff Swallow -                                 0, 0,  *0,  2,  0,  0
swallow sp. -                                     1,  0,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Carolina Chickadee -                       11,  8,  *3,  8, 10, 7
Tufted Titmouse -                           6,  10,  *2,  6,  8,  4
Winter Wren -                                   1,  1,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Carolina Wren -                             14,  10,  *4,  8,  9,  9
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher -                    1,  1,  *1,  2,  6,  3
Golden-crowned Kinglet -                1,  0,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Ruby-crowned Kinglet -                   5,  7,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Eastern Bluebird -                             2,  1,  *0,  2,  0,  0
Hermit Thrush -                                2,  0,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Wood Thrush -                                  0,  0,  *0,  2,  0,  0
American Robin -                        150,  16,  *0,  1,  0,  0

American Robin -- 3/6

Brown Thrasher -                              0,  1,  *0,  0,  0,  0
Northern Mockingbird -                    0,  1,  *0,  0,  1,  0
Worm-eating Warbler -                     0,  0,  *0,  2,  0,  0
Black-and-white Warbler -                0,  0,  *0,  2,  0,  0

female Black-and-white Warbler -- 4/23

Prothonotary Warbler -                      0,  0, *0,  2,  6,  5
Tennessee Warbler -                          0,  0, *0,  10,  5,  0
Kentucky Warbler -                           0,  0,  *0,  0,  1,  0
Hooded Warbler -                             0,  0,  *0,  2,  1,  0
Cerulean Warbler -                           0,  0,  *0,  3,  0,  0

male Cerulean Warbler -- 4/23

female Cerulean Warbler -- 4/23 -- I wish I had been able to get better quality pics of the Cerulean Warblers this day.

Northern Parula -                              0,  0,  *1,  3,  2,  2
Yellow Warbler -                              0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) -  5,  8,  *2, 11,  0,  0

Yellow-rumped Warbler -- 4/23

Prairie Warbler -                               0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Black-throated Green Warbler -       0,  0,  *0,  1,  5,  0  
Chipping Sparrow -                        20,  2,  *3,  1,  0,  0
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) -   6,  2,  *0,  0,  0,  0
White-throated Sparrow -                 9,  8,  *3,  0,  0,  0
Swamp Sparrow -                             2,  0,  *0,  2,  0,  0

Swamp Sparrow -- 4/23

Eastern Towhee -                              1,  1,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Yellow-breasted Chat -                     0,  0,  *0,  1,  3,  2
Summer Tanager -                            0,  0,  *0,  4,  2,  1
Northern Cardinal -                         11, 14, *2, 16,  8, 10
Rose-breasted Grosbeak -                 0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0

male Rose-breasted Grosbeak -- 4/23

Blue Grosbeak -                                0,  0,  *0,  1,  3,  0

female Blue Grosbeak -- 5/4

male Blue Grosbeak -- 5/4

Indigo Bunting -                                0,  0,  *0,  6, 11, 10

male Indigo Bunting -- 5/4

Painted Bunting -                              0,  0,  *0,  6,  7,  2 
Orchard Oriole -                                0,  0,  *0,  4,  2,  3
Baltimore Oriole -                             0,  0,  *0,  1,  0,  0
Red-winged Blackbird -                 45, 30,  *2,  9,  3,  6
Brown-headed Cowbird -                  2,  4,  *3,  7,  12, 2 
Common Grackle -                        250, 25, *11, 7, 11, 2

Common Grackles -- 3/6

American Goldfinch -                        0,  2,  *0,  0,  0,  0


Willow Lake Unit Birds:
May 23, 2018
8:02 am, 1 hr 28 min; 1.4 miles; 74 - 77 degrees F., clear/sunny, near calm. FOS Roseate Spoonbills.
habitat shot:

Willow Lake Road -- 5/23

Anhinga - 10
Great Blue Heron - 3
Great Egret - 8
Snowy Egret - 1
Little Blue Heron - 5
Roseate Spoonbill - 4 (FOS)
Black Vulture - 9
Turkey Vulture - 11
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Killdeer - 1
Mourning Dove - 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 4
Chimney Swift - 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Eastern Kingbird - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 4
Red-eyed Vireo - 2
Blue Jay - 3
American Crow - 3
Cliff Swallow - 4
Carolina Wren - 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - 3
Prothonotary Warbler - 2
Swainson's Warbler - 1
Kentucky Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 4
Hooded Warbler - 2
Northern Parula - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
Eastern Towhee - 2
Yellow-breasted Chat - 8
Summer Tanager - 3

Summer Tanager

Northern Cardinal - 6
Blue Grosbeak - 1
Indigo Bunting - 12

male Indigo Bunting

Painted Bunting - 1
Orchard Oriole - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 3
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
Common Grackle - 2

Bushley Bayou Unit Birds:
May 23, 2018
9:54 am, 1 hr 58 min; 1.8 miles (Minnow Ponds Rd from LA-8 to Dry Bayou Rd, Dry Bayou Rd from there to Green's Creek bridge; plus walking ~0.2 miles at impoundment levees by MP Rd and on foot around GC bridge); 82 - 87 degrees F., clear to partly sunny, nearly calm.
habitat shots:

levee at impoundments, beside Minnow Ponds Road -- 5/23

Dry Bayou Road -- 5/23

Green's Creek -- 5/23

Wood Duck - 1
Anhinga - 2
Great Egret - 2
Little Blue Heron - 1
Black Vulture - 3
Turkey Vulture - 4
Red-shouldered Hawk - 1
Killdeer - 1
Mourning Dove - 1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 4
Barred Owl - 1
Chimney Swift - 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 3
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
Acadian Flycatcher - 3
Eastern Kingbird - 1
White-eyed Vireo - 12
Red-eyed Vireo - 3
Blue Jay - 2
American Crow - 2
Carolina Chickadee - 3
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Carolina Wren - 4
Louisiana Waterthrush - 1
Prothonotary Warbler - 2
Kentucky Warbler - 1
Common Yellowthroat - 6
Northern Parula - 1
Prairie Warbler - 1
Eastern Towhee - 3
Yellow-breasted Chat - 7
Northern Cardinal - 9
Blue Grosbeak - 4
Indigo Bunting - 4
Painted Bunting - 1
Orchard Oriole - 4
Red-winged Blackbird - 6
Brown-headed Cowbird - 11
Common Grackle - 1

A few notes on the birds before moving on:

   The Killdeer family from 5/23 were at the ditch and adjacent off-refuge ag. field beside the entrance road.

   The shorebirds from 4/23 (except for the Solitary Sandpiper, which was on the edge of the refuge loop) were actually in the flooded and muddy near side of the private ag. field immediately adjacent to the refuge loop and just across the refuge boundary. This part of the road, along the property boundary, runs more or less along the La Salle--Catahoula Parish line and the field is in Catahoula Parish.

dogs chasing shorebirds and ducks -- 4/23

   The high water during the time of their arrival might account for the lack of territorial Swainson's Warblers at most of the traditional territories that I've visited so far this breeding season. There was just one bird at Willow Lake Unit, where there would be two or more territorial pairs/singing males in the past, and none at those traditional HQ and Bushley Bayou Unit territories that I visited. I didn't get to some of these areas until the last visit or two, once the water receded and the roads were repaired and reopened.
   A similar situation probably accounts for the absence of Dickcissels at the Willow Lake Unit field (which was partly underwater for weeks) where there were several territorial pairs/singing males last breeding season.

   Painted Bunting numbers, and abundance relative to Indigo Bunting, had seemed to be down this year compared to past years. However, on a 6/11/18 visit they seemed back to their traditional abundance. (edited on 6/13)

   In the pictures of Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks, you can see that they are near or feeding on dry corn. There were long trails of corn spilled out in the ag. fields immediately adjacent to the refuge boundary and conveniently visible from the refuge loop. There were blackbirds, Blue Grosbeaks, and Indigo Buntings feeding on it.

Common Grackle and Blue Grosbeak feeding on corn, as described above.

Mammals: Eastern Cottontail, Eastern Fox Squirrel, Northern Raccoon

Northern Raccoon - 5/4

Herps: Blanchard's Cricket Frog, Green Treefrog, Squirrel Treefrog, Cope's Gray Treefrog, Cajun Chorus Frog, Spring Peeper, Green (Bronze) Frog, American Bullfrog, Southern Leopard Frog; Plain-bellied Watersnake...

Plain-bellied Watersnake -- Willow Lake Unit, May 23

...Pond Slider

Fish:

Blacktail Shiners and Orangespotted Sunfish

Blacktail Shiner...

Blacktail Shiner -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 5/23

...other shiner/minnow Cyprinids, Blackspotted and/or Blackstripe Topminnow, Western Mosquitofish, Orangespotted Sunfish

Orangespotted Sunfish -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 5/23

Butterflies:
   So far, it's been a poor season for butterflies (and moths, for that matter) on the refuge, and elsewhere.
Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, American Snout, Common Buckeye

Odes:
Ebony Jewelwing; clubtail sp./spp. (such as Jade Clubtail)...

clubtail sp. (Gomphidae), maybe Jade Clubtail (Arigomphus submedianus) -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 5/23

...Royal River Cruiser, Eastern Pondhawk, maybe Slaty Skimmer (or similar sp.), Blue Dasher...

male Blue Dasher -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 5/23

female Blue Dasher -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 5/23

...Eastern Amberwing, Common Whitetail, Carolina Saddlebags...

Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) -- Bushley Bayou Unit, 5/23, same individual in the pics below -- Red Saddlebags and Carolina Saddlebags are very similar and may be difficult to tell apart. Thanks to Steve Shively for pointing out that this is a Carolina (edited from 'Carolina or Red?' on 6/13/18). The Carolina has black that goes all the way down the sides on the final segments of the abdomen ("tail"). Also...

...though the Red Saddlebags has a clear area inside the red patch, near the base of the hind wing, the Carolina also has a small clear area here. Thanks to Steve for pointing out that the Carolina has this. Though, I was leaning toward this being a Carolina on the basis of the extent of the black on the tail, I was very much unsure because this individuals has the aforementioned clear patches in the wings as well.

Carolina Saddlebags -- Steve also points out that Carolina Saddlebags seems to be more common around here than Red. I have soooo much to learn about dragonflies!

If you spot any incorrect i.d. or other error, feel free to drop a comment and let me know. Here's hoping for a good Summer on the refuge.

HQ Unit, 3/9

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